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Originally Posted by JoelK
What exactly does "driving on lego blocks" mean? Just that the ride is harsher or that handling is compromised as well? The tires do warm up after a few minutes of highway driving, right?
I've been searching tire rack for a discussions of some all-season dry/wet performance vs. some summer tires. Could you paste in a link?
If I can get similar dry traction as a good summer tire from a good all-season and have it perform better in the wet/snow, I'm all for it. From reading different forums (NASIOC, ClubWRX, and i-Club), I've been led to believe that the whole advantage of having separate summer/winter tires is better summer and better winter performance for the cost of having a second set of wheels. The better winter part is obvious since I can go with true snow tires. But I do want better summer performance, too, to make it worth it.  |
First, I would reccomend real snow tires if you are regularly in any amount of snow. All season's are a compromise, and IMHO they focus on dry/wet and will take any snow performance that happens to bring. There is no discussion on TireRack, only imperical data. Look at the test results, and you will see that many use a 225/45-17, and some even the same car. Even with different cars, the G-force nubers are somewhat useful. In fact if you look carefully, you will find tests done on the same car in the same month/year, and I would bet the same day or two... In that case, some of the other data may be relevent as well, including the overall ratings from the judges on handling, road feel, etc.
Lexus IS300 sport sedans, 225/45-17
Ultra High Perfomance All Season, May 2002 :
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/...reModel=HTR%2B
Ultra High Performance Summer, Oct. 2002:
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/...CSTA+Supra+712
These are just an example, and that May day may have been nothing like the October one, but at least you have the same car and tire size. In this example, the All Seasons actually out G the summer tires.
As I said earlier, All seasons are the largest market segment for tire manufacturers, so most of their R&D goes there. This is why you will find some incrediable tires that may well fit your three season needs.