Bryan Welch

Today in Iowa, my 944S2 convinced me the eight year old BF Goodrich Z rated tires just aren't safe on icy roads. I know, I've been putting this off, driving today was a silly idea.

Searching posts didn't yield much, but what do you think of these choices from Tirerack?

1. Continental ContiExtreme Contact ($324)

2. Dunlop SP Sport 5000 Asymetrical ($416)

3. Michelin Pilot Sport A/S ($694)

A friend said to go ahead and consider H-rated tires since I only do minor autocross events. Does this make sense?

thanks,
Bryan

Dave

For street use and just a few AX events, I don't know if I'd be willing to spend $694 for the Michelins instead of $324 for the Conti's, The Michelins are simply NOT twice the tire.

gleamingred944

For ice, I recommend Nokian Q's if any jurisdictions you drive in prohibit studs (Ontario does), the studded equivalent if you can use them. The best ice tire I've ever had. But, you need something else, one with deeper treads, if you will be dealing with deep snow. They're Porsche quality, but also Porsche price :-(

If you enjoy driving, there's no way one set of tires can do both winter and summer.

Matt H

For a good all-round Winter tire check out our Bridgestone Blizzak. I have loads of last years in almost every concievable size, if you need a deal.
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Manning

I wouldn't mind a deal

I tried all seasons the first year I drove this car through the winter and found they are useless in snow and ice. Must use winter snow and ice tires. I keep two sets of wheels for this purpose. I am currently using Michilin Alpin X with 4 seasons on them and it is clearly time to change them. My fiance has Blizzaks on her car and they are superior to the Michilins in my opinion.

ACG

I back Matt up on his Blizzak recommendation. It is a excellent tire for the icy conditions (note: it does wear alot a little quicker than standard all-season tires).

Matt H

Manning - what sizes do you need?

ACG - any winter tire wears a lot quicker than an A/S tire. They dont last for crap when the sun comes back out either :>)
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Dave

In spite of my previous post, I agree with the other comments that 2 sets of tires is the best answer. Personally, I have Bridgestone RE-730s on 16" Fuchs for 3 seasons, Michelin Arctic Alpins on 15" PDs for winter and Kuhmo V700s on CCs for fun . If it warms up this afternoon, I'll be putting the winter tires on today.

MartinT

Dave,

Any problems with having the difference from 15" to 16" with allignment. I've got 15" PDs with newish Yokohama AVS Intermediate/ ES100 and have found a set of used 16" wheels with snows.

Or is it really only a matter of the radius?

Thanks

Martin

Dave

I hadn't previously worried about the alignment, it had always been either "stock" alignment or "way out of" alignment, now it's "not even close to" stock(2.1 deg neg camber, etc). Since redo-ing the alignment I have only used the summer set (205/55 & 225/50-16) and the sticky set (225/50-15), there are no obvious problems with either set-up. I don't remember which set was on the car when the alignment was done. I guess I'll find out how the snows (195/65-15) work with this alignment in the next couple weeks!

RMills944

DO NOT GET THE SP5000!! I have these and would like to GIVE them away now. They are absolutely aweful in everything except dry weather. The problem is that they last forever, and I hate to waste 1/2 the rubber right now. I'm looking at the ES100 from Yokohama though - all the yoks I've had were great!

Even my A008P Yokahamas were much better than the SP5000 in the rain!!

Rally Guy

I have winter rallied for years on Blizzaks - asking them to do FAR more than anyone ever would in regular street driving (watch the WRC Sweden event for more insight) and strongly recommend them. The WS-50s are hard to beat. ALthouigh ANY of the BLizzak line are great inthe snow and on the ice.

The cost of a GOOD snow tire pays for itself the very first time yoiu avoid the armco - or another car.

Don't scrimp and become a statisitc.

RK

Matt H

One more time, I have a number of discontinued Blizzaks in my Denver warehouse. I can make exceptionally low price deals on most of these. Sizing ranges from 155/80/13 to 235/40/18. If you need some let me know and I will work out a method of getting them to you. When I say low, I mean like, 30-40 dollars each, some more some less.
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MartinT

Matt H,

Whats the cost of shipping on tires like for 4 tires to Zip 19128.

Martin

Matt H

They have tended to run about 12-14 dollars per with Fedex
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