What is a better tire for...

joenintiesc

Registered User
I'm looking for a set of tires for my SC which will not be driven in snow/winter weather. However, that's not to say I would never drive it in COLD dry, winter weather.

Would I be better off with a high performance summer tire, or a high performance all season tire?

Currently considering:

Sumitomo HTR Z III (Max Performance Summer)
Hankook Ventus R-S3 (Extreme Performance Summer)
OR
Firestone Firehawk Wide Oval AS (W-Speed Rated) Ultra High Performance All-Season

I know summer tires are a no-no in snow/ice. I guess what I'm wondering is: are they a no for winter because they handle poorly, or because they will wear out faster?
 
Last edited:
Sorry, maybe I worded that confusingly:

Will NOT drive in snow/ice
WILL occasionally drive in winter cold/dry weather.
 
The rubber compound in all seasons will become hard as rock during winter. I'll be getting new rubber for my Bird this year. This is the consumer reports rating for all the latest UHP all season tires.

4WNu8Hq.jpg
 
As soon as the temp drops below about 50F your Summer tires will loose most of their traction. I wouldn't trust them year round myself. All season tires will probably not have satisfactory traction in the summer if your motor is modified but should be fine for a stock vehicle. They are far from optimum in the winter cold and snow, but they are passable. Personally I prefer to have two sets of tires, one for summer and one for winter.
 
Thanks for the replies! I think I will just end up keeping the stock wheels with new Bridgestone G019 Grid Tires as my winter set, and go with the Sumitomos for summer only driving.
 
Take a look at the new Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3, or the Continental Extreme Contact DWS, those are both great performance all-season tires that will work in colder weather. I had a set of the Continentals on my 95 SHO for street use and ran them in very cold weather, they worked well, very good grip for all-season tires. Weird looking tread pattern on the Contis though.


cheers
Ed
 
I would stay away from the Sumitomos. The tread wear on them is horrible. Spend a little more money for something better.
 
I would stay away from the Sumitomos. The tread wear on them is horrible. Spend a little more money for something better.

They don't seem that bad based on an 'excellent' treadwear rating averaged from 913 users on Tirerack. I know from another thread (Fast Ed pointed it out) that the previous I and II's were not well rated.
 
Great timing for this thread, as I was wondering about some good tires for the SC (though mine would be strictly summer, since it wouldn't be driven in winter). Obviously, the stickier the tire, the softer the compound and the quicker that the tires will wear. But most of us don't want to be changing tires every year because of excessive tire tread wear.
 
I currently have Sumitomos and dislike them. Had Nitto 555 before and was completely happy with those. I always get a performance tire as I drive n the snow and well if its cold out..So what..I am not going to be whipping turns
 
They don't seem that bad based on an 'excellent' treadwear rating averaged from 913 users on Tirerack. I know from another thread (Fast Ed pointed it out) that the previous I and II's were not well rated.

This is the tire most companies use on their aftermarket wheel and tire packages to keep cost down. Had a buddy pick up a set as such. He was young and a relatively aggressive driver but even at that they didn't even last a summer. My used Nitto drag radials lasted longer. Then again it didn't see as many street miles but I was at the track quite regularly then. I had Nitto Invo's on front which were OK and the original 555 drag radial on the back. For anything not daily driven making good power I would run nothing else on the rears and regular 555's on the front. The 555 drag radial did amazingly well in the unavoidable Florida down pour and wore much better than I anticipated.
 
There don't seem to be too many Nitto's available in the size I want (245-40-19 or 255-40-19) and they are out of my budget range.

The Sumitomo's get really good reviews on Tirerack. I don't think there is a better overall gauge for evaluating tires then the reviews and survey data Tirerack provides...
 
I put the Michelen Pilot Sport AS3s on my recent build. I havent driven it much but what I have so far they seem descent. I've always been a Michelen fan so maybe I'm biased.
 
There don't seem to be too many Nitto's available in the size I want (245-40-19 or 255-40-19) and they are out of my budget range.

The Sumitomo's get really good reviews on Tirerack. I don't think there is a better overall gauge for evaluating tires then the reviews and survey data Tirerack provides...

I take reviews of a tire on anything but the same type of car it is going on with a grain of salt. Different car different type of owner. Don't think Tire Rack is the only game in town either. Discount tire has just as good of pricing and a different selection of tires. They are even better if you have a local store. Their pricing and service has won me over as a life time customer.
 
I take reviews of a tire on anything but the same type of car it is going on with a grain of salt. Different car different type of owner. Don't think Tire Rack is the only game in town either. Discount tire has just as good of pricing and a different selection of tires. They are even better if you have a local store. Their pricing and service has won me over as a life time customer.

I don't have a Discount Tire store anywhere near NJ, but I have ordered most of the tires I've purchased from Discount Tire Direct (online store). I love the free shipping, multiple rebates, and tire selection they've had in the past. But it seems like over the past few weeks the rebates have been minimal, and I could not find decently priced tires in the two sizes I'm looking at.

As far as tire reviews are concerned, I would rather go by averages based on a large data set of many reviewers, than few individual reviews. Not disparaging individual reviews at all - it's just that it tends to be a one-to-one average - for every negative impression there is a positive impression, and vice versa...

Also, this SC will be driven well under 3k miles per year, so I'm not quite as concerned with tread life.
 
If it's just for fun, then get summer tires and don't drive it when the high for the day is below 50F or there is any chance of snowfall. Otherwise find some decent all season radials.
 
Back
Top