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I am soon to be looking at acquiring some snow tires as I do a good bit of driving here in the Northeast corridor for work. I have all seasons currently however they are starting to get a bit worn down. My thought is it would make more sense when the all seasons need to be replaced to get summer tires instead of all seasons particularly if I have snows available for the winter.
Anything bad about transitioning to summer vs all season in the warmer months? I am by no means driving a performance vehicle 2010 Ford Fusion 2.5L with a manual tranny.
All-season tires work OK in snow as long as the tread is deep. Once they are about halfway down, say to 5 or 6 32nds, they don't grip snow much.
You would have better tire performance with dedicated summer and winter tires of course, if you are OK with spending the money, I would suggest putting them on their own dedicated sets of wheels. Do 2010 cars have tire pressure monitors? If so you will have the joy of needing to "tell" the car it has a new set of tire pressure sensors to look at. The hassle level here depends on the car.
Do you have a place to store 4 off-season tires and wheels? Or at least 4 loose tires if you end up doing a mount and balance seasonally?
Just note that not all season tires perform the same in snow and wet weather. My car came with RFT all season and when the original set went out, I switched to a set of summer tires and dedicated snow. It does take up space in my shed and it also meant a 2nd set of wheels and TPMS. Luckily, I was able to pick up a set of used OE for less than $800.
Just note that not all season tires perform the same in snow and wet weather. My car came with RFT all season and when the original set went out, I switched to a set of summer tires and dedicated snow. It does take up space in my shed and it also meant a 2nd set of wheels and TPMS. Luckily, I was able to pick up a set of used OE for less than $800.
All seasons certainly have varying performance on snow. My goal tho is to get the best possible traction in snow, just want to reduce the liability. My thought on using summers instead of all seas is since I already will have snows what is the point of an all season?
Found a set of steels with lightly used snows attached for 400 on craigslist that fit my car. Tempted to offer 300.
Summer tires wear fast and are preferred for performance cars in dry conditions. All season tires have a much longer life.
Hmmm, interesting to know. Was not aware of this. I am not looking necessarily for super high end performance considering that it is a 4banger mid size car, just looking for the best option if I purchase snows.
The summer tire purchase probably would not be for another year or so.
All seasons certainly have varying performance on snow. My goal tho is to get the best possible traction in snow, just want to reduce the liability. My thought on using summers instead of all seas is since I already will have snows what is the point of an all season?
Found a set of steels with lightly used snows attached for 400 on craigslist that fit my car. Tempted to offer 300.
You can then go on-line and learn what the starting tread depth was to make sure .... "lightly used" is correct. Snow tires start with deeper tread depths than all seasons...that is one of the reasons they do better in snow.
Additionally, learn how to read date codes printed on the tire sidewalls. This is key because you don't want to buy 10 year old tires. I actually met a CL person selling "new...never mounted snow tires". The date code showed them as 10 years old. Pass.
Unless you driving style is that of taking turns very aggressively and wanting more grip than summer tires are for you. The problem is....when do you take your winters off and put the summers on? If you guess wrong and are stuck at work on summer tires with snow on the ground....you will be better off camping in your office or taking a cab home. Summers are that bad in the snow. I got caught once....it was freaking scary.
The summer tires I ran on my RX-7 lasted 8,000 miles...and that was good But much fun was had on them between street and auto-x
My goal tho is to get the best possible traction in snow, just want to reduce the liability.
You can not beat dedicated snow tires if you're looking for the best possible traction in the snow, period.
If you had a big 4x4 truck with cheap all-seasons on it, you'd be sliding all over the place. Think of it this way, if you have to walk through a snow storm, would you rather wear dress shoes or winter boots? The same applies to tires. Go with something designed for the conditions.
And regarding the comment that summer tires wear out quicker, I don't know if that's true. You can check out the tread wear rating on the tires and compare them to all-seasons to confirm that though.
I go with summer and winter tires, with the winter tires mounted on a separate set of steelies. If you're going to change the tires every fall and spring, why not get the best tire for the season? Summer tires (in the warmer months) will have better performance than all-season. You don't necessarily need to be a street racer to benefit from better performance, so it doesn't hurt to go that route.
One caution though - be sure to swap the tires when the temperatures start to drop! Summer tires have very little grip when the temps drop below 30-40 deg!!
My summer performance Michelin Pilot Super Sports lasted about 6k miles just like they said, wasn't worth it at all.
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But much fun was had on them between street and auto-x 
