A few basic questions

[soundman98]

Originally Posted by saltywetman

any place that have sustained sub zero winter days lasting months with more than 1" of snow should be driving on winter tires. It's not that all seasons aren't doable, but it's an added insurance to give yourself peace of mind.

It's proven that winter tires are significantly better than all seasons when it comes to stopping which is the most important reason to get winter tires. Even with winter tires there's no guarantees. If the roads are icy/snowy and a guy ahead of you with winter tires chooses brake instead of running a late amber. Having your own winters could be the difference between stopping in time or rear ending the guy ahead of you.

You can only control your own car and getting winter tires optimizes your control of your own car for the conditions. Driving without is just playing russian roulette and essentially gambling each time you are out on the road. I've lost count to how many suv's i've seen in the ditch during heavy snow days because they likely thought 4wd gives them the safety net to allow them to get by on all seasons.

i've never been in a ditch. just sayin'.

[The Red One]

Don’t have to “think” about IF 4season are “good enough” around here.

We got winter tires mandated (forced onto us) due to people who were
too cheap to properly equip their vehicles with the proper winter boots.

[MuseChaser]

A quick followup to my previous post re/ all-seasons making winter driving possible for this car...

I did state that true winter tires are better, and they are... appreciably. If I was still forced to commute daily regardless of weather, I would have put the winter tires on. I don't have to do that anymore, so if the weather was truly awful I just didn't drive or I took my wife's urban assault vehicle. I was just surprised at how well the all-seasons handled snow and slush when I did take the FRS.

[Spektyr]

Originally Posted by soundman98

simply put, they're not. they were selected specifically for their grip characteristics, and likely to make meeting specific emissions targets.

they don't grip great, but very predictably lose grip. they're a playful tire.

but my bfg comp s a/s (all seasons), gripped about 30-ish percent better. the comp 2 a/s+ that i recently changed to, well, it's very difficult to even slide the car anymore. i've got mixed feelings about the loss of playfulness in the tires, but they stick like glue, and they're all seasons for almost a 1/4 the cost of the oem tires.

That's a really interesting perspective. I definitely understand where the mixed feelings would come from on that. That raises the dilemma: do I make the dealer sweeten the deal with a set of those tires instead of the OEM, or do I "play" with the OEMs and then buy some comp 2's for better safety.

[Ultramaroon]

Originally Posted by Spektyr

That's a really interesting perspective. I definitely understand where the mixed feelings would come from on that. That raises the dilemma: do I make the dealer sweeten the deal with a set of those tires instead of the OEM, or do I "play" with the OEMs and then buy some comp 2's for better safety.

I'm on my third set of hand-me-down OEMs because

1. They've fallen into my lap.
2. They are great tires for feedback and fun factor.

I love them for playing in threshold at legal speeds.

[86-75309]

The climate in my area features only about 5 months of the year where temperatures are reliably above 40F. There are about 4 more months where snow is uncommon, but cold weather (wet or dry) is common. And then there's the depths of winter, where you're lucky to get a few days here and there where the roads are clear and the forecast is favorable. I'm considering swapping the OEM summer tires for some high performance all seasons so I can take advantage of the those days when it's cold but the roads aren't snow covered. When the conditions are bad, I'll drive my AWD Golf Sportwagen that wears winter rubber 5 months of the year. Now I just need to find some extended-season tires that are as playful, predictable and forgiving as the OEM Primacy HPs.

[soundman98]

Originally Posted by Spektyr

That's a really interesting perspective. I definitely understand where the mixed feelings would come from on that. That raises the dilemma: do I make the dealer sweeten the deal with a set of those tires instead of the OEM, or do I "play" with the OEMs and then buy some comp 2's for better safety.

I would really suggest learning the car with the oem tires if you can. They perfectly accentuate the cars characteristics, and even allow you to very easily find the limitations of yourself, and the car at perfectly legal speeds, as ultra said.

For the time I burned through them, they were great tires for the car. But honestly, the 2 biggest detractors was the $400+/ea replacement cost(I've never bought tires over $150/tire), and as 86-75309's experience, I have a lot of non-snow but cold days that they simply don't work in.

If I could get a set for cheap/ free, they would be worth keeping around to play with in the summer.

But all that said, after learning with those tires, I'm happy moving on to something that grips better. But I wouldn't be able to appreciate the chassis as much had I started on the bfg Comp's.