UHP All-Season Tires...

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Backstory -- I just took a 300+ mile trip during which: a) I ran over a 2x4 on the highway that a flat-bed tractor-trailer left for me, which bent at least one rim, b) I had to drive in heavy rain, which left me hydroplaning all over the place. My car is a 2005 Saab 9-5 Aero Wagon. I have two Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3+ tires on the front and two Conti DWS06 tires on the back. The Michelin tires are about 2 years old with a good amount of tread left, and the Continental tires are about 4 or so years old with an ok amount of tread but are starting to crack a bit. (Yes, I cheaped out and only replaced 2 tires previously...I will not do it again, I promise).

I'm thinking that it's time to replace all my tires, and I'm not sure which ones to choose. My thinking has been that I should have a good all-season tire since I want good dry and wet performance and acceptable snow performance (When it snows, I can generally choose not to drive. If I get caught in it, I'll make do.). The hydroplaning has me a lot more concerned with wet-weather performance.

The tires that I've been considering are:
Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3+
Pirelli P Zero All Season Plus
Pirelli P7 Cinturato All Season Plus
Bridgestone Potenza RD 980 AS

Any thoughts?
 
If your not running dedicated snows, your on the wrong tire for your state

What's the size?

Your looking for a Grand Touring all season for heavy rain grip

If you like the Pilot Sports, consider Premier A/S
 
Originally Posted By: SatinSilver
Originally Posted By: wally21
The tires that I've been considering are:
Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3+
Pirelli P Zero All Season Plus
Pirelli P7 Cinturato All Season Plus
Bridgestone Potenza RD 980 AS


https://tirereviewsandmore.com/best-saab-9-5-tires/


OK. Why? All of the tires I listed except the Bridgestone are on that list. It does seem like the P7 is a favorite on this forum right now for some reason.
 
I had the Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3's on my GTI and didn't care for them much.
Overrated, period.
The + version might be better?

I have 4 Continental SureContact RX's on my GTI and they are the best UHP all-season tires I've had. They aren't known for
being superb in class in the snow like the Conti DWS06's are. But they grip excellent in the rain and perform great cold or hot.
Every other all-season I've had gave up traction in hot summer weather except for the Conti's on my car and the Generals
Gmax AS-05 on my wifes Audi. Those Generals are made in Portugal by Continental. They have a tad more road noise than my tires but are better otherwise.

I'm done assuming Michelin and top tier high dollar tires are always better.
 
Originally Posted By: michaelluscher
If your not running dedicated snows, your on the wrong tire for your state

What's the size?

Your looking for a Grand Touring all season for heavy rain grip

If you like the Pilot Sports, consider Premier A/S


Well, like I said, I can generally choose not to drive in the snow. So, I should go more for the grand touring tires like the P7 or the premier a/s for better wet traction?

Edit: Size is 225 45 17
 
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I'd recommend Cooper Zeon RS3-A or RS3-G1 for dry and wet performance. I've put about 10k miles on the RS3-A and they are excellent tire for the money. AFAIK, G1 is the revised version which offers more tread-life warranty.

I previously used Pilot Super Sport and I'd easily say if you don't go to track, you won't feel a difference. If you are okay with mid-tier brand, definitely way to go.
 
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The only tires that'll be better in the wet than the ones you listed are SOME top-of-the-line summer tires, particularly the Michelin Pilot Sport 4S and Continental SportContact 6. The way those tires perform in the rain will bend your mind. But you seem to want to be able to drive the same tire year-round, so those are out.

If you want an all-season tire and your biggest priority is wet performance, you probably want the RE980AS.

When you hydroplaned, which axle let go? Front, back, or both? All tires inflated to spec, etc.? How fast were you going?
 
If you're only going to use a single set of tires year-round, consider an all-season with the 3-peak sign, commonly called "all weather" tires. Examples are:
Vredestein Quatrac 5 (the first company to make such a tire)
Nokian WRG4 (the most popular of its type, you may be able to get a deal on clearance on the older WRG3)
Toyo Celsius
Goodyear Assurance WeatherReady
Michelin CrossClimate+
 
Originally Posted By: wally21
Originally Posted By: SatinSilver
Originally Posted By: wally21
The tires that I've been considering are:
Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3+
Pirelli P Zero All Season Plus
Pirelli P7 Cinturato All Season Plus
Bridgestone Potenza RD 980 AS


https://tirereviewsandmore.com/best-saab-9-5-tires/


OK. Why? All of the tires I listed except the Bridgestone are on that list. It does seem like the P7 is a favorite on this forum right now for some reason.

That page looks like it was generated automatically, with the main purpose of improving the site's search engine ranking. I'd give it no credence.
 
Originally Posted By: skyactiv
I had the Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3's on my GTI and didn't care for them much.
Overrated, period.
The + version might be better?

I've read that the + has an updated compound, but the main purpose was to improve winter grip.


Originally Posted By: skyactiv
I'm done assuming Michelin and top tier high dollar tires are always better.

They aren't always. Not by a long shot. It's just that there are a few categories where they are consistently at or near the top, and one or two that they utterly dominate.

As a general rule, the more performance-oriented the tire type, the closer to the top Michelin is. There are a few exceptions, and a few categories where Michelin offers nothing, but that's the trend.

Their mainstream tires are good, but you can probably do better. Their performance all-seasons and performance winters are among the best, though personal preferences might drive you elsewhere. And for performance summer street tires, they have gone from leading that category to completely owning it; right now, there's very little reason to even consider any such tire next to the Pilot Sport 4S.
 
Originally Posted By: slacktide_bitog
If you're only going to use a single set of tires year-round, consider an all-season with the 3-peak sign, commonly called "all weather" tires. Examples are:
Vredestein Quatrac 5 (the first company to make such a tire)
Nokian WRG4 (the most popular of its type, you may be able to get a deal on clearance on the older WRG3)
Toyo Celsius
Goodyear Assurance WeatherReady
Michelin CrossClimate+

Pretty sure the advantage of these tires is in deep snow, which OP said will be avoided. Don't think they're any better in the rain.
 
Originally Posted By: d00df00d
Pretty sure the advantage of these tires is in deep snow, which OP said will be avoided. Don't think they're any better in the rain.


Better traction in slick conditions. Which isn't just deep snow. The highest rated all season tires by consumers on Tire Rack are the Verestein Quatracs.
 
I absolutely loved the Pirelli P7 Cinturato All Season Plus on my wife's old 2005 Subaru Legacy turbo wagon. Perfect tire.

No issues in snow either.
 
I have Michelin Premier A/S (currently on my Honda). I think they are some of the best tires in the rain, but they are touring car tires, not UHP. If you like the Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3+ that you already have on the front of your Saab, I would recommend sticking with them and getting the full set to match up.
 
As noted earlier you have contradicting requirements. Namely great wet and snow traction (by the way it seems that wet snow is closer to water while dry snow is different animal whatsoever).
If you want the best wet performance you need to look at summer tires like Pilot 4S mentioned. But they fall flat in winter (dry snow will be out of their league).

High performance A/S tires should have the best wet traction while still providing winter capabilities.
3MPSF all seasons aka winter rated all seasons (all weather per some) provide better snow traction while wet is not their main focus.

Krzys

PS You may have been driving too fast and no tire may have been capable of preventing hydroplaning.
 
Originally Posted By: skyactiv
I had the Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3's on my GTI and didn't care for them much.
Overrated, period.
The + version might be better?




Glad I am not the only one. Do not attempt to use in snow, they are terrible. Tried it for 1 km (have the + version) turned around and put real snows on.
 
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Originally Posted By: d00df00d
The only tires that'll be better in the wet than the ones you listed are SOME top-of-the-line summer tires, particularly the Michelin Pilot Sport 4S and Continental SportContact 6. The way those tires perform in the rain will bend your mind. But you seem to want to be able to drive the same tire year-round, so those are out.

If you want an all-season tire and your biggest priority is wet performance, you probably want the RE980AS.

When you hydroplaned, which axle let go? Front, back, or both? All tires inflated to spec, etc.? How fast were you going?


Thanks.

It felt like the front let go, but I can’t be too sure. Given that the conti’s on the back are older and more worn, I imagine that could have been a factor, though I took the car to a tire guy who my relatives like (I was visiting them during this trip), and he said the tread still looked pretty good. He was more concerned with the dry rot that was starting to show on the back tires.

Tires were inflated to spec. I was on the PA turnpike where I normally get up to about 80 mph (it’s 70 mph posted most of the way). I initially reduced my speed to about 65 when I hit the rain, but I started losing control at that speed, so I reduced to about 55-60, which still felt like I was on the edge. As a point of reference, most other traffic was going faster. I was even being passed by semi’s, which I hate.

To respond to some other comments, I don’t think that my requests are contradictory. I don’t want both amazing wet and snow performance. I want very good/ excellent wet and acceptable snow. It’s also a plus if it is a good sporty tire, which is why I’ve been looking mostly at UHP all seasons.
 
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