Cost effective all season tire recommendation

[c watson]

I did get caught in a 1/2" of snow with pilot super sports...haha...they were total garbage.

Especially with RWD the difference between snows and all seasons is massive.

Was this the one freak snow storm that Texas had a little while back? That was wicked!

[9kracing]

They are definitely not all-seasons, but I'm a huge fan of the Firestone Firehawk Indy 500 for the price... they also have a ton of 19" sizes.

[Phoenix///M3]

Michelin Pilot AS4. Run them on my F15 X5 for 3/4 of the year. Only switch to dedicated Scorpion winters because I want to be able to drive in 8-10 inches of snow in an emergency.

AS4 is a fantastic tire and no worries driving in a few inches of snow otherwise stay home. It's the best tire I've ever experienced in the wet. If you can overdrive it in the dry on the street then you're doing something stupid.


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[bigjae46]

Was this the one freak snow storm that Texas had a little while back? That was wicked!

I lived in Milwaukee for a couple of years.

It snowed Houston…it was literally like end of days. No one on the road. Luckily I had a 320i xDrive.

[DJAM3]

If you're getting rid of the car I would just put on a matching pair of PS4s. If driven PSSs in PNW winters and didn't have issues. Otherwise they make all seasons now that are three peak rated if you're worried about snow.

[tlow98]

I did get caught in a 1/2" of snow with pilot super sports...haha...they were total garbage.

Especially with RWD the difference between snows and all seasons is massive.

for sure the difference between all seasons and snows is massive, but I’d wager the difference between all seasons and super sports is even larger… in the snow.

all that to say modern, good all seasons are shockingly good in the snow. I used to buy winter tires, but the difference between them and all season have been closing over the last decade. If you’re truly year-round driving the m3 in the snow belt or mountains, sure buy the snows, but I’d wager not many people are actually doing that these days.

buy a set of cloth ‘chains’ for emergencies and ignore the dual tire setup IMO

[maw1124]

I used to buy winter tires, but the difference between them and all season have been closing over the last decade.

It’s surprising to me how many “car guys” overlook the improvement in rubber compound technology in the last 15 years. Dedicated summer and winter tires are now the <10% extreme use cases. IDK if people always feel like their particular usage is more “extreme” or special than it really is, or whether they just don’t know. But time and time again, the high performance all season category is proving perfect for almost everything except the track or a blizzard.

maw

[repoman89]

If you’re truly year-round driving the m3 in the snow belt or mountains, sure buy the snows, but I’d wager not many people are actually doing that these days.

Even then … I did 100k year round miles on a few sets of Conti DWS in my old 330i, which included ski trips to mountains, unsticking myself from plowed in street parking, unplowed driveways at rural Airbnbs etc. Totally fine and that car didn’t even have an LSD. Michelin AS4 are even better than the DWS in the snow to my knowledge.

We now use my wife’s AWD CX-5 for all that stuff and just leave the all-seasons it came with on it year round. They’ll be replaced with AS4s when it’s time. The all-season == no-season silliness is dead.

[9kracing]

Dedicated summer and winter tires are now the <10% extreme use cases

That's you're opinion, and you are certainly entitled to be wrong.

All-season tires still suck in 2023. Sorry if the truth hurts.

[repoman89]

That's you're opinion, and you are certainly entitled to be wrong.

All-season tires still suck in 2023. Sorry if the truth hurts.

🙄.

[bigjae46]

for sure the difference between all seasons and snows is massive, but I’d wager the difference between all seasons and super sports is even larger… in the snow.

Yeah, it was horrible. Literally spun wheels on the most slight inclines. Got caught in a light october snow event.

[maw1124]

That's you're opinion, and you are certainly entitled to be wrong.
All-season tires still suck in 2023. Sorry if the truth hurts.

Spoken like the wrong and opinionated ...

maw

[9kracing]

Spoken like the wrong and opinionated ...

maw

I admit I was in a douchbag mood this morning, but my statement wasn't exactly wrong...

All season tires are a compromise. They will never be anywhere close to as good as a summer tire in dry weather, and they'll never touch a snow tire in snow.

Can they do both at a reasonable level? Sure. But these aren't Toyota Camry's we are driving, "good enough" isn't good enough for most of us.

I would venture to guess over 50% of the posters here are running dedicated summer tires, not less than 10% as the quoted poster said.

To some people, performance matters, and you aren't getting it with all seasons.

[tlow98]

I admit I was in a douchbag mood this morning, but my statement wasn't exactly wrong...

All season tires are a compromise. They will never be anywhere close to as good as a summer tire in dry weather, and they'll never touch a snow tire in snow.

Can they do both at a reasonable level? Sure. But these aren't Toyota Camry's we are driving, "good enough" isn't good enough for most of us.

I would venture to guess over 50% of the posters here are running dedicated summer tires, not less than 10% as the quoted poster said.

To some people, performance matters, and you aren't getting it with all seasons.

Dedicated summers get you the last ~10% of grip. That’s it. Snows get you a little more than all seasons but not much. Studded tires stand alone of course. The silica compound blends these days are incredible.

comparing PS4s to As4… look up the numbers. There’s lots of factual information on this.

also, the good all seasons that are sold today offer way more grip than these cars came with 22 years ago. Often I find too much tire doesn’t increase the fun, but rather it decreases the fun. You don’t get to play with the car at the limit. It just grips unendingly, and that gets, well, rather boring. Tires and springs and overall suspension design is a matched combo. Stickier tires mean you should add more spring and then the dampers need tweaking and the ride isn’t the same and the list goes on.

of course if you’re driving on track 90% of the time go stickier…

[QuickM3]

So many responses with little information.

OP asked for a good cost affective all season. Continental Extremecontact DWS. Stands for dry, wet, snow. They are generally very cheap comparatively to other tires. Can’t beat the performance for the money in any weather. Bridgestone came out with the Potenza RE980 all season which is also a great tire. Whichever one is cheapest is the best option for what you are looking for.