All-Weather Performance Tires?

[jyl]

I need new tires for the '89 911. Stock 16" sizes. I live in Oregon so I'm looking for a good all-around tire for dry and for wet, and for cold temps (into the 30Fs) but do not need snow/ice traction.

I have Bridgestone SO-3s now, they have been good, but according to TireRack they don't seem to come in the needed size anymore? I don't much like the "looks" of the SO-2. I wouldn't mind spending less, but could spend the same as the SO-3s.

Any recommendations?

[Cattler]

I'm using Michelin Pilot Sport A/S tires on my 6 and 7x16 Fuchs. Work well dry and wet--street use only. Got them when on sale at Costco. I highly recommend them.

David

[Oh Haha]

We had Falken Ziex's on the BMW and they were awesome in all weather.

[mholbrook38]

I have about 2000 miles on the Falken Ziex's on my 911SC. Really like them. Have been through some rain with no problems. I have heard they do not wear well, but they stick well and I can afford to buy a new set every couple years or so. They are a real bargain at Discount Tire Direct and if you don't have a Discount tire near you, they will recommend an installer who will not hose you on mounting and balance.

[HarryD]

I just put a set of BFGoodrich g-Force Super Sport A/S on my car. Only about 500 miles but in the cold and rain, seem to be just fine. Great price too.

[PatrickB]

Falken 452 are great in the wet and dry. Street though, definitely not for track!

[jyl]

Okay, make this a little tougher - will any of those not suck (or wear really fast) if I do a little A/Xing?

[dan79brooklyn]

I had Pirelli Pzero AS tires on my SC, did pretty good all year round including a day or two at the track.

[175K911]

I've had great luck with the Toyo T1R. Absolutely fantastic in the wet, reasonable life, pretty comfortable riding. There are other tires out there that have slightly better steering response but other than that I've been happy. Even ran them (245/40-18) on an old Audi wagon of mine on the track and they performed well. If I needed a street tire for a 911, that would be my choice. But it is a 3 season tire, not an all season. You wouldn't want to run them in the snow.

Another tire I've always liked is the Goodyear F1 GS-D3. By far the best wet tire I've ever owned in over 750K miles of driving. And it could still hold it's own at an autox. But not great in colder weather. There's a new F1 All Season that looks to be the GS-D3 with a different tread pattern and assumably a different compound, but I have no experience with it.

[LWJ]

John,

I just answered the very same question. My biggest concern was a tire that would have consistent traction across all the tempurature and weather conditions in the NW. I got Continental something something DWS. They do not have the greatest ultimate traction, so the AX might not be the greatest. Their wear rating is 540 I believe, which is very high. The best part is that the reviewer thought they were fabulous in the rain. They are also supposed to be acceptable for light snow, not that I cared about that. I have been pleased with them for the last 3 months and daily driven them. They are not a super sticky tire, but I think they do what they are supposed to, which makes me happy.

On a different note. I bought them through A n T Tire on International, North of Lombard. GREAT people. They are rally race nuts. The guy who installed the tires said these were the first set he had seen and that he was personally drooling to buy a set for his own car.

Good luck.
Larry

[jyl]

I don't care too much about ultimate traction on the street or in A/X - not trying to win any races - but mostly want controlled breakaway in the dry w/out squealing, good rain cornering
and braking, not excessive wear if I A/X, and lower road noise.

How are the DWS for noise/comfort? The tread pattern sort of reminds me of the Pirelli CN36, one of my old faves.

[HarryD]

When I was looking for tires, I spoke with A n T tires. They suggested the BFG Traction TA and g-Force Super Sport A/s as a second choice. The ciriteria was good all season tire, that would be comfortable on the road. I was not considering track/AX performance as I have a separate set of rims/tires for fun. That said, I would not hesistate to take either of the BFG's to the track. I just would not expect TTOD.

As background, when I first got my car in 2001, it had Toyo H4's (all season hi Perf). They were fine on the street but not optimum for Track/AX. They did not wear funny or create any real problems but the grip was lacking to meet my competive expectations. I went to a set of Yoko ES-100's which were fine for both but as they are summer tires, their winter performance characteristics left something to be desired.

There are lots of choices out there.

[nineball]

don't get pirelli pzero nero m&s tires. had these on a past car and they were amazing in dry conditions, not so good in wet and totally worthless in snow/ice even with awd.

[jyl]

Just got off phone w/ ANT, ordered the DWS, I've had BFGs before but never had Continentals before so figured I'll try them out for fun.

Bummer is they won't have them until mid-week. Two of my SO-3s have recently developed slow leaks that have suddenly gotten not-so-slow with the cold, I am pumping them up (with a bicycle floor pump) every morning and ever afternoon - it is ridiculous, really - especially when you fly into PDX and its 11:30PM and 18F and you're in a suit pumping and freezing and thinking about getting up at 4:30AM the next day. F- that, new tires NOW. The fronts are down to the wear bars anyway, time to move on.

Maybe the snow perf of the DWS will come in handy even though I'm not planning to drive in snow. Last year I was caught at work when it started snowing, driving home I had trouble just climbing the crown of the roadway when going through intersections. The SO-3s were like ice skates.

[LWJ]

SWEEET! What we have here is a very good comparison for AX! If we both show up with the same shoes - the difference is the driver and / or car. I think I will have to make this a goal for 2010 - to AX with John.

Considering that I have never done an AX before, you are gonna kick my A$$.

Larry

[jyl]

I doubt that - my A/X history is thin and utterly undistinguished.

Crap, snow is forecast for this weekend and I won't have the DWS until mid-next week. And the Vanagon is still non-running. And I've got a client meeting in the office on Monday. What am I going to do, ride the Vespa into work on snowed-over roads? Well, I guess its the bus for me.

[jyl]

Well, it is snowing pretty good in PDX so I'm glad Larry turned me on to the DWS.

[LWJ]

Hey,
I was going to call you. I just drove 2.5 GRUELING hours in very slick nasty wet snow/ice. Don't know if it was the tires or the car or the really talented driver, but I did very well. Out-drove a couple of 4x4's in different situations. Tires at least don't suck in snow. If it was colder, I could tell better. It was SLICK!
Larry

[Techne]

I left the '84 with its Dunlop Direzza Sport Z1 summer only tires at work and walked home! I did try to drive at about 4pm, but any incline left me helpless and I turned back.

It took less than an hour with a stop to buy a ski hat, but I was passing cars in bunches on foot anyway! It was fun to see the chaos first hand but not be stuck in the traffic.

[LWJ]

I left at 4:00 from Sellwood. It was a mess. I really did want to buy some fun sticky tires but this is the reason I didn't. Thanks for the confirmation Techne.

Larry