[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by ZDan

There is a pretty big difference in wet/dry capabilities of "Performance Winter" tires vs. studdable/non-studdable winters.
They give up very little in terms of snow/ice performance while giving much better wet/dry grip vs. the best non-"performance" winter tires.

https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests...y.jsp?ttid=181
https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests...y.jsp?ttid=193

Performance Winter tires:
50-0 mph Stopping (ft) wet, dry; cornering (g) wet, dry
Bridgestone Blizzak LM-60 136.3, 94.2; 0.58, 0.84
Dunlop SP Winter Sport 4D 105.9, 91.9; 0.75, 0.88
Michelin Pilot Alpin PA4 105.4, 88.8; 0.76, 0.89
Pirelli Winter Sottozero 3 106.9, 85.6; 0.78, 0.90

Studless ice and snow Winter tires
50-0 mph Stopping (ft) wet, dry; cornering (g) wet, dry
Bridgestone Blizzak WS80 128.0, 88.2; 0.61, 0.87
Dunlop Winter Maxx WM01 159.4, 97.6; 0.54, 0.81
Michelin X-Ice Xi3 131.4, 93.2; 0.63, 0.84
Yokohama iceGuard iG52c 148.8, 94.7; 0.55, 0.81

Summary

Compared with Studless Ice & Snow winter tires, Performance Winter / Snow tires deliver better handling on clear roads along with improved wet and dry traction in winter's cold temperatures. The tradeoff comes with modestly lower ice and snow traction. But when winter weather strikes, Performance Winter / Snow tires still deliver better performance than the best all-season tires.


There is still a compromise. There is always a compromise. As stated they do beat the AS tires by a mile.