285/35's in rain/snow?

[Condor1970]

Well, I'm just about ready to make the plunge. I've narrowed my 2 tire choices down for my 19x10 wheels. I'm pretty sure I want to go with 285/35 Michelin A/S3+.

What I want to know, is for those of you who are running 285's squared, have you had any issues living in a colder rainy/black icy climate like Seattle?

I live in this area, and the one thing I'm most concerned with, is how they will perform in rain compared to the stock Pirelli 235's I currently have. The narrow 235 tire does fairly well in rain, but of course spins like crazy if you ever put your foot down.
I know I don't want 275's, but I am considering a slightly stretched 265/40 in the same tire. I'm just not sure if the 285 is the better choice over a 265 for a daily driver.
I'd like to hear your experiences while running 285's in bad weather.

Any suggestions?

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[TicTocTach]

Not exactly the combo you're talking about, but... I installed Cooper Zeon RS3-G1's in 285/35's + 19x10's on my '18 EBPP last October when my original Pirelli P-Zero's were starting to get unhappy in the cold/wet. I didn't experience any deliberate ice driving, but dry temps down into the 20's, and heavy rains in the 30's-50's. The Pirelli's were really unhappy with temps in the 40's and any sort of water on the road. The Coopers showed none of this, and seemed to grip nearly equally well wet or dry, at least in a straight line.

From a purely rain perspective, I've driven through fairly deep (1" plus) standing water on the highway at 60+mph with both tires, and both behaved well. As soon as the temps get into the 50's or below, the Pirelli's just don't stick as well as the Coopers.

Nutshell, I wouldn't worry about the slightly wider 285 being a problem, and they are a relatively common size. For my own situation, I would have gone with 305's on 11" wheels if Cooper had a 305 last October when I bought. They do now, but I'm not sure I want to mess with the combo I have.

 

[Condor1970]

^^^ That's what I'm looking for. I really want to know how well the 285's behave in colder temps and wet. Mainly wet, since it rains so much here. We do get a bit of ice and snow, but rain is the big one.
I bring this up, because 285's on slightly smaller BMW's in the 3,300lbs range, have proven to be a pretty bad idea when it comes to hydroplaning. It's just too much rubber, and not enough weight to keep them glued to the road. However, the Mustang is a good 400-500lbs heavier, so I think they should be fine. I just want as many testimonies and experiences I can find on here, since so many of us are going with the 19x10's with 285's from LMR.

 

[TicTocTach]

That's pretty much my combo - LMR isn't exactly "local" to me, but I drive past their shop a couple times per year and that gave me a chance to stop in and look at stuff in their showroom. I couldn't get them to put the G1's on my wheels as a package though, so ended up going through Discount Tire.

When I went in to DT to get my tires mounted, they happened to have a set of the AS3+'s sitting next to my Coopers, so I got to put my hands on both. The AS3+'s have a nice tread, and as much as I could tell by feel had a pretty soft compound. If my Coopers start to disappoint in the future, I was planning on going to the AS3+'s next. The price delta was pretty significant at over $100 less per tire, and I was willing to take a chance on the Coopers to offset part of my wheel cost. They've been so good, I'm not sure would change at this point.

The extra width of the 285 vs the stock 255's hasn't been a hydroplaning problem in my experience. I would wager that the AS3+'s would perform as well. Lots of good reviews on those tires.

 

[GregO]

Continental Extreme Contact DWS06,
Honestly, you'll never look back at the other choices once you run DWS06's. Probably the best Performance A/S currently on the market.

 

[RubyRed15]

My Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3 285^2 run 85 up and down the wet highway all year long, without ever so much as a twitch.

 

[VinnAY]

Continental Extreme Contact DWS06,
Honestly, you'll never look back at the other choices once you run DWS06's. Probably the best Performance A/S currently on the market.

You mean the very well known spongy sidewall that rolls over when you push it at any length?

 

[VinnAY]

I ran a 285/35/20 on my Camaro this past fall and winter and it was perfectly fine, I think you're making to much of a few mm in width or aspect. I had zero trouble in rain, slush, a dusting of snow here and there. I ran the Comp2 A/S though, and I do think the AS3+ is rated a tick better but that can all be very subjective in many ways. If I had to run something in >.5" of snow I would either stay home or try a more dedicated winter/snow/ice tire.

 

[GregO]

You mean the very well known spongy sidewall that rolls over when you push it at any length?

have you had any issues living in a colder rainy/black icy climate like Seattle?

Looks to me like the OP is looking for a tire with a little cush and push to grip the cold wet/frozen asphalt.

.

 

[Smokey613]

You mean the very well known spongy sidewall that rolls over when you push it at any length?

I don’t know about that aspect, but my Conti EC DWS06 265-35-20 are great in the rain and they seem to stick real good under hard throttle. I am very happy with them.

 

[VinnAY]

hmpf I got turned off by what I read about them but they enjoy a great rep as shown in this thread.

 

[ColumbusStang]

I've driven my 285/35/20 BF Goodrich g-Force Comp 2 A/S's in the snow with minimal issues. I drove them in a few inches of fresh snow on the way to work one day and they handled it pretty good, as long as I kept it below 25. Starting from a dead start, the fresh snow would give them a little trouble from time-to-time, but packed snow wasn't much of an issue as long as you're light on the throttle and have no abrupt steering changes. Other than snow, never had any issues daily driving these tires this past winter, even in sub zero weather.

On the way to work:

One of these vehicles seems out of place:

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