I'm Moving and need help...w/ tires and susp. not w/ moving...HELP me northwesterners

[windextor]

Im going from sunny San Diego to Seattle and don't really know much about all season or even winter tires...are there any good all around tires...any and all suggestions are welcome...

[nuctech]

I'M IN VANCOUVER WHICH IS JUST NORTH OF SEATTLE AND I USE THE STOCK S-LINE PIRELLI P6S' IN THE RAIN/SNOW. THEY WORK FINE.I COULDN'T GET IT STUCK IN THE SNOW THIS PAST WINTER(BELIEVE ME, i TRIED!)

[Louis J.]

Hey man, welcome to the NW! I'm in Vancouver so we're in the same weather range.

Firstly, I strongly suggest you consider the idea of having two sets of wheels/tires as opposed to all-seasons. All-season tires should really be called "three-season" tires and are not adequate for winter nor do they provide good performance for summer. They're just one big compromise. That said, you may want to look at some summer tires with good wet grip to run spring, summer and fall and a good snow tire to run through the winter.

If you've got cash to spare Michelin PS2s are very sticky and work flawlessly in the rain but they wear quickly (220 tread wear) and are expensive. I've had several sets and are great if you don't mind spending over $1k for a set. Falken 452 will give you much better life (300 tread wear), are very cheap (~$550 for a set), great wet grip and grippy in the dry (though not as grippy as the PS2s due to higher tread wear and longer life). That's what I'm buying for my A4.

For winters, Blizzaks are fantastic but last fall I bought the first set of Nokian WRs for my fiancé's car and that's what I'll be running from now on. They're the only true "all-weather" tire which works better than most snow tires (as good as the Blizzaks) but can also be used through the summer, though if you do, you compromise grip in the hot/dry weather and will wear quicker. I like them better than the Blizzaks because I don't have to rush into doing a swap for my summers too early and it seems difficult to know when winter is going to end lately. Hope this helps.

[windextor]

I'M IN VANCOUVER WHICH IS JUST NORTH OF SEATTLE AND I USE THE STOCK S-LINE PIRELLI P6S' IN THE RAIN/SNOW. THEY WORK FINE.I COULDN'T GET IT STUCK IN THE SNOW THIS PAST WINTER(BELIEVE ME, i TRIED!)

i was leaning towards those except they dont make them in 245/35/19...only 255 and im not sure how well those will fit on my wheel

[windextor]

Hey man, welcome to the NW! I'm in Vancouver so we're in the same weather range.

Firstly, I strongly suggest you consider the idea of having two sets of wheels/tires as opposed to all-seasons. All-season tires should really be called "three-season" tires and are not adequate for winter nor do they provide good performance for summer. They're just one big compromise. That said, you may want to look at some summer tires with good wet grip to run spring, summer and fall and a good snow tire to run through the winter.

If you've got cash to spare Michelin PS2s are very sticky and work flawlessly in the rain but they wear quickly (220 tread wear) and are expensive. I've had several sets and are great if you don't mind spending over $1k for a set. Falken 452 will give you much better life (300 tread wear), are very cheap (~$550 for a set), great wet grip and grippy in the dry (though not as grippy as the PS2s due to higher tread wear and longer life). That's what I'm buying for my A4.

For winters, Blizzaks are fantastic but last fall I bought the first set of Nokian WRs for my fiancé's car and that's what I'll be running from now on. They're the only true "all-weather" tire which works better than most snow tires (as good as the Blizzaks) but can also be used through the summer, though if you do, you compromise grip in the hot/dry weather and will wear quicker. I like them better than the Blizzaks because I don't have to rush into doing a swap for my summers too early and it seems difficult to know when winter is going to end lately. Hope this helps.

helps a lot thank you much...i have the ps2's currently and i am worried about winter driving so i felt the pirelli p6's would suffice but after hearing that...hmmm...i had the p6's here and they were more than sufficient for a weekend in the snow with the quattro but i'm not sure about icing and things like that since nowhere in southern california do we really experience those conditions

[Louis J.]

helps a lot thank you much...i have the ps2's currently and i am worried about winter driving so i felt the pirelli p6's would suffice but after hearing that...hmmm...i had the p6's here and they were more than sufficient for a weekend in the snow with the quattro but i'm not sure about icing and things like that since nowhere in southern california do we really experience those conditions

Keep the PS2s and buy some snows. I've never had P6s but I've had plenty of p-zeros and I think they're awful in the wet...almost like driving on skates.

[baaudi]

I live in Salt Lake City, where we get plenty of snow. I'm running Goodyear Eagle F1 all-seasons and think they are great. They seem to rock in any condition (dry, wet, snow).

[artinmoTTion]

Hey, have to second Louis' post, and strongly suggest you consider 2 sets of tires. Especially if you're not entirely comfortable driving in slippery weather, you want something good holding you to the road. You really have to think how you'll be using the car in the winter. You're moving to a beautiful part of the country, with a wide range of weather conditions, which simply cannot be completely well served by one tire. If you absolutely insist on one, and are willing to compromise your slippery weather traction some, then get the F1 all seasons.

The main thing you're going to deal with is rain. You need a tire that has good wet weather traction and drainage. Consider the Vredestein Sessantas (performanceplustire.com), good prices, amazing rain grooves, decent traction. That's what we're using for summers here. The PS2's or the new F1 Asym's are fantastic as well, just not as focused on rain dispersal. Assuming you leave the city in the winter (= go skiing, or enjoy any of many local winter adventures), get some decent winter tires that also have good rain traction, since that's what you'll be in most of the time while you're in town (which is probably most of the time) Dunlop WinterSports come to mind, as do the Nokian WR's, and what I use, which is the Nokian RSi's. Highly recommend the RSi's, though they are a shade more "real snow tire" than the WR's or Dunlops (i.e, they're softer), and so you'd choose the RSi's if you planned to be in the mountains more, or lived on a hill, for example, and the WR's or WinterSports if you didn't have those higher traction needs.

Many companies (tirerack, edgeracing, tires.com, etc. and forum classified sections) have opportunities to get decent winter wheels so you can keep a set of wheels that you won't mind getting damaged by winter hazards.

Another nice benefit of this is that shop monkeys are 50% less likely to damage your wheels when mounting/remounting tires spring and fall, and the tire beads on your expensive tires are less likely to get all stretched out and lead to leakage. You also don't want to damage your expensive tires in the middle of winter on some winter road hazard (the roads sometimes get ugly when they freeze/thaw) and have to worry about tread depth and replacing more than one tire due to the AWD system.

To keep in mind: Tire rack will shave down your new tire that you purchase from them to match the tread depth of your other tires, so you don't have to buy 4 new ones when you get a flat to keep tread depth the same for the quattro system (same predicament with a subaru or other AWD system).

[muffinman]

If you're going with All-Seasons, you can't go wrong with Bridgestone Potenza RE960AS rubber... I'm running on them now and love how they look, sound and perform. They have great treadlife as well and are a good value.

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....osition#Survey

Check out TireRack's survey/reviews, they are the #1 ranked UHP All-Seasons...

I live in the PNW and these have been great for me... awesome dry and in the rain. I used my stock Contis in the snow this past winter, even went up to the pass a few times, and had no problems in the snow... I expect these to perform 1000000x better.

[windextor]

If you're going with All-Seasons, you can't go wrong with Bridgestone Potenza RE960AS rubber... I'm running on them now and love how they look, sound and perform. They have great treadlife as well and are a good value.

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....osition#Survey

Check out TireRack's survey/reviews, they are the #1 ranked UHP All-Seasons...

I live in the PNW and these have been great for me... awesome dry and in the rain. I used my stock Contis in the snow this past winter, even went up to the pass a few times, and had no problems in the snow... I expect these to perform 1000000x better.

funny you should mention those...i was just on tirerack looking at the reviews before i came to check on my thread...look like a good set and the area im headed...tacoma seems pretty flat so I doubt I will need anything to severe (probably not studded tires) however I am big on winter sports i.e. snowboarding so mountain trips certainly arent out of the question...dunno if the bridgestone will be able to hack it considering they have such a great dry rating...


either way now im all confused although it seems like the pirellis that did me great here in the little rain we get are probably out of the question...as for suspension set up...im getting vogland c/o's put on in a couple of weeks...how much more careful am i going to have to be with ride height and any suggestions on tire sizes for 19x8.5 wheels??

[muffinman]

trust me, if i can make multiple trips up to mt. baker, snoqualmie pass and stevens pass on my stock conti tires (snow rating in the low 4's on tirerack), these will be more than enough with quattro (the potenzas have 7's for snow)

the puget sound area doesn't really get extreme weather, don't worry too much about getting snow tires

funny you should mention those...i was just on tirerack looking at the reviews before i came to check on my thread...look like a good set and the area im headed...tacoma seems pretty flat so I doubt I will need anything to severe (probably not studded tires) however I am big on winter sports i.e. snowboarding so mountain trips certainly arent out of the question...dunno if the bridgestone will be able to hack it considering they have such a great dry rating...


either way now im all confused although it seems like the pirellis that did me great here in the little rain we get are probably out of the question...as for suspension set up...im getting vogland c/o's put on in a couple of weeks...how much more careful am i going to have to be with ride height and any suggestions on tire sizes for 19x8.5 wheels??

[windextor]

with those tires in mind should a nice drop on c/o's be much of an issue?

[muffinman]

with those tires in mind should a nice drop on c/o's be much of an issue?

Shouldn't be as long as you get the right size... I'm running on 235/35/19's and lowered to 25.5" with absolutely no rubbing

[windextor]

Shouldn't be as long as you get the right size... I'm running on 235/35/19's and lowered to 25.5" with absolutely no rubbing

thats exactly what is was planning...well 245/35/19 but still sounds good...thanks a ton and to everyone else as well...looking forward to joining you all up north soon

also muffin from your other post...debadging was one of the best mods yet :) makes the car look significantly wider, i highly recommend it

[Four Play]

thats exactly what is was planning...well 245/35/19 but still sounds good...thanks a ton and to everyone else as well...looking forward to joining you all up north soon

also muffin from your other post...debadging was one of the best mods yet :) makes the car look significantly wider, i highly recommend it

The F-1s are good, but very pricey, a much cheaper and IMO better choice are BFGoodrich g-Force Super Sports. In the 235/45/17 flavor, they cost only $125/tire from tirerack. Those Potenzas are almost $50 more per tire than the Super Sports, plus the BFG tires have an awesome looking tread, they don't look like your traditional A/S tire
I live in SE Texas, and we have torrential rainfall, and these tires are almost a night and day difference from the stock P6 tires.

Give them a look...

BFGoodrich g-Force Super Sport tires

EDIT: I see BFGoodrich decided to skip the 19s and go straight to dubs, in which case the F-1 A/S get my vote!