I'm leaning on getting all season tires for my '11 mcs. I live in FL and I just hate the oem tires. Why all season? Because it rains A LOT here. Anyways I like the Dunlop a/s SP tires so far. Does anyone have them? If u don't what u have and what do u recommend for all season tires?

 

Rain isn't a reason for all season tires, summer tires may be good in the wet, depending on the model. You need all seasons for cold (less than 45F maybe) or snow, I doubt you'd see that in Florida.

For good in the wet summer, try Contintal DW tires (we have those on the JCW). For all seasons, Continental DWS tires are a good compromise, not so much dry grip, but pretty awesome in the wet (we have those on Tristan).

 

+1^ Do not waste the money on all season tires for Florida. Get something like the Continental DW tire. You will be very happy.

 

You live in a tropical climate and are buying all-seasons. This is heresy. You drive a MINI. Buy a ultra high performance summer tire. They are just fine in the rain.

 

I'm running Michelin Pilot AS+ ultra high performance all seasons and love them.

 

I bought a set of 215/45-17 BFG g-Force Comp2 tires.

http://www.discounttire.com/dtcs/fin...19423&sw=false

 

All season tires on in MINI in Florida, is about as dumb as an average person buying an all wheel drive car in Florida.

 

In Florida, it is a wet/dry issue. You want a tire that you can run in any given weather situation and for us that means wet and dry. Unlike you guys in the north, we do not need winter tires. We use one set of tires year-round. Now, if the OP is an area of Florida that seldomly gets any rain, he could opt to choose to get a dry traction tire only. I do not know of too many areas in Florida that qualify, so an all-weather tire is of the essence.

 

Unless I misunderstood what you said, you are confusing all season tires with summer tires that perform well in wet and dry conditions (what you are calling all weather). Those are not all season tires. I agree with other previous posts that all seasons are not necessary in Florida.

 

^^

 

Unless you're driving in cold weather, listen to the above posts about summer only tires. All-season tires are a temperature related purchase, not due to wet weather. I'd look into a high-performance summer tire. These are good in temps down to about 45 degrees and will performa well in wet weather.

What you are probably thinking of are those tires like Michelin Cups that Porsche will use on things like the GT3, where they have tiny sipes cut into the tread to make them street legal, but are not good enough for rainy weather. If you look at reviews on Tirerack, you'll see how well most high performance summer tires actually fair in the wet. I have actually used Summitomo HTRZ3's at the track during a rain-filled high performance driving event and was able to turn in some great lap times with no issues. I'd imagine if they hold up at track speeds in the rain, then a wet highway shouldn't be an issue.

 

I'm running Continental DW and they are great. The BFG's are very similar and probably a tiny bit better.

Hey MinMin, how are those 215's working for you? Im still using 205/45

 

Yokohama S.Drives are great in the dry and great in heavy rain as well. It rains a ton here (Vancouver Island, think Seattle's weather.) and they have been awesome.

 

Thanks folks, I will most likely invest my money in summer tires... Don't know which yet but I'll look on tirerack for ratings and reviews.

 

I found them to be a bit suspect in damp conditions.

 

I had the Mich AS+ A/S tire and they were ok, not quite as grippy as a summer tire in turns. My tires to replace my OEM run flats just came in last night. I ended up going with the Michelin Pilot Super Sport, they are a Max Performance Summer tire with a 30k mi warranty and will be just fine in our climate.
Read up on the reviews...http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....eMake=Michelin

I ordered mine from Costco because they are 163.99 ea and I got the $70 off a set deal. Normally I would tell you to talk to Alex at Tire Rack but their price was a bit higher ($10/tire plus shipping).

 

I've run the S. Drives before but found the Hankook V12 Evo and Continental DW's much better overall.

 

As a matter of fact I just installed continental DW's on my mcs. Drive is smooth I love them. I'm also selling my old winter tires that came with my car they are Dunlop Sp Sports so check the marketplace!

 

Can I ask what you liked better about the Hankooks and Contis, respectively? I'm in the market for new tires this Spring, and I'm open to suggestion. Looking for grip, turn-in, and ride quality, in that order.

 

I was just going to say my S.Drives with under 5k miles are awful in the rain. If I'm on the freeway in a medium-strength storm, I slide all over the place if I go faster than 50. On the streets they are fine but I avoid the highway entirely as it gets a little frightening with these tires.

I used to live in Orlando and know how heavy the rain can get. I'd never even consider these S.Drives for that kind of weather.

 

That's strange, I haven't had any issues highway driving in the wet, and it rains a lot here. They seem to grip very well and I've never had any hydroplaning or sliding. Even aggressive driving in the wet has been fine.

 

I put on my Pilot's just about two years ago. I love them, too.

 

Wait, All Wheel Drive is not just for winter driving, it will also out perform any FWD in the rain and dry. Audi proof that in European racing.

 

Grip is WAY better with the Hankook and Continental. Turn in is better with the Yoko than the Hankook, on par with Conti, maybe even a touch better. Ride, I would say Conti, Hankook and then Yoko. Also, I found the Yoko's squealed a LOT when reaching the limits. The Hankook less so and the Conti's, not until the bitter end, which means I can play harder without attracting unwanted attention. Of the three tires, the Conti's were my favorite.

 

Thanks for the review! I might give the Contis a shot the next time around. They're on a closeout sale at TireRack actually, maybe I should just snap them up.

I agree that the Yokos do squeal at the limits.