Have you considered the Continental DWS06 which are XL rated? I just ordered a set but opted to go a little wider with 285/35/18 in the rear... these are readily available unlike the 275 version.

 

With the Conti DWS06 there is a 285/30/18 option - which has a circumference of 77.7. The front 255/35/18 is 78.6. I wonder if this combo would give the rear a "saggy" appearance (78.6 front and 77.7 rear)? Like the rear shocks are flat?

 

I bought the AS3+ tires in OEM sizes a couple of years ago from Tirerack. They had no issue with the load range. I have run them for them for a full winter and have them on now. I've also autocrossed with them once with my daughter with no issues. I can understand potential legal issues but from a practical standpoint I see no problem.

That said, I won't buy them again since the fronts cause a "ringing" at ~75-80 mph. Trying to be anal, I ran some math against the number of tread blocks on the fronts as well as used a tone-generator app and came up with a tone of about 500Hz (hard to pinpoint the exact frequency) at this speed. I firmly believe that this beats against the magnetorheological shocks which adjust at 1000Hz, causing the sound. It's not horrible but can be quite noticeable. I'm just going to wear them out and use a different tire next time (the DWS 06 could be my next one, depending on reviews. Kinda hard to tell until you get them installed and tested. @NYCadillac, have you noticed similar noise at or above highway speeds?

 

Anyone else having issues with the AS3's? They are my first choice but not if they are noisy.

 

*removed* misread above

 

The noise of the AS3+ is only from the front, only at 75-80 mph, and, apparently, only on cars with the magnetorheological shocks. AT least, that's my take. It's not that the tires themselves are noisy, it's the interaction of tread block size/spacing with suspension components.

 

If you are looking for an all-season tire and don't want to screw around with an under-rated tire out of safety concerns, I've created a list (not intended to be exhaustive) below (all sizes 255/35/18 & 275/35/18 unless specified).

*Nexen N5000 Plus
*Falken - Ziex ZE950 A/S
*Toyo Proxes 4 Plus
**Conti Extremecontact DWS - with rear @ 285/35/18 (load rating shoots up to 101)
**Hankook Ventus SI Noble2 - with rear @ 285/35/18 (load rating shoots up to 101)
**Yokohama Advan Sport A/S - with rear @ 285/35/18 (load rating shoots up to 101)

 

Question for all - why worry about the SL vs. XL loading? Are we loading the car in such a way that it matters? Is anyone tracking or otherwise applying unusual loads to the tire? I'd submit that if you're just driving down the road on all-seasons, it makes no difference.

 

I finally decided to buy the Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3+ tires from a local tire dealer who didn't care (or more likely didn't know) that the rear tires were not XL rated.

Here are my thoughts on the A/S 3+ tires:

Handling - Steering feel is very good, but not as quick or crisp as the original Michelin Super Sports. This is expected since there is a much more defined tread pattern on the A/S 3+ and I am probably feeling some squirm of the tread blocks

Ride Comfort - The A/S 3+ has a slightly smoother ride. Sharp impacts seem less noticeable. Tire pressures were the same for both sets of tires.

Noise - The A/S 3+ is a noisier tire. I don't hear a ringing noise as mentioned by jguerdat, but I do hear a slight howling noise at 65-68 mph and again at 74-78 mph. Maybe it is the same noise, but we are describing it differently. I wouldn't consider it objectionable, but definitely louder than the original tires at those particular speeds.

Traction and Grip - As expected, the A/S 3+ has much better grip than the Michelin Super Sports in dry cold weather. I haven't had any experience in the snow, but I would expect the A/S 3+ to perform much better than the Super Sports based on their tread pattern and rubber compound.

So far I'm happy with my choice of the A/S 3+ for a cold weather tire. A true winter tire would be a better choice for snow driving, but I usually won't have to drive the ATS-V in the snow since my wife has a Durango.

I may try the A/S 3+ tires in the snow on my local roads this winter just to test them out. I will update this post if I do that test.

 

I also have Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3+ for winter. Amazing tires. I am enjoying them far more than the Pilot Super sports in the summer.

 

I replaced the stock Michelin Pilot Super Sport summer tires with the Michelin Pilot A/S 3+ in the XL range. I think you could get away with the SL range. The Cadillac dealer did not have any SLs and I did not want to wait another day, since the temperatures were starting to drop below 40 degrees and the summer tires do not handle that real well. I do not plan on driving my 2016 V in the winter if I can help it. I live in Northern NJ. The summer tires were really noisy. So much so that after having only 1500 miles on them, I had to get rid of them. I was hoping for tires that were much quieter than the summer tires. They are quieter, but not dramatically so. I can tolerate the noise much better now. The are very sticky and the overall ride, stopping and cornering in great. I have read concerns about how long they last, but I guess time will tell the story on that. I would recommend them.

 

I believe our stock PPS have load rating of 94 up front and 99 in the rear. If you bump up the width on the A/S 3+ (both front 265 & rear 285), you'll be at 97 for both front & rear so I think that's a wash.