Since I posted this in the Canada forum, I thought I'd share where most members actually look....

I'm on my 4th set of tires, so here's what I can tell you about the tires I've had...


Stock Conti's
Dry: Decent grip
Wet: OK grip
Noise: Moderate
Braking grip: Decent
Mileage:29,000km

BFG G-Force T/A KDW2
Dry: Sticks like glue
Wet: Worse than Conti's slightly
Noise: LOUD.. like truck tires
Braking grip: Excellent in dry, not so much in wet
Mileage:27,000km

Kumho Ecsta SPT
Dry: Decent grip
Wet: Worse than Conti's
Noise: Quiet when new, louder than Conti's when half worn
Braking grip: Slightly better than Conti in dry, about same as BFG in wet
Mileage:23,000km

Sumitomo HTRZ III
Dry: Almost as good as the BFG
Wet: Really good... Better than the other 3
Noise: Extremely quiet
Braking grip: Excellent in dry like the BFG, Slightly better than the Conti in wet
Mileage:8,000km so far, and not much wear

Honestly, if you are looking for a 3 season tire, the Sumitomo's are the way to go in my opinion... I purchased mine from CCW in abbottsford (they ordered them in for me), but TireTrends also carries them in Canada as well.

I have a lot of camber (3 degrees in rear, 1.8 in the front), and trips on winding hot roads to the okanagan/Winthrop in the USA for the weekend aren't easy on the tires... That being said, the Sumitomo's are wearing more evenly than the other 3 tire brands I have tried, since they are designed for cambered suspension.

Hope that helps someone....

 

very nice write up, thank you. im going to look up those sumitomos, ive driven the contis in snow on the front, have you done that with the sumos?

 

The Conti's were actually decent in the snow, but I wouldn't try the Sumi's...or any of the summer tires in my review...

To be fair, I drove 50km's with the BFG's in slush (it started to snow on my way home from visiting relatives last year), and could not go over 40 km/h...And even braking was an experience from that low speed. You have to remember that summer tires are not all-season rubber, and turn rock hard when the temperature drops... That, and they don't have nearly enough sipes to give you any safe grip level in the snow...

A friend of mine has the new Michelin Pilot Sport A/S Plus on his Boxster and said they were actually much better than the Conti's he had before... Almost as good as snow tires... Bear in mind, we don't have much snow here when it snows... Couple of inches usually.

If you need all seasons, the Michelins would probably be your best bet...

 

Hey,

I just purchased the pilot sport all-season plus' and they are great! I have a need for an all season as i live on vancouver island bc, canada