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I'm moving from Los Angeles to Croatia in February and currently have the Yokohamas and they're a great value, but in Croatia it tends to rain a lot more and the roads are actually better than LA but a lot twists and I drive my 993 like I stole it. Any recommendations on a good wet weather tire with decent wear rate and good grip qualities?
Depends on where you will be located, whether or not you will drive in winter, and whether you are willing to deal with storage and swapping of an extra set of tires (preferably mounted on extra wheels).
If you want one tire that does it all, you may be well served to look at a good all-weather (not all-season) tire. After much research I landed on Nokian WRG3 for my son's Jetta, while he goes to university on Vancouver Island - fairly wet through the winter, can be snow, and warm summers. Don't know whether you will find them in the sizes you want for your 993 though - I could never find Nokian winter tires in the right sizes for mine.
Summer tires could be dangerous in the winter months, especially in cool mornings - traction goes way down below about 7 celcius. Forget it if you want to go skiing (some good hills in Croatia from what friends tell me - and they are good skiers).
Most winter tires aren't the best for wet stopping distance and not advisable for warm summers either.
All seasons are much better in the shoulder season than summer tires, and ok for light snow, but not adequate in heavier snow or icy conditions. Look for high performance all seasons, not ultra-high performance as the latter trade off wet handling. These might be ok if you will be in the warm southern coastal region and don't plan to do any skiing. They may not be legal for winter driving if you venture up into Austria, Germany or Switzerland however.
But if you plan to hit the ski resorts, or drive into Europe during the winter, you should look at all-weather tires. These showed up on the market a few years ago and offer impressive performance year round. Of course they are not going to be better than top of the line dedicated summer or winter tires for their respective seasons. However the WRGs apparently performed better than a number of dedicated winter tires in testing, and were almost as good as the best winter tires tested.
And stay away from the slivovitz when you're driving...
Depends on where you will be located, whether or not you will drive in winter, and whether you are willing to deal with storage and swapping of an extra set of tires (preferably mounted on extra wheels).
If you want one tire that does it all, you may be well served to look at a good all-weather (not all-season) tire. After much research I landed on Nokian WRG3 for my son's Jetta, while he goes to university on Vancouver Island - fairly wet through the winter, can be snow, and warm summers. Don't know whether you will find them in the sizes you want for your 993 though - I could never find Nokian winter tires in the right sizes for mine.
Summer tires could be dangerous in the winter months, especially in cool mornings - traction goes way down below about 7 celcius. Forget it if you want to go skiing (some good hills in Croatia from what friends tell me - and they are good skiers).
Most winter tires aren't the best for wet stopping distance and not advisable for warm summers either.
All seasons are much better in the shoulder season than summer tires, and ok for light snow, but not adequate in heavier snow or icy conditions. Look for high performance all seasons, not ultra-high performance as the latter trade off wet handling. These might be ok if you will be in the warm southern coastal region and don't plan to do any skiing. They may not be legal for winter driving if you venture up into Austria, Germany or Switzerland however.
But if you plan to hit the ski resorts, or drive into Europe during the winter, you should look at all-weather tires. These showed up on the market a few years ago and offer impressive performance year round. Of course they are not going to be better than top of the line dedicated summer or winter tires for their respective seasons. However the WRGs apparently performed better than a number of dedicated winter tires in testing, and were almost as good as the best winter tires tested.
And stay away from the slivovitz when you're driving...
Yeah that's exactly what I'm thinking, but for snow etc I'll be driving my diesel.
Yikes... That's a pretty big truck for the local roads especially in the old towns. Better keep a shoehorn in the toolkit.
LOL, I grew up as a kid there driving a tractor there, but you are correct parking for the diesel is going to be a pain, but I'm also bringing a Ford Focus problem solved.
Josh, and others running AD08s, I have heard good reviews with reject to grip, is noise a factor?
Any dislikes?
Nope, other than wearing out at a rate befitting a 180TW rated tire, no downsides. They're quiet & well mannered in daily driving. In terms of ride, they're firmer than the Michelin PS2 & SS but not to the point that they aren't appropriate for a street driven 993 (IMHO of course).
If anyone is thinking about trying these, I'd sell my nearly new 235/40-18 & 265/35-18 set. 2011 date codes, installed in 2013 & only used for a couple thousand miles since. $500 + shipping
Regarding All Season tires, the Conti DWS (newest version is called DWS06, for some odd reason) is amazing. Great in the snow and wet. (The chart is ratings from Tire Rack customers.)
They are OK in the dry, certainly nothing like a summer performance tire though.
I've had them on a couple DD's, and they are great for that, year round. I started that Miata up and drove it to work in 5 inches of snow, no problem.
I had PS2's and Sumi HTZIII's on my 993. I have Bridgestone S02A's on my 964. Of those three I definitely preferred the PS2's. Both the Sumi's and the bridgestones have a problem with flat spotting that I never experienced with the Michelins. I will be ordering up some Super Sports for replacements for the 964 in a couple of months.
I had PS2's and Sumi HTZIII's on my 993. I have Bridgestone S02A's on my 964. Of those three I definitely preferred the PS2's. Both the Sumi's and the bridgestones have a problem with flat spotting that I never experienced with the Michelins. I will be ordering up some Super Sports for replacements for the 964 in a couple of months.
Yes, the Super Sports are way better than the Sumis.
But they cost more than twice as much.
If money is not a factor, the best Michelins are the way to go.
Josh, and others running AD08s, I have heard good reviews with reject to grip, is noise a factor?
Any dislikes?
dislikes? yes. the price. other than that i have no complaints. i knew they were a grippy tire and would stick, and i was looking for a more modern tire to replace my PS2's. my main concern was would they make the car ride harder since i have my 10's set to 6 and 5. and would they be intrusively loud. they are neither. so far they are really good tires, but i'm more interested in how they perform vs. cost or wear rates.
when the 08R's are ready for replacement i'll probably try another brand (direzza, pilot SS's, re71, etc) so i can make fair comparisons amongst the brands. the new re71 seems to be a killer tire for performance but TR said they ride kind of harsh. i have a lexus for the cushy ride.
here's the thing. the tires are the ONLY thing that connects you to the road, and i don't think anything gets more attention, monitoring, or concern than the tires in F1.
I'm moving from Los Angeles to Croatia in February and currently have the Yokohamas and they're a great value, but in Croatia it tends to rain a lot more and the roads are actually better than LA but a lot twists and I drive my 993 like I stole it. Any recommendations on a good wet weather tire with decent wear rate and good grip qualities?
pilot SS's, and the continental extreme DW. heard nothing but good things about both tires, but would probably give the edge to the pilots which have a 300 TW rating.
when the 08R's are ready for replacement i'll probably try another brand (direzza, pilot SS's, re71, etc) so i can make fair comparisons amongst the brands. the new re71 seems to be a killer tire for performance but TR said they ride kind of harsh.
The Re-71R's are faster but more 'peaky' & louder, they howl somewhat at 40-50mph - like the old pilot a/s, if you've driven on those. Faster but more difficult to drive & trade-off NVH for performance. The AD08's are a better all-around choice if absolute max speed isn't a priority.
Pilot SS are softer & don't have the sharp turn-in of the others. They're the 'sport touring' tires of the ones you mention.
pilot SS's, and the continental extreme DW. heard nothing but good things about both tires, but would probably give the edge to the pilots which have a 300 TW rating.
I tried Conti DWs, and was not impressed. They're great for normal commuting with occasional spirited drives (especially if you prefer to slide around a bit, which can be useful for learning the dynamics of a car), but PSSs and Neovas are both much better tires. I just wait until they go on sale at Tire Rack. They do eventually go on sale.
The Re-71R's are faster but more 'peaky' & louder, they howl somewhat at 40-50mph - like the old pilot a/s, if you've driven on those. Faster but more difficult to drive & trade-off NVH for performance. The AD08's are a better all-around choice if absolute max speed isn't a priority.
Pilot SS are softer & don't have the sharp turn-in of the others. They're the 'sport touring' tires of the ones you mention.
great info. based on your comments i'd probably stay with my 08's. so far they've been a great tire.
I tried Conti DWs, and was not impressed. They're great for normal commuting with occasional spirited drives (especially if you prefer to slide around a bit, which can be useful for learning the dynamics of a car), but PSSs and Neovas are both much better tires. I just wait until they go on sale at Tire Rack. They do eventually go on sale.
yep, the SS's and 08R's are tops. i jumped on the 08's because a few years ago Jordan, who has a beautiful 993, took me for a spirited ride and he was running the AD07 at the time. not much feedback on this board about the direzzas though. the one thing i like about the Michelins are they generally seem to be 1 or 2 or even 3 pounds lighter per tire for the same size. that's significant.
10-18-2015, 02:10 PM
