I think the worn Advans are totally unsafe for the weather and conditions this time of year. While we do not get much snow at all here in the Southeast, we do have cold and wet conditions, and occasionally get sleet & ice conditions Also, I might want to travel to the mountains so I definitely need appropriate tires.

My question is, waht is the best tire for my purpose? I would like to know what brand and model of tire would work best for the winters here in Georgia without sacrificing too much the dry road handling characteristics of the car.

 

No such thing. People will tell you that their tire can do it all, but to do that they do NOTHING well. Best to get some Michelin Pilot Alpins (or similar H rated snows) for the winter and keep the Advans for the rest of the year.

 

Thanks for the input. I know that there is no way to get everything in one package, but I had hoped to get a decent compromise....... I thought about the snow tires, but it snows so seldom in Atlanta, that I think the snow tires will be total overkill and might not work as well as all season tires for the winter conditions here..... Still, black ice is a possibility and a real danger, particularly in the mountains just North of here (I had a bad experience with black ice some years ago when I wrecked my new Accord ). Are the snow tires the only tire to offer improved safety for icy conditions? How do they do in the rain and cold weather? How will they hold up or behave during my daily 40+ mile commute?

 

Hi,

I was going to get the Continental Extreme Contacts. They have gotten very good reviews and are affordable. Unfortunately, a lot of people must have thought so since the inventory is quite low.

These are supposed to have decent snow traction, but since it doesn't snow near you as much, you may want to consider the MIchelin all season, but it's spendy (~200/tire?). These may have better perf in non-snow situations, but have enough ice/snow/cold traction to get you by.

Yes, all seasons are a compromise, but so are snow tires. My wife had "real" snow tires on her last car, a fwd jetta. They were very good in the snow, but they were squishy and basically sucked when there was no snow. I've used all seasons on her WRX, my Audi A4 quattro, and I just got Falken Z1EX 512s for my Evo. I would get snow tires if I lived farther north, or if my car wasn't awd. Yes, I know in real snow situations it doesn't matter if I have AWD. People all scolded me on the Audi forums for not getting real snow tires...

The Contis were out of stock at Direct tire, and I was about to dish out the $200/tire for the Michelin, but the rep suggested the Falkens at half the price, since they won top honors in a recent Consumer Reports test. Yes, I know some people don't care for Consumer Reports, but this particular test did not focus on road noise or other things that weren't as important to us enthusiasts.

There was a dusting of snow last night, and I tried some emergency braking and they were ok. I'll get a real test tonight and tomorrow though, heh.

Take care,

FB

 

Thanks, the Falken Z1EX 512s are the tires I was considering.... They seem to be fairly reasonably priced and as good a performance as can be expected from these types of tires.
The "real" snow tires would be truly useful around here maybe once a year.... Sometimes it does not snow at all here and when it does, the snow is generally gone in one day.
I would not mind spending the $$ if there was a real need, but it would seem unwise to purchase snow tires for non-snow conditions.

 

I just purchased a new set of tires yesterday, just in time for this snow we're experiencing here in the Northeast.

I went with the Bridgestone Potenza RE950 for two reasons:

I had them on my Audi A4 and loved it.
I knew a friend at Firestone who would give me a deal on them; I ended up paying $670 incl installation, tax, balance etc.

The RE950's are great in the wet; my morning commute in the snow was equally reassuring as I found myself consistently faster than all other vehicles on the highway today.

 

I considered the Blizzaks, also by Bridgestone, but decided on the RE950's.

Here in Philly/NJ, it doesn't snow very much. Possibly a handful of days in a year. So it doesn't warrant me to buy dedicated winter/snow tires.

These all season Bridgestones will allow me the option of keeping them on my Evo all year round and I might sell my stock Advans.

Or I might re-mount the Advans for the spring/summer/fall driving season....

ooh, the decision one has to make...

 

I just got conti extemes mounted about an hour ago, with all 4's filled up to 40psi. My first impression as soon as I hit the highway, compared to my 20k mile worn Advan's........Downright AWEFUL!!!

Talk about a major compromise...I could only imagine what a dedicated winter set would feel like. I grew up basically living off all-seasons with my previous eclipse and mustang....Let me tell you, NEVER again! My Evo felt like it was light, nimble, tossable and totally confidence inspiring during hard cornering.....to now feeling like complete mooosh, like a Camry or Accord.

So much for thinking I could live with All-seasons.....All season.
In a car like the Evo, not having high performance tires during the non-winter seasons, is like living with a beautiful woman with a bag over her head at all times.

I've seriously re-thinked my decision and will either look to upgrade my wheel's next spring, or buy beaters for the next winter.

Just my 2 cents...

 

Hey Spyder,

My car is def a step down with the Falkens, but I can live with it for the winter months. The Advans didn't feel nearly as good now that it has gotten colder, which makes sense since they'r enot designed for it.

I'll still switch to my stock wheels with the advans or other ultra high perf summer tire in the warmer months. I thought I could get all seasons for year round, but I think it wouldn't provide much satisfaction...

FB

 

I have the Conti's as well, and now have about 1K on them in a broad mix of dry / wet / snow / slush / and ice covering freeway, highway and city driving. On a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being best score, I'd have to give the Conti's a 3.5.

For everything other than dry pavement they're fine. On dry pavement the traction is decent, but the sidewalls are awful. After a decent corner, I now get "sidewall rebound"; that little wiggle that comes from the tires unloading and "bouncing" back into their normal driving shape. Unfortunately, it doesn't take too much of a corner to bring out this behavior.

A bit of additional info; I'm running coilovers which may the tire's behavior more pronounced in my car.

 

Today we got around 8" of snow and the Evo LOVED it. I'm sure it was mostly the AWD doing it's thing, but I had Pirelli P Zero Nero M+S tires put on yesterday and I am sure they helped a lot. I was worried about them to be honest because the tread pattern didn't look like it would be terribly good in snow, but I am quite happy with them as of right now...

JW

 

It snowed a few inches today here in NJ. Lucky me, because my Conti Extreme Contacts arrived today. I couldn't find a shop that would do them today though! So of course, I went perusing around with the stock tires. As others have confirmed, they are TERRIBLE in the snow. The evo feels like it can handle the snow, you get the feeling that it is getting traction, but as soon as you take a corner you're sliding all over the road. Boost is your enemy in the snow with stock tires. I'll have the Contis mounted tomorrow (in time for another snow storm ), and post up what I think. I planned to use them as dedicated winter tires, and maybe even drag tires. In those respects, they should do pretty well.

 

why did you fill your tires to 40 psi....... that seems to be way too much

 

Yeah

try between 29 to 32

 

Got the Contis mounted today and messed around in the snow some more. My god! What a difference! They are worlds ahead of the Advans. I had to drive on the Advans to get to the shop that was mounting my tires. I couldn't go faster then 30 mph without the steering wheel shaking. With the Contis on, it feels like driving in the rain on Advans. Theres lots of grip, but its still easy to slide around. Braking and turning are decent. I just use the engine to brake more so its fine. Time to whip out the video camera and do some donuts.