Summer vs all season tires

[awmustang]

This actually is urban legend. Regular summer tires will not crack (tested many times) - doesn't mean they have a great grip, but they do not crack (does not apply to tires like Sport Cup 2 - just 99% of regular sport tires)

(and yes - I know of disclaimer in owner's manual)

Then how come a quick google search brings up tons of photos of cracked tires?

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[pjk]

I never saw any cracks but my stock Pirelli's got noticeably slicker in temps below 40 degrees.

I was facing driving from Seattle to St. Louis in the dead of winter and was deciding between snow tires and all season. Across the pacific cascades, MT, WY, SD, IA, KS and MO. I ended up with PILOT SPORT A/S 3+ tires from Costco at roughly $1000 for PP sizes.

Driving 2000+ during late Dec/Jan in what averaged zero degrees (no exaggeration it hit a low of -17 degrees w/o wind chill) with blowing snow, these tires were amazing. The majority of the commute was packed snow with as much as 4-6 inches at one point of the interstate. The all-seasons performed without a hitch. I brought some snow socks (chain alternative) but luckily never needed them.

The trunk was filled with household items (nothing crazy heavy) and the biggest challenge was keeping the tail lights cleaned of snow and the ice buildup between wheel wells and tires. At one point ice build up inside rear wheels became unbalanced causing quite a shimmy but that was corrected with an ice scraper and about 15min. The wiper fluid did freeze and for some reason on right rear tail light stopped working but both fixed themselves when the temperature returned to above ~20 degrees.

If you're considering all seasons I definitely can recommend the PILOT SPORT A/S 3+ tires based on my experience. The tires were only a couple months old so I'm sure that helped. Purely FYI.

 

[cjldad]

I think just about anything would stick better than the stock Pirelli's...

I went with Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3+'s.. They stick much better than the stock Pirelli's and they are an all season tire..

 

[PTM5.0]

My advice on tires is to buy tires that fit your needs for the kind of driving you'll be doing the most.

My truck only towed my boat during boating season so it got Michelin LTX MS2's
My wife's DD SUV and my Focus DD got Michelin Premier AS's.
My turned up SHO DD got Michelin AS3+'s.
My built LSX weekend cars got drag radials or bias ply ET streets.

You need to be realistic about what kind of driving you'll be doing usually. If 90% of your driving is going to be commuting rain or shine, there's no reason to use a set of Sport Cup 2's. If it's a daily driver that'll see temps below 40 degrees and rain, I'd be looking at the Michelin AS3+.

 

[brucelinc]

I would like some advice. I recently picked up a 2016 GT Premium, manual, 3.55 gear, and the factory 20 inch wheels with Pirelli P Zero summer tires. The car is not my daily driver but I do want to be able to drive it year around when the roads are free of snow. (I live in Minnesota.) I also plan to take to the drag strip several times during the summer.

I have been thinking of replacing the summer Pirelli tires with high performance all-seasons but I am wondering how they would hook at the drag strip compared to the Summer tires. I want to do all I can to avoid the wheel hop that I have heard about with the IRS.

I realize 2 sets of wheels/tires would be the best solution but that is a bit too spendy to justify for a car that will see no more than 3-4000 miles per year.

Would you go with all-seasons or just stick with the summer tires and be extra careful in cold weather?

 

[Mustang_Lou]

I wouldn't drive the summers in freezing temps. I've got summers on mine and do take it out in the winter when the roads are dry but only when it's a few degrees above zero. My opinion.

 

[ShadowS550]

Your tires are the only thing on your car making contact with the road. I wouldn't chance summer tires in cold weather even if they don't crack.

I did extensive research on this. I ended up switching out my stock Pirelli summer tires for Continental DWS 06s. With the today's tire manufacturing technology, even all-seasons can out perform certain brands of summer tires in the summer.

 

[ScottyRyan2018]

Michelin Pilot Sport 4S... "S" stands for SNOW!


(disclaimer...non-professional driver on a closed road course...don't try this at home.)

 

[JamesinLittleSilver]

Continental makes a good tire both the AS and summer. They are reasonable priced and always handle wet super well. I have two sets of tires one for late fall early spring and one for summer. I cover it and keep it away from salt in the winter.

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