EMF213

After a bunch of looking around, it seems to me that Summer tires must provide a CONSIDERABLE amount of performance gains over all-season tires in the same category (ie High Perf to High Perf, or Ultra HP to Ultra HP...).

I say this because it seems like Audi and BMW only put Summer tires on many of thier sedans as stock equipment. This combined with RWD (BMW) makes for what seems like a bad combination for buyers of these cars in four season climates here in the US. Therefore, the choice to provide buyers in climates WITH snow with summer tires must have been made due to the sheer performance increase, correct?? Otherwise, the German's would opt for a high performance All-Season tire on thier vehicles, right?? Someone let me know if I'm off track here...

Anyway, I have been waiting for availability of Proxes 4, which are currently on a national backorder, to put on my 18" ASpec wheels. Since I can't seem to get them, and I'm DYING to get these wheels on my car, I started considering other tire options. In looking at all the tires out there I started thinking what if I went with an UHP Summer tire?? After all, if summer tires are placed on some of the best cars in the world why not?? Audi and BMW owners must still be driving their cars in all kinds of weather, right? So what if I did? Is it really that bad?

Anyway, this whole issue is a little confusing so I figured I'd throw it out for discussion. Opinions more than welcome!

dman918

Summer tires definitely have a better grip than all-seasons. However, I find that many people do not use this extra potential. For me, a really good all-season tire is more than enough. I had a set of pirelli pzero neros and they were unbelieveable. They did grip as almost as well as some lower-end summer tires.
If you have snow by you, and you purchase summer tires, you WILL need a winter set. You simply will not drive around on summer tires in the snow. Audi and BMW drivers should be switching to winter tires in the season, as recommended by dealers, etc.

EMF213

So you're saying that although Audis and BMWs come with summer tires, they recommend switching for winter? I wonder how many Audi/BMW buyers actually do this. My guess would be NOT MANY!!! The large majority of these customers are not "enthusiasts", but rather "luxury" car buyers that simply buy these cars because of what they are as a name brand.
I seriously doubt that all the 50-60 year old ladies I see driving Beemers, Mercedes, Audis etc. are swapping their tires out in the winter.
If they must be switched, aren't these manufacurers doing a large part of their customer base a great disservice by equipping their cars with summer only rubber?? After all, they HAVE to know that most people don't switch their tires...

ASP

Go for a performance all season tire.

Falken Ziex ZE 512
https://acurazine.com/forums/showthread.php?t=69061

I've had these for about a week (500 miles) in 245/40-18 and so far they are a great do-it-all tire. Excellent in the rain and zero complaints on dry pavement, plus killer looks, very low noise and a 360 tread rating.

They were also recently ranked #1 by Consumer Reports . . . details in the above link.

MichiganRich

I think it's kinda misleading to say that all of those makes are always outfitted with summer tires. Most times they are part of a 'performance' package or something like that, where the purchaser is made aware that they're not optimal for driving in the winter north of the Mason-Dixon line. *smiles*

I'm looking at the recent Car And Driver that did the $55k sedan comparo, and they make a specific mention of the 'summer' tires (Bridgestone Potenza RE050A's) that were included in the optional Sport package on the Infiniti M45 that wound up winning. The Lexus GS430 is the only other car of the 8 tested that had 'summer' tires, the Yoko Advans. The other 6 cars had either Michelin or Continental M+S tires.

In a perfect world, which for me means next year after my bank account has recovered from the down payment for the TL, you would have a set of winters and a set of summers. I initially thought that the summer tires would be the noisiest, harshest tires that you could pick. The guys at the Tire Rack informed me that was not the case, and that some of the summer tires would be as quiet and comfortable (and rain-worthy) as all-seasons, just not designed for winter grip at all.

MichiganRich

Forgot to mention that for the time being, (and for what its worth), I went with the Avon Tech M550's in stock size on the stock rims. I have come to the conclusion that all the hemming and hawing about which tire is 'best' is just a bunch of hot air. If you get any of the reasonably well-reviewed tires available I doubt that you would notice much of a difference after they wear for a few weeks and 'settle down'. A friend of mine has the Falkens on his Accord wagon, and they have proven to be great tires. I'm sure the Neros and PS2's and Potenzas and Fuzions and Toyos and geez all those others are fine as well. You're gonna buy 'em, drive 'em till you think they suck, and then buy some more. Whichever brand you choose.

Y'know what makes a huge difference, IMHO?... mounting and balancing. I had some of the 50-60mph vibes when I first got the car, which had the EL42s on it still. I had the Tire Rack put the Avons on, and I think that the superior balancing that the Hunter Dynamic machine provides made the difference. Now there is just a slight bit of vibes when the car is cold, and I think thats really due to the engine being down in the 'lugging' RPM range.

neuronbob

I would like to add "reasonably priced" performance all season tire to your statement. The price is also important for those who live in the frigid north like me because of the fricken potholes. I just replaced a pair of my Falkens after 21k miles because of a huge bubble in one tire. I believe in replacing in pairs when affordable. $90-95 a tire for these make them light on the wallet for the inevitable replacement. I'm now glad I didn't buy Michelin Pilot Sport A/Ss, as good a tire as they are.....I'd hate to pay north of $200 a tire the next time I damage one.

EMF213

I did a search on Tire Rack to see what the stock tires were on certain model cars. I specifically looked at the 5 Series BMWs WITHOUT the Sport Pkg as well as the Audi A8 (my neighbor has one with some fairly large Audi wheels so I wanted to check it out). BOTH of these cars have Summer only tires as stock according to Tire Rack.

MichiganRich

According to the Car And Driver comparison of the actual cars both the Audi A6 and the BMW 530i come with Conti Mud + Snows...

dman918

Yep, that is what I am saying.