OK, just got back from MSSD and it's become apparent that I need new tires on my R53. Before you guys flame me for posting in the wrong forum, please know that I was hoping to get the opinion of the larger number of seasoned vets that frequent this page rather than the Tires/Wheels Page, mainly because I need to ake this decision ASAP. Here's my newbie question:
I'm having a hard time deciding on which tires to get. I'm considering either the Goodyear Eagle Assymetric or the Conti ExtremeContact DW. OR, do you guys recommend something else.
Driving habits:
- I live in northern Indiana so, I'd like an All Weather tire, but it's NOT an absolute necessity.
- I hit the Dragon at least once a year, but otherwise the roads are pretty straight around here (albeit bumpy).
- Currently I'm running stock Run Flats, but I'm moving away from Run Flats on this change.

I'd just like to know your thoughts...

 

Are you far enough north to get lake effect snow? If yes, then go with the Conti's DW and a set of snows.

If not, then go with the Conti's DWS.

As soon as I switch over to winters my run flats are gone and I'm going with the Conti' DW next spring when I change back out.

 

I have the Conti DW tires and they really are a great tire. However with that said, they are a performance summer tire and shouldn't be used when snow or ice is on the ground. So I'll second Ords' recommendation.

 

I just ordered a set of Kumho Ecsta 4X for mine. They replaced the Ecsta ASX, which seemed to be pretty well reviewed as an All Season tire, and I liked the price better than the Conti DWS, saved me around $15 per tire. I'll post up a more thorough review once they are mounted and I have some driving time on them.

 

Continental ExtremeContact DWS XL is what I put on one of our MINIs and it's a good tire. Nice ride, decent handling (real snow tires for real snow though) and it's quieter than the Kumho tires (they seemed to get louder with age)

Just another $.02

 

Thanks to all. We do get quite a bit of lake effect up here, so maybe should go with the DWS's... I certainly appreciate all of the feedback.

 

If you can at all swing it, run dedicated summer tires and dedicated snows.

I used to run high performance all-seasons (Falken Ziex ZE-512/712/912, Kuhmo ASX, etc.) but switched to snows and never looked back. It's not like you "lose" the investment, because snows last several seasons and it's wear & tear you are not putting on your summer tires when you use the snows.

Even the best high-performance all-season can't do snow near as well as a snow tire, and the best high performance all-season can't match a summer tire.

 

Well, it depends on what one's goals are B3ND3R. For instance, we have 2 cars. On the Prius we have A/S and Snows. On the Mini I will be getting Summers and A/S's.
Why?
Who knows where you will be when you need something. Snows are NO-FUN on non-snow just as much as summers run just as bad on snow. If we expect heavy snow, the snows go on the Prius and "here we go!" Otherwise, the A/S's are fantastic with everything else, including light, unexpected snow. When the snow season is surely over, the summers get on the Mini and the Michelin A/S's stay on the Prius.
Although I partially agree with you, it is not as black and white as many on here make it seem! Have fun, be creative, and do what makes sense.
One more thing, the Conti DWS are a very soft-sidewall'd tire in the 16". Don't know about the 17's, but from past experiences in same tires different sizes, I'm sure they are still soft.

aaron

 

OK, I have to seriously disagree with these generalizations.

Tire compound is always a trade-off:

• softer material = better overall grip in warmer temperatures/less overall grip in cooler temperatures; shorter tread life
•harder material = less overall grip in warmer temperature/more grip in overall cooler temperatures; longer tread life.
•all-seasons seek the middle ground = medium compound/medium grip/medium tread life

This is basic physics. For something to be "sticky" it has to stick to something. When it does, it leaves a portion of its material behind. The "stickier" it is the more material it leaves. All that black on the concrete at race track isn't from drivers burning out/locking up brakes, it's tire material from hyper sticky (and therefore hyper soft) tires.

Therefore:

1.) Summer tires on snow = absolutely motionless. Zero traction. I know, I've tried it in 3 different cars (e34 M5, NA Miata, and MINI).

2.) Winter tires perform better than all-season tires below about 40 degrees. That's because even UHP all-season tires start to lose traction due to the relatively softer tire compound.

3.) Nobody races on UHP all-seasons; not enough grip. In fact, nobody even races on summer high performance tires, although they are closer to race compounds in their material.

4.) For a practical comparison, go to a big tire store. Take a look at the tires rated "80K mile passenger tires". You know, the ones your grandma puts on her Buick or your dad puts on his Explorer. Don't even look at the tread pattern, just feel the tire compound. It will be rock hard. It will also feel like you are driving on marbles if you put it on a performance car. Now, go look at the summer performance tires, again just feeling the compound. It will be much more compliant, but you may only get 20K miles out of it.

In conclusion, to state the all-seasons are "fantastic" on everything else simply isn't accurate. They are a good compromise tire, but they don't do winter/cold weather as well as a dedicated snow tire (like Blizzaks, X-Ice, Hakkas, etc.) and they certainly don't do aggressive summer/wet weather as well as a dedicated high performance summer tire.

My original point still stands as well. Although you pay more up-front, you can actually extend tire life going the summer/snows route. My experience has been that snow tires last longer than all-seasons, due to their harder compound. I have obtained 5 - 7 seasons on a single set, so 60K miles or so compared to 40K tops for a UHP all-season. And summer tires can get 20K on them. So, 80K on both sets of tires (snow/summer) costs about the same (maybe even less) than ponying-up for two sets of UHP all-seasons and the individual performance is better.

 

Good logic!
You are a very thorough person, aren't you?

aaron

 

Hey Nate how was MSSD, cant wait for spring, need to check out Tina's new ride.

So much for thread hijack, back to tires..

 

Hey Jeff. We had a great time. It just makes us look forward to MOTD that much more. We really can't wait. This year we may even go down a day or two early.
By the way, do you remember Don and Steph (our friends from Va)? Well, together we're going to host a Thursday run to the Biltmore Estate. We did all the leg work while we down there for MSSD. It should be a great ride. Make sure you sign up for it when you register for MOTD...

Hey B3ND3R, thanks for the write up and advice. I'm going to try and do the dedicated snow tire route like you suggested.