Originally Posted By: db500
Originally Posted By: rcy
Yes. The softer tread compound will wear away faster when it's hot out and also lead to 'squishy' handling of the vehicle.
Why don't you consider one of the newer 'all weather' tires, that can be left on all year, but also pass the tests required to get the 'mountain/snowflake' symbol on the sidewall.
The Nokian WRG2, Goodyear TripleTred, Yokohama W drive and Continental ExtremeContact DWS are the ones that I know of.
I've actually got goodyear triple treads on there now...they have about 30K on them...still good tread.
The Goodyear TripleTred's are a fine tire. If she has to go through the Adirondack's, Mountain and Snowflake rated tires have the edge on practicality but the best all-season's have a lot to offer too.
The Continental Extreme Contact DWS is an improved tire that was already best in its class for wintertime use. Worth a serious read at
www.tirerack.com . Check out users comments on the TripleTred and the Extreme Contact DWS and you may find your wife's car model listed there.
The Continental warranty is excellent at 50,000 miles: high for an Ultra High Performance tire. The Conti's are a "true" radial with soft polyester sidewalls at 90 degrees to the direction of travel. Their sidewall compliance results in a very large footprint and contributes to the traction of the tire in snow conditions. You can run them at 50 psi (good to 51 psi) and they will not feel "hard". The two steel belts and two polymide belts keep the tread flat as a pancake. Very nicely designed tire going on Audi, Porsche, M-B.