Last weekend I got a chance to get my evo in the snow a little bit in Southern California. Im using the stock advans, so I was able to drive very carefully on flat snow covered roads, and barely made it up my friends steep/icy driveway. Im taking my evo out to my dad's place in Park City Utah where the snow will be 10 fold what it is here, and I dont think I will be able to make it around out there once I get off the freeway. I think the advans might just manage in lightly packed powder on flat roads, but the house is at about 8000 feet, up a curvy sometimes icy road.
So, Im looking to buy a tire that will provide just enough snow traction, but still perform very well in the rain/dry. Cost is a big thing here because I am still in college and gotta front all this myself. I was looking at the Pirelli PZero M/S Nero's......... Anyone have any feedback on these? A dedicated snow tire will be too much money for me to use only two or three times this season. Will a so-called "ultra-high performance all-season" tire provide alot more snow grip then the advans.....or will I just spend money to have similar snow traction, but less dry grip in comparison to the advans.......

Thanks for any and all info

 

There is no such thing as something almost as good as Advans on dry that can do anything in the snow. You just have to settle for an all-season to get you through the slop. I would suggest any of the following 235/45/17 reasonably-priced tires :

discounttiredirect.com/America's Tires/Discount Tires (same company, price includes shipping):
Kumho Ecsta ASX --> $95.00
Continenta Extreme Contact --> $116.00
BF Goodrich g-Force T/A KDWS --> $121.00
Pirelli P-Zero Nero M+S --> $126.00

tirerack.com (price does NOT include shipping)
Sumitomo HTR+ --> $91.00
Kumho Ecsta ASX --> $92.00
Yokohama Avid H4S --> $103.00
Continental ContiExtremeContact --> $116.00
Dunlop Graspic DS-2 (studless snow tire) --> $119.00
BFGoodrich g-Force T/A KDWS --> $121.00
Bridgestone Potenza G009 --> $124.00
Pirelli PZero Nero M&S --> $127.00

EDIT: It only takes one slip to total your car, if you are going through real snow I would sugget you try for the Nokian WR which I can't find online. It's a true 4-season tire with a snowflake symbol. Kind of pricey, but it's really one of the only tires that can do precisely what you want to do.

 

You wont get near the dry traction or steering response from an all season tire as you would the Advan. Two completely different types of tires. Of the performance all season tires in the stock size, Michelins Pilot Sport A/S, Pirelli P-zero Nero M/S, and Yokohama db S2 will deliver the best handling.

 

i had the yokohamas avid V4's before. they sucked in both dry and wet/snow. if you going to spend money on tires, either get the snow tires, or get the UHPS(ultra high peformance summer) tire. your going to be greatly disapointed if you put on a set of all seasons and then can't hold any traction around turns in the summer, and then in the winter when your sliding all over the place you'll be even more upset. the reason snow tires work is because they are very narrow (which is bad for summer performance driving), and they have very small tread blocks which help to dig in the snow. if you use a winter tire in the summer they wear extremely fast. if you use a summer tire (very large tread blocks and a wide tire) your going to simply slide ont he surface of the snow.

but on a side note, do you have much experience driving on snow?

there was a little bit of snow (more like a glazing of ice) here in dallas and everyone was afraid for their lives. i was enjoying it! the evo did quite well cosidering i also had the advans on. i would take them in the snow and not worry one bit. and so you know i lived in michigan until this september, and last winter the roads in at home up north were completely covered in snow for well over a month without a single break for the salt to do its thing.

 

for your safety, if your planning to drive in the snow, there is no other way to do it with our cars (evo) than having a snow specific tyres. I had the nero before and I end up getting a new front end last winter. now I have the blizzaks on the stock wheels, hope this one works. they're 235/45/17 snow specific tyres.

good luck

 

I'm sorry but if you have the slightest chance of driving in conditions consistently below 30 deg let alone snow/ice, you NEED to move to an all season tire at minimum. To say its acceptable to drive on ice and snow with the Advans so you can have fun sliding around..well..I just hope you have a good deductible if taking that advise.

Snow tires rely on three things to make them work, tread depth, tread design, and tread compound. Winter tires are very soft in compound, and have taller/deeper tread blocks. This creates a large decrease in handing, but huge increase in snow and ice traction. Narrower tires to help, but its a little more than just that.

Performance all season tires are a good mix of winter traction and handling. Sort of the "jack of all trades" class. Not every all season tire is poor handling. What you think feels poor may be just fine for someone else. The tires I mentioned will perform very well in the dry and clear days. They will also provide the needed ice and snow traction to get you thru a winter. Your going to sacrifice handling to get back all season capability. That's just the way it is.

 

All the info is very much appreciated......And yes, I have a decent amount of snow driving experience. As I mentioned, Im going out to my dad's house, which I do every winter. I have driven through some pretty hairy situations in our Range Rover with Nokian Hakkepellita studded tires.......which i believe are the best snow tires out there. I bought my evo last year after winter, so this is gonna be the first trip with it. I thought I would be able to make it up his road and driveway until I did a tiny amount of snowdriving last weekend, and all my hopes were crushed.
Well, thanks again for all the advice. I have a paycheck coming in on thursday, then Im gonna pick something up.....hopefully around 100 bucks a tire.