Nige, you really dont like goodyear do you!!!I understand your sentiment.....i hate sony as a company as they dont give a **** after youve bought thier product.But i love thier lappys and tellys.And yes you have a battle on your hands if anything goes wrong that aint straightforward or you need advice.Im pretty anal about tyres.They are between me and the road, and to push my car (which i do at every opportunity) i need to trust them.Ive been in too many pursuits over the years driving cars with average tyres (my firm buys the cheapest) that lose it when pushed.In fact there was an occasion when we had a motor on test with dunlops, and again i couldnt trust them.Id always diven nails before i got my b7, so speed and handling was never an issue.The b7 came with contis which were great bar the fact that id only get 8000 miles on the front.Stuck some goodyears on and again, was happy.So i get the B8 and it came with bridgestones(two short straws, the other fitment was dunlop).Not massively impressed when wet or graesy, and downright dangerous in the cold.Four new tyres isnt a cheap option regardless, and the last thing i want to do is fit a set of vredstein and hate them.Differant people rave about differant brands ...i know that from reading posts.So ive fallen back on what ive experianced in the past...ive never felt close to losing the car with contis or for that matter the goodyears..in fact id say the goodyers were the better grip in the wet but my contis havent bedded in yet. Come the winter i know ill be ok with them unlike the bridgestones.Problem with buying tyres is you cant take them back and say you dont like them.You can take a telly back but not tyres.Bit like lingerie...once worn no exchange!So id rather spend 800 holes and be happy than risk 600 for non premium and be disappointed.The goodyears will be on ebay next week if youre interested (lol).Sockie.I like that!!