New All Season Tire Option

Tires are one of the things you actually get what you paid for. Don't buy them.

I'd imagine nankangs are at the same level as accelera tires.

Using Pirelli Sottozero 3, expensive, but worth it to me. Read the threads, A/S tires are not winter tires.

CTSteve said:

Using Pirelli Sottozero 3, expensive, but worth it to me. Read the threads, A/S tires are not winter tires.

Click to expand...

I live around NYC/NJ area and have use A/S M+S tires (Bridgestone Potenza, Michelin Pilot Exalto) exclusively on my Prelude for 20 years thru moderate snow storms and light ice storms without problems. I think if your ride is FWD and live in a metro area in NYC or south of, then a good set of A/S M+S should be good enough. With a performance car, it's the low ground clearance that gets you stuck. The only time I got stuck in my Prelude was when I venture out during a snow storm on an incline with about 3 or 4 inches (or maybe more) of snow covering before the first plow truck had a chance to plow and lay down a coating of salt. Good thing I carry a compact shovel and was able to free the Lude back to safety.

ez12a said:

Tires are one of the things you actually get what you paid for. Don't buy them.

I'd imagine nankangs are at the same level as accelera tires.

Click to expand...

I don't see the point of doing the wet tests on a track at track speeds.

1. I don't go much over the speed limit in a rain storm.
2. The speed limits for the curves like those on that track will be like 25 MPH. He must be going well over 50 MPH on those curves.

Would the better tire still be better at speeds under the test speed? Mmmm....???

bikejog said:

I don't see the point of doing the wet tests on a track at track speeds.

1. I don't go much over the speed limit in a rain storm.
2. The speed limits for the curves like those on that track will be like 25 MPH. He must be going well over 50 MPH on those curves.

Would the better tire still be better at speeds under the test speed? Mmmm....???

Click to expand...

Speed aside, they're also terrible in wet braking too. Up to you though, it's your car.

Back in December I saw a 10th gen civic sedan lose the rear and spin out to hit the curb going maybe 40 mph on a sweeping right turn. Deployed the side and front airbags. The tires on those couldn't have been more than 3 years old, or she was running very bad tires, and this was with wet-ish roads fresh after a rain. Luckily they were both OK. My worn OEM contis at 3/32" were fine, and so was the large SUV next to it.

I'd put compound up there in terms of importance as well as tread depth.

Jaws12 said:

New CTR owner in New Jersey. Of course taking delivery in the middle of the winter season creates the tire issue as has been discussed in numerous threads.

after reading everyone’s choices about going either wider, higher aspect ratio, or changing out wheels for 18” or 19s, I started doing some research.
Nothing on Tire Rack, but Discount Tires Direct has Nanking NS-25 AS in our stock sizes and they are very inexpensive.

Has anyone used these or are they just something to avoid?

Click to expand...

I had the Nankang tire blow up parking in my driveway after being 3 months old. Stay away from Chinese tires if you don't want to total your car.

ez12a said:

Speed aside, they're also terrible in wet braking too. Up to you though, it's your car.

Click to expand...

Don't get me wrong. I know the value of a good set of tires after my scary experience with those terrible Nankangs.

That video seems to suggest the Michelins are inferior in the rain. I just can't have that being a fan boy that I'm.

bikejog said:

I live around NYC/NJ area and have use A/S M+S tires (Bridgestone Potenza, Michelin Pilot Exalto) exclusively on my Prelude for 20 years thru moderate snow storms and light ice storms without problems. I think if your ride is FWD and live in a metro area in NYC or south of, then a good set of A/S M+S should be good enough. With a performance car, it's the low ground clearance that gets you stuck. The only time I got stuck in my Prelude was when I venture out during a snow storm on an incline with about 3 or 4 inches (or maybe more) of snow covering before the first plow truck had a chance to plow and lay down a coating of salt. Good thing I carry a compact shovel and was able to free the Lude back to safety.

Click to expand...

To a great extent that's correct. In a serious storm snow clearance is the issue. With the CTR and a lot of other cars, you're not going anywhere if you have to plow your way through the snow cover. The issue with A/S vs. winter tires appears to be with cleared relatively dry or wet, not snow, conditions with temps in the 20s to 40s F, or less . That appears to be when the compound comes into play. Your choice as to what kind of handling performance you want in those conditions.

Jaws12 said:

New CTR owner in New Jersey. Of course taking delivery in the middle of the winter season creates the tire issue as has been discussed in numerous threads.

after reading everyone’s choices about going either wider, higher aspect ratio, or changing out wheels for 18” or 19s, I started doing some research.
Nothing on Tire Rack, but Discount Tires Direct has Nanking NS-25 AS in our stock sizes and they are very inexpensive.

Has anyone used these or are they just something to avoid?

Click to expand...

When it comes to tires, you literally get what you pay for.

All Season Tires are not winter tires and should not be utilized in lieu of; All Season tires are meant for temperate climates where snow or ice does not occur.

If residing in an area that receives snow/ice, Winter tires should be utilized. Bridgestone/Firestone [Blizzak/Winterforce] both make excellent Winter tires that are relatively inexpensive. I personally would recommend Blizzak's top tier WS80's, but they are ~$180/tire (Blizzak offers multiple tiers), however when cost is not a barrier, Michelin's X-Ice are phenomenal tires (~$280/tire).

• Many balk at the upfront cost of having Summer and Winter tires, however over the life of the tires, they are no more expensive than All-Season tires since they last around twice as long (each set is only used around 6 months of the year).

Winter tires have extremely soft-tread (soft enough you can press your thumb into the tread) and a vehicle driven in snow/ice should have a smaller width tire than what is normally used for summer tires.

JW0914 said:

• Many balk at the upfront cost of having Summer and Winter tires, however over the life of the tires, they are no more expensive than All-Season tires since they last around twice as long (each set is only used around 6 months of the year).

Click to expand...

I've made this argument in the past, but found it to be false in reality.

• A good set of winter tires will cost about the same as a good set of all-season and have about half the tread life
• A good set of summer tires will cost more than a good set of all seasons and will last less than half the miles. Let's call it half for the sake of argument.

What that adds up to is 2 sets of tires that, combined, might get as many miles as 1 set of all-season but for the price of 2 sets of all-seasons.

The value in season specific tires is the added safety/performance.

That said, I have all-season on my winter/beater car because I don't care if it ends up in a ditch and a set of winter tires cost more than I paid for the car.

RedGiant217 said:

I've made this argument in the past, but found it to be false in reality.

• A good set of winter tires will cost about the same as a good set of all-season and have about half the tread life
• A good set of summer tires will cost more than a good set of all seasons and will last less than half the miles. Let's call it half for the sake of argument.

What that adds up to is 2 sets of tires that, combined, might get as many miles as 1 set of all-season but for the price of 2 sets of all-seasons.

The value in season specific tires is the added safety/performance.

That said, I have all-season on my winter/beater car because I don't care if it ends up in a ditch and a set of winter tires cost more than I paid for the car.

Click to expand...

regardless the value of my car, i still care if it will ditch or not. Sometimes it just take that small accident to cause a life of our love one.
We can buy a new car but we cant buy a new arm or life.

And for treadwear... if you are compare same brand.. all season wont last double as long..

I have had michelin A/S 3+, and now i run Michelin PS4S on all my cars and winter with michelin X Ice3...
A/S 3+ does last longer than PS4S and xice3 but just by 10000 or so...

Ppl kill the season specific tires prematurely because they are lazy on rotating them and use it in wrong tempature. I have seen ppl run winter tires in May where the temperature is already all warm.. Their car smell burnt after some highway drive.
Not trying to argue, just share my 2 cents.

Agreed, having two sets of season specific tires, may not be equal or less expensive than using all season tires. They are still performance tires and don’t wear as well as the A/S option. Not surprisingly, it comes down to what do you want? You pay to play. I want the best performance and handling that I can get from the car on the street year-round, and where I am, that means two dedicated sets of tires, one for the summer, and real winter tires for the winter, for me, Pirelli Sottozero 3 . There’s not much choice of quality winter tires in the OEM size. For me that also means two sets of wheels, both 20” OEM.

That’s not nearly as expensive as you may think, given the way that people are abandoning the OEM wheels at low prices, you’re probably going to be able to pick up an extra set of minimally or partially worn summer tires and a set of wheels for somewhere in the area of $1200, less than just a set of quality new tires. When you look at the economics of semiannual tire changes, and what that may do to the tires as you take them on and off, it’s a pretty good deal. As for being too lazy to make the seasonal change, once you have the two sets of wheels, you can do it yourself in an hour twice a year, or take them to just a local garage that can easily do the wheel change at low cost. No appointments, no hanging around for the dealer or distributor getting ready to take care of you, etc.

JW0914 said:

When it comes to tires, you literally get what you pay for.

All Season Tires are not winter tires and should not be utilized in lieu of; All Season tires are meant for temperate climates where snow or ice does not occur.

Click to expand...

I don't want to be disagreeable, however, I have lived the the "frozen" midwest for 60 of my 69 years of life and have never used winter tires. The one acceptation is the most recent A/S tires I purchased for the Rav also has the mountain snowflake on the sidewall so they are winter rated.

Way back I remember my Dad buying studded snows when we moved from Texas to Chicago area out of fear and they lasted about one year. If it snows enough that I should have dedicated snows or chains on I stay home. Even with crappy snow removal around here we usually have the main roads/streets cleared within 24 hours. We live on a circle drive that has an approximate 30 foot rise in 20 yards to the main street and my Rav with A/S tires has never failed to get me to the main street...deep snow, packed snow or ice. Some will say: "but it's all wheel drive". Yes it is but it operates mostly in front wheel drive even in snowy conditions.

Even with the A/S I put on the CTR it is going to stay in the garage in bad winter conditions. That's why I have the Rav.

wildbilly32 said:

I don't want to be disagreeable, however, I have lived the the "frozen" midwest for 60 of my 69 years of life and have never used winter tires. The one acceptation is the most recent A/S tires I purchased for the Rav also has the mountain snowflake on the sidewall so they are winter rated.

Way back I remember my Dad buying studded snows when we moved from Texas to Chicago area out of fear and they lasted about one year. If it snows enough that I should have dedicated snows or chains on I stay home. Even with crappy snow removal around here we usually have the main roads/streets cleared within 24 hours. We live on a circle drive that has an approximate 30 foot rise in 20 yards to the main street and my Rav with A/S tires has never failed to get me to the main street...deep snow, packed snow or ice. Some will say: "but it's all wheel drive". Yes it is but it operates mostly in front wheel drive even in snowy conditions.

Even with the A/S I put on the CTR it is going to stay in the garage in bad winter conditions. That's why I have the Rav.

Click to expand...

Not saying that A/S is unsafe... million of ppl use A/S in deep winter with no problem.
It just winter specific tires is meant for winter specific, compound is created for winter specific temperature so it remains grip even in extreme temperature as per A/S and summer tires, the compound will stiffen up when temperature drop below freezing point.

A/S tire will not stop as good as winter tires for that fact. Imagine a ice hockey puck on skate ring..
It is not really the launching that winter tire and summer tire are helping.. very often it is about the stopping distance that it safe life.

We live in canada, unfortunately temperature get to quite low sometimes and A/S tire compound will simply harden and affect stopping distance.
Being said that, there are alot of people where i live is mount with A/S ... and they dont seems to care.
Afterall, it comes down to how much safety and performance you want for yourself and family. To me, doesnt matter what car we are driving, there are just that few inches compound that is touching the road ... i dont want to cheap out on that. I will cheap out on audio, i can cheap out even on oil change, but never on tires.

bikejog said:

I live around NYC/NJ area and have use A/S M+S tires (Bridgestone Potenza, Michelin Pilot Exalto) exclusively on my Prelude for 20 years thru moderate snow storms and light ice storms without problems. I think if your ride is FWD and live in a metro area in NYC or south of, then a good set of A/S M+S should be good enough. With a performance car, it's the low ground clearance that gets you stuck. The only time I got stuck in my Prelude was when I venture out during a snow storm on an incline with about 3 or 4 inches (or maybe more) of snow covering before the first plow truck had a chance to plow and lay down a coating of salt. Good thing I carry a compact shovel and was able to free the Lude back to safety.

Click to expand...

Having grown up in CT and lived in Philly for 30 years, I largely agree with this. When I first had my 2001 Saab 9-5 Aero, I bought a set of winter tires per the advice from Car & Driver and others, but found they really weren't necessary. In fact, I got through a massive Midwestern blizzard with some Sumitomo UHP A/S tires in 2005. Pickups and SUVS had spun off the road, and I just chugged through, feeling solid the entire way. I was astounded how well they did. Since then, both on the Saab and my 2010 TSX, I've never had any issues driving on Continental Extreme Contact AWS tires in occasional moderate snow, even though they don't get the best ratings for winter traction. If there's heavy snow I won't have to drive anywhere anyway, so no big deal.

However, if I regularly needed to climb steep hills, as some do in the suburbs around here, I would go with winter tires unless I had AWD. My business partner lives on a steep hill in the 'burbs, and always used winter tires on her FWD Saab, but doesn't need to with her AWD Infiniti G37s (which is a pretty cool car BTW).