All Season/Snow Combo Tires - Who makes them?

[mmntech]

I kept seeing these double tread tires being advertised as a hybrid between all-seasons and snows. Half the tire had all season treads and the outsides have deeper treads for snows. From what I hear, they work pretty well. I can't remember who makes them though. Anybody know?

 

[CptCrunch]

eh, i have a set of these: http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Continental&tireModel=ContiExtremeContact and they work great in snow up to 6 inches or so, even did well in some slushy conditions and heavy rain

I find it silly to have dedicated snow tires, but then again, I dont live in areas that gets snow measured in feet per year, and not inches per year

 

[Don Vito Corleone]

I find it silly to have dedicated snow tires, but then again, I dont live in areas that gets snow measured in feet per year, and not inches per year

In fairness, it depends on what you use for tires the rest of the year. I take my car to the track sometimes and prefer driving on performance-oriented summer tires during non-winter months. I live in Minnesota and so it makes sense to have a dedicated set of snow wheels and tires for winter. As a result, between my Blizzaks and dynamic stability/traction control, my RWD BMW is the best winter car I've ever driven.

 

[jlarsson]

eh, i have a set of these: http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Continental&tireModel=ContiExtremeContact and they work great in snow up to 6 inches or so, even did well in some slushy conditions and heavy rain

I find it silly to have dedicated snow tires, but then again, I dont live in areas that gets snow measured in feet per year, and not inches per year

I have the same tires on my Mazdaspeed6, and I agree, they are quite good in the snow. They certainly came in handy today, with the roughly half a foot of snow currently on the ground (and its still snowing here). I only have the Continental's on during the winter months, and switch to Bridgestone Potenza's RE050A's when the weather is nicer.

OP, I did a quick search on tirerack and came up with a couple:

Pirelli Winter 240 Sottozero
Continental ExtremeContact DWS

Those are two quick ones I found that fit my car, and I'm sure there are plenty more options.

 

[mmntech]

In fairness, it depends on what you use for tires the rest of the year. I take my car to the track sometimes and prefer driving on performance-oriented summer tires during non-winter months. I live in Minnesota and so it makes sense to have a dedicated set of snow wheels and tires for winter. As a result, between my Blizzaks and dynamic stability/traction control, my RWD BMW is the best winter car I've ever driven.

I have a set of Firestone all-seasons I keep on on it year round. It's a 2005 Civic LX-G.
I live outside of Toronto in the suburbs so most roads are usually well ploughed and sanded. Side streets and parking lots can get bad though, as well as some of the country roads where we get drifting snow.

I like the idea that I don't have to use two sets of tires since I can't afford dedicated snows and I don't have anywhere to store them.

 

[krunchykrome]

We just bought a set of Goodyear Eagle GT's for our TSX. I bought them because I wanted decent all-season tires that handled well in snow.

 

[Vette73]

This is the Combo/Hybrid tire I put on my CTS...

Continental ContiExtremeContact DWS
http://www.discounttiredirect.com/d...c=26852&counter=1&ar=50&rd=16&sw=false&cs=225


part rain mix tire and part snow/mud/etc... tire.

 

[BassBomb]

all seasons suck so i bought new winter tires and summer tires

 

[Zap]

I find it silly to have dedicated snow tires, but then again, I dont live in areas that gets snow measured in feet per year, and not inches per year

For those of us who do get the occasional 10-15" in a day, dedicated snow tires can be pretty useful.

I now have three sets of tires (each on their own wheels) for my Mazdaspeed 6. Got the Bridgestone Potenza Summer tires, Goodyear Eagle F1 all-seasons and Bridgestone Blizzak studless snow tires which I just swapped on two nights ago to prepare for the big storm that is raging outside right now. I live in Wisconsin and work in Illinois. Supposedly some places in WI will be getting 15" fresh snow today.

For the OP, don't know of any "combo" tires, but depending on your local conditions you can probably get some all-seasons or "winter performance" snow tires and drive them year-round. The "trick" with all-seasons for snow use is to have plenty of tread, so plan on replacing them sooner.

 

[InflatableBuddha]

My Mom has Nokian WRG2 tires on her 03 Civic Sport (http://www.nokiantires.com/tyre?id=11899&group=1.01&name=Nokian+WRG2).

They're very good in both dry and wet conditions (which we get a lot of) and also very good in 10 cm or so (4 inches) of wet snow. Snow is infrequent in the Pacific Northwest.

Acceptable but not excellent on ice but I guess you can only expect so much from an "All-Season Plus" tire. Still, they're a huge improvement in all conditions compared to the OEM Firestones the car came equipped with.

 

[CraigRT]

Only company I know that makes the hybrid tyre is Nokian. Not sure how those are in particular, but Nokian makes some of the best tires on the planet as far as I'm concerned. Raw winter tires, cannot beat Nokian.

If I could afford a brand new set of snows, itd be Nokian for sure.

 

[PingSpike]

Never really understood the "cannot afford snows" thing. You're not really buying any more tires then you would have used anyway. The cost is just front loaded since you buy two sets now instead of one now and one later. Your summers aren't getting worn out when you're using your snows and vice versa, obviously.

You gotta pay to have them swapped or put them on rims I guess, but you still shouldn't be using any extra tires. I know many places you of course don't really need the tires, but when people say they can't afford them around here I just don't think they've actually thought it through. And the roads are so poorly taken care of in this state I frankly don't understand why anyone bothers trying to get by without them.

 

[desy]

+ on the Nokian WRG2's
They be the only 'all season' I'd consider, but I run two sets

http://www.canadiandriver.com/2003/07/15/tire-test-nokian-wr-all-weather-plus-2.htm
A review of the older Nokians

 

[Vette73]

+ on the Nokian WRG2's
They be the only 'all season' I'd consider, but I run two sets

I put my Conts up against them anytime...
http://www.discounttiredirect.com/d...c=26852&counter=1&ar=50&rd=16&sw=false&cs=225

That and i don;t know the treadwear for the ones you said but the Conts I have are 540. But the sidewall is not as firm as other tires. Not bad but not as good as some others.

 

[InflatableBuddha]

Never really understood the "cannot afford snows" thing. You're not really buying any more tires then you would have used anyway. The cost is just front loaded since you buy two sets now instead of one now and one later. Your summers aren't getting worn out when you're using your snows and vice versa, obviously.

You gotta pay to have them swapped or put them on rims I guess, but you still shouldn't be using any extra tires. I know many places you of course don't really need the tires, but when people say they can't afford them around here I just don't think they've actually thought it through. And the roads are so poorly taken care of in this state I frankly don't understand why anyone bothers trying to get by without them.

As far as the expense of snow tires, you're right, it's only $500 or so for a complete set. Not a huge extra expense for most people (although it could be for some).

Whether it's good value is another question. Certainly they're good value if it snows often where you live, and you drive a lot.

Remember though that some people live in areas where it snows infrequently and some don't drive every day. They could get by with transit or telecommuting on really snowy days, for example. Also, it can be a hassle to go and get your tires swapped for just the few days you really need snow tires.

One poster also mentioned storage - could be tricky storing your other set of tires if you live in a small apartment rather than a house.

Anyways, the bottom line is that these combo tires are great for their intended market - people in areas of infrequent/occasional snow.

 

[sdifox]

you only pay for an extra set of rims. But then if you don't have to deal with snow, why have snow tires?

 

[Zap]

you only pay for an extra set of rims.

This is kind of true.

When you are using your snow tires, you aren't using your regular tires. It all evens out at the end, at least for the cost of the tires. The best way to do snow tires would be to buy a set of wheels to go with them. The benefit of this is that you can easily swap them out yourself and not have to pay to have them mounted on your normal wheels. You can also often go one under in wheel diameter, especially if your tires are somewhat lower profile. This will actually save money on the snow tires and the wheels, plus supposedly it will work better in the snow as well. For the wheels, you can get cheap steel wheels for around $50/ea, or cheaper aluminum ones. I got some cheap aluminum wheels for around $100/ea that look pretty decent. I also ended up getting a hydraulic floor jack and a better lug wrench (around $60 together). If I'm in a rush I can probably swap out all four in around 40 minutes or so, and I suck with cars.

For the tires themselves, "winter performance" can be considered almost like all-seasons on steroids, working well in snow and not sucking too bad at other times. You can pretty much use them for half the year, and then swap to your normal tires for the other half of the year. Think of it as rotating your tires, to the next degree. ^_^

 

[WhoBeDaPlaya]

Tires like the Blizzak WS60 could be consider combo all-season / winter tires. You're meant to wear the outer multicell compound out (~50% thread) and then it loses its winter tire properties and becomes a decent all-season. The idea being, you buy a set at the beginning of winter, use it and buy another set at the beginning of next winter.

While it may not be practical for some (storage space, cost, inconvenience, etc.), having dedicated summer and winter wheel+tire combos are the best solution. Eg. on my 06 Lincoln LS, I bought a used set of painted wheels and put on new Michelin Xi2s for winter. That way, I get the best possible traction and salt doesn't mess up the chrome on my summer stockers

 

[y2kse]

Tires like the Blizzak WS60 could be consider combo all-season / winter tires. You're meant to wear the outer multicell compound out (~50% thread) and then it loses its winter tire properties and becomes a decent all-season. The idea being, you buy a set at the beginning of winter, use it and buy another set at the beginning of next winter.

This is wrong. The WS60 (and the predecessor WS50) are for dedicated winter-use only. In actuality, the outer layer of tread is designed for providing excellent ice traction, while the base layer is a traditional winter compound. At temperatures above 40°F, the compounds become very soft and will wear prematurely.

To the OP, any tire you choose will be a compromise. All-seasons are already a compromise between tire types. The ideal solution is to have dedicated snow tires, but if you don't have a place to store an extra set, then that limits your options. So, then the question is: are you willing to sacrifice additional tire performance in non-snowy conditions to gain performance in snow conditions? This is the trade-off you will face in these "hybrid" tires.

 

[DVad3r]

I live in Toronto and while we do get snow we don't get that much of it and it's usually run down pretty quick here due to the amount of cars/temperature changes/road crews responding. We lived here 20 years and never had winter tires and got through fine. A good pair of all seasons is enough.

I had a set of Goodyear triple treads on my car for 3 years and they did fine although I felt the back sliding out on turns as the tread wore down.

I ordered a set of Nokian WRG2's and I'm still waiting for them as they are on backorder, but they should be more than enough for what's out here.

Now if I lived 1 hour north of Toronto in the snow belt, I would probably get a set of winter tires with rims.

 

[iGas]

eh, i have a set of these: http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Continental&tireModel=ContiExtremeContact and they work great in snow up to 6 inches or so, even did well in some slushy conditions and heavy rain

I find it silly to have dedicated snow tires, but then again, I dont live in areas that gets snow measured in feet per year, and not inches per year

I was going to get a set of ExtremeContact on alloy rims at Crappy Tire (Candian Tire, at $1248 CAD ++ lug nuts) but I dumped them after they gave me the run around on last Thursday & Friday.

I ended up with a set of Cooper Weather-Master S/T 2 for $642 CAD installed at Big-O yesterday and it performed well in dry and slightly wet condition. It feel a bit soft around corners, road contact is less than the Michelin Primacy MXV4 allseason. It is also nosier than the Primacy MXV4. The Weather-Master is smooth with some road noise up to 120 KPH and feel a bit soft/insecure at 140-150KPH on dry pavement. While Primacy MXV4 is sure footed up to 160KPH on dry pavement.

 

[DVad3r]

^ Canadian Tire is terrible for good prices on tires.

 

[onza]

I live in MN. Just got 4inches of snow overnight and we have a total of 10" YTD. I'm on some Bridgestone RE960AS's and these are rated for high performance all-season tires.

Snow - they suck ass PERIOD. I'd rate them a 5/10 at most probably a 4/10 realistically..

My advice is to just buy TWO sets of tires and call it good. One snow one summer.

 

[desy]

problem is in the areas where they don't get snow as frequently they usually say, I only needed it a few times a year, and even where I live and its frozen for six months I certainly don't need them all the time.
Its the times you do need them, you NEED them

 

[Don Vito Corleone]

I live in MN. Just got 4inches of snow overnight and we have a total of 10" YTD. I'm on some Bridgestone RE960AS's and these are rated for high performance all-season tires.

Snow - they suck ass PERIOD. I'd rate them a 5/10 at most probably a 4/10 realistically..

My advice is to just buy TWO sets of tires and call it good. One snow one summer.

I too live in MN (in Minneapolis). After I moved back here a few years ago I drove for a couple of years on all-season Bridgestone Turanza LS-Vs and they had NO traction in winter - I could get stuck on level ground with no discernible buildup of snow or ice.

Some all-season tires are decent in snow but it's kind of a crapshoot in terms of which ones. Snow tires are definitely a lot better in any case . . .