Summer tires and NYC winter.

[mareakin]

Consider NYC winter weather:

1. Below 20F days are pretty rare.
2. Near 0F days are almost nonexistant
3. Usually around 30F.
4. Not many snow days.

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Given these weather conditions, is it even plausible to do some careful light-driving with Summer tires (specifically General Exclaim UHP tires: http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=General&tireModel=Exclaim+UHP ?

I'm itching to try these tires because they're well-reviewed, comes in 195/55/15's, pretty light-weight at only 16 lbs. and pretty cheap, frankly speaking. Also, I live in an apartment with so space to store an extra set of winter tires to swap with: so it's either all-seasons all-year-round or Summertime-tires all-the-time.

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Any of you have experience driving with summer tires in the winter? What was it like? Did you take note of the performance vs. the temperature?

 

[Quattro Pete]

I used to live in Jersey City, and as far as I remember, we used to get decent amount of snow and below freezing weather, unless the climate has drastically changed over the past 15 years. Remember having to dig out the car from under a pile of snow numerous times. I would definitely not drive on summer-only tires there during winter.

When I lived in Virginia (near DC), I used to have summer Bridgestone S-03 tires on my A4. Their grip would greatly diminish in temps of about 40F and below. That is when I used to put my winter Pilot Alpins on.

There are plenty of good all-season tires out there that will manage better during your winters than those Generals. Conti Extreme Contact DWS comes to mind. Michelin Pilot Sport A/S, too.

 

[J_Sap]

The rubber in your summer tires is going to harden up. The summer tires will wear down faster because of that and more importantly your stopping distance will increase dramatically. Summer tires stop being as good as all seasons and winter tires under 50 F, not 32 F. Even all seasons will be better than summer tires during the winter. I don't know if where you park if they require you to move during snow emergencies or to plow but if they do you will most likely not be able to get out of your spot.

I have driven summer tires in the winter before (Boston area) and they are awful and downright dangerous. I took my summer car out on amnice winter day and it is something I will never do again. If I were you I would run all seasons year around and feel good knowing that you are better off in the snow.

Also what car are these tires on? And do you already have these tires or are you thinking about getting them?

 

[HTSS_TR]

The General Exclaim UHP is the Ultra High Performnce all-season tire, somehow Tirerack group that into the summer tires. If you look at the super view of the tire on Tirerack you will see the "M+S" on the sidewall below the letter "L" of the "EXCLAIM".

It is okay to be used in near freezing weather, but it's not as good as all season tire such as Continental ExtremeContact DWS below freezing and on ice or snow. But Continental ExtremeContact DWS does not available in 15" sizes. The Kumho Ecsta ASX is a good high performance all season tire with similar cost.

 

[JHZR2]

the compounds will not be right for the cold weather we DO see in northern NJ and NYC. Folks have gotten into accidents on round on/offramps because of the change in charateristics.

 

[mareakin]

I want to thank you all for the input--you've corrected me on my mis-pre-conception that summer-tires were "ALL-SEASON MINUS WINTER" tires, I have learned that it would be more accurate to say that they are "ONLY-SUMMER" tires.

The Kumbo Ecsta ASX, you recommended looks excellent. Also, Tirerack has a few other performance all-season tires like the new Yokohoma Envigors, and the Michelin Exalto.

 

[mareakin]

Originally Posted By: HTSS_TR
The General Exclaim UHP is the Ultra High Performnce all-season tire, somehow Tirerack group that into the summer tires. If you look at the super view of the tire on Tirerack you will see the "M+S" on the sidewall below the letter "L" of the "EXCLAIM".

It is okay to be used in near freezing weather, but it's not as good as all season tire such as Continental ExtremeContact DWS below freezing and on ice or snow. But Continental ExtremeContact DWS does not available in 15" sizes. The Kumho Ecsta ASX is a good high performance all season tire with similar cost.


WOW!! Thanks for pointing this out!

I verified at: http://www.generaltire.com/tires/T1/Exclaim-UHP

saids, "The ultra-high performance you need in all season conditions. This tire features a silica compound for remarkable traction and mileage." ------ That's right, "ALL SEASON!"

Either a mislabel by Tire-Rack, though, it's not implausible that Tire-Rack is correct and the manufacturer....is wrong?

hm......

intursting.

 

[SteveSRT8]

I run Toyo Proxes 4 in 275/40/20 and they are labeled all season.

But I wouldn't expect them to perform well in the snow!

 

[Colt]

Originally Posted By: mareakin
Originally Posted By: HTSS_TR
The General Exclaim UHP is the Ultra High Performnce all-season tire, somehow Tirerack group that into the summer tires. If you look at the super view of the tire on Tirerack you will see the "M+S" on the sidewall below the letter "L" of the "EXCLAIM".

It is okay to be used in near freezing weather, but it's not as good as all season tire such as Continental ExtremeContact DWS below freezing and on ice or snow. But Continental ExtremeContact DWS does not available in 15" sizes. The Kumho Ecsta ASX is a good high performance all season tire with similar cost.


WOW!! Thanks for pointing this out!

I verified at: http://www.generaltire.com/tires/T1/Exclaim-UHP

saids, "The ultra-high performance you need in all season conditions. This tire features a silica compound for remarkable traction and mileage." ------ That's right, "ALL SEASON!"

Either a mislabel by Tire-Rack, though, it's not implausible that Tire-Rack is correct and the manufacturer....is wrong?

hm......

intursting.


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The Exclaim UHP does not have the siping that would normally be included in a tire that is designed for snow traction. General applies the M&S branding to this tire to differentiate it from a very similar tire sold only in Europe. While it meets the EXTREMELY basic requirements for a M&S tire (25% void area and grooves in at least one shoulder) it is not truly targeted for cold weather or snow.




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Quote:
Originally Posted by pinoycowboy View Post
ultra high performance summer tires run a compound that gets very hard when it's cold. i have a set of general uhps on my rear and when it snowed on sunday, i couldn't even get out of my [censored] spot.

Correct. Even though the tread pattern meets the minimum void ratio needed to be branded M+S, this tire was designed to be a summer-only UHP performance tire.

 

[sciphi]

I ran that exact size of the Exclaim on my old Hyundai in 35*F weather once before putting on snows for the winter. The car felt like it was on ice skates. The Generals that gripped so well in warmer temperatures were understeering horribly on the cold pavement.

Look at more performance-oriented all-seasons for a NYC winter.

 

[PeteTheFarmer]

I remember a few years ago a coworker of mine complaining constantly about the snow weather performance of his tires, which turned out not to be all season like he thought they were. I wouldn't risk it. You mention that NYC does not get many snow days, but I know every few years or so you get at least one whale of a storm.

 

[mareakin]

Thanks for the input, I'm quite convinced at this point that the Exclaims would be an inappropriate tire for all-seasons, and, I really need something for ALL the seasons as it would be major inconvenience to be swapping sets of tires.

lookin' into the continental pro-contacts, the yoko envigors, and the Kumho ASX

 

[Quattro Pete]

Also look at Nokian WRG2 - probably the best winter-handling all-season tire out there; rivals many dedicated winter tires when it comes to managing the white stuff and low temps. Alas, they're not exactly cheap.

http://www.nokiantires.com/tyre?id=11899&group=1.01&name=Nokian+WRG2

Our C300 came with Conti Pro Contacts, but we haven't driven it during winter yet, so I can't comment on their performance. I'm not expecting them to be great, but since the car is AWD, I guess it'll manage. Will probably replace them with ContiDWS when they wear out.

 

[HTSS_TR]

Originally Posted By: Quattro Pete
Also look at Nokian WRG2 - probably the best winter-handling all-season tire out there; rivals many dedicated winter tires when it comes to managing the white stuff and low temps. Alas, they're not exactly cheap.

http://www.nokiantires.com/tyre?id=11899&group=1.01&name=Nokian+WRG2

Our C300 came with Conti Pro Contacts, but we haven't driven it during winter yet, so I can't comment on their performance. I'm not expecting them to be great, but since the car is AWD, I guess it'll manage. Will probably replace them with Conti DWS when they wear out.

Continental Extremecontact DWS may be the best bang for the buck all season tire as of now, but when you need new tires for your C300 in 2-3 years there may be better tires at that time.

We don't need snow capability tires So Cal, unless we go to mountain ski resorts in winter of go to Vegas. DWS performs very well on dry and wet surfaces, it's very quiet on highway at triple digits speed and the ride is not hash even with 40-42 PSI on around.

 

[GenSan]

I'd personally give the Nokian WRG2 195/55/15 serious consideration for a tire I would feel confident running all four seasons.

I always put a premium on tires and brakes (preventive maintenance as well).

Nokian WRG2 195/55/15

Also consider Goodyear's Assurance Triple Tred.
It has an 80,000 mile tread life warranty.

Goodyear Assurance Triple Tred 195/55/15

 

[dailydriver]

You could also consider the B.F. Goodrich G Force Super Sport all season.

It is NOT even 1/3rd the winter type all season that the WRG2 is, but it will out handle it (and pretty much every other 'all season' tire) on dry pavement.

 

[Audi Junkie]

Skip, not a good tire anyway. Try BFG g-Force SS all-seasons. Faster in dry than a lot of summer tires. Better wear. I have them on the Astra.

 

[mareakin]

Thanks for the suggestions, mate. I'm gon' check 'em out! Thx again.

 

[rjundi]

If you can avoid slushy and ice days you may be able to get around. Garbage all-seasons in the snow are very scary especially the performance oriented ones.

Summer tires are very scary when you hit the brakes find yourself on a frozen spot (they happen here or there) and seem to go faster and have no control.

Not worth it IMHO. There are some excellent Ultra High performance all-seasons out there with some winter traction.