All Season / Performance Tires

[AJ]

So with Jana's new 6 we are going to toss the 18" wheels on her car for the spring/summer/fall seasons with some nicer performance all season tires.

We want:

Good wet traction, a size that will not result in much wheel gap, and a tread wear that will result in getting 3 solid season out of the tires.

She currently has 225/45/17s and they will be taken off and used for winter duty.


Thoughts?

 

[mndsm]

Goodyear Eagle GT's is what I put on the Mini. Seem to bite pretty well for an all season, she rolled em through winter w/o much of an issue....

 

[VTEC8YA]

I picked up a set of the Goodyear F1's last spring and they do the job nicely. I cant really say much for winter wise considering im AWD, but performance seems to be pretty swell.

 

[DrWebster]

Michelin Pilot Exalto AS's, I've had them for over 35,000 miles and they've worn very well (I'll get at least this summer out of them yet). The newer model is the Pilot Sport AS Plus, which I've heard is even better.

 

[YSOSLO]

Whatever you do, DON'T get the BFGoodrich g-Force Super Sport A/S tires. The reviews were great when I bought them last January and they're already shot. I got about 12K miles out of them and didn't find them to have any particularly special performance quality about them. I'm anxious to hear what others recommend in this thread, because I'll be getting new shoes within the next few months myself.

 

[AJ]

Michelin Pilot Exalto AS's, I've had them for over 35,000 miles and they've worn very well (I'll get at least this summer out of them yet). The newer model is the Pilot Sport AS Plus, which I've heard is even better.

I'm going to have to look at these a bit and see what they run. Thanks!

Whatever you do, DON'T get the BFGoodrich g-Force Super Sport A/S tires. The reviews were great when I bought them last January and they're already shot. I got about 12K miles out of them and didn't find them to have any particularly special performance quality about them. I'm anxious to hear what others recommend in this thread, because I'll be getting new shoes within the next few months myself.

I ran the g-Force T/A series on my Speed 6 and LOVED them, but their wet traction (even with awd) left a lot to be desired and they definably aren't a tire that could last 36k miles.


I also need to consider noise I guess as well. What do people think abotu overall size to fill that wheel gap as close to stock as possible.

 

[mndsm]

Have to measure clearance..... do you know what the factory offset is on the wheels you have? The wheelgap on the 2010 is pretty serious, I imagine you can get a whole shitload of tire under that car, rough estimate would be a 235/45/18..... depending on what those Sacchis measure out at.

 

[ZoomZoom Diva]

If the stock tires are the Michelin Pilot HX MXM-4's get rid of those too... they are downright AWFUL!

 

[BIGJOHNB20]

Guess I can revive this old thread instead of starting my own.

I am looking for opinions on year round all seasons vs. dedicated summer/performance and winter wheels. A little background first -
Car - 06 Mazdaspeed6 (AWD). About a month ago I managed to hit a fucking crater pot hole and blew a big bulge in the Pirelli p-zero nero A/S that came with the car. They were on their last leg anyway, maybe another winter left. I then put back on the OEM brigdestone RE050s. These will be shot after this summer.
Apparently when I hit the pot hole I also managed to very slightly dent the stock rim. I am using this rim as we speak and have been since. The tire holds air just fine and I don't notice any shaking or alignment issues. However, I am concerned that rolling around like this can't be good for the long term. I don't want to damage a wheel bearing or anything.
So, this weekend I bought a set of RX-8 wheels. My original plan was to put summers on these and rock them in the nice weather, then switch to the stockers with an A/S in the winter. However, the rx8s are a little beat up and I am considering pc'ing them. (more $$).

So, it kinda seems like my options are to just get a solid A/S for the RX-8s and rock those year round for a while or go with the original plan which would require two new sets of tires PLUS a new Speed6 OEM rim. One other option I considered was selling the stockers and trying to find some 17s of a regular Mazda6 and getting winter or A/S for those.

So, after all that, I haven't even asked a question, lol. Obviously if I had the money my first choice would be RX8s with summers, and OEMs (none dented) with winer or A/Ss. I just don't know that I can swing that right now. I guess what I am asking is will I be disappointed running A/S year round on the RX8s? I don't go to the track or auto-x or anything. Usually just gun it up the on ramps and drive a little spirited around town. I also need to consider ride comfort and noise as I drive 30 minutes each way to work every day.

I was looking around and saw pretty glowing reviews of the Continental ExtremeContact DWS on a couple different sites. They aren't bad at ~140 each either. Will I compromise performance and or winter safety with something like this? Am I better off going for broke (literally!) and getting dedicated winters and summers? What do you guys think. Sorry for rambling on, I have a tendency to do that....Thanks in advance for the help!

 

[DrWebster]

I wouldn't run an AS tire in the winter, there's no point. What I do is rock a high-performance AS (the Pilot Exalto I mentioned above) during the summer on my stock 17's, and a dedicated winter tire (Michelin Primacy Alpin) on OEM 16's. 18-inch winter tires are crazy spendy, and even 17-inch ones can be up there, so a lot of folks run 16's on steelies.

 

[Workdawg]

I wouldn't run an AS tire in the winter, there's no point. What I do is rock a high-performance AS (the Pilot Exalto I mentioned above) during the summer on my stock 17's, and a dedicated winter tire (Michelin Primacy Alpin) on OEM 16's. 18-inch winter tires are crazy spendy, and even 17-inch ones can be up there, so a lot of folks run 16's on steelies.

This is true... even "all season" tires are usually made of compounds that are no good when the temps start dropping.

 

[mndsm]

Save yourself some headache, run two sets of tires. I have a set of star specs for the summer on my Rotas, have my factory potenzas (That aren't going to make it past the beginning of Sept.) and Goodyear GW3's on custom purpler steelies. You give too much up in the summer w/ allseason tires, and don't get enough in the winter, IMO. That being said, I have a set of Eagle GT's on the wifes' Cooper S- and while they're *alright*, I don't plan on running them another MN winter, and they're one of the best rated a/s tires on the market.

 

[Minn07speed6]

I have Continental Extreme Contact DWS Tires on mine, Had no problem all winter, couldn't even get the damn thing loose no matter how hard I tried.

 

[rewedmiata]

or run a winter beater with some second had blizzaks on it. Cheap an effective for winter fun!!

 

[mndsm]

I have Continental Extreme Contact DWS Tires on mine, Had no problem all winter, couldn't even get the damn thing loose no matter how hard I tried.

You get to cheat and do AWD math. 5 winter rating on two wheels =5+5 on 4 wheels=10!