The Ian/Bushido/Baryonyx 1999 A8 D2 4.2 possibly for sale

[Baryonyx]

I have my eye on a nice 106 Rallye not too far from me at the moment. My insurance is up in February, which will mean a renewal on the A8 at approximately £300 more than the Peugeot (£700 for the Audi, £400 for the Peugeot).

Whilst this Rallye is available, I'll lower the price here to £2200. If I miss out on the Rallye, it may go to Ebay once the snow has cleared!

[plankton]

I'd have been interested in buying this back (I was the mug who spent a grand on the car changing the cambelt, alternator belt, water pump and sold the car at a £500 loss) - though I'd only be ready to buy in the summer.

[Baryonyx]

As I say, I've not made any real efforts to move it on. And it'll be getting insured again next month so it could well still be here in the summer as I use it as my daily transport. Every time I drive it, I am reminded of it's charms. And it gets me to work in more comfort than the 106 will, and it definitely does it quicker! (the most important aspect!). Unless a replacement 106 Rallye ends up on my drive any time soon, I won't be making any more effort to sell it in the immediate future than I am now.

That said, I've always followed my heart when it comes to cars and the aching beauty of those little homologation specials is drawing me in. I will get one eventually.

[Baryonyx]

It will also be getting 4 new tyres in the next couple of weeks. I am planning on using Camskill to order them and then get them fitted and balanced somewhere local. Not sure on what brand to go for yet, but it will comfortably knock my plans for getting a 106 Rallye back a couple of months yet, until I feel I've had some value from my new tyres (I still regret selling my MR2 Turbo with four nearly new tyres on them. They could not have had more than 1000 miles on the whole set).

Ah, I suppose there are worse cars to keep in the interim than an A8!

[Singh]

I fitted 4x Michelin Pilot Super Sports to my RS 6 plus, done 1k miles if that before I sold it. Michelin PSS are the best tyre about really, or try PS2's, and Goodyear Eagle F1 assymetrics.

[The_Laird]

Why spend goodmoney on good tyres if you're going to sell it? I'm sure you won't see any benefit in the selling price

[Baryonyx]

Originally Posted by The_Laird

Why spend goodmoney on good tyres if you're going to sell it? I'm sure you won't see any benefit in the selling price

AH, it's just one of those things. I still have to drive it until it sells, so Nankangs and Linglongs are out! I like having a well tyred car. Because who knows it how long it will take to sell once on Ebay and Pistonheads? I've seen a couple of A8's hang around for some time there (albeit usually stiffly priced dealer examples).

That said, I sold my Impreza and my MR2 Turbo within a short gasp of getting new tyres on them. The MR2 had Nexen's on the back and Uniroyal Rain Experts (or were they Rainsports?) on the front, due to different wheel sizes. Again, the MR2 was well shoed, the Impreza slightly less so. The fitter recommended 'Rotalla' tyres, only slightly cheaper a corner than my usual Falkens, but the Falkens weren't in stock. The Rotallas were a disaster, but that is another story.


I'll probably go with Falkens on the A8, as I've been consistently impressed with their tyres and they are a decent compromise between good performance and not breaking the bank for tyres that will have a couple of thousand miles on them when I sell!

My plan at the moment is just to lazily save the cash and buy a 106 Rallye at leisure, but making sure to take the time and find the absolute best I can, much the same as I did when I bought this A8. Rallye numbers are starting to hit rock bottom now, and I really want to get one and enjoy it and ultimately preserve it. It's a car I would like to have in 20 years time, so I can show my kids how great cars used to be, in the same way as I will bend their ears and tell them I was driving a V8 before I was 25, and I expect the same effort from them!

[Norretal]

Originally Posted by Singh

I fitted 4x Michelin Pilot Super Sports to my RS 6 plus, done 1k miles if that before I sold it. Michelin PSS are the best tyre about really, or try PS2's, and Goodyear Eagle F1 assymetrics.

Amar, as someone who has comsiderable experience with "all things 8" do you mind me asking why these brands are your choices, or are they your choices for any car you own? The reason I ask is I'm soon to be purchasing 20" tyres and have been advised to buy Dunlop SP Sport 01 as the best option for my car, in terms of grip, wear and value for money. What are the best tyres you've experienced on any 8 and would highly recommend? I don't do loads of miles and also don't want to pay through the nose for high performance tyres when I'm not really one for tearing about and pushing the car to it's limits.

Any advice would be appreciated, from you or anyone for that matter

[The_Laird]

There's a fairly recent thread on tyres here: http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/showthread.php?t=980&page=6

[Singh]

Originally Posted by Norretal

Amar, as someone who has comsiderable experience with "all things 8" do you mind me asking why these brands are your choices, or are they your choices for any car you own? The reason I ask is I'm soon to be purchasing 20" tyres and have been advised to buy Dunlop SP Sport 01 as the best option for my car, in terms of grip, wear and value for money. What are the best tyres you've experienced on any 8 and would highly recommend? I don't do loads of miles and also don't want to pay through the nose for high performance tyres when I'm not really one for tearing about and pushing the car to it's limits.

Any advice would be appreciated, from you or anyone for that matter

The Michelin Pilot Sport 2's are immense, closely followed by Goodyear Eagle F1 Assymetrics. They transform the car from Pirelli P Zero's, Dunlops, Contis and are in another league to the other brands IMO. For a cheaper but still great alternative I'd go for Verdistan Ultrac Seastnas. Avoid Bridgestone Potenzas like the plague, worse than budgets IMO.

Grip, wet and dry, are what's important to me and what I base my tyre choice on. I can't wait for the crappy Dunlops my C6 came with to die so I can swap for Michelin Pilot Super Sports.