Tire advice Atlanta area

[g e]

Originally Posted by Tcoat

The owners manual is very specific on not using chains on these. Don't mess around.

You sound like my wife.

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by g e

You sound like my wife.

The not using chains or no messing around part? A combination of both maybe?

[Jordanwolf]

Originally Posted by Tcoat

The not using chains or no messing around part? A combination of both maybe?

Just got fired again.

[Dadhawk]

Originally Posted by g e

I also posted this question in my regional forum but hoping to get more input here.

I live in metro Atlanta and am looking for advice on tires. My 2013 BRZ will need a new set in the next month or two. I don't track but enjoy some mountain driving and taking on some Curves in my short commute.

I prefer another set of summer tires but Atlanta area does have cold spells and snow events happen. For cold, I don't mind taking it easier in the turns until it warms up above 45. Snow obviously means no go.

I used to borrow my wife's Forester on snow days but that car is gone. Winter tires don't make much sense in this area.

Michelin PSS are atop the summer list and their AS/3+ for all season. I read on this tire thread the impressions of someone who went with as/3+ and lamented the loss of slot car feel he enjoyed with the summer tires.

Thoughts?

I've been very happy with these Bridgestone Ecopia EP422 Plus Tires. They are all seasons, I've gotten better mileage with them than the original Primacies, and I find they provide a better drive.

[Gunman]

Originally Posted by Jordanwolf

Just got fired again.

My boss called me in his office...wanted to know where to find more.

[g e]

Originally Posted by Tcoat

The not using chains or no messing around part? A combination of both maybe?

What's my wife doing on the internet again?

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by g e

What's my wife doing on the internet again?

Just a second I'll ask her.

She says hello and she will be home in a bit.

[ZDan]

Originally Posted by Dadhawk

I've been very happy with these Bridgestone Ecopia EP422 Plus Tires. They are all seasons, I've gotten better mileage with them than the original Primacies, and I find they provide a better drive.

Non-performance-oriented "Grand Touring" tires, so smoother ride. Despite being all-season tires, users rate them as poor for Winter/snow performance, 4.5/10, so beware of snow/ice...

https://www.tirerack.com/tires/surve....jsp?type=GTAS

[Dadhawk]

Originally Posted by ZDan

Non-performance-oriented "Grand Touring" tires, so smoother ride. Despite being all-season tires, users rate them as poor for Winter/snow performance, 4.5/10, so beware of snow/ice...

https://www.tirerack.com/tires/surve....jsp?type=GTAS

Wouldn't drive all-seasons in snow/ice normally (that's what the Suburban is for) but I have driven these and didn't have any particular issues. Then again, I also drove the Primacies in snow and managed to not crash.

[ZDan]

Originally Posted by Dadhawk

Wouldn't drive all-seasons in snow/ice normally (that's what the Suburban is for) but I have driven these and didn't have any particular issues. Then again, I also drove the Primacies in snow and managed to not crash.

I drove my old FC RX-7 and S13 240SX through several New England winters on summer performance tires and didn't crash either, but I wouldn't recommend it...

A "Grand Touring" all-season tire probably doesn't align with what most FR-S/BRZ/GT86 drivers want from tires.
That said, for those who *do* want the softer ride and 50k+ mile tire life of a lower-performance all-season tire should at least get one that has some all-season capability. IMO...

In the low-perf grand touring all-season category there are a LOT of tires rated better than the Bridgestone Ecopia EP422 Plus for everything (dry, wet, winter/snow, comfort, treadwear), many of them for less $$$ to boot.
https://www.tirerack.com/tires/surve....jsp?type=GTAS

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by Dadhawk

Wouldn't drive all-seasons in snow/ice normally (that's what the Suburban is for) but I have driven these and didn't have any particular issues. Then again, I also drove the Primacies in snow and managed to not crash.

I have now driven my AS/3+ tires in ice and light snow and will say that they suit my purpose of extending the period before switching to my winter tires perfectly. I did have to lighten up on my driving by a considerable amount though. They are not a substitute for winter tires up here but in light snow and patchy ice they worked very well. Probably be ideal for the application where snow and ice are rare but can occur.

[JazzleSAURUS]

I live in New England at a fairly high elevation with heavy snow fall, so I run dedicated winter tires.

That said, I've found that even the best all seasons are fairly mediocre compared to decent summers, but if snow is a rarity, and it's primarily cold temps you're battling, some decent all seasons on stock Subaru wheels may be a good choice for you.

In the summer, I run S-04's, which are a great summer tire, similar to the PSS.
In the transition months, late october through mid december, and mid march into april, I have a set of Forester wheels with some Continental DWS tires on them. The S-04's turn into total hockey pucks when it gets cold, and perform pretty poorly, (realistically like ANY/ALL summer tires do.)
Then I move to some oversize Altimax Arctics for winter.

See if you can get on a few local Subaru facebook groups, and ask around if anyone has some old stock wheels with all seasons on them. Odds are you can get a set with decent tires for really cheap, less than the cost of just tires, then you can run a proper summer tire on your summer wheels, and a decent all season which will be significantly safer, and you'll have the benefit of a dedicated tire for each set of weather you'll experience.

TCoats suggestion of the A/S3+ is decent, as it's as good as you're going to get if you have to have one tire, but it's still a compromise. To me it makes no sense to downgrade a car that handles and performs so well when there are such inexpensive wheel and tire packages to be had that can give you better performance year round.

The set I got is a set of 2010 Forester wheels, (the big 5 spoke alloys,) with a set of Conti DWS's and TPMS sensors for $200. A steal in my book, and when I went to pick them up, I was debating between these, and a set of 2013 WRX wheels, also with Conti DWS's for $350. Both great deals, but for how little mileage these would see, the extra $150 in my pocket was fine with me, even though I like the 2013 WRX wheels more.

Just my opinion!

[Dadhawk]

Originally Posted by ZDan

I drove my old FC RX-7 and S13 240SX through several New England winters on summer performance tires and didn't crash either, but I wouldn't recommend it...

Amen to that...

Originally Posted by ZDan

A "Grand Touring" all-season tire probably doesn't align with what most FR-S/BRZ/GT86 drivers want from tires.
That said, for those who *do* want the softer ride and 50k+ mile tire life of a lower-performance all-season tire should at least get one that has some all-season capability. IMO...

That's exactly why I bought them at the time. This is my commuter car, not a track car, so the tires made sense for me. Also, they peform fine when I do things like tackle the Tail of the Dragon last weekend, even with 40,000 miles on them.

Originally Posted by ZDan

In the low-perf grand touring all-season category there are a LOT of tires rated better than the Bridgestone Ecopia EP422 Plus for everything (dry, wet, winter/snow, comfort, treadwear), many of them for less $$$ to boot.

The interesting part is when I got them they were the highest rated tires in that category on the same site. That's been a couple of years back now though so always worth checking out the current details.

[g e]

So I finally purchased my new tires today from Costco. They have $70 off Michelin AND $.01 per tire install sale.

I got the Pilot Sport AS/3+. UHP all seasons.

I noticed on Tirerack today that Michelin Pilot Sport 4S are now available in OE size for BRZ. But Costco doesn't have them now and the guys at two locations did not know when or if they would be an offering..

My plan is to get the PS4S later when it warms up and use them May through September/October. Get some nifty wheels to go with them, too.

Thanks again to everyone who chimed in with their opinions. Very much appreciated/

Happy trails!

ge