All-season tires
Feb 5, 2010, 12:38 PM
#16
Certain locations, even as far north as new york city, might see 2-3 inches of snow maybe twice a month. So it's a good compromise for summer, fall/spring, and winter.
I drove through the biggest snowstorm this year up in new hampshire, 1-2ft of fresh pow on the road and I was able to go at the posted speed limit on all the roads, no problem, with all seasons. The only time when abs or traction kicked in was on solid ice.
Some reviewers say they're quiet but I found them actually the same as the stock yoko's. The only diff is that they have a bit of a numb spot on center. They ride more comfortable but squirmier at 35psi. I run em at 38-39psi and they ride pretty firm.
Feb 5, 2010, 01:24 PM
#17
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So it's not like bad? like it wont affect daily driving right?
Feb 5, 2010, 02:09 PM
#18
Because not all of us are driving our tires to 95% of their limits all the time. Even during spirited driving, most people don't push their car (& tires) that hard.
Certain locations, even as far north as new york city, might see 2-3 inches of snow maybe twice a month. So it's a good compromise for summer, fall/spring, and winter.
I drove through the biggest snowstorm this year up in new hampshire, 1-2ft of fresh pow on the road and I was able to go at the posted speed limit on all the roads, no problem, with all seasons. The only time when abs or traction kicked in was on solid ice.
Some reviewers say they're quiet but I found them actually the same as the stock yoko's. The only diff is that they have a bit of a numb spot on center. They ride more comfortable but squirmier at 35psi. I run em at 38-39psi and they ride pretty firm.
Certain locations, even as far north as new york city, might see 2-3 inches of snow maybe twice a month. So it's a good compromise for summer, fall/spring, and winter.
I drove through the biggest snowstorm this year up in new hampshire, 1-2ft of fresh pow on the road and I was able to go at the posted speed limit on all the roads, no problem, with all seasons. The only time when abs or traction kicked in was on solid ice.
Some reviewers say they're quiet but I found them actually the same as the stock yoko's. The only diff is that they have a bit of a numb spot on center. They ride more comfortable but squirmier at 35psi. I run em at 38-39psi and they ride pretty firm.
Feb 5, 2010, 03:57 PM
#19
Buy real winter tires and then tell me it's a fair compromise. I will never own a car that doesn't have dedicated winters again, the difference is that drastic. I see no reason why you should have compromised winter safety and summer fun to save a buck with an already expensive vehicle.
Feb 8, 2010, 06:08 AM
#20
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To each their own, but the DWS are great tires. I was out playing in the 20+ inches we got here in Philly this weekend and they were awesome in the snow. The combination of the RA's awd and the DWS is a great set up. I've now pushed the tires to the limit in dry/wet/snow and love the way they handle. When they do break loose, they are very predictable, and they are much harder to get loose than the stock yokos in the dry and especially wet. Now I only have about 5k on this set, so they are fairly new, but they have the best wet grip out of any tire I have ever owned period.
If I were to track the car, I'd roll on some sticker summer tires, but for the spirited driver living in my area, these all seasons make a lot of sense.
If I were to track the car, I'd roll on some sticker summer tires, but for the spirited driver living in my area, these all seasons make a lot of sense.
Feb 8, 2010, 12:05 PM
#21
Buy real winter tires and then tell me it's a fair compromise. I will never own a car that doesn't have dedicated winters again, the difference is that drastic. I see no reason why you should have compromised winter safety and summer fun to save a buck with an already expensive vehicle.
We frequently get temps 50+ in the winter, which will destroy the multi-cell layer in the blizzaks. And I'd rather not have to swap wheels every time the temperature fluctuates. So while I wouldn't buy any other A/S tire for snow, the DWS's are a much better compromise.
Feb 8, 2010, 12:14 PM
#22
I view tires like I do shoes, you use the right shoes for the job, not a compromise between the two. If it's cold as hell out and I'm worried about traction, I wear boots. If it's hot out, I wear sandals. For winter driving, winter tires are king. This doesn't mean you need the most hardcore winter tire out there but something with a winter rating is a good idea. We get wild fluctuations in temperature here as well (due to chinooks) and my Blizzaks are fine. I believe they're the LM-25s. For summer, I use a summer rubber. Why buy a performance car only to use subpar, or average tires?
Feb 12, 2010, 04:56 PM
#24
I view tires like I do shoes, you use the right shoes for the job, not a compromise between the two. If it's cold as hell out and I'm worried about traction, I wear boots. If it's hot out, I wear sandals. For winter driving, winter tires are king. This doesn't mean you need the most hardcore winter tire out there but something with a winter rating is a good idea. We get wild fluctuations in temperature here as well (due to chinooks) and my Blizzaks are fine. I believe they're the LM-25s. For summer, I use a summer rubber. Why buy a performance car only to use subpar, or average tires?
Most people here don't time trial their way to the grocery store pushing the car to 95% of the limits of handling because their dedicated tires give them .9G of grip vs .85G. I sure as hell can't feel much difference between 0.05G.
BTW: I bought a performance car and I refuse to put sub-par or average tires on em. That's why I went with the DWS. Because they're ranked at the top of their class in fowl weather. Poultry, watch out!
Feb 12, 2010, 05:15 PM
#25
You don't need to drive hard to rationalize having separate summer tires and winter tires. All-seasons, while marketed as the best of both worlds, are in reality, the worst of both worlds. They have to have a compound hard enough to withstand the summer heat yet soft enough for "winter" use. This invariably forces them to be biased one way or another which results in reduced performance in either the summer or the winter. The same essential problem is found with tread design, it needs to be usable in the summer and the winter. Compare the tread design between a dedicated summer and dedicated winter, they're very different. All-seasons are no seasons, they performance alright in everything but excel at nothing. I see no reason why someone would buy a 30000$ "performance" car only to buy tires that are merely alright.
Mar 7, 2010, 08:24 PM
#26
i have the conintental DWS on my 09 gts and they're actually quieter than the factory dunlops. the dunlops were extremely terrible in snow, having no grip at all in 1" of snow on a road with 0 degrees of slope. the dws make a WORLD of difference. too bad i'm selling my gts to get a ralliart... all 700 bucks worth of new tires n installation gone
Mar 17, 2010, 06:41 PM
#27
You don't need to drive hard to rationalize having separate summer tires and winter tires. All-seasons, while marketed as the best of both worlds, are in reality, the worst of both worlds. They have to have a compound hard enough to withstand the summer heat yet soft enough for "winter" use. This invariably forces them to be biased one way or another which results in reduced performance in either the summer or the winter. The same essential problem is found with tread design, it needs to be usable in the summer and the winter. Compare the tread design between a dedicated summer and dedicated winter, they're very different. All-seasons are no seasons, they performance alright in everything but excel at nothing. I see no reason why someone would buy a 30000$ "performance" car only to buy tires that are merely alright.
i have the conintental DWS on my 09 gts and they're actually quieter than the factory dunlops. the dunlops were extremely terrible in snow, having no grip at all in 1" of snow on a road with 0 degrees of slope. the dws make a WORLD of difference. too bad i'm selling my gts to get a ralliart... all 700 bucks worth of new tires n installation gone
Last edited by xi; Mar 17, 2010 at 06:46 PM.
Mar 17, 2010, 09:08 PM
#29
Ok honestly, I only used the term "performance car" because you keep saying that for a car that has less power than a honda accord or toyota rav 4 v6, granted it has the ability to stop unlike the latter.
Don't they share the same wheels? How hard would it be to get em to swap it?
Don't they share the same wheels? How hard would it be to get em to swap it?
Mar 18, 2010, 06:20 AM
#30
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A simple fact of the matter in this debate is geography. We had the most snowfall in Philly in recorded history (yeah about 125 years for all you crazy climate freaks), and I had to dive on snow covered roads 5 times, and never missed a day of work (technically 4, cause once was just for fun). With that in mind, dedicated snow tires would still have been a little much for this winter, let alone an average winter around here, and btw, the OP is from my area. As I stated before, the Conti DWS handled this beautifully, but the compromise will no doubt be on the hotter summer pavement. No way will they out perform a good summer tire on dry roads, BUT as tested from tire rack, they stand up pretty damn well.
You can compare tires to shoes, but it's a weak argument. I don't wear winter boots every day of winter just in case it snows, and I don't wear sandals in the summer when it rains. But if you wanted to roll with that comparison, you could think of the DWS as a good set of waterproof cross trainers. They'll get you through winter and summer, and you could run a race in them, but they wont perform as good as a pair of winter boots or straight up running shoes.
Considering ones geography greatly changes the need for different tires. Amby is farther north than I, and though he could probably get by with the DWS, dedicated winters make a lot more sense. It's not just an argument over the cost or burden to run two sets of tires, you have to apply a little common sense as well. I wouldn't tell the guys that live in Virginia Beach to run out and buy winter tires next year just because they got 2ft of snow this year (their avg. is 2.5"), but a good set of all seasons might not be a bad idea...
You can compare tires to shoes, but it's a weak argument. I don't wear winter boots every day of winter just in case it snows, and I don't wear sandals in the summer when it rains. But if you wanted to roll with that comparison, you could think of the DWS as a good set of waterproof cross trainers. They'll get you through winter and summer, and you could run a race in them, but they wont perform as good as a pair of winter boots or straight up running shoes.
Considering ones geography greatly changes the need for different tires. Amby is farther north than I, and though he could probably get by with the DWS, dedicated winters make a lot more sense. It's not just an argument over the cost or burden to run two sets of tires, you have to apply a little common sense as well. I wouldn't tell the guys that live in Virginia Beach to run out and buy winter tires next year just because they got 2ft of snow this year (their avg. is 2.5"), but a good set of all seasons might not be a bad idea...