AndyK

As I stare at my 17" winter rims and tires, piled neatly on top of each other, waiting for me to install them when it gets colder...swapping out my 18" twists and 3 year old Potenza Pole Position summer tires.

How bad would it be to just sell the winter rims, and get Conti DWS all season tires? They get such great reviews, if I'm not tracking my car, wouldn't they be fine? I'd love to keep my 18" twists on all year, and avoid the back breaking tire swap twice a year.

beentherebaby

All-seasons are best for No season. Only you can decide what works for you but there is no substitute for Winter tires in Winter weather. I bet my life on them.

JRMaroon

If you are considering All Season rubber, take a look at Bridgestone Potenza RE960AS Pole Position. I have no idea if they are serviceable in snow.

They perform well in rain and dry conditions. The tread wear has been excellent and they are quiet.

Jeff

roadsession

Andy,

I have friends with Nissan GT-R's, BMW M5's that run all seasons all year round. When they track their cars they put on slicks. I actually plan on doing the same.

The reasoning - which I believe - is that the modern all season tire is actually a better winter tire especially on an AWD car because it grips better than a pure snow tire when it's cold, but dry.

Where I live in Boston, it's mostly dry and very cold in the winter. When it snows hard, the city clears out the snow pretty quickly - so it's mostly either melted snow (wet roads) or dry cold roads - and a MODERN all season tire will stop quicker than a pure snow tire. It certainly won't have the grip of a pure snow tire when there's an inch or more of snow on the ground, and certainly not in the ice, but it definitely has the cold weather performance (pliability) during the freezing temps.

I think if you commute long distances in snow country, All Seasons are NOT a good idea for winter. You don't want to be in an unploughed highway white knuckling all the way home. But for a city slicker like me - I think it might work.

Now, onto which A/S tire. I bought the Continental DWS for the BMW. It really changed the handling of the car for the worst. The side walls are very mushy and the tires have made it downright boring to drive the BMW. Not dangerous - but just not as responsive.

I then talked to my other friends in other high performance cars and they all said the same, and they all went with the Michelin Pilot A/S - which is what I plan to do as well. It costs 40% - 50% more than the Contis but I think there may be a reason for it

Good luck with your decision.

BruceP

"Fine" is a personal call. I don't think that putting all seasons on is going to cause your car to explode in a ball of fire the first time you turn a corner. But it's a bit like putting rubber boots on an NFL wide receiver. Fine if you just want him to rake the lawn. Not so much if you want him to run, change direction and catch. So the real question is what you expect from your car, not whether all seasons are okay or not.

56truluck

This is a good all season tire. However, you will lose alot of performance in warm weather and they are not even close to a good winter tire if you have to drive in snow. I used theses on a 3 seires BMW and much preferred the winter/summer tire swtches. I now drive a 997c-2 with oem bridgestones and Michelin Alpins in the winter. I have been very pleased with this setup in the New York Metro area. We only get a relatively small amount of snow lately but even so, the car benefits greatly from having the right rubber for the season. Having said that, I do think that the tire you are looking at is a very good all season choice if you go that route.

911FM

Was tempted by the same choice. Seems that they are getting good reviews and great traction on light snow. Would put them on my 17s and purchase a separate set of 18s with track tires.

FM

AndyK

I guess I'm still better off doing the winter wheel switch.

Marc Gelefsky

I would think so, All seasons are a compromise on a performance car. I even have a winter/summer sets for the Cayenne

That said, I have the Conti's on the wifes Allroad and they are fine for her
also ran the Bridgestone AS960 PP's on my old Saab and they were a pretty damn good tire for an All season.

tooloud10

Sorry, but I think that's physically impossible. If there were a way for an all-season tire to be anything but a compromise in one or all seasons, that would immediately become the gold standard in tire technology. Again, I believe it's limited by physics, not technology.

Dennis C

We have the Contis on our Cayenne, but I wouldn't put them on the C4S.

AndyK

Maybe when I need new summer tires, I'll try the Potenza 960 AS all season tires, since they seem to be the better performing all-seasons?

roadsession

So I installed the Michelin Pilot A/S Plus last week. It was about $1400 installed.


Here's my impression:

1. It is NOT as planted in the dry as my Summer Toyo T-1R's, taking the same on ramp I do feel more squirm. BUT it is VEEERY close.
2. It gets near freezing temperature at night in Boston now. It feels much more stable. The tire remains pliable. The summer tires turned into hockey pucks
3. It is a MUCH more comfortable tire than the Toyo summer tires. Car absorbs bumps and expansion joints with ease.
4. Tad noisier

No snow yet - but will report back.

AndyK

Those are some expensive A/S tires! More comfy, but noisier, huh? Are you using them as winter tires, or did they replace your Toyos?

I'll probably install my winter wheels/tires this weekend, or next. Booo! Bring summer back!

V225

I have driven extensively in the snow on summer tires(c4s) and never once has the car felt loose or unsafe. I think you'll be fine with all seasons, as long as you don't push the car in unsafe conditions. Try it out and see how it is. If it doesn't work out, you can always go to snow tires next season.