All season's or Summers?

I popped a RE92 in December so I bought a set of winter tires (Blizzak WS60, only ones I could find in dire need of a tire) ... so now I have to switch to summers or all seasons this year. I figure on a normal rotation I'll be putting the Summer tire on in April-ish and swapping for winter in Oct-Nov. I live in New England so weather can get crappy at random times.

 

I'm sorta looking at the Bridgestone RE960AS Pole Position as the All Season, and the Dunlop Direzza Sport Z1 Star Spec as the Summer. I want something that is going to last me at least 2 to the greater part of 3 seasons (probably putting roughly 1k to 2k miles per month on them).

 

There's also the question of 225 vs. 215...I live around Boston with the potholes, but I'm going to lower my car with pinks/bilsteins (in a week or two) so I don't know if the 225 sidewall is too tall for that drop.

 

I appreciate any help that is offered....I am a tire newbie, and admittedly suck at using the search feature on here.

225 or 215 is the tire width...if you're worried about potholes you'd probably do well with a 45 sidewall. Are you running 17 or 18 inch wheels? 45s might be too tall for 18s with a drop. You might have to go with 40s but you'll have less rim protection from the potholes.

 

I just put on the RE960AS so I don't have a lot of experience with them, but so far they are great in the rain and dry.

I had the RE960's on my forester and have them in 225/45 on my LGT. They are great all season tires. Great grip and handling in wet and dry conditions. My only complaint with them is if the car sits for a day or two, they tend to flat spot quickly.

 

If you have bad winters, a dedicated winter tire would be much better than these for snow/ice traction. Here in VA, we got "snow" like 3 times this winter, so I run them year 'round.

i'd prob rec an A/S tire, just because it rains its fair share here in the new england area. i've heard good things about the RE960s but never tried myself, the dunlops i'm unfamiliar with.

 

btw i'm thinking of going the bilsteins/pinks route as well, i wonder if i can catch a ride with you once you get them on? also wanted to ask which springs you were using.

225 or 215 is the tire width...if you're worried about potholes you'd probably do well with a 45 sidewall. Are you running 17 or 18 inch wheels? 45s might be too tall for 18s with a drop. You might have to go with 40s but you'll have less rim protection from the potholes.

 

I just put on the RE960AS so I don't have a lot of experience with them, but so far they are great in the rain and dry.

 

 

ah yes, I meant to clarify that I'd be staying with the 45 sidewall for either the 225 or 215 tire.

 

I'm still on the stock 17's, and probably will stay with 17's even if I eventually buy new rims (not any time soon). So a 225/45 would fit 17's with a 1" drop?

 

I have a dedicated winter (now, after popping the RE92 last December I bought the set of winters) so I'm trying to decide between the Summer and A/S ...basically trying to figure out if new england rain or early winter conditions will be too much for a dedicated summer.

 

katalyst: yeah I can definitely give you a ride after I put them on. I'm also installing a JDM RSB at the same time, too. I wanted to space it out (shocks and springs first, then RSB at a later date) to compare the differences, but all the pieces fell together at the same time, so it wouldn't make sense for me to have the JDM RSB sitting around in my closet waiting to be put on when I can do it at the same time as the suspension.

 

i have the sedan auto tranny springs.

 

 

edit: forgot to include my driving style, I dont track or AutoX, my work commute is 13miles each way on a one lane in each direction road that i rarely get over 40mph on. on the weekends i like to take it out for some spirited driving, and also bring it up to the mountains fairly often.

I'm still on the stock 17's, and probably will stay with 17's even if I eventually buy new rims (not any time soon). So a 225/45 would fit 17's with a 1" drop?

 

that'll be fine and you'll keep your speedo on target

snow05gtRI: sweet, i'd love to get a feel for them before pulling the trigger. is GTTuner putting it all together for you?

yep. Just spoke with him about it today, actually. contemplating doing it this Saturday. gotta see if other things line up right so that I can get it done. I've got something else I need him to look at, too. he does great work, really knows his stuff, and the prices cannot be beat....great combination for a mechanic...

 

now thinking about it, a dedicated summer might be overkill for my driving type. but I'm going to wait to see if some more people chime in on the subject before I make my choice. I don't like making uninformed decisions, especially about things that I am new to....

How much money do you want to spend?

Michelin Pilot Exalto PE2 are supposedly nice.

 

Krzys

 

PS Dunlop Direzza Sport Z1 Star Spec are rated as Extreme Summer by tire rack. That usually mean that wet traction is not top priority but its wet test numbers seem decent.

I dunno, around $150/tire, hopefully less, possibly a LITTLE more if they're extremely worth it...

I live in Canada with long hard core winters. When summer hits I want all out summer tires, but maybe that's just me. I have dedicated winters (Goodyear Ultragrip Performance...more on the sporty side for a winter tire) and just bought the Z1 for summer (had BFG KDW2).

 

It's a trade off though in the spring and fall....you have to put the winters on sooner and leave them on longer as you don't want to be caught in any snow or ice with summers...bad news.

 

If you're weather flip flops a lot, or if you were down in dry warmer weather and then driving up into the mountains and snow, then something like A/S may be more appropriate. Or get more sporty dedicated snows like I did, or just be gentle on the winter tires if you have to drive them in the dry and in somewhat warmer weather until you can switch fully to the summers.

 

I like 225/45/17 for winter tires and pot holes. Summers I've now gone to 235/40/17 (8" rim), but did have 225/45/17 for summers as well and they were fine (if they have good rigid sidewalls). Overall, if potholes, etc., are a big deal, go with 225/45/17 over the 215. I'm dropped almost 1" and no issues.

 

Just some thoughts.

i just put on my dunlop z1s about 2 weeks ago also. 235/40/17s. they are a bit on the noisy side, but they are great with higher speeds and so far they did real well in rain also.

I ran the same set of Dunlop FM901's the past 4 summers. Live in CT. I would go with a 50 side wall if you can find them. I drive in MA a lot, the roads suck, thanks, Big Dig.

 

I just bought a set of OEM rims from a member in NJ with RE92's. See if you can find a member here selling his OEM's with tires. I finally got tired of paying $50.00 twice a year to swap the tires. I should have bought the second set years ago.

 

I know The re92's suck but it's a cost savings, I have 4 winters on the Michelin PA2's and will run them until they wear out, then swap the new wheels on.

 

I have 106,000 miles, so yes I do drive the car alot.

I have the RE960's on a 2004 WRX. They are not driven gently nor crazy and are going to last the 40k.

 

Driving with some gusto around corners I have not found a lack of adhesion with the Re960's on twisty roads and driving spirited while being quiet/comfortable tires otherwise.

 

My experience with Michelin Pilot summer tires is noisier on a previous vehicle and other people's with various brands.

 

The nice thing about UHP all-seasons is that you can run them into the first snow without serious worry and then change them over. This will make your winter's last much longer.

 

That being said summers are best for summer and winters best for winter if you want the "ultimate" in adhesion.

Hey man.. forget about the summer tires completely.

 

Not to bash on the Legacy, but also to combine with your driving style. You will never push the limit of your car hard enough to demand that summer tire. I mean, if you rarely get over 40mph most of the time anyways... how often do you think you'll try to hit ramps at 70mph?

 

Get a stiff tire...... I got some neo nittogens because I couldn't pass up the deal. The sidewalls are squishy, so the handling isn't all that hot. I used to have kumho ASX all season tires on my Evo, and they were pretty good. The best a/s tire I had were cooper Zeons (which I don't think they make anymore) They have STIFF sidewalls, work nicely in all seasons too. I actually have 2 tires in the garage sitting there (since I hit some nails, so that's why I ditched 2 tires).

 

In Boston, the weather changes too much near the transitions.... and you do NOT want to be caught with those summer tires! If your work commute is slower, you might be good. For me, flipping tires back and forth got very old. I only used dedicated tires when I used to track my cars (not this LGT ) .. otherwise a/s is good. I drive from my place in Natick downtown every day.. and the a/s tire does wonders.

if you have a dedicated winter setup, id just get summers. a/s tires are inherently an annoying compromise IMO. im a big fan of kumho ecsta mx and the falken azeni rt615 for summer tires. not too pricey and super sticky.

I've got WS60s for winter and Eagle GT ASs for the rest of the time. I don't drive/push the car hard enough for summers. You can drive on ASs right up until it snows and change them out early spring to save your winters from wearing. I took the winters off mid-March (50s and 60s for 10 days straight made me change) and a week later we had back-to-back weekends of snow. It would've sucked if I had been driving around on summers.

lol thats why i switched to summers first week of april..but it still snowed! thats chicago

lol thats why i switched to summers first week of april..but it still snowed! thats chicago

 

Heh. I know. It was killing me early/mid March when it was 60+ outside and I was still on winters.

right now I'm leaning toward summers because I already have a dedicated winter. So if I'm going to deal with switching them out 2x a year, i might as well do it properly. after these sets wear out, i might choose a different path. but i dont think i could go to an A/S for all-year round after using a dedicated winter...it's like i have chains on with these things.

 

the only thing i'm hung up on is the transition time periods...but I guess I'll just have to use my own judgment on that.

IMO don't buy expensive summers, like said above, your not going to use all that performance your paying for. The Dunlops FM901's were like $108.mounted 4 years ago.

 

I would buy a Dunlop again just because they have been a major tire for decades. A lot of the younger guy's buy the buy the newer stuff. Not sure if I'd get 4 summers out of them.

I forgot to mention that treadwear was the other reason I went with ASs. I'll probably put ~17K on the car a year, which means summer tires would last 2/2.5 years at best while swapping them out for the winter. I'll probably get 4 years out of ASs.

any more comments on 225/45 vs 215/45? are there any downsides to running a 4.5mm taller sidewall?

i have 35k miles on the re 960 a/s.

 

there is no other tire for WA weather imo. will be getting more in 5k miles.

right now I'm leaning toward summers because I already have a dedicated winter. So if I'm going to deal with switching them out 2x a year, i might as well do it properly. after these sets wear out, i might choose a different path. but i dont think i could go to an A/S for all-year round after using a dedicated winter...it's like i have chains on with these things.

 

the only thing i'm hung up on is the transition time periods...but I guess I'll just have to use my own judgment on that.

 

im a transplant but put winters on in late november IIRC and just switched back to summers a few weeks ago. theres always the chance for some snow but i didnt want to kill the tread on the winters since its nice and sunny now

 

as for the second question, id go with 225, 215s look anemic.