Hey

I just got my gunmetal a-specs in and I need tires! Continental Extreme Contact is what I want but they're kind of expensive. I had Falken 512 on my accord and they were ok but were horrible in the snow. So are there any all-season tires for around $500-$600 that you have experienced in the snow and recommend? I'm getting 245/40/18. Thanks

 

There is not one "all Season" out there that is suitable for driving in the snow unless you only get the occasional 1/2" of dry snow.

I have lived in snow country all my life and have seen the evolution of what they call All Seasons... All Seasons are to me the old definition of summer tires , necessary because of the advent of "performance" tires.

The rubber compound on All Seasons doesn't flex enough to release all but the dryest of snow and the tire becomes a slick.

Been there .. tried it .. even on my AWD Passat I went 2 snow falls and bought winters.

Do yourself a favour and buy proper winters or in a few months you will be in here looking for advice on how to remove your front bumper cuz you slid off the road.


FYI up here if your in an accident when its snowing even of you didn't cause it you may be held part or all to blame if your running all seasons .. theory is if you had proper tires you may have been able to prevent the accident.

 

Go to tirerack.com and pull up the surveys and reviews for ultra high performance all season tires. The top rated AS in snow is the Continental Extreme Contact DWS:

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/survey...jsp?type=UHPAS

In addition, there are at least two extended threads in this forum on the DWS, but not much snow experience yet...

 

Son in law bought the DWS for his CLS 500 last fall via Tire Rack and his comment was .. good for wet slush on the flat but anything past 1/2" of dry snow .. forget it .. He has 30+ years of winter driving experience.

I drove it from down town Cranbrook to his place in 2" of wet snow .. 20 blocks with some slight incline... wasn't fun...

 

Good choice on the A-Specs. I got the continental extreme contact dws from discounttire.com for $605, free shipping. Problem solved.

 

A few hours ago I got a set of Continental Extreme Contact DWS 245/45R17 tires for $643.73 out of the door from a local shop, Curry's Auto of Chantilly, who matched the online price from Sears. That's $119.70 for the tire.

I'm starting them at 38 PSI front and 35 PSI rear but haven't driven on the long enough to form a worthwhile opinion on the performance.

The (what I am fairly sure are) original Michelin Pilot HX MXM4 tires lasted a most impressive 75,000 miles, even with my enthusiastic cornering, though with my preferred 40 PSI front and back they had worn down to almost slicks at the center.

 

Have been driving all-season tires on all of our vehicles in Colorado since I was 16 years old. I ran my Prelude with 17" Nitto NeoGens for 4 straight winters in Colorado without incident. The only thing that stopped me was when the ice ruts became too deep to clear my lip kit. Finally got winter tires last season because they were free. Yes, winter tires are much better for snow/ice but not absolutely necessary.

 

to the OP, how often does it really snow in MD? If you don't count the last winter we will rarely see a few inches on the road.

 

Yeah true, but I almost had a heart attack driving last winter with those Falkens. You just never know these days with global warming.

 

I have the DWS's on and drive through snow....I think they handle fine; but that's with a 16"...with an 18", it's going to be a difference.

 

I love my Pirelli P-Zero Nero's