Squared vs Staggered; All Season vs Summer

[RoninRed]

I have a budget on a new set of wheels and tires ($2000), and I've already picked out my wheels, the TSW Ascent (gunmetal/glossblack). The wheels alone are going to run me ~$1000, leaving me with about $1000 to work with.

Right now I'm running factory PP setup, with the FR tire being an all-season due to a flat tire that happened and I didn't want to pay for another Pzero ( I don't like them).

Squared vs Staggered:

I don't know if I should run squared or staggered, I'm leaning towards staggered because 1) I want the look 2) I want to run summer tires on my new wheels because of the better grip on the rear.

But the issue is that I know performance will suffer during the winter months on a staggered set as opposed to a squared set, even with winter tires.

As well...

AS vs Summer: I want to put on summer tires because the summers are quite hot and I would benefit from the Summer only option more with a set of MPSS, however not long after I get the tires, winter will be around the corner. Where I live the temperature can get down to around 5degF on a bad day, but usually sticks around 20-40degF during the winter months with at least one guaranteed bad winter storm accompanied with 1 or 2 smaller storms with Ice.

I won't have the money for both winter and summer tires, and prefer to just have winter or summer but am considering AS tires due to price point issues. With the former option I could run my factory wheels on winter tires and bolt on my new wheels for the summer when the temps get better, and with the latter option I basically am setting one set of wheels aside for the winter until I get my summer tires, and only save myself a little bit of money in the long run before getting my winter tires, meaning I've now bought 3 whole sets of tires in less than a year....

ALSO what size width should I go for? Max allowed and install some rock guards or keep it all factory size or something in between? The wheels will stay 19" for sure though, I see no benefit to a larger or smaller diameter.

What's the verdict guys??

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[zxd9]

Get Continental DWS 06 or BFG Comp-2 A/S and be done with it. Sounds like your summer is but a blink of the eye long.

I'd stick with the staggered setup for the looks you want.

Unless you're really pushing the car in the summer I would think good A/S tires would work fine. As soon as my PZero's are done I'm getting one of the above.

 

[khaosryder]

If you don't have money for winter tires in those temps, you should definitely go with all seasons. Summer tires should not be used under 40F, but even under 50F you can really feel them stiffening up.

Also, unless you drive your car hard, you can find pretty good A/S tires.

 

[RoninRed]

Yeah we reach the 50s in w. Kentucky by about late September, mid October. Last year was a fluke. We had 60 dog weather until damn near December

 

[Ch310]

My summer tires which came on the car are terrible in the cold. When it is freezing or close to it, the back end will come around pretty easy with just a little bit of throttle. I'll probably go with all seasons when it's time to replace them.

 

[Need4SpeedMotors]

Conti DW tires IMO

Let me know if I can help you out.

 

[Commbubba19]

I live in Nebraska. Similar weather patterns. I used to drive my 07 Gt year round. A/S tires will not work and you will get stuck or worse crash. Do not and I repeat do not drive summer tires in those temps and conditions. You are asking for trouble.

Buy the summer wheels and summer tires that you want and save for winter tires and put those on your PP wheels. If you can't afford both, wait. Buy the winter tires and save your money and buy the new tires and wheels for next year. Be smart and patient instead of rushed and making a mistake that will likely cost you.

A good A/S tire even like a DWS06 still won't help you. I had those on my EVO and still had a hard time getting around in snow and sleet.

 

[Commbubba19]

Conti DW tires IMO

Let me know if I can help you out.

That is a summer performance tire and worthless and dangerous in the temps he quoted.

 

[Need4SpeedMotors]

That is a summer performance tire and worthless and dangerous in the temps he quoted.

I stand correct I didnt notice the temp

Conti DWS 06 it is

 

[VinnAY]

I live in Nebraska. Similar weather patterns. I used to drive my 07 Gt year round. A/S tires will not work and you will get stuck or worse crash. Do not and I repeat do not drive summer tires in those temps and conditions. You are asking for trouble.

Buy the summer wheels and summer tires that you want and save for winter tires and put those on your PP wheels. If you can't afford both, wait. Buy the winter tires and save your money and buy the new tires and wheels for next year. Be smart and patient instead of rushed and making a mistake that will likely cost you.

A good A/S tire even like a DWS06 still won't help you. I had those on my EVO and still had a hard time getting around in snow and sleet.

I concur...here in Kansas City with similar winters, temps are more a factor than snow/ice. I run winter Xi3's for 2-3 months but will go to an A/S when the summers PZeros are done but I still wouldn't run an A/S year round on this car, you know as a substitute for a winter setup. My tire and wheel package ran me 1700 mounted/balanced/delivered.

 

[GTP]

I don't drive my Mustang in the winter, so I won't offer advice as to whether or not A/S tires are acceptable in the winter. However, don't forget about the Snow/Wet driving mode. Perhaps that coupled with A/S and judicious driving will be safe enough.

I also won't tell you what to do, but since I agonized over all the same issues as you, I will tell what I decided for my situation.

My car has the 8" A/S wheel/s tires (nonPP). I really wanted to run summer tires, but after reading how long they last, and what low% of miles they would be used for autocross and track days, I decided to go with BFG Comp2 A/S. Hopefully these will have the most traction of all the A/S brands. Who knows. Also, they come with 45k mile warranty, so I expect they will last about 4-5 years. I just could not justify $1000 for summer tires every two years, when they would be steadily ground down from the DD miles.

I decided against stagger.

1. It is not easy to detect the width difference unless the front wheels are turned in the parking lot, and the only observer to notice will be at a Cars and Coffee day.
2. Theory has it that the car is pretty balanced on a square setup.
3. Rotation, obviously.
4. I found more 9.5" wheel options in 19" diameter, than 10" options. So, fitment is a little less "problematic" up front, again allowing for rotation.

One final idea is that you might be able to sell your PP wheels to help offset your expense. I have the option to sell my A/S wheels late this year, since the only reason to have a second set of A/S wheels is for pothole season.

My new wheels/tires go on in one week.

 

[kz]

While DWS is a great tire, I completely don't understand buying a performance car with performance pack and putting all seasons on it - they're worse in summers than summers and typically pretty bad in winter compared to winters.

Only way to go is Summer & AS or winter depending how heavy the winter is.

 

[RetroSkippy]

I bought my GT PP back in Feb and due to the cold had a similar predicament as you. Here is what I came up with:

Immediately replaced Pzeros with DWS 06 on the PP wheels (fantastic A/S tire).
Drive the mustang daily unless it snows.
This week I just swapped the Pzeros back on and plan to use them all summer.
In the fall trash the Pzeros and reinstall the DWS 06 (from now on the PP wheels are my winter set)
Next spring pick up some MRR M350s square 19x10 wrapped in PSSs for summer.

 

[wildcatgoal]

Consider Nitto Motivo. Stiffer sidewall than Conti DWS which makes for reported better handling. I've never used them, though. I've had DWS tires 3 times on 2 vehicles and I love them, but they do roll over their sidewall a bit, especially on a AWD Subaru.

 

[RoninRed]

Thanks for all the feedback guys, and ive pretty much determined I'm not going to drive in snow/sleet unless I'm forced to (emergency, sudden storm at work) and I'll just run a good A/S set. I'm looking at the MPS A/S 3+ since they had the highest wet/dry performance, but was only third place on ice/sleet performance on consumer reports back in 2014. I figure I'll see more wet conditions in the winter than straight up ice anyways; I'd rather cover my ass for the 90% of the weather than the 10% I may not even get out in.

I will be picking up a new set of wheels and tires next summer (MPSS) and rotating. I'm still looking at size arrangements on my summer set. I'm probably going to go with the max recc. size for the GT keeping it staggered.

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