All season tires

[ZDan]

A lot of all-seasons are worthless in snow, but some are quite good, if not as good as dedicated winter tires in snow. For a lot of people, good all-seasons are a logical and reasonable choice.

Go to the Tire Rack website and check customer reviews before deciding and pick one with decent snow reviews.

We just got a set of General G-max S03 for wife's mazda3. No reason to get 2 sets of tires for that car, which definitely will see cold/wet conditions in Atlanta and could see some snow at some point.
The OEM Goodyear RSA tires were utter crap in snow, but we've had decent snow performance with others (Conti ExtremeContact, Dunlop Sport Signature).

That said, on a 55/45 rwd car like the 86, I think I'd go with the top-rated for snow Conti DWS.

[Nevermore]

When I had my 626 I never payed attention to what tires were on it and when I bought tires I just got them from Wal-Mart, whatever type they were selling and they worked fine all year round.

That being said, the all-season tires on the FR-S couldn't even get me in a snow covered driveway. This car needs snow tires.

[nedmundo]

I've also liked the Continentals, albeit on a FWD Saab. They should be okay for NC winters, and they are outstanding tires overall, but less performance-oriented all seasons would be even better in snow. My Acura came with Michelin HX MXM4, and they've been so good in snow that I bought a set for our Mazda. They last forever too. But IMO they aren't the best for steering feel. Years ago, I had a set of ultra-high performance all-season Sumitomos, and they were phenomenal in snow, but I did not like them otherwise. They delivered a hard ride, and did not seem very durable, but perhaps their newer models are better in these respects.

[matthewl]

Neighborhood tire dealer recommended Uniroyal GTZ all seasons or Goodrich Supersport all seasons. Any experience with either? And thanks again for the feedback.

[Xdragonxb0i]

Originally Posted by Nevermore

When I had my 626 I never payed attention to what tires were on it and when I bought tires I just got them from Wal-Mart, whatever type they were selling and they worked fine all year round.

That being said, the all-season tires on the FR-S couldn't even get me in a snow covered driveway. This car needs snow tires.

Do you drive in the snow?

[dsgerbc]

Originally Posted by #87

Any all season will be bad in snow

Originally Posted by Grishbok

they are not suited for winter snow

Not really true.

NEW all-seasons with decent thread and somewhat large thread blocks will be decent on snow/slush and better than somewhat worn winter tires.

Used decent A/S will be somewhat worse on the snow than winter rubber of similar thread depth.

And A/S tires will be quite a bit better than I&S winter rubber in the dry until it's very cold.

So if one keeps A/S tires for at most a season or two and gets new set every fall, what one really gives up is ice/packed snow traction. In NC I'd see zero reason to run winter rubber. Some A/S rubber for the winter, and decent summer tires for the rest of the year.

DWS are okay in the snow when new.
I'd also look at Michelin Pilot Exalto.

[#87]

Yes it is true.

A new all season might perform better than a snow with less than 4/32 but then you should be about ready to replace them anyway.

[Bmore_Raven86]

I have Continental DWS and we just had a 2-3 inch of snow here in MD, dont believe this idiots thats say All season tires are worthless..Trust me coming from some1 thats driven in the snow just take your time you'll be ok..

[OrbitalEllipses]

Originally Posted by Bmore_Raven86

I have Continental DWS and we just had a 2-3 inch of snow here in MD, dont believe this idiots thats say All season tires are worthless..Trust me coming from some1 thats driven in the snow just take your time you'll be ok..

Put 3,000 miles on them then compare to my 3,000 mile Dunlop WS3D. We'll see whose tires do better in MD slush/snow.

The thing about A/S tires is that people run them til they see the cords. A high tread depth A/S can be comparable to a snow tire, but with any significant wear they're crap. People like to replace tires ONLY when they have to, so for all intents and purposes the snow tire is superior.

[Bmore_Raven86]

Originally Posted by OrbitalEllipses

Put 3,000 miles on them then compare to my 3,000 mile Dunlop WS3D
We'll see whose tires do better in MD slush/snow.

I've put more than 3000 on this, to be exact 6000+ miles and making it out good..Maybe my next purchase will be a Dunlop just to see make comparison..

[DarkSunrise]

Originally Posted by matthewl

Neighborhood tire dealer recommended Uniroyal GTZ all seasons or Goodrich Supersport all seasons. Any experience with either? And thanks again for the feedback.

I've got BFG Supersport All-Season's on my GTI at the moment. They're not great in the snow, below average for all-seasons in my experience. The Continental DWS tires were noticeably better.

On the other hand, the BFG's offer relatively good feedback in the dry and are pretty responsive compared to most all-season tires. A bit harsh and noisy, but worth the trade-off IMO.

[Draco-REX]

Originally Posted by Bmore_Raven86

I have Continental DWS and we just had a 2-3 inch of snow here in MD, dont believe this idiots thats say All season tires are worthless..Trust me coming from some1 thats driven in the snow just take your time you'll be ok..

Take it from someone who has driven both all-seasons and winter tires in the snow. Compared to true winter tires, all-seasons suck.

If someone is going to get a second set of tires for the winter months, regardless of average snowfall, there's no reason to buy all-seasons. Winter tires are not just about snow. The compounds used in winter tires are formulated to operate in temperatures below 40F.

Additionally, by having both summer and winter sets you are halving the wear on both. So it is far better to have one set of tires that are great in the summer and another that are great in the winter than just one set that is mediocre in both.

[dsgerbc]

Originally Posted by Draco-REX

The compounds used in winter tires are formulated to operate in temperatures below 40F.

This makes 'performance winter' a choice (winter I&S suck on tarmac relative to A/S at temps way below freezing no matter what the compound is), but again, in NC I doubt even 'winter performance' tires are worth the price.

[dsgerbc]

Originally Posted by #87

Yes it is true.

A new all season might perform better than a snow with less than 4/32 but then you should be about ready to replace them anyway.

Have a read
Specifically compare MXM4 to PA3.
PA3 are _a hair_ better, when both are new.

Anyone who drives on snow tires when they have less than 6/32nds is stupid. Any tire with proper thread will be better than that.

Winter tires are not superior to A/S during winter, they are a different point in a compromise. Better somewhere, worse elsewhere. Not understanding that is dangerous.