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All-season / All Weather Tires

6K views 38 replies 11 participants last post by  thebigjimsho 
#1 ·
I’ve come to grips with the fact that our F-1 runflats suck in the snow and are low-mileage tires. Additionally, they appear to be a major culprit in the “wheel hop” that many of you are experiencing. What I can’t come to grips with is the fact that merely driving in cold weather appears to be as treacherous with the F-1’s as driving in snow with my other previous muscle cars. Quite frankly, I’ve never seen anything like this in all my years of driving. Don’t get me wrong, my “V” is a great car and I positively loved it until these recent bouts of cold weather here in eastern PA.

Let’s cut to the chase – my Goodyear F-1’s are definitely going bye-bye as soon as possible! My question is what would be a good “All Season” type tire for my type of driving? I don’t do burn-outs or run road courses. I want good handling, of course, and I do enjoy the occasional “stop light race” against the boy racers (love to see the look on their faces.) There has to be a tire out there that would fit my needs. Any suggestions?
:suspense:
 
#2 ·
I live in McLean, VA right outside Washington, D.C. and everytime the temperature drops near freezing, I have no traction, and my car is brand new, so my F-1 have full tread. They suck, how :want: Goodyear can release these tires is beyond me. I am personnal thinking about getting Michelin PS2... they are relative new tires that everyone seems to rave about. Guess I will have to buy a can of Instant Flat Fix :crying:
 
#3 ·
NIK said:
I’ve come to grips with the fact that our F-1 runflats suck in the snow and are low-mileage tires. Additionally, they appear to be a major culprit in the “wheel hop” that many of you are experiencing. What I can’t come to grips with is the fact that merely driving in cold weather appears to be as treacherous with the F-1’s as driving in snow with my other previous muscle cars. Quite frankly, I’ve never seen anything like this in all my years of driving. Don’t get me wrong, my “V” is a great car and I positively loved it until these recent bouts of cold weather here in eastern PA.

Let’s cut to the chase – my Goodyear F-1’s are definitely going bye-bye as soon as possible! My question is what would be a good “All Season” type tire for my type of driving? I don’t do burn-outs or run road courses. I want good handling, of course, and I do enjoy the occasional “stop light race” against the boy racers (love to see the look on their faces.) There has to be a tire out there that would fit my needs. Any suggestions?
:suspense:
If you don't care about the runflats take a look at the Falkin ST115's

http://www.carsound.com/review_archive/performance/Falken_AZENIS_ST115.html

I just installed these and love them. The only thing is the sidewall is different that the goodyears so there is a little space between the rim lip and rubber.
 
#4 ·
Does anyone have any experience with the Goodyear RS/A runflats? I want to stick with runflats, but definitely want a longer lasting and preferably better year round tread (I do care about cold weather performance, though I do not care about snow performance. The V is not my snow car).
 
#5 ·
6104696 said:
Does anyone have any experience with the Goodyear RS/A runflats? I want to stick with runflats, but definitely want a longer lasting and preferably better year round tread (I do care about cold weather performance, though I do not care about snow performance. The V is not my snow car).
My “V” is not my snow car either – my ’99 DeVille is (God bless it.) But I do want to drive my “V” in cold weather without feeling like I’m driving on ice! Our Goodyear F-1’s should come with a warning about cold weather performance and how dangerous it can be. My car is new (3600 miles) – I can’t even imagine these tires with 6,000 or 7,000 miles on them! I’ve driven 2 GTO’s, 3 Trans-Ams, 1 Mustang (you get the picture) through many winters and never experienced anything like driving the “V” in the Winter!
 
#6 ·
Based on participating is this forum since August it seems quite obvious to me that there is fairly broad agreement among the owners that the F-1’s are a poor choice for this car. The problem is that they appear to be a very narrow application tire that probably should not have come on this car as standard equipment. Between the short tread life, poor cold performance and possible involvement in the “wheel hop” and vibration issues, I think that few of us would be looking to put another set of these on the car.

I have to admit that I probably did not do as much background investigation before I bought the car as I should, but to be honest, I just fell in love with the V and bought it. The dealer gave me no indication of the potential shortcomings of the tires prior to my purchase.

The point to my rambling here is to ask the question if any of you that know more about the “General” feel that we have any way to get GM and our dealers to help make this right? Sure, all of us can try to go one-on-one with our dealers, but it seems we may have more impact as group. It would seem that GM would want to keep the owners of the first car in the V series happy.
 
#8 ·
homer403 said:
I live in McLean, VA right outside Washington, D.C. and everytime the temperature drops near freezing, I have no traction, and my car is brand new, so my F-1 have full tread. They suck, how :want: Goodyear can release these tires is beyond me. I am personnal thinking about getting Michelin PS2... they are relative new tires that everyone seems to rave about. Guess I will have to buy a can of Instant Flat Fix :crying:
The PS2 - and any other summer high performance tire - will suck in the cold. Maybe not as much as the fmts, but it's a characteristic of a sticky tire.

As for the group objection to the tires, I couldn't join in good conscience even if it got cold here. The manual has a warning in it, summer tires are summer tires and haven't changed their characteristics, and some drivers have managed to get decent mileage out of them. They must not use the power available to them as frequently as the rest of us, but . . .
 
#9 ·
6104696 said:
Does anyone have any experience with the Goodyear RS/A runflats? I want to stick with runflats, but definitely want a longer lasting and preferably better year round tread (I do care about cold weather performance, though I do not care about snow performance. The V is not my snow car).
Please do not get RS/As......ever. Just don't. Other than maybe killing a family member, this would be the worst decision you could ever make. Ever.


Is there any other way in which I could stress this more?
 
#11 ·
They are OE tires on many new cars since the early 90's. They came with my father's '95 Lumina LT. They were severe underperformers on THAT car. On well more than 1 occasion they were the tire that was equipped on a car that got bad reviews when it came to handling. After testing the latest Eclipse, in which got poor reviews for handling, Car and Driver pointed out they've always had poor results with this tire and recommended enthusiasts to dump this tire as quickly as possible.

After ditching these, my father bought a tire that was FAR superior, the Dunlop D60 A2. A nice tire, but it isn't even close to a max tire and IT WAS THAT MUCH BETTER.
 
#12 ·
After one of the worst driving experiences of my life, driving in snow two weeks ago in the original equipment tires, I bought and installed Dunlop Winter Sport M3s. Last night and today we had the first snow (Detroit) since then. I can't believe the difference! In several inches of snow, and on plowed roads with a packed snow surface, I didn't even slip enough to engage traction control. I had complete control. Even stopping was great. I didn't push the car too much of course, and mostly I started in 2nd gear, but I wasn't overly conservative either. With those tires this is definitely the best 2WD vehicle I've ever driven in snow. A few times I tried quick acceleration on a straight road, with no one near me, with not one spin or slip. I'm amazed, and very happy with the Dunlops.
 
#13 ·
No harm intended, but I think you are over-reacting to cold weather traction. (Also, treadwear on a high-perf tire does nothing to help dry traction... solely there to displace water when driving in the rain). I have had Pirelli, Continental, Michelin, Dunlop, and now Goodyear tires on high-perf cars (993, Viper, M5, CTS-V)... and they all got slippery when the ground was near freezing. And they were all crap in the snow, with the minor exception of the Porsche on Continentals (they were a bit better in the cold as well). I actually prefer that the general put extremely sticky tires on the car, and delivered a four-door Corvette... but that's me.
 
#14 ·
thebigjimsho said:
They are OE tires on many new cars since the early 90's. They came with my father's '95 Lumina LT. They were severe underperformers on THAT car. On well more than 1 occasion they were the tire that was equipped on a car that got bad reviews when it came to handling. After testing the latest Eclipse, in which got poor reviews for handling, Car and Driver pointed out they've always had poor results with this tire and recommended enthusiasts to dump this tire as quickly as possible.

After ditching these, my father bought a tire that was FAR superior, the Dunlop D60 A2. A nice tire, but it isn't even close to a max tire and IT WAS THAT MUCH BETTER.
I don't want to :deadhorse , but I see that there is an RS/A RUNFLAT with a much higher treadwear rating than the F1 and a whole bunch cheaper (and available in CTSV size). Anybody know if the RS/A runflat is any better than the ones that tested so horrendously? Also, last night in my porcelain library I re-read the R&T sedan test of last year where the 3.6 CTS was judged superior to the others (300C, Mercedes, BMW, Volvo, etc.) Guess what tires it was wearing? RS/A's (non-runflat, I presume). Nothing was said about the tires one way or the other, but I found it interesting that there was no complaints. So, I am not doubting the comments of BigJimSho (he has clearly shown that he knows his sh*t, even though he still lives in MA :devil: ), but is there any chance that 1) the runflats are better than the conventional RS/A's, or 2) that the tires have been improved since the awful reviews noted above?

I personally don't mind giving up "some" handling performance in exchange for longer tire life, better ride, and/or less road noise.
 
#15 ·
6104696 said:
So, I am not doubting the comments of BigJimSho (he has clearly shown that he knows his sh*t, even though he still lives in MA :devil:
What? Are you a Yankees fan?

When you type in "some" handling, that sounds like a "little" handling. I think most people here have traded in just a little handling but gained a whole lot more in treadlife, comfort and low noise from the F1 GS-D3.

Maybe Goodyear has improved the RS/A somewhat over the years. Maybe the extra strength in the runflat versions sidewall will help turn-in. BUT if people have noticed some difference between our F1 Supercar and the GS-D3, and the GS-D3 has been heralded by many and is much recommended by the Tire Rack, how on earth can the RS/A be anywhere close to your expectations? Unless you have lowered them quite a bit and want something better than a snow tire, then maybe they'll work for you.

Don't forget, the RS/A is not a Max Performance tire. It's not even an Ultra High Performance All-Season. It's only a High Performance All Season. High Performance may sound cool..........if you were putting them on a Grand Am.
 
#16 ·
Also, I just went to the Tire Rack website to get the latest info. I checked the user reviews on the RS/A. There were at least a couple reviews from CTS owners. A common complaint between them all was very uneven treadwear. Which brings up another point. I've NEVER had a set of Goodyears wear evenly. Our F1 Supercar being just the latest example. The GS-D3 was developed overseas, so maybe that will be different. Hopefully.
 
#17 · (Edited)
thebigjimsho said:
What? Are you a Yankees fan?
Yankees? They were a big east coast baseball team, right? Then they got supplanted by some team with red hosiery, who won a trophy then let all their superstars go.....but now the WASHINGTON NATIONALS are the only ball team that matters :histeric:

My only complaint with the Gs-D3's is that they are not runflats; if they are, then problem solved. I don't want to modify the car to carry a spare, and for me a can of fix-a-flat simply won't do. I do too much traveling with little co-pilots.....

As far as I can tell, there are VERY few options for runflat replacement tires :banghead:

dhg
 
#18 ·
You mean the let's get outta Montreal and go..........to Washington and call ourselves the Nationals, no wait maybe not, stop selling National merchandise, maybe go to Vegas, nah wait, the city will take us, OK, Washington Nationals? Yeah, I've heard of them.

As for the Red Sox getting rid of their superstars, only the ones who wanted to be paid too much. With the Randy Johnson deal, the Yankees have gotten rid of their last somewhat real prospect they had. They are now so screwed in the farm system, they will have to outbuy others for the best free agents from now till George passes away.

Right now, the Red Sox have a top notch offense and arguably the best bullpen in baseball. Schilling can be considered the best pitcher in baseball. There may be some ?? to the rest of the rotation, but that's part of the reason you biuld up your farm system. The Red Sox won it all and are smart enough not to mortgage the future like NY has done.

Anyway, look at this.
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests...RE050ARFT&vehicleSearch=true&fromCompare1=yes
Make sure you click on the view test results graphs under the one graph listed.

The Potenza RE050A comes in our size, in a runflat and is the stock tire for the Ferrari F430. It didn't get the best numbers in this particular test. But the runflat may help in turn-in and g ratings. I've been looking long and hard at this tire as replacing my Goodyears.

Why don't you be my guinea-pig?
 
#19 ·
Yep....those Washington expos er Nationals. Fortunately for me this fiasco all pure entertainement.

I didn't realize that the RE050A came in a runflat. Thanks for the tip.

I'm not in a position to the the guinea pig; I just clicked 5K on the clock and I have many more months on the F1s. My V will never see the snow unless a flying flake slips inside the garage door while I am pulling out with the Suburban.....and the cold weather traction is disappointing but not a reason for me to swap tires. So someone else will need to be the rodent........

Doug
 
#20 ·
OK, fine. I don't find the cold weather traction to be a problem here in MA anyway. I just take it easy, that's all. And my Town Car is my work car and that is passable in the snow. Since I always have it here, I don't need to worry about driving the V in the snow.

If I do decide to go with the Potenzas, I'll let you guys know.
 
#21 ·
I had non-runflat potenzas on the BMW. They were decent. I switched them to PS2s - the PS2s were better. But if the run flat option is a requirement, it's probably as good a choice as you can make. Plus, they held a balance for thier entire useable life (something no hihg performance goodyear tire that I have owned has ever done).
 
#22 ·
David36700 said:
After one of the worst driving experiences of my life, driving in snow two weeks ago in the original equipment tires, I bought and installed Dunlop Winter Sport M3s. Last night and today we had the first snow (Detroit) since then. I can't believe the difference! In several inches of snow, and on plowed roads with a packed snow surface, I didn't even slip enough to engage traction control. I had complete control. Even stopping was great. I didn't push the car too much of course, and mostly I started in 2nd gear, but I wasn't overly conservative either. With those tires this is definitely the best 2WD vehicle I've ever driven in snow. A few times I tried quick acceleration on a straight road, with no one near me, with not one spin or slip. I'm amazed, and very happy with the Dunlops.
David could you tell me where you found these tires in Michigan I'm out in Sterling Hgts and cannot find them.
 
#23 ·
I found the Dunlop M3s at tiresavings.com. They said I got their last set. Tirerack was sold out, so was Belle Tire (local retailer), so was a wholesaler who sells to the local auto repair shop. I had the tires shipped to the dealer (Suburban Cadillac, Troy MI), who installed them. It all went very smoothly once I found the tires, but I don't know if you'll be able to find them now. They are worth every penny in the snow we've had -- I still can't believe the difference.
 
#24 · (Edited)
The REO50's ARE HORRIBLE. DO NOT GET THEM! Check out Audiworld.com and read the forums for the last generation (twin turbo) S4 which came with them from the factory. They were EXTREMELY fragile and would develop large bubbles on the sidewalls any time a pothole or bump was encountered, necessitating replacement (I had to replace 6 of them). They also allowed my expensive aftermarket wheels to bend very easily (I replaced 4 of them). It got so bad that Audi eventually had to recognize the flood of complaints from owners and offer rebates. Everyone on Audiworld (including me) got Bridgestone S03 Pole Positions and were blown away by the improvement. The Pole Positions handled MUCH better, were robust, provided much better durability/treadlife, and were affordable. If you are willing to forgo runflats, get the Pole Positions, you will be extremely happy with them. Incidentally, if you want tire performance that is commensurate with the performance of your car, you can't go the all-season route. You must stick with max-performance summer tires and get true snow tires for November through March. I just got the Dulop M3 Wintersports and and am extremely impressed with them. I was expecting a big drop off in performance and it did not occur. They are not as good when launching or on fast sweepers at 100+mph, but other than that they are awesome. I had Bridgestone Blizzaks on my old Audi S4, and while they were amazing in snow, they were like marshmallows on dry pavement. The M3's are a revelation in winter tires.
For those of you who don't want the expense of 2 sets of tires and the associated mount/dismount costs, the all season route is your only solution. My longtime motorhead friend could not justify the cost for winter only tires and the poor treadwear of the OEM'S on his V. He very reluctantly ordered the RSA's after reading all the bad reviews. Amazingly, he loves them on dry, wet and snowy pavement -go figure.
 
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