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Winter/All Season tires 2020-2021

Posted: Oct 11, 2020 12:24 PM
by Notaweekend
Cold weather season is upon us and we've had many discussions about tire sizes, brands, etc, but with the winter approaching I'm wondering what any of the daily driver guys here are considering for tires this time. As in brand and model

I personally have 'summer' tires from continental equipped and I'm thinking about investing in a nice pair of All season tires rather than winter tires. Maybe Michelin this time?

what are you guys thinking?
I'm sure most people are thinking about just parking the thing in the garage but this is my only car currently lol & I enjoy driving in it just want to be safe :cool: .

Re: Winter/All Season tires 2020-2021

Posted: Oct 11, 2020 2:26 PM
by duggi
I’ve been running the Continental DWS series on my car with 16x7.5 RGs for several years now and love them. Handle great...pretty much the same in both dry and wet. We don’t get snow here in the SF Bay Area, but they get good reviews as a all-season in snow.

Re: Winter/All Season tires 2020-2021

Posted: Oct 11, 2020 2:59 PM
by topher800
I don't think there is much to add to the threads the last couple years. The two year round snow tires (i.e. not dedicated snow tires) are The Conti DWS and the Nokian WRG/4. My wife runs the Nokian on her DD. Once we couldn't get them and we ran a set of Conti's. She preferred the Nokian for Denver weather. She thought (and I may have this backwards) the Nokian did better in snow and the Conti did better on ice.

Re: Winter/All Season tires 2020-2021

Posted: Oct 11, 2020 9:15 PM
by dsmith
I love modern snow tires in the winter. Anything less isn’t worth it. I used General Altimax, but they are on close out on tire rack. If not available, then I would try the Cooper Evolution. I used some Cooper snows on my 2wd Yukon and they were also very good.

Re: Winter/All Season tires 2020-2021

Posted: Oct 12, 2020 1:51 AM
by Cactus
Nokian is pretty much the best at snow tires. If you want them to be good on ice, they want you to use studs, and they have options for that.

I've got some general all season something or another on my daily driver and they're black, round and I don't have any complaints. Not enough ultimate grip, but the suspension on that car kinda sucks.

Re: Winter/All Season tires 2020-2021

Posted: Oct 12, 2020 7:53 AM
by BMWCCA2
I have five BMWs, including an E28, on Continental DWS and DW tires. My second set on one of those cars. Replaced Michelin on my E39. It's unusual for me to find a tire I like that much to replace it with the same, or the style is discontinued by the time I need them. I stopped running winter tires a few years back after a year of 30-inches of snow on the ground and haven't had that severe weather since. Still have the mounted winters but haven't needed them.

My DWS on the E28 are on E39 7x16 BBS wheels with hub-centric rings. A perfect fit.

Re: Winter/All Season tires 2020-2021

Posted: Oct 12, 2020 10:53 AM
by Cactus
If your snow tires are old, they won't be as good. They're not as good at half tread depth for obvious reasons, but the main issue is that the rubber gets harder with age, and the main benefit is the compound is supposed to remain soft at low temps. Climate change has mostly negated the need for snows for me too :(

Also, I've never liked DWSs regardless of the conditions, but DWs are Godlike in the wet. Haven't tried their replacement yet, but they're not really made for this thread.

Re: Winter/All Season tires 2020-2021

Posted: Oct 12, 2020 2:45 PM
by Ken H.
Nokian Hakkapelitta R3 for the win.

Don't expect a whole lot of tread life (soft compound), but highly effective.
I sourced thru Discount Tire--special order item, took about 10 days to arrive.
Not exactly inexpensive, but they definitely Get The Job Done on Colo's mountain roads. :up:

Re: Winter/All Season tires 2020-2021

Posted: Oct 13, 2020 12:52 PM
by topher800
Notaweekend wrote: Oct 11, 2020 12:24 PM I personally have 'summer' tires from continental equipped and I'm thinking about investing in a nice pair of All season tires rather than winter tires.
"All Season" tires are 3 season tires, they are not designed for snow in any way, shape, or form. Basically they are summer tires that are little less sticky and can be used reliably in cold temperatures. You will find summer tires say something like "do not use below 42F" - they get quite hard in the cold...and drift very nicely in < 40F temperatures.

Re: Winter/All Season tires 2020-2021

Posted: Oct 13, 2020 10:42 PM
by cek
Ken H. wrote: Oct 12, 2020 2:45 PM Nokian Hakkapelitta R3 for the win.

Don't expect a whole lot of tread life (soft compound), but highly effective.
I sourced thru Discount Tire--special order item, took about 10 days to arrive.
Not exactly inexpensive, but they definitely Get The Job Done on Colo's mountain roads. :up:
What he said.

Re: Winter/All Season tires 2020-2021

Posted: Oct 14, 2020 1:54 AM
by Kenny Blankenship
I am a newbie at this...but I believe what you want to do is look for a tire that has the severe snow service rating (symbol of a 3 peaked mountain with a snowflake). This means the tire is rated for snowy/slippery roads and low temperatures and the rubber remains pliable.

I did research for my truck tires and found out all-terrain tires do not mean winter tires. Here it is important because AWD/4wd cars and trucks with severe snow rated tires do not have to wear chains under many snowy conditions (at least around here) compared to similar vehicles with all season or all terrain tires. Authorities LOOK for that symbol when there are chain controls.

In my case, I bought Yokohama Geolander AT G015 tires which are snow rated and usable year round, compared to the Bridgestone Dueler Revo 3 which is not snow rated.

Severe snow rated tires for cars seem to have a much shorter lifespan than most truck versions.

Re: Winter/All Season tires 2020-2021

Posted: Oct 14, 2020 5:17 AM
by garageboy
Notaweekend wrote: Oct 11, 2020 12:24 PM Cold weather season is upon us and we've had many discussions about tire sizes, brands, etc, but with the winter approaching I'm wondering what any of the daily driver guys here are considering for tires this time. As in brand and model

I personally have 'summer' tires from continental equipped and I'm thinking about investing in a nice pair of All season tires rather than winter tires. Maybe Michelin this time?

what are you guys thinking?
I'm sure most people are thinking about just parking the thing in the garage but this is my only car currently lol & I enjoy driving in it just want to be safe :cool: .
Well, if you are in NYC as your profile suggests, it all depends on how difficult of a winter we have. Personally, my E28 is rust-free, and I wish to keep it that way (my previous two E28s rusted away) and I only use it in the winter here in NYC when there is absolutely no salt on the roads. That has been a total crap shoot in the past decade. I used to ice race the car on studded Hakkas in a lake in New Hampshire, but climate change has ensured we haven't run since 2014. Since I can no longer find 3-season tires in 205/60-15, I am on all-seasons. If I got caught in snow on summer tires, I'd be in big trouble. But if I got caught in snow with the all-seasons, I can manage. But if you have an E28 you plan to use in winter and don't care about salt, then get 4 Hakkas and you'll be grinning all winter long while everyone else is white-knuckled in the snow...
Image

Re: Winter/All Season tires 2020-2021

Posted: Oct 21, 2020 11:34 PM
by SteveKerwin
"I’ve been running the Continental DWS series on my car with 16x7.5 RGs for several years now and love them. Handle great...pretty much the same in both dry and wet. We don’t get snow here in the SF Bay Area, but they get good reviews as a all-season in snow."
Yup, Continental DWS tires are a gift from above, if you ask me. I've been using them for years and they exceeded my expectations. If ever you're looking for spares, feel free to check out 4WheelOnline. I get my spare DWS tires from them, all for a very affordable price.

Re: Winter/All Season tires 2020-2021

Posted: Oct 22, 2020 9:58 PM
by Adam W in MN
cek wrote: Oct 13, 2020 10:42 PM
Ken H. wrote: Oct 12, 2020 2:45 PM Nokian Hakkapelitta R3 for the win.

Don't expect a whole lot of tread life (soft compound), but highly effective.
I sourced thru Discount Tire--special order item, took about 10 days to arrive.
Not exactly inexpensive, but they definitely Get The Job Done on Colo's mountain roads. :up:
What he said.
x3.

I run the R2 model in a 255/35/19 on my E63s AMG wagon and it does a great job in the winter other than ground clearance.

Re: Winter/All Season tires 2020-2021

Posted: Oct 27, 2020 4:58 PM
by glowell222
I am running Pirelli CintuRato P7s. Just put them on in May so no experience with them in the snow. Highly unlikely to go out in the snow at all this year with Covid and all. These did receive high ratings for snow use by users.

Re: Winter/All Season tires 2020-2021

Posted: Oct 27, 2020 8:26 PM
by garageboy
glowell222 wrote: Oct 27, 2020 4:58 PM I am running Pirelli CintuRato P7s. Just put them on in May so no experience with them in the snow. Highly unlikely to go out in the snow at all this year with Covid and all. These did receive high ratings for snow use by users.
That is funny because I feel that BECAUSE of Covid, I'm more likely to go play in the snow.

But I will probably have old Hakkas on if I do that because I want to maximize my fun. :)

Re: Winter/All Season tires 2020-2021

Posted: Oct 31, 2020 1:57 AM
by SeattleGuy
garageboy wrote: Oct 14, 2020 5:17 AM I used to ice race the car on studded Hakkas in a lake in New Hampshire, but climate change has ensured we haven't run since 2014.
Is that right? That's scary. Which lake in NH no longer supports ice racing. When I was there about 12 years ago even Nashua would get pretty effin' cold.....

Re: Winter/All Season tires 2020-2021

Posted: Oct 31, 2020 6:13 PM
by garageboy
It's Newfound Lake, NH, and it was a perfect storm (!) of unfortunate circumstances that have prevented us from running. There have been times when we did have proper conditions, but never seemingly enough to actually have consecutive Sundays to run more than maybe a single event.

Nevertheless, there has not been the consistency where once the lake freezes adequately, we can enjoy many Sundays of racing. And even in good times, there can be warmups, rain, cracks in the lake, snow that cannot get plowed in time, and many things that can impact ice racing, particularly along the shore, that can interrupt or otherwise destroy what looked like a promising season. And like a regular autocross, there are logistical issues, like permits, insurance, getting volunteers, etc., that can prevent an event from occurring. I've seen it all... I started racing up there in 1993 when I first moved to NYC. I'm a mere instructor and volunteer now, and I miss it.

Re: Winter/All Season tires 2020-2021

Posted: Nov 03, 2020 11:05 AM
by Notaweekend
So it seems like the hakkas and pirelli's are the go to choice but no one mentioned blizzaks .. i'm considering all three will probably come down to price, safety, and availability. Hakkas sound great on paper and seems like the only way to get them is through their website if they are even in stock right now.

Re: Winter/All Season tires 2020-2021

Posted: Nov 03, 2020 11:31 AM
by a
Wife's Camry has General Altimax Arctic snow tires on steelies. Haven't had enough snow to test them on

Re: Winter/All Season tires 2020-2021

Posted: Nov 03, 2020 4:37 PM
by garageboy
Notaweekend wrote: Nov 03, 2020 11:05 AM So it seems like the hakkas and pirelli's are the go to choice but no one mentioned blizzaks .. i'm considering all three will probably come down to price, safety, and availability. Hakkas sound great on paper and seems like the only way to get them is through their website if they are even in stock right now.
The truth is... compared to all seasons or otherwise worn out tires, ANY snow tire, even "General TIre" will be far superior, so it's hard to make a "bad" decision. As well, the way the winters have been the past decade here in NYC, we're more likely to have one 3-foot storm, which will strand everyone at home for a few days anyway and melt faster than we realized, than bunches of 6-inch storms on top of one another where there's always snow on the ground to some degree.

People that live in the DC area, where they are more likely to be nailed by an ice storm, have to make more careful snow/ice tire decisions than us here in NYC. The Hakkas AND Blizzaks are best for ice. Funny how that has changed over the years; peeps in VA and NC never had to worry unless they were in the mountains. Not so true anymore.

For me, I have all-seasons I hate on the E28 which will likely spent the winter indoors, and I have old Hakkas for the E39 that are a bit past their prime. If we get more snow than expected, accompanied by cold weather that keeps it around longer than expected, I can always order a set of new Hakkas and hope they still have in stock. But at $800/set (225/55-16), I'm not rushing in...

Re: Winter/All Season tires 2020-2021

Posted: Nov 19, 2020 7:15 PM
by Blue Shadow
Consumer's Reports Dec 2020 ultra-high-performance all-season
eagle exhilarate
pilot sport a/s 3+
g-max as-05 (general now owned by continental)
g-force comp-2 a/s
quatrac pro
P zero as plus
DWS06
RE980as
PA51
RS3-Ga
rated 68-61 top to bottom conti was 64
priced 112to 159 dws was 148
good or great dry braking
good or fair wet braking
good or great handling
good or great hydroplaning resistance
poor, fair or good in snow traction, poor is the bottom, only 2 are good
same for ice braking but Pilot and dws were the poor ones
poor and fair for ride
bad fair or good for noise, like we care
poor or bad for rolling resistance...yup, not green tires.

"Sooner or later you'll own General" I said no way but got the g-max recently and well they look pretty good on this test report. Cheapest, too.

I guess for an all season (really a no season tire) one should check out the dec 2020 CR at the local library when it is open.

Re: Winter/All Season tires 2020-2021

Posted: Nov 20, 2020 12:02 AM
by Mike W.
Interesting thread, including Eric's comments even though I've never had tires checked in chain control stations, it's always either chains or nothing. Although I have bought tires making sure they have the M/S logo on them.

Conti DWS. Hmmm. I had a set on the E36 a few years ago and was not impressed. Just in rain, never saw snow. But something about that car, if there's more than 8-10K on the tires the car is just spooky in wet weather. Same size tires as my E28, 225-50/16, 3150 weight, or about the same as an E28, but wet weather is not good. Semi's go by me. Pickup trucks, Honda Civics, other BMWs, everything as I hydroplane at 55 when everyone else is doing 70.

Sorry about the OT on my E36. :oops:

Re: Winter/All Season tires 2020-2021

Posted: Nov 20, 2020 2:15 AM
by Kenny Blankenship
Mike W. wrote: Nov 20, 2020 12:02 AM Interesting thread, including Eric's comments even though I've never had tires checked in chain control stations, it's always either chains or nothing. Although I have bought tires making sure they have the M/S logo on them.

Conti DWS. Hmmm. I had a set on the E36 a few years ago and was not impressed. Just in rain, never saw snow. But something about that car, if there's more than 8-10K on the tires the car is just spooky in wet weather. Same size tires as my E28, 225-50/16, 3150 weight, or about the same as an E28, but wet weather is not good. Semi's go by me. Pickup trucks, Honda Civics, other BMWs, everything as I hydroplane at 55 when everyone else is doing 70.

Sorry about the OT on my E36. :oops:
Your comments made me review again the information about the "3 peak" symbol. Apparently, still not quite as good as dedicated winter tires...

https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech ... techid=125

Re: Winter/All Season tires 2020-2021

Posted: Dec 11, 2020 1:03 PM
by Notaweekend
ok boom. Pretty sure I know what I want but I just realized I have 225/50/r16 Conti summer tires and I thought they were 225/55/r16. Anyone know if I'll have enough clearance for the 225/55/R16 tires with my E31 Style 9 wheels?? Rear fenders had to be rolled to install current set up. Let me know!! thanks guys

edit: I was going to order the Pirelli winter tires because they're cheaper than Conti and Michelin plus I've heard good things about the grip. Thats for 225/55. For 225/50 they only have Yoko's and they're a bit more expensive.