Beating a dead horse, best tire for ALL SEASONS

Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives

Okay everyone, I'll be purchasing new tires this month. Here's what's up, I'll be getting a 3.0 swap so I want a fairly decent performance in dry and wet, BUT I don't want to be reliant on having to buy winter tires.

My current tires are toyo proxes, they were decent at first but as they wore down their wet traction drastically decreased. They were decent in the winter, not the best but managable. That's all I'm looking for, a tire that can still be driven in the winter just not the best. It isnt too unsual in Cleveland to get 100+ inches of snow and Im going snowboarding weekly so snow drivaility is a must. I had khumo ecstas and they blew on the mustang, at like 45 degrees and below they couldn't catch traction wit even feathering the clutch.. So I'm affraid of tired they just become rocks in cold.

I've searched over and over but I havent seen too many snow reviews on high perf tires. I noticed everyone is speakin of the falkens. I still want something very aggressive for summer but still manageable in winter.

Thanks, I'm sorry if I'm beating a dead horse but this topic doesnt come up much on searches and when they do they are all a year apart so the model are outdated etc.

BTW this is for a stock 16" size.. 45 or 55 will work as well and I want a fairly high speed rating. (noticed I never pick up nails or garbage with em)

I think you want too much from one tire. A tire that will be OK in the snow will not give you tons of traction in the summer. If you want stellar dry/wet performance, you are gonna give up driving in the snow. If you are fine with OK dry performance, good snow, and good wet performance, then an all season will be OK.

This would apply to all moderately price all seasons. You may get great all around tire for a more $$$.

With that said, I ran continental contiextremes for a while (actually, they are still on my stock rims). They perform great in the rain, OK in the snow, and OK in the dry. No comparison to a summer tire for dry traction. They are cheap too. Treadwear is good. Sidewalls are a bit flimsy. Ive posted tons of times about these tires, so that is that for the contiextremes. Should also find plenty of reviews on the tire rack as well.

Originally posted by KingpinSVT:
the contiextremes. Should also find plenty of reviews on the tire rack as well.

Running them on my moms jag and my bros bullitt, they are nice but the summer traction seems to be outdone with em by my proxes.

I'm not looking for some summer racing tire that goes decently in snow.. I know such a thing does not exist, BUT I'm just lookign for the best ultra high perf all season. So far the proxes worked, just seeing if there's better.

I've learned though with the khumos, if it isnt winter appropriate dont try em

Just trying to get options.

Thanks for the help though.

BTW I read many threads on the fuzions as well, are they just a gimmick tire or are they 1/2 way decent..

So here's what I got going: (215-55-16, 55's have ALOT more options)

Falken Ziex ZE-512
Dry: 4.4 Wet: 4.2 Snow: 3.4 Handling: 4 Comfort: 4.1 Noise: 4 Treadwear: 3.5

Dunlop SP Sport A2 Plus (a lil pricey)
Dry: 3.9 Wet: 3.5 Snow: 2.4 Handling: 3.7 Comfort: 3.2 Noise: 3 Treadwear: 2

Dunlop SP Sport 01
Dry: 4.4 Wet: 4.1 Snow: 2.6 Handling: 4.2 Comfort: 4.4 Noise: 4.4 Treadwear: 3.7

Fuzion HRi (very interested in)
Dry: 4.4 Wet: 4.4 Snow: 3.2 Handling: 4.4 Comfort: 4.4 Noise: 4.3 Treadwear: 4.4

Hankook Ventus HRII H405 (crappy H rating :-( )
Dry: 4.4 Wet: 4 Snow: 2.9 Handling: 4.2 Comfort: 4.2 Noise: 4.2 Treadwear: 4.1

Kumho Ecsta ASX (KU21) (pretty non-agressive tread with surprising review)
Dry: 4.8 Wet: 4.6 Snow: 4 Handling: 4.8 Comfort: 4.6 Noise: 4.6 Treadwear: 3.5

Toyo Proxes 4
Dry: 4.7 Wet: 4.5 Snow: 3.4 Handling: 4.6 Comfort: 4.5 Noise: 4.4 Treadwear: 4.2

Anything else anyone can think of??

I'd go with the falken ziex.

I had contiextremes, lasted a long time with a ton of abuse, but really lacked in dry handling.

Originally posted by Kremithefrog:
I'd go with the falken ziex.

I had contiextremes, lasted a long time with a ton of abuse, but really lacked in dry handling.

Would you agree with the ratings above that the proxes should be rated higher than the Falkens?

I was first impressed with the proxes but I'm seeing if there's anyone else who has used the proxes and switched from em.

Thanks

Get snow tires. All-seasons are junk in both seasons, except the sporty ones (ZE512) which are junk in the snow. Blizzaks/Graspic and the like are pretty grippy in the summer and awesome in the snow.

Originally posted by Auto-X Fil:
Get snow tires. All-seasons are junk in both seasons, except the sporty ones (ZE512) which are junk in the snow. Blizzaks/Graspic and the like are pretty grippy in the summer and awesome in the snow.

So would you disagree with the proxes being rated higher than the ZE512... If not then that makes me very tempted to try the ZE's, I'm no looking for a snow tire that's good by any means. I'm just not looking for a summer only tire that wont even get tracting on a dry day when below 50. I once remember locking up the tires on the stang stoping around 35mpg and slidding like on ice with Kunho Ecsta Supra 712's when it was cold out. That's what I'm trying to avoid.

This tread pattern plus super hard rubber when cold is hell:

ON EDIT: those kunhos on a RWD car in a summers rain got AMAZING traction, almost as if it didnt rain at all. I remember the day I got them on it rained and I pushed them like crazy and was in disbelief.

I have driven through NE winters on BFG KDW's and Kuhmo 712's. I drove like grandma, and did my best to wait for the streets to clear up. That was a scary experience, but it was doable. I never went over 5mph on snow covered streets, and went really slow in the right hand lane on the highway. I probably deserve one of these

But my job was only 2miles away, and you never really have to go anywhere in the snow. Park the car and fire up some hot chocolate.

I bought Michelin Pilot Sport A/S (all season) on my stock E0's. I love them. Its been 2 years and I get good traction in the snow, excellent in the rain/dry! They cost a pretty penny however

Left side is the All Season Pilot Sports and the Right side is the regular summer Pilot Sports..

Here's the survey from Tire Rack for ULTRA high perf all seasons:

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/surveyresults/surveydisplay.jsp?type=UHPAS

WTF ARE: Avon Tech M550 A/S They are ranked VERY highly

CHEAP PRICE

And the Pzero Neros have fallen in price since the last time I shopped...

Any advice based on the survay above?

i think the pzero nero are stock on the s60r and the owners on swedespeed seem to hate them in winter use.

I got the falkens Zeix 512 215/45/17 and thought I was happy with them till I started driving my car everyday. I have not been impressed with them in the rain. I was running a higher pressure (40 psi) and had to drop them to 32 so I wouldn't slide off the road. Even at the lower pressure it will still slide if just pushed a little bit in the wet. I also can spin the tires very easily on wet pavement from a stop. Dry is overall good but at the lower pressure they squeal on occasion. I don't remember these problems with my 225/50/16 Dunlop 5000s yes it is wider and different diameter but still. The falkens have not seen snow but if they are this bad in the wet I can't imagine snow. I know some older people with the Falkens that love them, in laws have them on their all wheel drive CRV with no problems and a friend of theirs has them on a Camry. Neither had problems in the winter. Could be a different story on our cars. The 5000s are now on the wifes mystique and I drove them through the winter. They were just OK in the snow. Now that they are getting worn out they are becoming bad in the wet also. I hate shopping for tires.

The 195/60R15 ZE512s on the Benz have been great in the rain. Oily pavement is a problem, but oily pavement/painted lines/etc. are always troublesome in the wet, with any tire. Overall they're very nearly as good as the Fuzion ZRi I had on the Contour, and they're better than the Hakkapelliita (sp)RSi tires I had for the winter - which weren't bad in the wet at all.

The Mastercraps that came on it - horrible. I threw them away at almost full tread because they were unsafe in the wet.

I purchased the Perelli PZero Nero M&S last year and they are great in the summer! For day to day driving they suit me as well as the BFG KDW's did. Have yet to hear a squeal out of them which includes a run through the "Appalachian Gap"...a 10 mile twisty road up and down a mountain. I've actually only driven in the rain once w/ them and they worked wonderfully there too. Haven't tested them in the snow yet as I don't drive my car in the winter. I purchased them to give me better treadwear, some traction when it gets cold (before the snow flies) and good wet/dry performance. Snow reviews are good on Tire Rack, so I would recommend these.

My Bridgestone Protenza's seem to have an excellent combination of wet/dry/snow traction. Look up the reviews on those at tirerack.

All Seasons.....

Stands for "Equally bad in all seasons"

Extra set of tires - $400
Cost of accident due to crappy tires - >$400

Yokohama Avid V4 225/50-16. I've been running the same set of tires for...I dunno, probably 35,000+ miles, year-round, and they're outstanding.

Originally posted by phd2be:
I purchased the Perelli PZero Nero M&S last year and they are great in the summer!

Same here.

They're not as good as the TDW's in the summer, but worlds ahead of them in the snow and about as good in the rain. Perfectly fine for a daily driver.