Why do so many high performance vehicles come with summer only tires?
 

Why? I understand that summer only tires may give a slight performance over all seasons. But they do make higher performance all season tires that are about the same price. I am in the process of picking up a sedan that comes with summer only tires. This means that they should not be used below 50 degrees and are an absolute hazard in anything below freezing. Now I have to go out and spend a grand on the right tires for my North Atlantic climate. Great.:(

All seasons are not that great, having dedicated summer/winter sets greatly improves performance year round.

It's like the difference between street tires and race tires on the track.

A few years ago a guy at work with a BMW M coupe put on Michelin Pilot A/S tires. After a few days he took it back and had summer tires installed. Even he as a non-racer could tell the difference between one of the best A/S tires and a summer tire.

Just get some winter tires and rims and enjoy the best of each design.

This apparent lack of choice is really giving you choices. Imagine your impression of the car if there had been AW tires on it after driving away, then they gave you a test drive in in an identical car a week later...you'd which wish you had been given a choice.

That is what I did on both the 911 and the 325i.

They know that buyers of these high performance/high end cars will mostly drive only in the better climates. Why not put tires on to meet their needs.

better yet, what are these winters you speak of?

86 in SoCal today :-D

I've got an Acura MDX and a Honda Odyssey that have dedicated snow tires on in the winter. My Porsche is laid up for the winter, I don't need two cars sitting waiting for spring. I refuse to buy a 3rd set of rims/winter tires for another snow car, especially since the snow here has been minimal at best. The sedan I'm getting also comes with a complete winter package and heated rear seats. Just doesn't make sense that it should come with summer only tires.

.
 

Apparently some people don't know that you can live in places that allow you to enjoy driving year round.

Why would I want to buy a car without summer tires? I don't want to get penalized because some people choose to live up north.

Why would I want to buy a car with tires that a useless for 1/2 of the year? Your arguement goes both ways. It is not the SNOW I am concerned about. Summer tires should not be used below 50 degrees. They loose a major amount of there grip once they get cold. I got this from the TireRack. And the all seasons I am talking about aren't the ones sitting out in front of a Sears.

Bridgestone Potenza RE960AS Pole Position

That's cool. That's why I live in Florida. It never goes below 50 for more than a couple days, at night.

Hey, I used to live in New England, and I have not missed it once since I left there. I don't have to put up my nice car and get a winter beater, deal with pot holes, scrape the ice off the window, get an inspection sticker.......or deal with non summer tires!

:):)

if it's below 50, raining or snowing you shouldn't be going fast anyway. slow down.

Winter is why my Mother left Nebraska.

I wouldn't worry about temperature with summer tires, just snow and ice.

Express your frustration to the dealer/seller and ask if they'd be willing to switch them out for a set of top-rated A/S tires. You might be surprised at their response... it's worth a shot.

you should be thankful they put a proper set of summer tires on your high performance vehicle rather than a set of crappy all-seasons. JMHO

Having a dedicated set of winters and a dedicated set of summers will not only enhance your day to day driving experience but perhaps even prevent an accident etc.

By having two sets of tires theoretically each set should last about twice as long as you will only be driving on them half the year, whereas you will be replacing those all-seasons sooner.

Why would you not want to have the best possible tire for each season? It is after all your only contact with the road below.

So what do you guys suggest for here in OK... We just run all seasons in the Winter... It gets cold but its rare that it ices or snows.... When it does we park the cars and stick to the 4wd pickups....

My 2007 and 2010 MazdaSpeed3's both came with 18" low profile wheels and performance (summer only) tires. I buy 16" steel rims and Bridgestone Blizzak snow tires for the winter and just switch them after the snow season ends. I don't believe in "all season" tires and they seem to not do anything very well, as they are a compromise in design/purpose.

I'd run summers all year if you don't have to worry (too much) about snow and ice.