Tire Advice Requested

Starting to look for new tires for the FR-S. Live in the central part of South Cackalaki so snow is a non-issue. Lowest temps it is likely to see is 25-30F on the morning commute for what probably amounts to no more than 30 days per year. Once the sun comes up temps generally rise over freezing and don't fall below freezing until after midnight (I'm almost never out after midnight). Looking for good wet and dry traction considering we get lots of evening thunderstorms that are gully washers (frog stranglers for the Florida folks). Car is purely a street car, no autocross, no track for longer than the next set of tires will last.

Are summer high performance tires a reasonable choice given these circumstances? Currently considering Sumitomo HTR Z II ($310 per set), Sumitomo HTR Z III ($370 per set), Continental ExtremeContact DW ($505 per set), Michelin Pilot Super Sport ($675 per set). Anything else in this category I should be considering?

We have the Continental ExtremeContact DWS tire on SWMBO's 350Z. We got them instead of the DW due to concerns about low temperature performance and SWMBO's lack of experience with rear wheel drive vehicular dynamics. They have been fine in all conditions and very good in the wet. If you good folks recommend against the summer tires, I'll probably fall back to the DWS's ($550 per set) for the FR-S.

Thanks for any advice you care to share.

I have gotten away with DWs on my E46 well into that temperature range without real issue. They handle rain beautifully - really really well - but really aren't good in snow. I do have snow tires for my car but sometimes I get lazy about changing over until oh, say, the night before the first major snowfall in late December or early January. If this car will never see snow, I'd say the DWs will serve you well.

I also have DWSs on Mrs. Duke's car. I love both tires.

I've lived here for almost 20 years and we've had snow something like 5 times. Ice storms probably less than 10 times. Generally, the temps go right back above freezing so in a day or two you don't know we had it. So I don't consider frozen precipitation as a factor in the decision.

More concerned about temperature as the manufacturers are all "Warning...Danger...your car will spontaneously loose traction and hit the nearest immovable object if you drive with these tires below 47F...Warning...Danger. Which I presume is legal CYA language, rather than actual fact.

I didn't have any trouble with that. The DWs feel grippy even with temps in the low 30s. I was afraid they would wear badly, but they really haven't. They may have worn better if I didn't drive on them below 50d, but I can't complain about their service life at all, or their performance for that matter.

I like the Kumho Ecsta ASX on my Impala so much that I got their successor the AST. So far, very happy. They are one step more all-season than you probably need, though.

I have had summer rubber plenty of times, especially when I lived in hotter places like Austin and Los Angeles. My experience with them is that they tend to be very inconsistent; they only grip when they're warm. When I buy a tire for a daily driver, I want it to be consistent. I want it to grip the same if its 50 or 90. All-season high performance gets pretty close to that which is why I usually gravitate toward the highest performance all-season tire I can find.

The other thing I appreciate about AS rubber versus summer rubber is treadwear and noise. Being more reactive to temperature, summer rubber tends to be louder and wear quickly. Of course the noise is also partly due to the fact that the tread design tends to favor larger, flatter treadblocks.

secretariata wrote: More concerned about temperature as the manufacturers are all "Warning...Danger...your car will spontaneously loose traction and hit the nearest immovable object if you drive with these tires below 47F...Warning...Danger. Which I presume is legal CYA language, rather than actual fact.

It is highly variable, but sometimes yes. I had some Toyo Proxes RA-1s that were still very grippy when cold, but I also had some Pirelli P1000s that were so pathetic in the cold that it was hard to get moving from a stop on dry pavement in the winter without spinning. The Pirellis were an actual safety hazard in temps below 40.

Don't get the sumitomo's, they're very cheap crappy tires.

The DW is I think what you're looking for. The Michelin PSS isn't worth the extra money. It's a very nice tire (very quiet for a performance tire), but doesn't provide much more grip than the DW and wears faster.

In reply to drdisque:

I was wondering about the Sumitomo's. Especially whether the price was representative of the quality. I put some "well rated" Hancook's (pretty sure I spelled that wrong) on my old Xterra and was sorely disappointed with wet traction on pavement which was supposed to be one of the really good aspects of those tires.

Edit: they weren't Hancooks...forgot which cheap Korean brand they were.

FWIW Conti DW's (not the DWS) will probably be my next DD tires (when the OEM's wear out)

I almost always run a summer tire, although I did run Some BFG KDWSs and have liked bfg ever since. I would not hesitate to run the bfg SSAS it's it's anybetter than the KDWS it'll be a great year round tire.

The sumitomo hrtz 2 is horrible, no traction in dry or wet, noisy and wear quickly.

HTRZ3s are better but still not good, they get great reviews on Tirerack but my set rode like crap,

Opti wrote: The sumitomo hrtz 2 is horrible, no traction in dry or wet, noisy and wear quickly. HTRZ3s are better but still not good, they get great reviews on Tirerack but my set rode like crap,

That's what I don't understand. Are the people that like those normally driving around on Pep Boys specials they got for $30 each and hit the pick 3 lotto for $500 so they decided to splurge on tires?

I like the Sumitomo ZIIIs, I think they're a very good tire and they have a great price.

Total side note: Holy crap, I'm finally a Dork...

I recently went with a set of BF Goodrich G-Force Sport Comp-2. Price was under $100 each and the reviews were all good. So far, very happy with them, an improvement over the OEM Bridgestone Potenza RE760 Sport that I hope will last longer than 5000 miles.

How about advice for high-performance all-season tires for a Mazdaspeed 3? I live in New Hampshire, a land of challenging winter road conditions.

Like pinchvalve said, but don't rule out the BFG Comp 2 A/S or the sport Comp 2's. I think their wet handling isn't supreme, but if you're in California that shouldn't be a concern I don't have a ton of power in my car (74hp currently), but putting on the comp 2 A/S's was a huge improvement. The body rolls hard but the car doesn't push out in a turn anymore. Great grip and not very loud (other than the hole in my floor right behind the tire )They have the same rubber compound as the Pilot Super Sport 3's too.

If you need all-season traction, I love the Conti DWS (mud/snow-rated little brother to the DW). I've never had better tires in the snow and rain except dedicated winter-only tires. And their warm/dry performance doesn't suck either. It's not as good as the ultra-high-performance summer-only stuff, but it is more than sporty enough.

Note: I tend to run both the DWS and the DW a little higher in pressure than suggested - like maybe 36 to 38 warm all round. But they are not noisy, handle well, and wear just fine, even on nose-heavy FWD cars.

secretariata wrote:

Opti wrote: The sumitomo hrtz 2 is horrible, no traction in dry or wet, noisy and wear quickly. HTRZ3s are better but still not good, they get great reviews on Tirerack but my set rode like crap,

That's what I don't understand. Are the people that like those normally driving around on Pep Boys specials they got for $30 each and hit the pick 3 lotto for $500 so they decided to splurge on tires?

That is partly the issue I think. Its also that people buy tires and they are like a kid with new sneakers. Suddenly they can run faster. There are also a zillion people out there who wouldn't know a good tire from a wagon wheel. Not everyone can be rockstar car people like us.

http://www.maxxis.com/catalog/tire-67-102-victra-ma-z4s

no snow? Rival R's

In reply to danl318:

I'll second Duke's recommendation on the Continental DWS's. We have them on the 350z and they are quiet, have good wear characteristics, provide good dry traction, excellent wet traction, don't seem to be affected by cold, and are supposed to be snow capable (for a non-snow tire). I've only driven them once in snow and it was less than 1" on the ground.

I have these as my fall back position if I don't get summer tires.

captdownshift wrote: no snow? Rival R's

No snow but pretty regular wet weather. They don't look to the the best in the wet and pricier than any of the others I'm considering with a lower treadwear number which probably means even more expensive due to replacement frequency.

I vote Continental DW. My brother has them on his RX-8 in the Chicago area and waits until the last possible minute to put his snow tires on. He's very happy with them. Excellent wet performance and quiet with pretty good stick.

In reply to captdownshift: Don't you mean Rival S? Plus, he doesn't autocross or do track days, so it's too much rubber for him.

DWs fine on the street at 30 degree F on my E 36.