Best all season tires

[jpp]

What are your thoughts on new all season tires for an 08 Sportcombi?

Thanks,
JP

[Dave T]

The Continental ExtremeContact DWS seems to be very popular as it's a good balance of price, winter performance, and summer performance. I use the DW, which is not an all-season tire, and find it a good tire. The DWS has a U.S. government traction rating of A, not AA. This is measurement of straight line traction, not traction in a curve.

[priapism]

Toyo Proxes 4

[jesusfreak]

JPP, I used to work at GoodYear, and I can attest that the Assurance Triple Tread are by far the best traction/handling all season tire you can buy. It is pretty expensive, you will not find it in W rating and it tends to get noisy with time. Good thing is pretty firm sidewalls and long life out of tread (80k mile warranty).

I use to have GoodYear Eagle GT All Season - i was not very happy with the tread life. I had the W rated (no mileage warranty) and they wore uneven and quick. Also they were noisy. The thing i liked about those, price was reasonable, wet and dry traction were good, cornering was flawless, and they looked good but they SUCKED in the snow!!!

I now actually run Michelin's on there. I like them, they are very comfortable but cornering sucks, it is a much mushier ride, but I've settled down as far as driving. Traction on these is alright.

Bottom line is tires are a matter of preference. Some people love GY others can't stand it. What I would recommend is shop around, and look for 30-day Love them or leave them deals. That way, if you don't like the tire, you can exchange it. Also, talk, negociate and bluff with the salesperson. THEY want your MONEY! And most places will pricematch. That's why I quit that job, cause I hate selling people something they don't need just because it brings more profit. So don't be scared to talk them down on the prices!

[nordwulf]

JPP, did you buy new tires?

I need new A/S tires and trying to decide between Yokohama AVID ENVigor and Continental EC DWS. I had Yoko's on another 9-5 and really liked them. The Conti's have very good reviews and used to have the previous generation on a 9-3. Great tires as well.

There are some new tires from Continental and Dunlop with higher treadlife warranty ratings. Their tread profiles look like they may perform reasonably well in snow. Both are Grand Touring All-Season which should be fine for my driving style.

Dunlop Signature II (H- or V-Speed Rated)



Continental PureContact with EcoPlus Technology

[Burnsside42]

I vote for DEDICATED Summer Tires and Snows! No such thing as an "All Season" tire - it may be able to perform in all season's - just not all of them well.

IF you do go that route - the DWS Extreme Contact is a Nice tire for sure. Also the Continental ProContacts are nice too IMHO - better then a P6 or at the very least the same. I have a set of the SSR Run Flats on my 9-5 wagon right now and a set going on the 9-3 Vert for next season. I have them cause they are free but I do like them.

A GREAT budget tire I always reccomend is the Hankook Ventus V4ES - (directional, so keep that in mind)

[nordwulf]

Summer only lasts about 3 months in northern Michigan. I usually run winter tires from late November to end of April. Other times may still see some light snow and quite a bit of rain so a "three" season tire seems to work best for my needs. I found most summer tires don't last very long and are not that good on wet roads.

I decided to go with the Continental PureContact. Reviews say they are somewhere in between the Pro and Extreme Contact tires so it looks like it may be a good match for a 2004 9-5 Arc. They are 97 H XL tires which is recommended for the 9-5 wagon.

Discount Tire Direct has a $100 rebate and free shipping on these so they are $420 shipped, no tax to Michigan. That seems to be a pretty good deal.
4 New 215 55 16 Continental Pure Contact 55R R16 Tires | eBay

[rpiereck]

I am one who doesn't like all season tires, for me they're "jack of all trades, master of none". I would only use all season tires in the winter if I only got less than a month of snow, any thing longer and you're putting your life in danger every time you drive. Once you go from all season to winter tires you will notice it's like night and day. For that reason I'd rather have dedicated summer and winter tires, and not use all season at all. Yes, it's twice as expensive, but why buy a safe car and skimp out on tires?

For my 9-5 Aero I currently have Michelin Pilot Sport 3 for summer, they're excellent in rain, and I have driven them on temperatures down to 36 degrees F (no snow or ice), and they still gripped well. I switched to my winter tires, Michelin Primacy Alpin PA3, but haven't had the chance to try them on any snow, just frozen pavement. I have experience with Bridgestone Blizzak (great tires) and Gislaved Nord Frost (good tires).

On the C900 I currently have all season tires as that's what the previous owner had installed, but they are being replaced for winter tires when I go back to Germany.

[nordwulf]

Yes, it's twice as expensive, but why buy a safe car and skimp out on tires?

It is not really twice as expensive because a set of summer and winter tires last as long as two sets of any tires. It is just the money you have tied up in the extra set of tires (and wheels).

But the question was about the best all-season tires, not about all-season tires versus winter/summer tires.

[rpiereck]

You're absolutely right about that Frank, I was referring to the initial investment in tires. Also, when selling the car the fact that it has two sets of tires (and most likely two sets of rims too) the value and sales attraction will be increased too.