Favorite Tires

[jjwink]

I'm thinking or re-shoeing my 2010 LGT for ALL seasons instead of 3 seasons.

 

I'm looking at getting 17x7.5 Rota SDR's and looking at tire options. (225/50/17)

 

Tirerack has the following as highly rated, but I don't know what they are like in person, anyone have experience with any of the following?

 

Pirelli PZero Nero All Season (Good test results) 25lbs

Continental ExtremeContact DWS (very mixed reviews) 22lbs

Bridgestone Potenza RE960AS Pole Position (Seem awfully expensive) 27lbs

General Altimax HP (215/50/17) Have them on my Honda, seem pretty good. 20lbs

[torinalth]

Goodyear Eagle GT - my favorite all season I've ever tried.

 

T

[mwiener2]

All-seasons ARE 3 seasons

[BAC5.2]

I am torn between the Eagle GT and the Continental Extreme Contact DWS.

 

I'm probably going to go with the DWS in 245/50/17.

[Blue GT]

Sumitomo HTR a/s p01- a new tire so not a ton of reviews but I have about 5k on my set and they are performing beautifully.

[jjwink]

All-seasons ARE 3 seasons

 

I don't know how it is in CO, but around here, we have 4 seasons, and saying ALL would imply all 4.

 

Central Indiana rarely gets rough enough to need a dedicated snow tire. It might around Michigan due to Lake effect show, but the snowfall here is typically sparse (except for that big dump we got last year).

[jjwink]

I'm considering something non-directional. I think the Pirelli's are the only ones fitting that bill in my list. Directionals look cool, but I was thinking about buying 5 wheels and 5 tires and doing a 5 tire rotation. That way if one fails I can revert to 4 and they will all have similar wear.

 

In 15 years, I have only had 1 time where tire was damaged beyond repair by a piece of scrap laying in the street. So I am still debating that as well.

[Scooby Fan]

If you are really looking for 4 season tires (including snow) then you need Nokian WR or WR G2....I run Pirelli P Zero Nero M&S for the first 3 seasons and WR G2's for winter. If there is no "Snow flake" emblem they are just 3 season tires. Check your local traffic laws for a definition of "Winter tires"

[clarkwgriswold]

Goodyear Eagle GT - my favorite all season I've ever tried.

 

T

 

Me too!

[tsunami]

I have teh Bridgestone Potenza RE960AS Pole Position's in 225/40/18. Great Grip in dry and wet. But if its deep snow it was very easy to make them slip. However I'd buy them again

 

Edit: I also got an amazing deal from tirerack. Something like 120 per tire. I looked one day and it was around 170 and the next day they were 120. So I jumped on it.

[mwiener2]

All seasons are a compromise between hot/dry and wet/cold. A tire cannot be great in the dry and also be great in the snow.

 

That's why All-seasons are really 3-seasons. You either buy one weighted towards inclement weather or one weighted towards handling. But you can't have both.

[jjwink]

I have teh Bridgestone Potenza RE960AS Pole Position's in 225/40/18. Great Grip in dry and wet. But if its deep snow it was very easy to make them slip. However I'd buy them again

 

Edit: I also got an amazing deal from tirerack. Something like 120 per tire. I looked one day and it was around 170 and the next day they were 120. So I jumped on it.

 

That is crazy cheap for that size.

 

Currently 225/50/17's are $181 but you get a $70 credit card when you buy four so that's like 163 each, nothing near as cheap as $120.

 

We hardly get snow here, last year was an exception, some years are totally dry. I'm not an extreme driver, I'm sure a GOOD set of ALL seasons are better that what 90% of drivers here are running. Most people are running on "4 for $200" sets. I'm hoping a $500 set of tires runs circles around those.

[torinalth]

was not deep but my GTs did well when we got snow here, wasnt trying to be a badass, but kept me on the road and confident at acceptable speeds. AWESOME in the wet too. mediocre on the dry.. but I am used to GSD3 and KDWs...

 

T

[jjwink]

I am torn between the Eagle GT and the Continental Extreme Contact DWS.

 

I'm probably going to go with the DWS in 245/50/17.

 

One plus, at least in my size is that the DWS's are the lightest of the bunch. The RE960's have great reviews but are about the heaviest and most expensive.

[jjwink]

Dumb question, TPMS, has to go in from the tire side of the wheel, or the stems screw in from the outside?

 

I want new wheels too, and could maybe get both delivered already mounted, but to do that, I will have to buy another set of TMPS, right? Any problem with TPMS from a 3rd party connecting to the Subaru computer? Are they all made by pretty much the same company?

[Meshanks07]

I really enjoyed my 960s and once my re92s are done, that's the tire I'm getting again. Def worth the money.

[Gire]

Kumho ASX. Great in most conditions. Not awesome in deep snow but what can you say? They are inexpensive and last a long time.

They work well in all seasons of a Vancouver year. Maybe not in climates that get more snow. But I survived.

 

Hell, I survived 3 years on the RE-92s but that is all about careful driving.

 

The Weiner is right... a few posts above.

[stanjk3]

All-seasons ARE 3 seasons

 

or all the seasons but winter

 

M+S = might work in snow

 

I'm happy with my Eagle GTs so far. Weren't the greatest in the winter, but I've had far worse. Most importantly far quieter than the GY Eagle F1 AS I had before.

[mwiener2]

M+S will work in snow, but they are not snow tires

[Norm Peterson]

Actually, I am also shopping for UHP all-season tires for our 2010 LGT, which is how I stumbled across this thread. The RE050A's are already 1/3 worn at somewhere between 6000 and 7000 miles, and my wife will need something better suited to the upcoming winter season.

 

 

Bridgestone Potenza RE960AS Pole Position (Seem awfully expensive) 27lbs

Don't worry about a few lbs/tire weight difference. I can calculate a couple of approximate differences in performance due to this, and they'll be so small that unless you have timing equipment good to ±0.001 second and can consistently drive up around the tires' limits you'll never know there is any difference at all. In a real test, a 5 lbs/tire difference on a Miata was worth 0.1 second or so in about a 45 second autocross.

 

I have had the RE960AS PP tires in the same size on our 2001 5-speed MT Maxima for almost 3 years and just under 30,000 miles. I just went outside and made a random tread depth measurement, and there is still 0.16"* left on a front tire out of 11/32". Roughly, that's only 2/3 worn if you use the 1/16" wear bars as your end of tire life. Feel free to extrapolate, but understand that our Maxima gets driven anywhere from "mildly to moderately" by one of the drivers to "very spirited" by another.

 

Bottom line on the RE960AS' performance - it's a very good, solid choice for everything but deep snow. Biggest problem seems to be getting going from a dead stop (keep the Maxima being FWD in mind here). Like any "all-season" tire, it is only intended to give you some snow capability, where a pure summer tire could be rendered nearly helpless (been there too, so I know how bad a summer tire can be, and also that not all summer tires are equally poor in winter).

 

I wouldn't let the cost count against it too much, given the tread life expectancy.

 

Now, I've got a question . . . for either you or anybody else who might have experience with the Michelin Pilot Sport A/S Plus

Do yoou know of any reason for not considering them, other than possibly price (about the same as the RE960's in 225/45-18)? Tire Rack's own testing rates these two tires about even, customer surveys are basically a wash, and CR rates the Michelins slightly higher.

 

 

 

(* Just so you know, I've got better things to measure stuff with than tire store tread depth gauges)

 

 

Norm

[Norm Peterson]

I'm considering something non-directional. I think the Pirelli's are the only ones fitting that bill in my list. Directionals look cool, but I was thinking about buying 5 wheels and 5 tires and doing a 5 tire rotation.

Buy directional tires for the slight advantage in dispersing water that they provide, not because "they look cool". About once per tire set, the small percentages can make a big difference.

 

Appearance considerations shouldn't be anywhere on your list of tire buying criteria, with the possible exception of tires purchased for a dedicated and trailered show car.

 

 

Norm

[Norm Peterson]

Dumb question, TPMS, has to go in from the tire side of the wheel, or the stems screw in from the outside?

 

I want new wheels too, and could maybe get both delivered already mounted, but to do that, I will have to buy another set of TMPS, right? Any problem with TPMS from a 3rd party connecting to the Subaru computer? Are they all made by pretty much the same company?

As long as you want to keep the TPMS light off and don't want to break down the tire you have to get at their sensors to swap them to the new wheels/tires, you'll need to have a second set of sensors installed at the time the tires were mounted on the wheels. You'll also have to get the new sensors trained to the car's TPMS module. The FSM gives the procedure for doing this, and it involves a "transmitter registration tool" which the dealer would have. Individually, aftermarket shops may or may not be able to deal with it, and the tool may or may not be available for purchase by individual owners (Ford's TPMS learning tool is, so I know that some are).

 

The only thing I can find in Federal TPMS law (I think it's 49 CFR 571) is that it is a legal requirement that motor vehicle mfrs provide this system, and that it is illegal for an individual to disable the warning lamp. Evidently it's OK to let a TPMS warning to remain lit, as the system is informing you that it is unable to perform its intended function (and is hounding you to correct the situation). What you might do to make it easier to ignore the TPMS lamp is up to you.

 

 

Norm