tire thread

[rahip4567]

Im just curious on why some of you buy summer sets and winter sets? Why not just get all seasons? Sorry if this question is stupid but i live in the East Coast, so i would prefer to have all seasons tires just so i don't have to deal with changing tires during each season. Is there like a difference from non all seasons or all season tires?

[crash1121]

Up here in Montana we have nasty ice periods throughout the winter, and all seasons don't cut the mustard. Also like to have assurance that I have the best potential grip I can get on ice/snow. Also also, summer tires perform better than all-seasons (in the dry). Also also also, I like to have a reason to have 2 sets of wheels.

I am no tire expert, but I believe all seasons have a sort of siping that works better in most weather conditions that summer tires simply don't have. However, summer tires work very well in both wet & dry but not in snow. And trust me on this, summer tires act like hockey pucks in snow.

[moyenecorniche]

Im just curious on why some of you buy summer sets and winter sets? Why not just get all seasons? Sorry if this question is stupid but i live in the East Coast, so i would prefer to have all seasons tires just so i don't have to deal with changing tires during each season. Is there like a difference from non all seasons or all season tires?

Winter before last I ran Michelin's alpine PA3 winter shoes and Extreme contacts DW's in spring /summer / fall. I'm in the quiet corner of CT but I assume Danbury receives just as much winter snow as we do.... I've run all seasons, Conti's DWS's, liked them but as good as they are, they are still a compromise. designed to perform year round....
Winter time it's really about the ability to stop and change direction... The Alpin's were like night and day compared to an all season. Excellent in the dry cold, but most importantly excellent in snow/slush and even deep snow.... They are a performance tire, so they won't be as great in deep snow as a full on winter tire... But with the S4 and Quattro a full on winter tire in these parts is overkill....
My S4 came with Sumitomo all seasons when I bought it in 2012 .... My Continental Extreme Contacts DW's were better in the snow than the garbage Sumi's.

Anyway, a dedicated set of winter wheels/tires and a spring/summer/fall setup is really the way to go. A bit more of an expense, but shopping around will net you savings.
Plus your winter set should last at least 2 winters if not 3 and summers 2 seasons at least.... Normally I would go thru a summer set each year, but the advantage of two separate sets means that you are running appropriate tires for the appropriate conditions and temps...
We didn't get to ski much this winter but definitely next winter, we plan on at the very least bi-weekly trips to Stowe / Killington / Mad River / Sunday River.... Wouldn't even think of heading up to Vermont without the Alpin PA3's or an equivalent winter tire....

BTW... I did mention before that I ran my Conti's Extreme Contact DW's ( Dry Wet ) this past winter... Those are summer tires not like the DWS's ( Dry Wet Snow )... I advise against doing that since driving in snow with the DW's may very well result in calling your insurance company ...

[asfastas63]

Im just curious on why some of you buy summer sets and winter sets? Why not just get all seasons? Sorry if this question is stupid but i live in the East Coast, so i would prefer to have all seasons tires just so i don't have to deal with changing tires during each season. Is there like a difference from non all seasons or all season tires?

Check this video out. Comparing All Seasons and Snow tires on AWD vehicles
edit: just rewatched and I guess they are using summer tires not all seasons, so doesn't directly answer your question. Still a good watch though in my opinion.

I have two sets because I bought my car (used) and it had snow tires on the stock rims. Figure it would be cost effective to just get the rims I want with the tires I want and swap the sets back and forth myself. This was my first season in the Northeast with AWD and dedicated snows, and damn was it amazing.

Summer Setup:
Michelin Pilot Super Sport
245/35/ZR19
tirerack.com - $1,044 shipped
Review: I love them, they are fantastic on the dry and I was even more surprised how great they were on the wet. They do feel a little weird when maneuvering very slow speed turns (like, think parking lots). This might just be my ignorance with low profile tires though. On the pricey end for sure though.

Winter Setup:
Bridgestone Blizzak
??/??/18
Stock wheels/came with car
Review: Amazing this winter in the snow. Completely confident at 60mph in 3-4 inches of snow, didn't even realize I was going that fast until someone pointed it out. Likes lots of snow better than minimal cover slippery conditions (duh!), pretty loud when driving on clear pavement, but worth it for the confidence during the storms.