Cost of tires?

[rocketspeed]

On packed snow or ice, your best option will actually be a studded tire, if they're permitted where you live. They are here in MA from 11/15-4/15 of each year.

Plus, they shoot sparks when you peel out!

 

[ping]

Uh-oh! Logic problem!!! BE CAREFUL WITH STATISTICS!

Continental Extreme Contacts have only been on the market since April 2003 - what's with the high snow rating that TireRack's been posting since, oh, August? I asked - they answered - they post what they're given from owners, not seasonally adjusting the data. The sales guy was very quick to point out the logic error, and said that the high snow rating was probably overstated by enthusiastic owners. The tire probably would do well for an all season in the snow (check the open tread pattern and siping) but not as good as a dedicated snow (check treadwear - that's a fairly hard compound for a snow). TireRack was very forthcoming about this - but on the phone. The numbers don't tell the whole story.

Also note - the numerical ratings are NOT comparable between different tire types - the folks buying all-seasons are rating them on their cars, probably never having considered an ultra-performance tire. In that respect, the conti extreme contacts will probably far outperform, say, a Goodyear Arriva or no-name cheapo all-season in the dry, but won't hold a candle to the dedicated summer, soft compound 040. There's a filter on the data, and that is the preselection criteria: People evaluating the Conti Extreme Contact are in the market for an all-season, not an ultra-high-performance tire.

THAT SAID: I'm not bashing Contis, have owned 'em before and would definitely buy them again. The Conti's I've had were great, long-wearing, all-season tires. The Extreme is on my very short list, but I won't be buying for a while after getting new 03.5 wheels with 190-mile 040's on 'em... I've not sampled their performance tires.

Also - careful with logic again - the opposite of "the best of all worlds" is not "the worst of both worlds"... lemme ''splain it to ya:

An all-season will be BETTER than a snow tire on dry or wet pavement - which actually describes the majority of my winter driving, but not the majority of my winter RISK, therefore I ride on snows in winter. Due to a variety of factors, others (be they of lesser skill or greater exposure) will trade off some snow performance for better safety on wet pavement.

...off my soapbox now...

 

[rocketspeed]

To summarize- the best all season tire will be inferior to your stock bridgestones in dry performance by a significant margin. They will also be worse than a good set of snows in snow performance by a significant margin.

They probably would hold and edge over the stock tire in warm weather rain performance, however.

 

[SEA_P5]

i currently have the contiextreme on my Protege5 right now...switched them over from some Yokohamas AVS100 for the winter. They have pretty soft walls, but they take the bumps and road noise is quite reduced from the Yokohamas...They slide a little bit in the rain (due to the softer compound)...have not tested them in snow yet...but will probably go to the mountains later for some skiing.

Just remember, they are all season tire...all seasons does not mean great for all seasons...just average performance. Even though the yokohamas are a summer tire...I think they still grip better in the rain then the Contiextreme...but the conti extremes are way quieter and more forgiving over the potholes....

Currently the 205/40-17's for both yokohamas and Continential.

 

[funnylittlman]

You think I'm lying or something? That I have it in for M&S rated tires?

Try this on for size:

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/testResultsModel.jsp?tireModel=P6000&tireMake=Pirelli

Look at the faster track times and higher performance ratings on the Pirelli summer tire. The all season P6000 is a very similar traed pattern with a different compound, so it gives you a good idea of what a winter suitable compound with a tread modified for (very!) light snow duty will do to performance- degrade it in the dry.

Here's another good article. All season tires really give you the WORST of both worlds- your summer performance goes down and as you'll see below, winter performance doesn't tend to be great either:

http://www.racerchicks.com/qa/auto_tires.html

On top of this, your car is still going to stink in snow with any all season tire that I'm aware of. Look here:

http://www.articlecity.com/articles/auto_and_trucks/article_56.shtml

A lot of family type cars fare better with an all-season tire in snow because the thinner tread and higher sidewall of a smaller tire cuts through better. The big wide 17's on our cars like to float on the snow, even with a snow tire on- a 15 inch snow tire will perform better than a 17.

Also read (I think) December's Sport Compact Car, which had an article all about suspension and tires- talks about avoiding the M&S designation if you're going to drive hard. Those little cuts in the tread that help you in the snow make the tire skid more easily and you can even tear tread blocks off if you really push it.

Tearing tread blocks would not be good. Thanks for the information! I know now what I have to do

-Fnny

P.S. No I didn't think you were lying or had some type of vendetta against M/S I just was wondering where you got the info