+1

 

Living in Atlanta, I struggled with the A/S vs. summer tire decision also when I decided to replace my Dunlop RFT's(which I kept to put back on the car when I turn it in at the end of the lease). In the end, I decided to go with the A/S trires because I sometimes drive to Cleveland and New York to visit family and figured that these were a good compromise. I bought the Bridgestone RE960 All Season tires and have been very happy with them. Very good wet and dry traction and pretty quiet. I haven't driven in snow yet, but based on the Tire Rack ratings they should be o.k.

 

Yes I have the same tires, W speed rating and grip very well.

 

But what exactly do you mean by "perform well?"

For typical everyday driving, even spirited driving, will there be that much of a noticable penalty? Other than on the track or on the Autobahn at 130+ MPH when do we really need the performance of summer tires?

 

Strange, but I agree and disagree with both of you.

1. High performance AS tires are much more high performance than all-season. You can expect them perform extremely well in dry/wet weather but they are not that good in the snow, only somewhat better than summer only HP tires. They make sense because you lose only a little bit of HP and get some (not much) snow traction.

2. I disagree that you only need Hp tires on autobahns doing 130+ mph, or I would say you need them even more when doing 130+ mph on a public US road and need to quickly, sometime very quickly, get down to 70 -80 mph.

 

The biggest difference you'll see with all-season tires is a 5-10% increase in braking distance in warm conditions, depending on the exact tires you compare.

The performance difference is the opposite below 45F; the all-seasons will easily outperform the summer tires, even in dry conditions. In any kind of snow, summer tires are dangerous to the point of negligence.

BTW, I'm a big fan of having a set of winter tires, and advocate that position often. However, given Atlanta's climate, I would think that all-season tires are a reasonable compromise for a daily driver. The correct answer depends on you climate, topography, driving needs, and the snow removal policies in your area.

 

I live in Charlotte. After spending this winter with the winter tires on I have decided to unload them and stick with Summers all year round. Although the air temp may be below 45 the roads are always 50+.

War Damn Eagle!!!!

 

In my opinion if You can aford it, it will be lot safer that way. I mean... there is no substitute for safety. If You have never driven on winter tires Youwill be shocked what a car can do on them. Good luck with Your choice!

 

I have done a lot of research into both types of tires and this is what I have learned:

1. The summer tire is designed for maximum traction and having the stock Dunlops I know they do a great job in that dept going around turns and entrance ramps. Only more of a slick design would be better. There are three reasons for the great summer traction. The first is there is more rubber or less voids in the tread pattern creating more surface area or rubber so you generate more frictions. Second, the design or pattern of the tread is designed to shoulder up to one another which yields a firmer rubber surface with less tread squirm. Third, the rubber compound is designed for warm weather traction and no compromises have been made other than for traction. These tires are the absolutely best tires for our cars in the summer.

2. The Ultra Performance AS tires have compromises in their design to allow for the following. One, the rubber compound has additives that keeps the rubber softer at lower temperatures thus maintain a higher margin of traction in colder weather than a summer tire has. Two, there are more sipes in the tread to allow some modicum of proficiency in light snow. These sipes are designed to pack snow in to the void areas because studies have found that snow in contact with snow gives the best traction not rubber in contact with snow.

This is the first year that I have swapped out my summer tires for AS tires, I had a 545 before with the same tires and sizes. I have previously had to abandon my car overnight because I got stuck in the snow, I have had many instances in cold dry weather where I have spun out because my summer tires lost their grip. I also heard, but did not confirm, that in an accident you can be blamed for more of the fault if you were negligent in driving summer only tires in the winter.
You should always replace tires with the same speed, heat and load rating as the tires you are taking off for obvious reasons. I guess if you never drive above 55 mph you don't need either the higher speed ratings nor do you need the BMW.
I got the Bridgestone RE960AS which tire rack categorizes as "Ultra High Performance" in the stock 245/40-18 and 275/35-18 sizes and the W speed rating that is good for up to 168 mph. I have the Dinan software which both has the power and ability to reach it since it removes the 155 mph speed limiter.

 

No longer stuck!

Thanks to all who responded to this thread - a lot of good info but certainly not unanimous opinions. At any rate, I've pulled the trigger on a set of Bridgestone RE960AS Pole Position tires at Tirerack. They're the top rated pick in the Ultra Performance All Season category, and there were a couple of positive opinions of them in this thread. I'll get them installed on my current Type 124 wheels now, and that will resolve my cold weather needs for sure. If I feel I've somehow lost cornering performance that'll be my argument to get a set of summer tires on 19" Type 166's!