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Are All Weather/Winter Tires needed in Cali?

A

alimoalem

Diamond Member
With all this tire talk, it got me to thinking about my tires. I have summer tires and I've had no problems in the winter. The only thing is we don't get snow or ice in our winters. I live in the Bay Area (basically rarely drops below 50 and never below 40).

All weather and winter tires are only beneficial in freezing temps, right?
 
If there is no snow/ice you don't need them. I drive my miata all year on summer only performance tires in Wv no matter what the temp is unless there is snow/ice on the road then I drive my other car. Too lazy to swap tires when I have another car to drive.
 
Originally posted by: Capt Caveman
All weather will also be helpful on wet surfaces and when it rains.
Click to expand...

Thats not really fair to say. Some summer only performance tires have poor water shedding tread while others like my current ones shed water very very well. Just depends on the tread design which is also true for all season tires.
 
Originally posted by: thedarkwolf
Originally posted by: Capt Caveman
All weather will also be helpful on wet surfaces and when it rains.
Click to expand...

Thats not really fair to say. Some summer only performance tires have poor water shedding tread while others like my current ones shed water very very well. Just depends on the tread design which is also true for all season tires.
Click to expand...

True. Even in SW Ohio, I can go with summer tires on my GTO all year around. Just avoid driving it on the handful of days where snow is actually on the road.
 
Originally posted by: thedarkwolf
Originally posted by: Capt Caveman
All weather will also be helpful on wet surfaces and when it rains.
Click to expand...

Thats not really fair to say. Some summer only performance tires have poor water shedding tread while others like my current ones shed water very very well. Just depends on the tread design which is also true for all season tires.
Click to expand...

This is not true as a whole...all-season is really based on snow and mud rather than pure liquid like water.

A summer tire like the goodyear GS-D3 is a proven summer tire that excels at wet handling.

If you don't deal with ice/snow you can stick to a summer tire unless you have mud issues, then a specialized M+S tire would be better. For hydroplane resistance and wet handling it's dependant on how the tire was made.
 
Originally posted by: Capt Caveman
All weather will also be helpful on wet surfaces and when it rains.
Click to expand...

I used to think this as well, but actually summer tires can be BETTER than all-seasons in the rain. And all summer tires have to deal with rain to some extent...you can't legally drive on slicks on public roads.
 
I have summer tires and I live in LA and they work great in the rain. Just make sure what ever tires you are looking at to check the wet traction rating on them.
 
Originally posted by: zerocool84
I have summer tires and I live in LA and they work great in the rain. Just make sure what ever tires you are looking at to check the wet traction rating on them.
Click to expand...

You can only compare ratings within the same brand as even though they should
be usable between brands they are not.
 
no, i have ultra high performance summer tires on my Z4 (W rated, tread wear 140) and live in the bay area as well.

Just drive slower when it rains, also when its cold. The soft compound on summer tires turns hard and your tires don't get as much traction.
 
Originally posted by: alimoalem
With all this tire talk, it got me to thinking about my tires. I have summer tires and I've had no problems in the winter. The only thing is we don't get snow or ice in our winters. I live in the Bay Area (basically rarely drops below 50 and never below 40).

All weather and winter tires are only beneficial in freezing temps, right?
Click to expand...

With ultra high performance summer tires on a high performance car you will not have as much grip in colder weather...especially in the wet. Be aware of that and you should be fine. For normal day to day driving though you shouldn't have any worries.

All-weather and winter tires are made for snow and/or areas that get very heavy rainfall.
 
Originally posted by: RichieZ
no, i have ultra high performance summer tires on my Z4 (W rated, tread wear 140) and live in the bay area as well.

Just drive slower when it rains, also when its cold. The soft compound on summer tires turns hard and your tires don't get as much traction.
Click to expand...

How about stating your tire first?
 
Originally posted by: JulesMaximus
Originally posted by: alimoalem
With all this tire talk, it got me to thinking about my tires. I have summer tires and I've had no problems in the winter. The only thing is we don't get snow or ice in our winters. I live in the Bay Area (basically rarely drops below 50 and never below 40).

All weather and winter tires are only beneficial in freezing temps, right?
Click to expand...

With ultra high performance summer tires on a high performance car you will not have as much grip in colder weather...especially in the wet. Be aware of that and you should be fine. For normal day to day driving though you shouldn't have any worries.

All-weather and winter tires are made for snow and/or areas that get very heavy rainfall.
Click to expand...

Summer tires > freezing temps....if you experience ice or snow (ie freezing temps) pick the appropriate tire.
 
Originally posted by: alkemyst
Originally posted by: JulesMaximus
Originally posted by: alimoalem
With all this tire talk, it got me to thinking about my tires. I have summer tires and I've had no problems in the winter. The only thing is we don't get snow or ice in our winters. I live in the Bay Area (basically rarely drops below 50 and never below 40).

All weather and winter tires are only beneficial in freezing temps, right?
Click to expand...

With ultra high performance summer tires on a high performance car you will not have as much grip in colder weather...especially in the wet. Be aware of that and you should be fine. For normal day to day driving though you shouldn't have any worries.

All-weather and winter tires are made for snow and/or areas that get very heavy rainfall.
Click to expand...

Summer tires > freezing temps....if you experience ice or snow (ie freezing temps) pick the appropriate tire.
Click to expand...

Ultra high performance tires do not perform as well in freezing temps as they do on hot summer days and they would be god awful in the snow. This is a fact.
 
Originally posted by: Capt Caveman
All weather will also be helpful on wet surfaces and when it rains.
Click to expand...

In C&D's last tire comparison, it was the softest summer tire with the most "racing slick" style tread compound that was the best in their rain tests. They said something like, "a triumph of tire compound over tread design."

That said, all the summer tires they tested were downright scary in the snow.
 
Should be fine as long as you don't try pushing the tires to their limits.

Summer high performance tires don't have as much traction when they're cold.

^ Because of this, a lot of people switch over to an all season tire so they don't get unnecessary day to day wear on their summer tires since they don't be at 100% capability anyway.
 
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