All Season Tire recommendation

There has been numerous threads on the best tires for street, AX and DE tire combinations or track tires. Anyone have a recommendation for all season tires driven in spring, summer and fall of NE weather? Reason for A/S is that, when weather permitting, I will be taking the car out in the winter to keep all the parts moving. Thanks

I have a different car than yours, but I just bought 4 new Pirelli Pzero Nero M+S tires and they "handled pretty good" on my first DE (instructors comments, not mine). I like the M+S designation (which stands for "Mud & Snow," because I drive my 88 911 year round, even in 6" of snow. Also, these tires we cheap: $450 shipped! If you wanted to step up to a really nice tire, the Michelin Pilot Sport A/S are probably some of the best all seasons, but they are about $750 shipped. EDIT: these prices are for my car, so yours might be different. Check the Tire Rack for your car...

Most folks will recommend you run summer tires in the summer and winter tires in the winter. All season tires are a compromise in all seasons that most around here don't like to make.

Thanks murphyslaw1978

All season tires are a compromise tire. They are not great summer or winter tires. Do you really want to go cheap (literally) where the rubber meets the road? I'd recommend summer tires for summer and winter tires for winter. Just my $0.02.

Ray, question is: Should I have one set of winter tires just to move fluids in the car during the winter which will be once or twice per month weather permitting? I have a DD which is AWD. If this is my only car, then I would get everything and then some but I have storage space limitation.

If you are really going to store the car in the winter and only take it out on nice days when the temperature is above freezing and not really push the car hard, you can get by on your summer tires. You can even take it out on nice days when the temperature is below freezing, but just understand you are rolling essentially on marbles. As long as you are going mostly in a straight line without any extremes in the corners or a need for a real panic stop, you can accomplish your mission of warming the car up and getting all of the fluids to circulate. Just understand that if for any reason you get caught in ice or snow, you may have very little traction with your summer tires. I know some guys that were thinking of doing the limited runs and then decide to go somewhere with the car and then the weather changes. Big problems trying to get home. Of course the real question is why bother to own a Porsche if you aren't going to drive it. These cars are meant to be driven. They last longer and run better when they are used.

There is nothing wrong with not driving your Porsche in the winter blizzards when you've got another car. And yes, you can get by with summer tires. And yes, the ideal way is to purchase winter tires for the winter, summer tires for the summer, and track tires for the track. Ray had a good point: don't put cheap tires on your car. I should have not said that mine was "cheap," I should have said they were a great "value." But....this post was about A/S tires. My advice is to go on Tire Rack's website ( http://www.tirerack.com/tires/survey...sp?type=UHPAS) . There you will find a neat little graph of surveys that will show you how each tire performs. I think this is the best method for picking tires. Note: My all season tires hold better on the race track than some summer-only tires, so that's why it was a good value for me.

If that's the case I wouldn't bother changing. However, I'd keep the summer tire on (rather than all seasons). My 911 is my DD so I change the wheels/tires with the season. My Boxster rides on summer tires all year long. I only drive it in the winter on dry days and I am very careful with the reduced grip due to the cold.

skip the all the seasons... I had an experience on all season tires that I will never ever ever ever go through again. Was driving home from NYC and it was raining, crossed the river into NJ and the temperature dropped dramtically. In the span of less than a mile the streets went from rain covered to snow covered. You should have seen me I looked like Sebastien Loeb on three wheels in the Rally of Finland. Missed an 18 wheeler by less than a meter. How the hell do those things run in the snow?? Dumped the car as soon as I got off the highway. My way: Six months begining Nov.1 on Pirelli Snowsports 18" (on sale at the TireRack for UNDER $500) and the rest of the year on Goodyear Eagle F1's. I'm thinking about buying a set of Carrera 18" replicas for $800 or so and slapping the SnowSports on them. That way its just 10 minutes with the impact gun and race jack.

Can you recommend a good race jack?

After going thru some Pirelli P Zeros and the Michelins that came on my car from the factory (2000 C2), I switched to P Zero Neros as I just didn't like how the summer tires handled in street conditions in the rain. I really liked the Neros, but I had to replace them last month (mileage) and am now trying Kumho Ecsta ASXs, as the Neros were out of stock everywhere and I was out of tread on the Neros and had to replace them immediately. So far, I'm happy with the Kumhos, but I don't have enough miles on them to really judge. The P Zero Neros were great, though! Having said all that, this is for Northern California driving. No snow, aside from a couple of trips to Squaw Valley (yes, you can fit 205cm downhill skis in a 996 as long as there's no passenger), just winter rain and temps in the 30s at the absolute coldest (and rarely below 40 even in mid-winter). Bob

All-season tires are definitely a compromise you don't want to make. If you're thinking of it in an "initial investment" type of money thing, look at it this way, buying a set of summer tires and winter tires allows you to use each tire half the time. Under normal circumstances, this evens out as far as using one tire 100% of the time. It's actually a little less for winter tires due to their softer compounds, and most are useless after 1/2 life...but then again, very nice summer tires wear less than all seasons, so...in essence, you recoup at least most of your investment in sets of dedicated tires. What I have done with all my cars is load up my show or stock wheels with very nice summer tires, and buy 4 cheap steelies for winter (you wouldn't want your nice rims exposed to all that moisture, salt, rocks, sand, gravel, ect...would you? It has worked well for me, and I think it's evened out money-wise since I've stopped using all-seasons. That being said, I had decent luck with Kumho ASX's...

Michelin Pilot Sport A/S. These are great tires. I use them as my winter tires - although here in Texas that means for about 3 days a year -td

These A/S outperform many summer only tires. Same with my recommendation above, but these MPS A/S are the best A/S IMO.

I have had good luck with the Harbor Freight Aluminum racing jack. However some don't like it. See this thread https://rennlist.com/forums/showthre...highlight=Jack

Michelin Pilot Sport A/S - is that a "N rated" tire ?

I have a a set for the Summer and Winter. This is mainly because I track the car and like going for a spirited drive now and than but also drive the car year round. I did have a Audi A3 Quattro S-Line. Very small car with 325 HP AWD. I bought a set of the Potenza Pole Position RE960AS. They were a great tire. They worked better in the Summer than in Winter. In your scenario it might be an option. GL!

I ended up getting a summer and winter set. Its really the only way to go. Do it while you are getting an oil change.

Whenever I see one of these threads I like to point out that if you've never had the proper tires for each season, you truly don't know what you're missing. World of difference, and the only real added cost is the extra wheels.

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Good decision.....you will find yourself driving more in the snow with the Winter set.

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I put on an average of 9K miles a year on my p-car so worries about driving it. The nice thing about winter tires is the higher confidence on ice as opposed to A/S tires...

As others have mentioned, A/S are good at nothing. I keep two sets of tires, winter and summer... and actually both sets last almost twice as long so it's not a double expense.

Another vote for two sets of tires. The tires are not an added expense (though the wheels are, America's Tire has a very reasonable set that fits our winter tires). As to having garage space, it really isn't all that much of a footprint. Do it.

My problem is space. we live in the city, where my 2 outdoor parking spaces are actually worth $175,000 each - no joke - and I have NO space for a spare set of wheel/tires. NONE!

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After trying all-seasons on my C-4 (older car/tires, however) I am also in the 2 set camp. If you check around, some tire changers, shops, etc, will store your extra tire/wheel sets - might be worth looking into. Maybe the storage fee might make the swapping twice yearly more do-able (is that a word??)

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Summers in winter are fine on dry roads. I've driven even through snow storms but stayed on the ploughed hwy's with them and that was scary you wouldn't ever want to do that. Also I really mean dry roads. I've hit a snow drift on dry roads and totally lost it and ended up with big time curb rash.

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+1.

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kids bedroom? guest bathroom? living room coffee table? they make a great conversation piece

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Hahahah - yes I've thought about the guest bathroom...kids room doesn't fit anything anymore (expecting our first and it's already crammed)... I think I'll try what the OP said - which is ask a tire shop if they'd store it for me...

How about a storage rental?

My car came with P-Zero Rossos and although they all had at least 50% tread remaining, after 5K miles the fronts still had plenty of tread left, but the rears were bald. Being advised not to mix tire types, I was about to buy 2 new Rossos for the rear, but then a friend of mine told me he uses Bridgestone RE960AS on his 997. It's pretty much always "summer" here in FL and I hesitated about putting an All-Season tire on mine, but when he told me after almost 25K miles his are hardly worn at all, and that I can put a set of 4 on for about what it would cost for 2 rear Rossos (that will last what, 10K?), I went for it. As a bonus, they ride softer and quieter than the P-Zeros, which makes my enjoyment of the car even better.

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I STRONGLY disagree here. I have to say everyone busted my stones about Good Year F1 AS.... Well the other night I got stuck in some of the worst trenching down poors or rain I have ever been in.... That car never drifted ONCE, it was stuck to the road as if it was dry. Fabulous tire.

I just bought a set of 18" Turbo Twists for my 99 Cab. They came with a set of Michelin Pilot Sport AS Plus already mounted. My 17's had Conti Sport Contacts which I thought were great tires. I just installed the "new" wheels and tires today and went for a short drive. Once I've had a chance to drive them some more I'll add my impressions.

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Finally ....

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+1. My Indy stores my winter tires in the summer for me and vice versa. Therefore, he knows I am a long term customer...

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No, they're only 'fine' if you don't enter into an emergency situation, but all bets are off if you need to make a panic stop or evasive maneuver, i.e. things you kind of need to be prepared for every time you leave the driveway. Your car will not explode if you drive on summer tires in the winter, but when you need grip the most, it will not be present. It's just not a good idea.

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I, too, lived in a condo building in the city with NO space. I have my 2nd set of tires stored at Discount Tire for a flat $100 one-time fee. They require a 2 week notice, but will mount my tires as many times as I want for no additional cost. The A/S discussion will always prevail, and in some climates, it can make sense. But I agree with the general wisdom on here regarding 2 sets. I did not, however, buy a 2nd set of wheels, because my wheels are only $150 each to replace. I think Porsche wheels are actually pretty strong and can stand up as well as aftermarket ones to the elements.

All right. Let's drag this one out again. Have had a chance to do a bit of spirited driving on the Pilot Sport A/S Plus tires. The main impression I get is that they are good for all around driving (I use it as a good weather DD) but when you start to push them the fronts start to squirm a bit and the car starts to move around. The front was alway pretty lively before but with these you need to be more on top of it. The rears seem to be pretty dialed-in and I never had the impression that they would break loose. Under heavy braking the Pilot's will squeal which is something I never experienced with the Conti's. Indicative of a harder tire I also don't get the burning rubber smell I used to get on previous Pirelli's and Conti's every time I open the driver's door after a hard drive (that one freaked me out when I first got the car!!). Overall just not as tight a feeling as the Conti's I had on before - not really bad, just not as good. On the plus side I'm really pleased with the look of the car with the 18" Turbo Twists - dramatic improvement over the stock 17's, even though my wife says it looks the same!!!

Not sure if the sizes are available for Pcars, but I had a set of 235/40R-18 Bridgestone Turanza Serenity XLs installed on my Audi last December. Quiet, grippy in hot, cold, dry, wet, and and I confirmed they also work well in snow. http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....ranza+Serenity

Ugh, all season tires on a 911. Did I accidentally enter the Prius forum? It's unfortunate that threads this silly can't seem to stay dead. Furthermore, I think you're crazy if you plan on driving a 911 in Calgary all winter on all season tires. I have several Chicago winters under my belt with the 911 and IMHO snow tires are essential for driving a 911 in conditions with any snow.

You never know what will happen, on the road or on the track. Last Friday, I was driving home on I-70 at about 8:00 PM and a knucklehead ahead of me managed to spin his car on the interstate at ~70 mph. I was VERY happy to have good summer rubber on my car that allowed me to swerve around him and narrowly avoid hitting him. Could I have done this with all-season tires? Probably... but why take the chance?

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Well Ray, at least you didn't say "the Honda Forum!"

hmmm Maybe I should lock this thread..

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+996 Ray is 100% correct. Installing all-seasons on a car like this is neutering it. You've paid for a certain level of performance and safety and all-season tires arbitrarily limit both. It's like paying for a 3/4-ton pickup but never once hooking a trailer to it.