Looking for a little advice from those who have gone from dedicated summers to a performance all-season as a three season tire. As we all know, spring and fall can be a bit indecisive, and we have to run winters forever... I'm thinking of ditching the Dunlop SP Sport 01s for the Continental ExtremeContact DWS'. I figure that they'll be good enough for how I drive, and they'll give me a much larger span of use over the course of a year. Also, if I do switch, I'll probably sell the Dunlops. Let me know if you're interested! (27k miles. lots of life left... I'll check tread depth tonight or tomorrow.) Thoughts?
The Dws is a solid all season tire. However as a performance all season I say no. It can't hold a candle to even a cheap summer tire as the sidewalls I found to be unbearably soft for summer spirited driving.
I put the DWS's on my fiancee's SUV and they are great all around tires but like Jason said they are not great if you are looking for summer performance tires (no all season will be). It sounds like for your purposes they will be fine tires though, you won't need a second set of wheels and they will do fine in snow and dry pavement so you won't get bit in the ass like all the people who switched to summer tires on the first sunny day of the year.
I'll still be running my snows when it's straight up winter, but am hoping they'll allow me to go to snows later in the fall and earlier in the spring. I just don't want to give up too much summer fun. I'm that fool who's already switched to summers and back to snows this year.
Ya, agreed, but I like exploring options. Just curious about what those who have all seasons think. To be honest, it probably just comes down to me being super eager to ditch the snows in the spring. Apparently I'm not a very patient person.
spring & fall performance all seasons! Summer & track find some nice slicks, winter cant go wrong with some Blizzaks. Your done you are covered for anything in Minnesota.
Question 1...are you doing any competitive events? If so, go with the most competitive summer tire that is legal for your class that you can find. But I'm assuming the answer is "no" to question 1. Therefore, I was just in the same boat as you for my Legacy DD. I have dedicated winter tires on my stock wheels, and I just had to pick "summer" tires for spring/summer/fall for my new summer wheels. Due to the random snow fall that we can get late in spring/early fall, I wanted a higher performance all season tire, that I could run in the snow if necessary, and not be screwed. This most recent Tire Rack test of Ultra High Performance tires was extremely helpful for me: http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/testDisplay.jsp?ttid=194 I ended going with the Yokohama Advan Sport A/S due to the solid reviews, stiffer sidewalls, and great price. I've had the DWS's in the past and yes, they do great, especially in snow, but those sidewalls were TERRIBLY soft! So I got my new wheels and tires, installed them, two days later (this was a week or two ago)...BOOM, snow! I couldn't have been happier with my selection of an all season tire vs. dedicated summer! The Advan Sport A/S's did just fine on the snow and they have been good in the dry - not loud, nice stiff sideways, not too harsh over bumps. Haven't driven them much in the rain yet. So unless you need a competitive summer tire, I would recommend a high performance all season tire. Those should do better in rain vs a dedicated summer tire as well.
Correct, no racing for me. If you want a good alternative to racing cars, I'll introduce you to racing boats. (http://www.wyc.org) I drive my car because it's fun, safe, and gets me around in pretty much anything. Don't get me wrong, I like a good spirited drive, but ya, I'm not racing. @TMF, your experience is what I'm looking for. I just want a solid tire I can use until I really have to put the dedicated snows on. Part of me feels like I'm giving up some fun, but ya, it's almost worth it given the convenience and ability to handle a little snow. We'll see how it goes though...
Yea, unless you're driving like a around town, you shouldn't be exceeding the grip level of a good ultra performance all season outside of the track!
What is the issue with just snows and performance summer tires? Contrary to popular belief, you can run a winter tire into much warmer temps than most people believe. I'll run my winters until the temps stabilize above freezing. This includes night time temps. Same for in the fall, once the temps start to dip below freezing, your summer performance tires will not work well. I haven't noticed accelerated wear on my winter tires because of this. If you are looking for a great set of summer performance tires, and aren't concerned with class specification, look at the Federal 595 RS-R tires. These are on par with the Dunlop ZIIs at half the cost. They are only listed as a 140 treadwear, but wear just as good as any high performance summer tire. I've been running these for 4 years. http://www.onlinetires.com/products...%2F40-17+federal+595+rs-r+racing+90w+bsw.html
It's a common misconception that the instant it's over 33 degrees your winter tires will suddenly melt off the wheel. You'll be fine running them until the temps settle down.
We run the Conti Extreme DWS 225/45/17 on our 03 WRX. No overly aggressive driving. I like them, even though we run dedicated snows through the winter. They seem to last a very long time, are quiet and their effectiveness in those transition weeks/months between hot n cold or vice versa is simply outstanding. We were recently blessed to have picked up a brand new set of 4 of the aforementioned on CL for $400. Guy living on Lake Minnetonka ordered the wrong size and just wanted them gone...cost him $600 two days earlier
the DWS is a great tire, but can have issues with the relatively soft sidewall. I personally enjoyed them on my 2001 maxima, but only had 1 summer with the car before i sold it.
During the winter I picked up a set of stock WRX wheels for cheap. Plan is to paint them and get some "summer" tires for them as I wasn't super stoked on the performance of the bigger 18's I got last year (guessing weight difference might be the issue). Anywho, since I'll be running the stock 16" wheel, is there anything with a stiff(er) sidewall when we're talking that much height? I'm thinking 225/50/16 for a size (keeps the same diameter as stock, a little wider of course). Was checking into Cooper Zeon RS3-A's (step dad can get Cooper's at cost, I guess) because they're fairly cheap. However, read a bunch of mixed reviews. Any suggestions for a budget friendly tire? Thanks.
I just picked up the new Continental Control Contact sport A/S. Only available at discount tire. Supposed to be the improved design over the DWS. So far I like them, but it's only been 2 weeks.
I ran the RS3 Coopers for a few years in 225/45/17. But i'm not sure about the 16's or the RS3-A's. Are those an all season?
From Cooper - "The award-winning RS3-A is an all-season, ultra high performance tire combining dynamic handling and control with a quiet, comfortable ride and progressive styling." It's crazy how many differing reviews there are about them. Some say quiet, lasted a long time. Some say noisy, hardly lasted at all. Some say good in snow, some say terrible (irrelevant here, as I've got dedicated snows). Otherwise they have an RS3-S: The ultra high performance RS3-S is designed for a superior blend of dry and wet traction featuring responsive tire construction to provide world-class grip. They LOOK a lot more like a summer-only tire but the mileage warranty is terrible (like 20,000 or something) and the smallest wheel size they make is 17, so I couldn't even consider them if I wanted to. Those two make up Cooper's extensive "Performance" lineup. I'm not at all opposed to going a different route brand-wise. Usually score my tires on craigslist but this is proving to be a harder size to find secondhand.
I run the RS3-A's 225/45/17 on our 05 lgt and for the past 15k miles they seem fine. No noticeable road noise or wear issues. They seem to stick fairly well when I need them to.
Ive got falken sinceras on mine and theyre a all season tire since I have only 1 set of rims for now, but they handle pretty well and they were pretty cheap too for a 50k mile warranty on them. I think they were like $86 a tire. I like them a lot so far and I havent had any problems with them.
Sorry to resurrect an old thread, but I felt it better to put my question here than make a new one. Has anyone tried the Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3+ tires? How would they compare to the OE Dunlop Sport Maxx RT? I don't race or track my '17 WRX, nor do I ever plan to. I may do some HPDE classes in the upcoming year, but not with the intention of racing. My car is a daily driver and I do not drive aggressively. I'd like a tire that allows me to do a little more spirited driving when the opportunity presents itself, but still be all-purpose enough to handle a little snow/ice/slush if I don't get the opportunity to get the winter rubber on in time.
I have the pilot sport A/S 3 and they will not see any snow OR ice, I hope. Winters will be on in time for cold temps.
How do you like the A/S 3 tires? Being all-season, I'd imagine they would also have a longer tread life than summer performance tires?
they hold up good but they are still a performance tire, just A/S. I would get them again. Ready for a new set next spring.
I have Yokohama YK580's on mine (it's a Foz, but still), and they have awesome grip for what I use them for all year round. Some give on the tires in the corners, but mine are 55's. Sure, not as good as a dedicated snow tire, but didn't have one issue last year. My old Spec V came with BF Goodrich KDW2's on it, and those things were super grippy, but road noise was absolutely terrible. Got rid of them as soon as I could. Ended up sliding into a curb when temps dropped to around 35 in October a few years ago (summer tires suck in cold weather). And best of all, the Yokos are absolutely quiet. One of the best sets I've owned. H and R ones are rated to 60k miles, Z rated are to 45k.
