So I was all excited about the fact that my new '05 CR MCS (am I getting the lingo right?) has some pretty nice tires (Dunlop DS9000), which are practically new.

Then came today.

Looks like I need some Blizzaks.

 

Blizzaks are fantastic in snow (the best!) but they suck in all other conditions. Considering here in DC, our snow doesn't come consistently and heavily, consider a more balanced snow tire like the Pirelli SnowSports. Still very, very good in snow, but also quite decent on dry pavement. Great balance for the DC region.

 

I'm enjoying my Dunlop Wintersport M3 tires I've had on since the beginning of November. Great traction snow, wet, dry.

 

Goodyear Eagle F1 all season. They transformed my MINI into a snow monster! They also perform well in all other conditions and have a treadwear rating of 420!

 

In my opinion, all seasons are only a good choice if you deliberately want to run the same tire all year around. The downside to making that choice is that you will always be compromising in performance limits. Depending on how you drive, that may not matter to you.

The instant a decision is made to have 2 sets (one for winter, one for the other 3 seasons), then all seasons don't make any sense at all, for either set.

 

Not to mention the fact they make your car a STONER!

 

MC2 has a couple of good articles about tyres in the current issue. Just an FYI.

 

As far as the same tire all year, the only time I ever felt the need for more performance than an all season could give me, I was at the track and using shaved Toyo RA-1s. Now that the MINI has been "retired" from track duty, my "stones" will be just fine!

 

Yea, after the snow we had thursday and the resulting humiliation I fully intend to either get a set of dedicated snow tires or get all seasons. I'm used to all seasons so they don't scare me as much as what I have now in the snow.