Stray

I'm currently running the Hankook Ventus V4ES for my daily duties. Great sticky, quiet, predictable all season tire, but they have a SOFT sidewall, for a really mushy turn in feel which I can't stand.

I'm looking for an all season with a good stiff sidewall. I normally have a set of track wheels, but what would you all recommend for someone who wants a good turn in response from an all season? I'm looking at your all's posts, and it sounds like Goodyear is my best bet?



Thanks.

gwilliams6

I think the Conti outperforms the Goodyear and out lasts it too. Check the online comparisons.

Tailicus

Ok... I appreciate the new and more informative choices other than zoom44 who just said "this-."
However I think I'll try the S1 Nobles from Hankook so others can know how they fair.

ShellDude

iTrader: (12)

really good write up. I just switched from the DWs to the DWSs. If the DWSs are half as good as the DWs I'll be happy... one less thing to worry about come Winter being lowered / rolled / etc.

Dedicated winter wheels can now go on my daughter's MS3.

Rei Diesel

Goodyear Eagle GT (W-Speed Rated) (Ultra High Performance All-Season)
Special Offer: Buy a set of four and get a $40 rebate.
Sidewall Style: Blackwall

Front: 225/45ZR18 XL
W Speed Rated
Price: $145.00 (each)

Rear: 245/40ZR18
W Speed Rated
Price: $161.00 (each)

PERIOD

Tailicus

<p>Just so everyone knows the S1 Nobels 2 are doing great! Everything feels as it should now. After mail and rebate I think total was 580$ it was 620 before shipping and I did priority for an extra 50. I will let you guys know more after about 3000 miles</p>

southdakotadr8

My nitto motive all season are amazing in 2 to 4 inches of snow or heavy rain. I drive hard thru the snowy corners and my dsc light never blinks. great summer traction too, only cost around 500 for a full set

southdakotadr8

I forgot to add the nitto motive has a 40,000 mile warranty

PatN217

I've seen a bunch of votes for the Continental ExtremeContact DWS and am very close to purchasing a set of those. I'm curious if anyone has tried the Bridgestone Potenza RE970AS Pole Positions. Tire Rack shows increased performance from the Bridgestone's but I recognize that their test car was not an RX-8. Thoughts?

Dirtyswiff

Advertising and marketing keep a lot of people from finding durable tires for half the price but minus the brand name. I have a set of 235/35 19s Achillies ATR Sport, I don't see any snow so I can't comment on that but I run these through rain, canyon runs, highway, and aggressive street driving, with little to no tread wear. Although they are very affordable, they do not sacrifice in quality. I plan on getting a different set in the future, but 18s with a fat set of wheels but for now, I can vouch for this set.

gwilliams6

I see plenty of snow living in the NE USA for decades and owning and driving seven RXs in the snow. My Continental Extreme Contact DWS have worked great in the snow and the wet and the dry. Do not try to convince someone that all ultra-performance all-season tires are no good. The proof is in the driving not the postulating. They truly make my RX8, which is my daily driver, a great all-season car. These tires are selling and working for loads of RX8 drivers, and that is a fact.

poacherinthezoo

When I have to replace my current set of of Bridgestone Potenza RE970AS Pole Positions, I plan on going with Continental Extreme Contact DWS. The Birdgestone have been a stellar tire for what I use them for (Marchish-Novembember/December-ish daily driving), but they just aren't worth the money over the DWS's. The Conti Extreme Contact DW's that are on my girlfriend's 128i have been very impressive, but that's a little too aggressive compound for my daily driving needs.

However, I do agree that the whole concept of an "all season" tire is really an oxymoron. It's a tire that tries to be able to do everything, and in doing so ends up really not being very good at anything. I have snow tires for the winter, I use the all season tires for the daily drive to and from work, and when I want to play at autocross I run star specs. The right tire for the right conditions :-)

blu3dragon

iTrader: (1)

There does seem to be a common belief that all season tires are better than summer tires in the wet, which I think is only true if the temps are close to freezing and the tires have not warmed up... In my experience, going from Michelin MXM4 to Conti DW, then Michelin Supersports and also having driven Direzza Z2 in the wet, the MXM4 had the lowest grip of the lot.

The unfair part of the test is that my memory of the MXM4 performance was created when they were much older in time and mileage than the later tires I tried, but I still don't think they had the equivalent wet grip when new.

Unfortunately most user tire reviews are biased by the fact that someone took off some well aged (hardened) and low tread depth rubber, and replaced it with some fresh (soft) and deep tread depth rubber resulting in an OMG, this tire is so much better than the old tire impression.

My biggest issue with summer tires though is that it is harder to find some with the same comfort and noise as all seasons. Go look on tire rack and there are really no good choices in the Grand Touring summer category... DD comfort is going to be something of a priority with my next set of tires. Actually, I think all seasons are compromised in grip by the need to be comfortable and last a long time, just as much, if not more, than the need to work at some level in low temps and snow.

zoom44

As I said earlier the new Good year Asymmetric 2 All-season F1 is absolutely clearly the winner because they are what i bought this time around. one of the quietest tire around, much quieter than my old ones (beginning or end) and just superb in wet and dry. Im sure they'll be just as good or better in the occasional light snow we around here in the winter

this is the "summer version"




this is the correct "all-season" version


any one else want to argue about whether I , the OP or anyone else should or should not buy All season go start your own thread about it. This thread IS OPEN to those who want to discuss which tire a person would choose if they are buying all seasons.

alnielsen

iTrader: (4)

I don't see enough voids or sipes to make me think that would make a good snow tire. The rubber should be more compliant in cold temps than a high performance wet tire.

zoom44

ahh that's cause I posted the wrong picture. thanks for the poke al. the first was three season version of the tire. I ve posted the correct all-season version below it so the two can be referenced for their differences

tomorrow ill post a little thread about my thoughts on choosing a tire and ya'll can feel free to debate summer+winter vs all season in there once i post it. as long as you stay away from the name calling that is.

hoosier8

Just put on a set of Conti Extreme Contact DWS. Replace the original tires at 31K. Needed something to run in snow but also all around tires since I drove a Cherokee in the winter. The Cherokee is old and wanted some tires I could drive in light snow if I needed. Soon as I bought the tires I took the Cherokee in for NO brakes and they crashed it driving into the bay so I am waiting for their claims department to settle. The Cherokee had 262K on it and is rusting out so it now worth much but I expected to get another 40K out of it. Since I needed a winter vehicle I went out and bought a used Toyota FJ Cruiser so am not as worried now about needing the RX8 in winter but after reading the reviews about the Conti tires and I don't autocross, I think it was a good choice.

One reason the Contis are good in some snow is something the tire guy pointed out to me, they have small ribs in the grooves.

Hard to see but more apparent in person.

alnielsen

iTrader: (4)

While Conti's are good, that guy is full of ****. Those ribs are there to tell you when it's time to replace the tire. Not to help in the snow. All DOT approved tires will have them. It's the sipes and the larger gaps between the blocks that make a tire better in ice & snow.

Off Topic, I have a Cherokee with 180K miles. The General Grabber AT2 tires allowed me to accelerate and change lanes with ease today, in 4W-H (we had a 10" snowfall last night).

hoosier8

Look a little closer, I am not talking about the wear ribs. Look along the side of the grooves.

He also suggested other tires good for snow but I already knew what I wanted.

gwilliams6

The newest Conti DWS06 are testing even better than the original DWS. I will go with them once I run the thread off my DWS

KimiFelipe

The dws is the best a/s in the snow. It gives up a little in the dry to the Michelin but the snow performanceee is sommuch better there is not much of a choice. I use the dws for winter on my 8. When I was in MA I ran the conti TS 810. It is much better in the snow if you can run two sets of tires. Or a real snow tire would be even better ��

reddozen

iTrader: (1)

I hated my DSWs... They broke traction for me too much. I run Nitto Neo Gen's now.

BigCajun

iTrader: (1)

Fwiw, I have the Potenza AS tires.
I like them for rain, but the one time I drove my 8 on snowpack when my 4WD broke down, I thought they weren't so great, felt slippery.
I have no comparison though, as I almost always drove a 4WD truck with ATs in snow.

gwilliams6

My DWS never broke traction like you state reddozen. Different drivers, different cars and driving styles and conditions are probably the reason. My DWS have been great in all weather. My 2008 40th Anniversary Edition RX8 is my daily driver, equipped with DWS since December 2011, and I drive it on roads all across the USA, dry, wet, slush and even in snow , and I live in NE US where we have snow.

The DWS are now updated, only a few remaining DWS sets are left. Continental has a new DWS-06 tire. Tire Rack's March 2015 tests have this DWS-06 tire performing even better in all areas than their top-rated Ultra-Performance All-season champ DWS. Continental is even offering a $70 visa gift card back if a set of DWS-06 are purchased by July 4. The DWS-06, like the DWS, come with a one year road hazard warranty from Continental, which is rare in an Ultra-performance tire. If you buy them from Tire Rack, Tire Rack gives a free two-year road hazard warranty on them.

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....sary%20Edition