Stock Type R tires only last 9,000 miles?

willskiGT said:

I find it interesting that so many people switch to all seasons after the stock Contis are gone.

What's the motivation behind buying a high performance car and then putting on tires that greatly reduce performance? Swapping to winter tires when it's cold is one thing, but why all seasons?

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Zeffy94 said:

When I had my DWS 06 on I could still take corners much faster than most could without hearing the tires squeal. The only problem with those tires was off the line it was a bit more wheel spin than usual, but otherwise they worked great. Not to mention the fact that if the temperature dipped sharply they would not make me feel like I was on ice.

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tinyman392 said:

Do I push the car hard enough to reach optimal operating temperatures? Do I push the car enough to justify getting dedicated high performance summer tires? Do I live in a region where it's always 90+ degrees out to be in an optimal temperature range to use the tires?

My previous set of all-season tires (Nitto NeoGen) were optimal between 60-80 F, good from 35-100 F (don't have many 100+ days), OK -5-35 though they worked fine all the way down to -30. Note this is dry road (salted if it's below freezing). Our roads are normally salted and cleared within 24 hours so driving on light snow is the worst that it gets and 99% of the time the road is clear with a dusting of salt. My current set are the Michelin PS A/S 3+ which I have only had for a week, so no info on that.

When I had the stock Continentals, they seemed best from 80-100, good from 60-80, then OK from 40-60. I tried to not use them below 40 F for obvious reasons. The Nittos actually felt like they might have more traction than the Contis around 70 F, 80 F felt like a wash. This is from memory.

In the Chicagoland area, I'd estimate that we get around 90-degree weather (80-100) around 60-90 days out of the year. Then the 40-80 F range probably close to 180 days out of the year. Lately (4 years), we've seen 14-21 days of -10 or below, then regular winter weather for the rest (-10 to 40-ish degrees). The kicker this year was the fact that we had 2-3 winters (depending on how you count them). The first was typical starting late December to about mid March when the weather hit around a constant 40-50 degrees. Most people put on their summer setup early or mid April when we began seeing highs of 40-60, I felt sorry for them. Mid April saw the coming of a snow storm producing about 6 inches of snow with temperatures dropping around 20's. Lasted about 5 days before temperatures rebounded back into the 60's. 5 days later and we get another snow storm producing temps around 25-30 with another 6 inches. Our May was what we normally got in April with a lot of 40-degree weather. This sort of weather isn't commonplace, but it happens enough to throw people off.

On top of that, I'm not tracking the car or using it on a drag stip. The all season provide more than enough traction that I need for the spirited runs I do and my DD. They also tend to have better tread life as well (not always, but typically do).

Note these temperatures are air temperatures without accounting for wind chill or humidity. In a location where the temperature is 70-80+ for 75% of the year, definitely go get some dedicated summer tires as they're most likely in their optimal point for traction. I don't get that here the all-season seem to be a better fit.

TL;DR: All season are optimal 50% of the year for me while summer tires are 15-25%. At their optimal range, I felt like the all-season provided slightly more grip than the summer (at lower temps) or about equal (at higher temps). Weather is completely unpredictable were I am sprouting snow storms in between 60-degree weather in Spring (anyone on a 2-tire setup was kind of fucked over by April). The all-season simply seems like the better tire of choice for my DD. If I were to do a 2-tire setup, I probably would still opt for the all-season tires during spring-fall and use a dedicated winter tire for the winter. For a warmer climate I understand the use of a dedicated summer tire for spring-fall as you're typically always in the optimal traction temps, for cooler climates, like in the midwest, I understand (and use) the all-season tire.

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I will make one more comment regarding the April mishap that happened this year. I know a lot of people swapped winter tires back as the second snow storm hit. It's August now and I still see people with Blizzak's on their cars for whatever reason (maybe they were too lazy to swap them back?).

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MediaMaster said:

Thanks Tinyman392. I live in Green Bay another 300 miles north of you and have similar plans for my new 2020 when it arrives. I will be purchasing a set of 19" wheels and I'm still trying to figure out whether I will go with 255/35/19 or 245/ 35. Looks like the Michelin PS A/S 3+ are the A/S tires that most CRT owners like the best. Now that you've had them for more than a week are they still meeting your expectations?

I was thinking about how long I would be able to use the summer tires up here and I think most of June, all of July and August and at least this year all of September (but normally the first half of the month.) The first week of Oct. looks like it will have highs in the 40s/50s and probably a freeze (finally will get rid of the f-king mosquitoes). So I will save the summers, mounted and ready to go, and use the 19s for the remainder of the year. Will probably try at least one session at the track (Elkart Lake) if they allow.

Weather here is very unpredictable. I've seen lows around 32 in June and Sept., highs in the 90s in May and Sept. and lots in between. I have actually played golf in every calendar month - go figure.

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