Hey guys I just wanted to get everyone's opinion on a wheel setup. Would it be better to get a good all season tire like the Continentals or have a winter/summer setup and swap them out. I was thinking for where our area is is it really necessary to have a winter/summer setup. It seems almost a little more practical for the wallet to roll with a good all season.
I don't understand why it would be easier on the wallet? Instead of buying 1 set of tires that last 15,000 miles, you buy two sets that last approx. 30,000 miles.
Buying a performance car then neutering the car by installing no seasons is a sin.
I don't understand why it would be easier on the wallet? Instead of buying 1 set of tires that last 15,000 miles, you buy two sets that last approx. 30,000 miles.
True in theory but I've read that winter tires don't last as long, as the rubber compound wears quicker than summer tires. Still I agree with the premise.
Depends where you live. If temps are consistently below freezing, winter tires are a good idea. AWT's are always a compromise.
That said, in 40 years of driving I have never bought winter tires until now. I have always used AWT's including over 20 years in the Midwest, and I have never gotten stuck or had any major problems. My '12 WRX came with AWT's btw.
However, my new WRX came with summer performance tires, so I thought this would be a good opportunity to finally invest in some Blizzaks. Plus, I have been doing quite a bit of research on winter tires, and it seems the benefits are indisputable.
Can we merge all the winter, summer and all season tire questions into one big thread like the BOV thread? It's the same questions being asked over and over again...
The performance summer tires make a huge difference in wet and dry braking and hydroplaning resistances vs most all seasons I've used. As far as tire life you are going to get many many seasons of solid dependable traction out of a set of winters where as an all season not so much. They run out of winter performance very quickly. My contis were great year one, completely useless year 2.
Winter tires tread life will be greatly dependant on how they are used. If you are constantly using them in warm weather or carving corners like you are in formula one they will be short lived. However, if you drive like you have sense, and drive moderately tire life is not an issue, and in cases will outlast what you would normally get driving one set of all seasons year round.
True in theory but I've read that winter tires don't last as long, as the rubber compound wears quicker than summer tires. Still I agree with the premise.
Winter tires are designed for sub-40° temperatures; use in temperatures higher than that will cause increased wear.
People who have seasonal sets have to walk that fine line around swap time: summer tires don't have adequate grip below 40°, winter tires don't have adequate grip above 40°. At what point do you make the switch?
The ONLY time that A/S tires have an advantage over seasonal sets is traction during those flex times, which account for only like 4-6 weeks/year; the remaining weeks, you're dealing with reduced traction in regards to highway on-/off-ramps, evasive maneuvers, braking, etc.
As said, cost difference is minimal. You'll need a second set of wheels (you can buy used OE wheels on the cheap, generally), and you'll have to be able to DIY swap (cost of a jack and a breaker bar).
Unless you're in a situation where you will rarely / never see snowfall, A/S tires are a waste. Buy a set of summer and winter tires, and enjoy the benefit of ultimate traction year-round. The less snow you get, the better suited you are for a "Performance Winter" tire. When you see 40' of wet/heavy lake-effect snow (vs the powder stuff they see in CO/UT), studded snow tires may be better. You'll need to evaluate what your snowfall situation is and buy tires accordingly.
Hallowleg,
The nice thing is that this is America and we have so many choices and we can all have it our own way.
Personally, I have a 2016 and I’m getting ready to buy all-seasons…because it makes sense to me
- I like the acceleration and sportiness of the car..but overall, I’m a conservative driver and rarely take turns in the city at .8 G’s nor do I tailgate…so high performance tires are not a necessity for me.
- Winter tires will wear too fast for me. I live in Southern Ohio and sometimes drive out of state…i.e. south for work…there’s enough winter days over 40 degrees (the point where winter tires start wearing quickly) that it isn’t worth it.
-Furthermore, if it snows here, all-seasons are plenty good on this AWD car to get me to and from work and anywhere I want to go safely; furthermore, if it snows, the roads are clear within a day due to the gov’t salting the roads or warm weather melting it. If I lived much further north and didn’t ever travel south, I’d consider snow tires…but it would not be a definite thing.
I have 17” wheels and I’m going with the Michelin Premier A/S all season tires.
I bought a second set of stock rims for my snows. They were posted on Facebook in a local Subaru group, mint condition.
I just had them mounted Friday. Im in Upstate NY so we have had a bit of snow already! LOL. I work from home mostly so I dont drive much...my snows will last a few seasons for sure. I bought a middle of the road brand, I didnt want the cheapest but didnt want expensive either, I just dont drive enough specially in winter months.
Honestly, having owned two Mustang GTs, Mustang Cobra, two C30s... and even a Honda Accord vtech Coupe I am puzzled that Subaru puts summer tires on an AWD car. Yes, I knew this going in. However it still annoys me.
In around 5 years when its trade-in time, if I go WRX again I will likely be putting those summer tires right back on as I do my trade in.... until then they sit in the basement, hopefully they won't rot.
I just put a set of the best all weather tires I could afford on my new 2016 left over limited.
This is my first winter in my 2016 and I travel from Long Island to windham often, I decided to go -1 to 17's and went with pirelli sottozero's. Snow is falling already, I will keep you posted on how they feel in powder.
From your profile picture, I don't see a sunroof so I am assuming you have a base which has 235/45/17 as well. So does this new set of rims flush more with the fender now that you went from stock (55 offset) to 45 offset.
I just purchased a base 2017 WRX. I had the dealer put Continental ExtremeContact DWS 06 on. I got them for a good deal and I didn't drive with the summers so I can't tell you the difference. I put on 2,500 miles so far. I've gone 70 on a ramp and it sticks like glue. I plowed through a traffic circle like it was nothing. So far I plan on getting them again. I live in South Jersey. It snows bad like 3 times each winter. It's not worth the pain in the ass (for me) to switch every season. Also, aren't winter tires only great in the actual snow? I feel like if you're only truly benefiting from winter tires 3-6 days out of 90 days, it's a bit unnecesary. I'm not saying all seasons are better, but I don't race on a circuit track in the snow a mud, I'm a daily driver and have fun when I can. I'm sure the "feel" is different than winter or summers. Just like some summers will feel different than others summers, all tires are different. My car feels and handles like a beast and I'm glad I got the DWS 06 rather than switching back and forth just for a few days out of the year to be able to handle a bit better in the snow. I searched all seasons on the forums before I bought them and all I found was people shouting about how it's a lose/lose and if you don't get summer AND winter then it's a waste. I don't understand, I know it's better and all but all seasons aren't bad, they are still great and in the end it comes down to convenience and what region you live in. Just my 2 cents. I'm no expert, just figured I'd balance out this thread with my experience with the continentals. Thanks
Looking at the graph, they are equal around 5 degrees. It's not really -10 to -15 around here all the time. But regardless I see what you're saying. Also, in terms of the snow wear and life, I'm still taking into account how it's not going to see much snow compared to, say, Boston or Connecticut or somewhere like that. I'm assuming the all season still wears quicker on dry pavement because it's not the winter compound? I just see more benefits of the winter if I was up north a bit more around upper New York and stuff. Now watch DE/NJ will get slammed lol...
To be fair, I made that graph to prove a point visually. These are not actual data. In fact, I doubt the grip magnitude is Gaussian at all, but probably something more analogous to a plateau. One would not expect that any tire would have ZERO grip at any livable temperature.
Also, there are numerous other factors including how quickly a tire reaches operating temp and different tires offering different peak grip.
Also, I'm coming from a 2012 base 6 speed front wheel drive Chevy Cruze with tires so bad I don't even know what they were to be honest lmao. Part of me wanted to do the summer and winter tires but it seemed like more of a hassle. I know I'm missing out on performance and I'll make sure to be cautious in the snow and stuff but I'm willing to lose out on a little here and there. Maybe I'll change my mind in a year or two. I don't know how I dealt with a Cruze for nearly 5 years... I had a 2005 black WRX Stage 2 with exhaust and everything and thought somehow that I wanted to "settle down". For the last 5 years every time I was behind the wheel of the Cruze I was in pain in one way or another. Physically.... emotionally. Needless to say, it took some time to adjust back to the short throw shifter and it definitely wasn't this "clunky" back in 05'.
I just put my winter tires/wheels on my car yesterday. I got them from Tirerack. 215/50R-17 BRIDGESTONE BLIZZAK WS80 XL. I chose the 17X7.5 SPORT EDITION P3 ANTHRACITE wheels, mounted and balanced with TPMS. I also installed the new mud flaps. I got the Rally Armor flaps directly from Rally Armor. Very high quality and worth every penny IMHO.
Hopefully I can share some of my knowledge that I have collected from reading threads about Summer/Winter vs. all season tires. My '17 WRX Premium came with Summer tires and I am about to put on my Winter set that I purchased from tirerack.com (Pirelli Zero FR XL) this coming Wednesday.
FYI, if you are a AAA member, they're doing a tire swap/balance for ~$82. It seems cheaper from all of the other places that I have called in my area (CJ Tires and Firestone).
I also decided to stick with the stock diameter of 18" just because I didn't want to deal with speed variation or having a different circumference resulting in incorrect mileage recorded... I am still in that baby mode (<3000 mi still since my purchase on 10/1). Anyways, from what I read, the true "Winter" tread on Winter tires wears out about half way and the resulting tire basically becomes all-seasons. I have not seen any information stating that this is the same case with Summer tires. With that being said, going with the season specific tires would provide you with optimum traction for your specific season and then ultimately become all-season in the end. I am pretty sure all-seasons have very little Winter tech. built into them, so you lose out on that pretty early.
Although, I can see where having two sets could be daunting -- needing two sets of wheels. I say "need" because it is not good to continuously rotate tires off and on wheels (according to what I have read). I have seen the max number that people have suggested being 4-5 times since the rubber becomes too loose for proper and tight fitment. Plus, you are introducing more instances where wheels can get damaged by the installer -- just another thought. In my case, since I am using my stock wheels for the Winter (I plan to plasti dip them for some extra protection), I will use this time to save for a Spring/Summer set that I can permanently put my Summer tires on.
Overall, I will be testing these Winter tires driving from Philadelphia, PA to Lake Placid, NY. We will see how they perform!