Tire Selection for 22 WRX

K

K20SiGUY

Joined
Mar 2, 2008
Messages
61
Location
PA
Ok So,

Taking delivery of my first "New" car ever. Unfortunately for some unknown reason Subaru went with the Dunlop whatever summer tires. Id like to switch them over to an UHP all season, I would probably wait until October to mount them after buying them either on Memorial or Labor day sale.
My choices are, Michelin Pilot Sport 4 All Season , Vredestein Hypertrack All Season,Bridgestone Potenza RE980 +, or the Continental DWS 06 +.

I would like to have a tire that can handle light duty snow, I normally drive my current car about April-Thanksgiving, and then I drive my Honda Ridgeline in the winter with Xice Snows on it. I travel about 20 mins to work and can telework if the weather is bad. But recently (last April and November) we received a few surprise storms that left 2-3 inches on the road. Id like to have a tire that can safely get me home but doesn't have to be a dedicated winter or even all weather tire.

My current car is a 2006 Honda Civic Si, no traction control but a good limited slip diff in the front. I am running the DWS 06+ on it, and the first snowfall I had it in was the surprise 3" midday April snowfall. While my experience with driving it in the snow is limited, it did handle the 3" slush snow well. This past November when we got 3-4" and the DWS06+ were a bit more worn (the S was still visible but worn) things were not great. The even at 10mph the car did not like to turn or stop at what I consider a safe margin. Other than that so far they are extremely quiet, ride well, and handle the wet well.

What I am looking for is a tire that may give up a little dry traction for some mild snow traction. I would not want to give up wet traction or deal with any intrusive tread noise (BFG G-Force Comp) worst tires I've ever owned noise wise. It seems as though the Michelin is the most rounded of the bunch, but some people complain about tread noise. The Vredestein I am fully unsure about, these seem to be tireracks baby, and they don't seem to test high in any one category yet they seem to build them up to be just as good as the competitors. The Bridgestone's I don't know much about, other than watching a Topher video on YouTube where he is driving an NSX on a snow track with these tires mounted.

If anyone has driven or rode in a car with the DWS 06 plus and has experience with any of the other tires listed I would appreciate some input as I am totally stuck right now on what I should buy.
 
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My vote would be the Michelin Pilots. I'd wait for a buy 4 get 150 dollars off at Discount Tire or Costco. They should be the closest thing to summer tires while still having some light snow traction.
 
I've been in a buddy's evo with the DWS06 and it's......soft. Granted it's 100-200 pounds heavier than your car but phew those tires were SOFT. They were great in light snow though and decently quiet/comfy for a UHPA/S.

The PS4 A/S is an amazing summer-focused all season - the best you'll get performance-wise for an A/S. Here you're trading in snow and tire noise for increased dry performance. They're 'fine' in cold temps but definitely not as confidence aspiring as the DWS in light snow. You may not like the tire noise but it might be comparable to the OEM Dunlops. EDIT: They're magnitudes quieter than the PS4S though, if you've ever been in a car with those.
 
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Pew said:
I've been in a buddy's evo with the DWS06 and it's......soft. Granted it's 100-200 pounds heavier than your car but phew those tires were SOFT. They were great in light snow though and decently quiet/comfy for a UHPA/S.

The PS4 A/S is an amazing summer-focused all season - the best you'll get performance-wise for an A/S. Here you're trading in snow and tire noise for increased dry performance. They're 'fine' in cold temps but definitely not as confidence aspiring as the DWS in light snow. You may not like the tire noise but it might be comparable to the OEM Dunlops.
Click to expand...
I do plan on running the OEM Dunlops all summer long, might as well wear them away and have a "fresh" set of UHP All Seasons for the light snow traction come October. I am not against buying another set of DWS 06 plus, but my findings at least in my Civic Si was once that S starts to wear some, and it does fast, it seems to give up that outer compound that helps it with snow traction. I may be good for the first year, but the second season may be in question regarding any real ability to stop and turn in light snow situations.
 
Is your tire size 245/40-18? :unsure:

Since snow performance is important to you, consider a 3-peak all season, such as
Vredestein Quatrac Pro
Pirelli Cinturato Weatheractive
 
I am a little confused.

If "This past November when we got 3-4" and the DWS06+ were a bit more worn (the S was still visible but worn) things were not great." is your experience with DWS06 would you consider them fitting for your definition for "a tire that can handle light duty snow"?

If you want all season (or newer trend of all weather) tires that provide better snow traction you will need to give up some high performance of the tires (dry and wet and driving feel). Are you ready for this? Why did you buy WRX?

If DWS06+ fits the bill then you know what you are getting. Michelin Pilot All Season 4 are similar just better everywhere but snow (and ice) per my understanding.

Why not two sets of wheels?

Krzyś
 
slacktide_bitog said:
Is your tire size 245/40-18? :unsure:

Since snow performance is important to you, consider a 3-peak all season, such as
Vredestein Quatrac Pro
Pirelli Cinturato Weatheractive
Click to expand...
Yes, Tire size is 245/40-18. One of the reasons I did not list the Quatrac is I feel its more of a Grand Touring tire, not really meeting the sporty needs of the WRX, and for some reason its UTQG is only 400?! The Pirelli is a bit more than what I want to spend on a tire (265$) and both I feel are more winter focused than what I need for the occasional 20 minute commute home in light snow.
 
krzyss said:
I am a little confused.

If "This past November when we got 3-4" and the DWS06+ were a bit more worn (the S was still visible but worn) things were not great." is your experience with DWS06 would you consider them fitting for your definition for "a tire that can handle light duty snow"?

If you want all season (or newer trend of all weather) tires that provide better snow traction you will need to give up some high performance of the tires (dry and wet and driving feel). Are you ready for this? Why did you buy WRX?

If DWS06+ fits the bill then you know what you are getting. Michelin Pilot All Season 4 are similar just better everywhere but snow (and ice) per my understanding.

Why not two sets of wheels?

Krzyś
Click to expand...
I just would like a tire that can handle the occasional light snow and get me home safely. All the class leading UHP all season tires are miles better with light snow traction than what they were 10 years ago. I would just like to have the one that has the best traction. And I would not be considering two sets of tires due to my original post stating that I drive my Honda Ridgeline when the weather turns cold for good and snow and ice are a threat everyday.
 
K20SiGUY said:
I do plan on running the OEM Dunlops all summer long, might as well wear them away and have a "fresh" set of UHP All Seasons for the light snow traction come October. I am not against buying another set of DWS 06 plus, but my findings at least in my Civic Si was once that S starts to wear some, and it does fast, it seems to give up that outer compound that helps it with snow traction. I may be good for the first year, but the second season may be in question regarding any real ability to stop and turn in light snow situations.
Click to expand...

Completely understandable. We used them when they were nearly new so >8/32", far before the S wears down around 5/32(?) Then after that you end up with a generic feeling all-season. If you're looking to run all-seasons next summer as well then the Michelin PS4 A/S IMO would be better for you. Winter performance won't be as good as the DWS06+ but since you have a winter vehicle, the PS4 A/S would at least let you flog the car around more when the temperatures rise again.
 
Does DWS06+ meet your definition of "a tire that can handle light duty snow"?
It looked to me that you were unhappy with decrease in winter traction when they got older.

Michelin PS4 A/S will be worse in the snow (and ice) than Continental but better everywhere else but if DWS06+ does not meet above definition than Michelin even less so.

What do you want from your tires and what are your expectations?

Krzyś
 
Pew said:
Completely understandable. We used them when they were nearly new so >8/32", far before the S wears down around 5/32(?) Then after that you end up with a generic feeling all-season. If you're looking to run all-seasons next summer as well then the Michelin PS4 A/S IMO would be better for you. Winter performance won't be as good as the DWS06+ but since you have a winter vehicle, the PS4 A/S would at least let you flog the car around more when the temperatures rise again.
Click to expand...
Thats a good Idea too, I may check them out when the time comes. The good thing is I don't have to decide right now, I will have all summer to mull over what I want to do for the coming fall after ive driven on the stock Dunlop summers for a few months.
 
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krzyss said:
Does DWS06+ meet your definition of "a tire that can handle light duty snow"?
It looked to me that you were unhappy with decrease in winter traction when they got older.

Michelin PS4 A/S will be worse in the snow (and ice) than Continental but better everywhere else but if DWS06+ does not meet above definition than Michelin even less so.

What do you want from your tires and what are your expectations?

Krzyś
Click to expand...
By the looks of what Tirerack reports, both the Vredestein and Michelin are tops for snow handling, with the DWS 06+ tops for dry handling. I guess what I am looking for is a UHP All Season that can handle light snow duty, but unlike the DWS 06+, has whatever magical compound they use for snow traction integrated into the whole tread depth, not just the upper section like the D-W-S has with its wear indicators. Not sure if such a tire exists, but I have yet to see any mention of compounds throughout the whole tire on the Bridgestone or Michelin.
 
K20SiGUY said:
Yes, Tire size is 245/40-18. One of the reasons I did not list the Quatrac is I feel its more of a Grand Touring tire, not really meeting the sporty needs of the WRX, and for some reason its UTQG is only 400?! The Pirelli is a bit more than what I want to spend on a tire (265$) and both I feel are more winter focused than what I need for the occasional 20 minute commute home in light snow.
Click to expand...

Those treadwear ratings mean nothing :sneaky:

Vredestein's warranty is 50k, while Pirelli's is 60k

Also, high performance tires won't last long anyway :D

Both tires I suggested have a speed rating of Y

The Quatrac Pro is billed as a high performance all weather, rather then the grand touring nature of the regular Quatrac (even though TR calls both of them grand touring, the Pro should still be plenty performance for your WRX)

Do you have, or plan to get, chains for your WRX? :unsure:

krzyss said:
Would they perform as expected for WRX in all other conditions but winter would be my question.

Krzyś
Click to expand...
Both have a Y speed rating, so that should be more than enough

Jimmy_Russells said:
Keep the summers and buy a separate set of performance winters?
Click to expand...

This is a good idea.
 
K20SiGUY said:
By the looks of what Tirerack reports, both the Vredestein and Michelin are tops for snow handling, with the DWS 06+ tops for dry handling. I guess what I am looking for is a UHP All Season that can handle light snow duty, but unlike the DWS 06+, has whatever magical compound they use for snow traction integrated into the whole tread depth, not just the upper section like the D-W-S has with its wear indicators. Not sure if such a tire exists, but I have yet to see any mention of compounds throughout the whole tire on the Bridgestone or Michelin.
Click to expand...
Reports are pile of . They mean nothing (or rather not much), they are opinions.
Look for test results. Even Consumer Test results are better than Tire Rack customer opinions.

Just IMHO.

Krzyś
 
K20SiGUY said:
both the Vredestein and Michelin are tops for snow handling, with the DWS 06+ tops for dry handling.
Click to expand...

I don't know about the Vredestein, but I've experienced the exact opposite for the Contis and Michelins. The Michelins definitely have better road feel and turn-in response.
 
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