All season tires - Toyota GR86, 86, FR-S and Subaru BRZ Forum & Owners Community

matthewl · 01-26-2013, 08:28 AM

Just had our first snow (really ice) storm in Triangle area of NC and my FR-S was virtually undriveable. I know there have been other threads, but what I'm interested in, now that people have almost half a winter, is recommendations for mid-priced (around $150) all season tires for my car.

Grishbok · 01-26-2013, 08:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by matthewl

Just had our first snow (really ice) storm in Triangle area of NC and my FR-S was virtually undriveable. I know there have been other threads, but what I'm interested in, now that people have almost half a winter, is recommendations for mid-priced (around $150) all season tires for my car.

all season tires are more like 3 season tires, they are not suited for winter snow and ice.

#87 · 01-26-2013, 08:43 AM

Any all season will be bad in snow and useless on ice.

Even snow tires aren't that great on pure ice but obviously a lot better than all seasons.

Best bet would be not to drive during ice or leave before it starts if you have to run all seasons.

I use Continental DWS in staggered fitment in NY and have been fine in our 1 inch snows. From user reviews I've seen this is the best performer in snow all season tire. No heavy accumulations this year but they won't do well in more than a few inches just like any other all season.

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....omCompare1=yes

Turbowned · 01-26-2013, 08:43 AM

All season tires are junk.

Junk!

Especially on a RWD car. You would see no improvement on snow, only a loss of performance in the dry.

#87 · 01-26-2013, 08:45 AM

Yes they are junk but in his location it might be a waste of money for snow tires for the amount of time he is going to see snow.

You will see an improvement in snow all season vs summer.

Draco-REX · 01-26-2013, 08:46 AM

All seasons will not help you on ice. If you're going to get a set of tires for the winter, get winter tires.

Grishbok · 01-26-2013, 08:48 AM

Blizzaks would be my recomendation for snow tires, but they wear quickly if driven on pavement often. Should be able to get 2 winters out of them.

Burninator · 01-26-2013, 08:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by #87

Best bet would be not to drive during ice or leave before it starts

This +a bajillion. Having grown up in north central IL and having to deal with the winters there, best thing you can do is get home before it gets bad. The best driver in the world still can't avoid the one driver near you that panics when their car starts to slip and they don't know how to handle the car to recover.

matthewl · 01-26-2013, 08:58 AM

Where I live it snows rarely. I'm old, have driven rear, front & all wheel drive cars for 50 years and know about the strengths and weaknesses of all season tires. I'd appreciate recommendations for a decent all season tire so that I can drive around in the light, infrequent snow I get here without the complete lack of traction that my summer tires provide. Thanks.

#87 · 01-26-2013, 09:00 AM

Continental DWS ^^

FRiSson · 01-26-2013, 09:02 AM

I've driven all-seasons in a front wheel drive sedan. Tire Rack does a pretty good service of rating the performance of tires in snow and ice. While all-seasons will never come close to matching a set of dedicated snow tires in snow and ice, the best of them offer performance that is a significant bump up from ordinary tires in light snow conditions. Your first effort should be to stay off roads until they are cleared, then to drive with a true granny mentality until roads are cleared. The FR-S's summer tires turn to bricks at under 40 degrees. For the record, I used the highly-rated Michelin Exalto A/S all-seasons on a fwd car through a New England winter, and they were pretty decent.

Burninator · 01-26-2013, 09:04 AM

I'm planning on replacing the stock tires with a pair of Kumho's like these:
Kumho Ecsta's on Tirerack

at some point. Their included road hazard warranty seems to be decent too.

Edit - the more I read about the Continentals, the more I am liking them ...

Chimpo · 01-26-2013, 09:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by #87

Any all season will be bad in snow and useless on ice.

Even snow tires aren't that great on pure ice but obviously a lot better than all seasons.

Best bet would be not to drive during ice or leave before it starts if you have to run all seasons.

I use Continental DWS in staggered fitment in NY and have been fine in our 1 inch snows. From user reviews I've seen this is the best performer in snow all season tire. No heavy accumulations this year but they won't do well in more than a few inches just like any other all season.

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....omCompare1=yes

I second the Conti's. Doesn't quite apply here, but I used them on a WRX year round with great success.

korinfox · 01-26-2013, 09:27 AM

I've had a different version of those Kumho tires, the Kumho Ecsta ASX on my IS300, and they were absolutely terrible in the snow. They were a bit low on tread (4/32nd) though, but they weren't great in the rain either. I've heard good things about the Continental DWS.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Burninator

I'm planning on replacing the stock tires with a pair of Kumho's like these:
Kumho Ecsta's on Tirerack

at some point. Their included road hazard warranty seems to be decent too.

Edit - the more I read about the Continentals, the more I am liking them ...

01-26-2013, 08:28 AM	#1
matthewl Member Join Date: Oct 2012 Drives: FR-S white 6 speed Location: Chapel Hill NC Posts: 21 Thanks: 6 Thanked 9 Times in 5 Posts Mentioned: 0 Post(s) Tagged: 0 Thread(s)	All season tires Just had our first snow (really ice) storm in Triangle area of NC and my FR-S was virtually undriveable. I know there have been other threads, but what I'm interested in, now that people have almost half a winter, is recommendations for mid-priced (around $150) all season tires for my car.

01-26-2013, 08:48 AM	#7
Grishbok Volunteer Fire and Rescue Join Date: Jul 2012 Drives: Ambulance... sideways. Location: No. VA Posts: 546 Thanks: 97 Thanked 350 Times in 166 Posts Mentioned: 2 Post(s) Tagged: 0 Thread(s)	Blizzaks would be my recomendation for snow tires, but they wear quickly if driven on pavement often. Should be able to get 2 winters out of them. __________________ It's more fun to drive a slow car fast, than a fast car slow.

01-26-2013, 09:04 AM	#12
Burninator Trogdor ftw Join Date: Jan 2013 Drives: Asphalt FR-S M/T Location: Taylors, SC Posts: 77 Thanks: 0 Thanked 15 Times in 13 Posts Mentioned: 2 Post(s) Tagged: 0 Thread(s)	I'm planning on replacing the stock tires with a pair of Kumho's like these: Kumho Ecsta's on Tirerack at some point. Their included road hazard warranty seems to be decent too. Edit - the more I read about the Continentals, the more I am liking them ... __________________ "Hell hath no fury like a driver stuck behind a Toyota Prius." Last edited by Burninator; 01-26-2013 at 09:16 AM.

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01-26-2013, 08:43 AM	#3
#87 I usually post drunk Join Date: Oct 2009 Drives: BRZ Location: NY Posts: 1,487 Thanks: 15 Thanked 490 Times in 231 Posts Mentioned: 1 Post(s) Tagged: 0 Thread(s)	Any all season will be bad in snow and useless on ice. Even snow tires aren't that great on pure ice but obviously a lot better than all seasons. Best bet would be not to drive during ice or leave before it starts if you have to run all seasons. I use Continental DWS in staggered fitment in NY and have been fine in our 1 inch snows. From user reviews I've seen this is the best performer in snow all season tire. No heavy accumulations this year but they won't do well in more than a few inches just like any other all season. http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....omCompare1=yes

01-26-2013, 08:45 AM	#5
#87 I usually post drunk Join Date: Oct 2009 Drives: BRZ Location: NY Posts: 1,487 Thanks: 15 Thanked 490 Times in 231 Posts Mentioned: 1 Post(s) Tagged: 0 Thread(s)	Yes they are junk but in his location it might be a waste of money for snow tires for the amount of time he is going to see snow. You will see an improvement in snow all season vs summer.

01-26-2013, 08:46 AM	#6
Draco-REX Corner Junkie Join Date: Feb 2012 Drives: 13 BRZ, 11 STI, 99 RS Location: Ohio Posts: 2,908 Thanks: 129 Thanked 1,519 Times in 701 Posts Mentioned: 11 Post(s) Tagged: 0 Thread(s)	All seasons will not help you on ice. If you're going to get a set of tires for the winter, get winter tires.

01-26-2013, 08:58 AM	#9
matthewl Member Join Date: Oct 2012 Drives: FR-S white 6 speed Location: Chapel Hill NC Posts: 21 Thanks: 6 Thanked 9 Times in 5 Posts Mentioned: 0 Post(s) Tagged: 0 Thread(s)	Where I live it snows rarely. I'm old, have driven rear, front & all wheel drive cars for 50 years and know about the strengths and weaknesses of all season tires. I'd appreciate recommendations for a decent all season tire so that I can drive around in the light, infrequent snow I get here without the complete lack of traction that my summer tires provide. Thanks.

01-26-2013, 09:00 AM	#10
#87 I usually post drunk Join Date: Oct 2009 Drives: BRZ Location: NY Posts: 1,487 Thanks: 15 Thanked 490 Times in 231 Posts Mentioned: 1 Post(s) Tagged: 0 Thread(s)	Continental DWS ^^

01-26-2013, 09:02 AM	#11
FRiSson Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2012 Drives: FR-S MT Location: New England Posts: 1,081 Thanks: 118 Thanked 483 Times in 241 Posts Mentioned: 2 Post(s) Tagged: 0 Thread(s)	I've driven all-seasons in a front wheel drive sedan. Tire Rack does a pretty good service of rating the performance of tires in snow and ice. While all-seasons will never come close to matching a set of dedicated snow tires in snow and ice, the best of them offer performance that is a significant bump up from ordinary tires in light snow conditions. Your first effort should be to stay off roads until they are cleared, then to drive with a true granny mentality until roads are cleared. The FR-S's summer tires turn to bricks at under 40 degrees. For the record, I used the highly-rated Michelin Exalto A/S all-seasons on a fwd car through a New England winter, and they were pretty decent.

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