tires rating by consumer reports
10-07-2006, 12:38 AM
#26
Jingle Ballzzzz!
Originally Posted by 124Spider
What kind of tires you put on your car should depend a great deal on what kind of driving you plan to do with your car.
First, if you want fairly high performance tires, you should get summer tires; SO-3s are excellent tires, and wonderful in the rain (we have a little of that around here). But if you have summer tires on your car, you should be very careful about winter driving. The tires will be hard from the cold temperatures, and traction on the cold pavement will be poor. And traction on even a dusting of snow is non-existent. Unless you're ready to turn you car into a garage queen from mid-November (or earlier) until mid-March (or later), you should not even think about keeping summer tires on your car in the winter. Either put real snow tires on, or garage it. I bought extra wheels and keep snow tires on them for the winter.
All weather tires are a compromise that I am not comfortable with on our local hills with a RWD car in the snow. Good all weather tires are fine for FWD and AWD cars, but a bit too dicey, IMO, for a balanced front engine/RWD car. Your summer performance will be compromised, and your winter performance will be compromised. Why chance it with a $25,000 car?
First, if you want fairly high performance tires, you should get summer tires; SO-3s are excellent tires, and wonderful in the rain (we have a little of that around here). But if you have summer tires on your car, you should be very careful about winter driving. The tires will be hard from the cold temperatures, and traction on the cold pavement will be poor. And traction on even a dusting of snow is non-existent. Unless you're ready to turn you car into a garage queen from mid-November (or earlier) until mid-March (or later), you should not even think about keeping summer tires on your car in the winter. Either put real snow tires on, or garage it. I bought extra wheels and keep snow tires on them for the winter.
All weather tires are a compromise that I am not comfortable with on our local hills with a RWD car in the snow. Good all weather tires are fine for FWD and AWD cars, but a bit too dicey, IMO, for a balanced front engine/RWD car. Your summer performance will be compromised, and your winter performance will be compromised. Why chance it with a $25,000 car?
10-07-2006, 10:17 AM
#27
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Originally Posted by BunnyGirl
I so rarely see snow that I have to deal with, just occasional slush. Just usually tons of rain. My compromise is, if it is snowy and crappy out I steal my mom's AWD Tribute and promise to be very, very careful. 
10-07-2006, 10:35 AM
#28
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Originally Posted by dmp
I never trust anything consumer reports says. How are they defining 'best'? If you're going to spend $200 per tire, get potenza S03's - they are a FANTASTIC performance tire as rated in Miata circles.
I trust drivers MUCH more than 'scientists'
I trust drivers MUCH more than 'scientists'
One of the problems with reading "tests" from other sources is that there's a risk of them being influenced by the tire manufacturers themselves, so they may be biased. CU is non-profit so little risk of that happening. Additionally, some of their ratings (like car reliability) do come from user experience, and not just a handful.
They also rate a wide variety of tires including all-season, performance, ultra performance, and winter. One problem I have had is that they don't (and can't) test every product out there, so you may not find ratings for one you're interested in (like the Potenza.) But it's a great resource when you're not sure what brand to buy.
Or you could just trust someone you don't know from the Internet.
10-07-2006, 08:54 PM
#29
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Originally Posted by dmp
Then call me - I'll tow ya w/ the F150. :D
10-08-2006, 12:43 AM
#30
Originally Posted by 05TiGr8Lady
Aaaargggghhhhh.....! I totally agree -- I live on a hill!! If I'm gonna spend the money for a second set, it should be winter and not all-season... HOWEVER, I just can't swing it now so I think I'm gonna try out the Kumho Ecsta ASX's and see what happens. Ultra High Perf All-Season and they came out 2nd out of the 4 that were tested on TireRack. If Darin gets a call when I go into a ditch, you'll know how it went ...
10-08-2006, 02:34 AM
#31
Jingle Ballzzzz!
Originally Posted by alnielsen
I think you should be OK. My Pirelli's are simular to your tires and I do fine here. The only thing I would do different is to get them in a narrower size. I got 245/40's and if they were narrower, they would cut through the snow/slush better.
10-08-2006, 05:32 PM
#32
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Originally Posted by BunnyGirl
Those ones are being replaced by RE050A Pole Position, which rates much higher and has a little lower price. They also rate higher than the all-season ones Anibal mentioned for rain and stuff and they are considered a "summer" tire.
These are the ones I intend to get as a replacement when the time comes.
These are the ones I intend to get as a replacement when the time comes.
10-10-2006, 10:11 AM
#33
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Originally Posted by 124Spider
All weather tires are a compromise that I am not comfortable with on our local hills with a RWD car in the snow. Good all weather tires are fine for FWD and AWD cars, but a bit too dicey, IMO, for a balanced front engine/RWD car. Your summer performance will be compromised, and your winter performance will be compromised. Why chance it with a $25,000 car?
I used to have a AWD Eagle Talon with only summer tires on it and dove it around here year round. Get on the power too much and it basically became a RWD car due to the weight bias allowing the rear tires to light up. FWD is really the only thing that is always gonna push under power.
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