Do I need all seasons?

danlightbulb

danlightbulb

danlightbulb

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Joined
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Birmingham
Guys. I'm confused by the options. I think I've only ever bought summer tyres although have never really paid attention to it before. I'd now like some half decent tyres for my next set.

As I don't change from summer to winter tyres, should I go for all seasons?

Thanks.
 
What car do you have?
Where do you live?
Do you live down a dirt track road?
Do you live down a steep road that doesn't get gritted?
What sort of mileage and driving do you do?

These are all factors in tyre choice.

We don't really tend to have 'all seasons' in the UK because, 99% of the time, standard road tyres are all we need. All seasons are only really a benefit on icy or snowy roads. If the roads are just cold and wet then normal tyres will do.
 
Honda accord 2.4 petrol estate.
West Midlands.
No to your other questions BUT if it does snow the roads are normally pretty poor and there are some steep hills around here in parts.

I do normal town driving and motorways.

I'd value good safe grip in the cold and wet, quiet fuel efficient summer performance and long lasting on wear. And no squishy sidewalls that look flat when they are not.

If what you say is true then I think the 'summer' label is rather misleading.
 
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I am very impressed and happy with Michelin Cross Climates.

Don't know if i really need them, but gives me added security during varying weather conditions, and to know that the rubber is rated for colder temperatures. (i cant find any specs on the min / max temperatures for this tyre).

They tyres are also very quiet, and grip well in the weather conditions we have had over the past year (not that extreme, but still hot /cold / wet).
 
I've used all season tyres on a couple of my cars and i like them, a good jack of all trades. They won't out corner or out brake a summer tyre in the dry and won't climb snowy hills with as much ease as winter tyres but i find them a good compromise.

I've got Bridgestone A001's and they've lasted just over 50k miles on my yaris and need changing soon as they're down to about 2.5mm, i was very impressed with them in the snow and they've been fine in 30c summer days.

Would i fit them to a ferrari, probably not but for a general every day car i quite like them.
 
Generally pointless. My summer tyres have had precisely zero issues, even in the Peaks and the 1 day of snow we had this year.
 
Got Kumho all seasons on my car.
Not tried them in the snow but grip in the wet is rather good compared to the set of contis i had on before.
 
If you don't enjoy spirited driving then you could probably get away with all seasons. I expect them to not last as long as standard tyres however as they are a softer compound.
 
S@njay said:
I am very impressed and happy with Michelin Cross Climates.

Don't know if i really need them, but gives me added security during varying weather conditions, and to know that the rubber is rated for colder temperatures. (i cant find any specs on the min / max temperatures for this tyre).

They tyres are also very quiet, and grip well in the weather conditions we have had over the past year (not that extreme, but still hot /cold / wet).
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Agree about the cross climates .. unlike the usual all season tyres which are based on winter tyres and compromise greatly with breaking distance in particular during most of the year in the dry, the cross climates are based on summer tyres and have an almost on par performance in dry breaking, yet still beat most all season tyres with snow traction during tests.

These are the best option to go for in most of The UK with our milder winters if you feel you need the extra traction and shorter breaking distance in the occasional snow and ice. Fitted them on my Bmw as I work out in the sticks and when it does snow rear wheel drive cars really struggle getting up the steep lane
 
Completely agree Spartacus.

I don't think Cross Climates should be classed as your normal "All Season" tyre.

My Only comparison even in hot weather is comparing the car with Dunlop St20 Grandtek which were loud and provided no where near as good grip.
 
My Michelin Pilot Sport 4s haven't killed me yet and they lose a lot of grip sub-zero. Unless we are talking about black ice or standing snow, it's the driver, not the tyres that cause most problems.

In my experience, if you live and work in an urban area, summer tyres in winter are fine 99% of the time
 
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The only problem I see with the cross climates is I'm yet to see anything comparing them to a UHP summer tire. In every test I've seen it seems to be mid range / eco summers they are put up against. Has anyone actually come across anything doing this kind of test?
 
The consensus on "all season" tyres is they are below average at everything and over-priced so don't bother. They only get compared against eco tyres, because that is the level of performance you get across the board. Get proper winter tyres if you drive on snow a lot.

But a good summer tyre (they are all wet tyres really) is all you need in most of the UK.
 
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S@njay said:
Completely agree Spartacus.

I don't think Cross Climates should be classed as your normal "All Season" tyre.

My Only comparison even in hot weather is comparing the car with Dunlop St20 Grandtek which were loud and provided no where near as good grip.
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Yeah the cross climates are easily on par with my old summer continentals in the dry and the wet too as far as I can tell, and I do make good progress when I commute :D ... considerably better handling and breaking on Icey roads though!

BinnsY said:
The only problem I see with the cross climates is I'm yet to see anything comparing them to a UHP summer tire. In every test I've seen it seems to be mid range / eco summers they are put up against. Has anyone actually come across anything doing this kind of test?
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I would say they are on par with mid range summers yes, certainly on par with the continental premium contacts (mid range?) where the other all season tyres based on winter tyres suck in comparison in warm weather dry breaking.
If you have a real high performance car though and like to drive it hard you need premium summer tyres most.
 
For the family car / normal car, cross climates, as they are a summer tyre with winter ability. And are not that bad all rounder that All Season Tyres reputation have. And no more expensive than a premium tyre.


If i had a higher performance car, then high summer performance tyres does seem like the sensible choice to make the most of of your car. But i don't have a high performance car to thrash around! So i would always opt for Cross Climates from now on for my family cars.
 
Interested to see this thread.

I have a spare set of wheels that i'm looking for tyres for.

I'm thinking either the following:

1 set of track friendly tyres (RSR's AD08's etc.)
and
1 set of All Seasons

Or

1 Set of rain friendly (it's Ireland after all) "sporty" tyres
and
1 Set of Winters

I live in the Wicklow mountains and whereas it's not exactly Everest, i'm more likely to see snow, and given that we're reasonably isolated, live on a country lane and down a small slope - I need to be able to get out if the weather turns.

I'm just thinking full winters would be extreme for mostly wet conditions, with a good few days of snow.
 
Gayjin, personally, I'd just get a set of winter tyres and a good pair of summer tyres for where you live. Winter tyres do perform brilliantly at sub 7C temps. Chalk and cheese really is. And if you do get snow, they work well too!

If you can afford a second set of tyres on steelies, for the winter, and have the space to store them when the weather gets milder, then I don't see why you wouldn't. They do it in most of Europe, I don't see why we don't do it over here.
 
[TW]Fox;30441372 said:
All Season tyres - for when you want to compromise on performance all year round except a few days a year.
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Absolutely this. Put some all season tyres on my S2000 (extreme example I know), but apart from a couple of very cold mornings the handling and grip was unbelievably bad. Would have been better getting a taxi on those mornings and saving the cash!
 
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