[LongFellows]

Hello All,

I’ve seen quite a few threads on people switching to winter tires, but does anyone use all season tires full-time?

I am in the San Francisco Bay Area, so mornings are typically around 45 degrees this time of year with a good amount of wet weather. The Yokohamas my car came with are solid once they’re up to temperature, but I have trouble getting up my driveway if they’re cold.

I was looking at tirerack at something like the Continental ExtremeContact DWS, does anyone have thoughts? Once the warm, dry weather comes then the summer tires are great, but a little too temperature sensitive now.

[JABCAT]

See discussion in the wheels/tires section.

https://g87.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh....php?t=2156274

[ScottyRyan2019]

Yes, I'm running Conti DWS06s year round (275/35/19 and 295/30/20) but in fairness I'm not driving it in the snow. It's more for the times the temps are below 40 which happens quite often in the spring and fall here. I don't track the car but for street driving they work perfectly fine.

Side note, I've run these tires and several of our cars/suvs and they are by far and away my favorite.

[two_three_two]

Originally Posted by ScottyRyan2019

Yes, I'm running Conti DWS06s year round (275/35/19 and 295/30/20) but in fairness I'm not driving it in the snow. It's more for the times the temps are below 40 which happens quite often in the spring and fall here. I don't track the car but for street driving they work perfectly fine.

Side note, I've run these tires and several of our cars/suvs and they are by far and away my favorite.

+1 for DWS06s. Ive run them on a number of three season cars in the NE and they are fantastic.

[JMcLellan]

Another plug for the Conti all seasons referenced above. I had them on my M2 they are great for a year-round tire. And with my new X5M I bought another set of them. You can't go wrong.

One question you should answer is: are you planning to be driving near the limits of the car where you are going to miss the capability of the summer performance tires?

[mynameisnick4]

Originally Posted by ScottyRyan2019

Yes, I'm running Conti DWS06s year round (275/35/19 and 295/30/20) but in fairness I'm not driving it in the snow. It's more for the times the temps are below 40 which happens quite often in the spring and fall here. I don't track the car but for street driving they work perfectly fine.

Side note, I've run these tires and several of our cars/suvs and they are by far and away my favorite.

Yep, same here. I work from home so I the only time I will ever have to drive in snow is in a pinch which these are perfectly fine for. I had them on my F87 and got caught in a storm where the roads were fully covered by the time I got home and they handled like a champ.

I personally don't think dedicated snow tires are worth it unless you have no choice but to drive in snow. If you can avoid snow covered roads either by working from home or living in a city where roads are cleared fast, all seasons are the better option. The all seasons are going to last longer and you don't have to deal with the anxiety of burning them up on those early/late season days where temps can spike up for a period of time.

[beren]

I'm planning to change permanently to the Contis too. If I decide I need summers I'll get a set of nice track wheels too so I can switch them back and forth.

[yash27]

Side question: if I really only want to do launches and pulls in a straight line with some cornering (no tracking), can I run all seasons like DWS06’s all year? Or do the summer tires provide a lot more grip for launches?

[Cgdigisco]

The Michelin Pilot Sport A/S4 are going to feel better for hard performance driving than the continentals, specifically for the handling/cornering because the sidewall is more similar to Summer Tires. I plan on getting these and running them in the winter months.

[JABCAT]

Originally Posted by Cgdigisco

The Michelin Pilot Sport A/S4 are going to feel better for hard performance driving than the continentals, specifically for the handling/cornering because the sidewall is more similar to Summer Tires. I plan on getting these and running them in the winter months.

The PSAS4 won't last very long if you plan to drive them hard. Even under normal driving (unless my wife is racing stop light to stop light), the rear PSAS4 lasted only 16k mi on her X3MC. Keep in mind tread warranty is 1/2 for staggered rear tires, so only 22.5k mi for the PSAS4. I'd imagine the rears to wear worse on the non-awd M2 if you drive hard.

[xtougher]

It gets cold enough where I am, but it's a bit up & down and not many "total" cold (under 40 or so degree) days, compared to many other locations.

But I daily drive my car, and do not have another car to drive when it is cold.

So with that being said, is it enough of a reason to go with AS tires? Or should summer tired be alright? Honestly, if it's dry and cold, I may be on the road...but where I am, if there's precipitation AND cold, I'm probably not driving.

I have the Michelins that came with my car, and I've driven it a bit while temps were near 30 degrees. I did not drive when it was worse than that, but schedule didn't require it.

It's an intriguing question because I'm also technically not pushing the limits or anything while I drive like some others in this forum either.

If it's similar to the Michelins (likely will not get the star tires for the rear, as I will "upsize") is it worth changing if it costs a bit less?

If I stick with the Michelins, I will have that star in front and not in the rear.

If I go with Conti's, need to consider the sport 02's vs the all seasons.

Sorry for the rambling, as I'm sort of thinking out loud.

Any thoughts are helpful.

[techwhiz1]

Originally Posted by JMcLellan

Another plug for the Conti all seasons referenced above. I had them on my M2 they are great for a year-round tire. And with my new X5M I bought another set of them. You can't go wrong.

One question you should answer is: are you planning to be driving near the limits of the car where you are going to miss the capability of the summer performance tires?

Me too for the DWS.
I ran them on my E90 335 and run them on my X5. If you aren't on the track they have good grip for the street all year in the Bay Area.

[JABCAT]

Originally Posted by xtougher

If I stick with the Michelins, I will have that star in front and not in the rear.

I wouldn't do this, they're completely different tread compounds between star & non-star.

[KC87ZB]

Originally Posted by JABCAT

I wouldn't do this, they're completely different tread compounds between star & non-star.

Have to agree on this. Different compounds front and rear will lead to unpredictable handling.

A/S versus summer tires. My main concern when running summer tires is less about temperatures and more about precipitation. I can manage myself and drive easier when these things are rock hard (when cold) but add any precipitation and low temperatures and the car becomes a real handful.

Living in KC, I will drive on the PS4's down to the 20's (DEGF) or even below but I absolutely will not take them out below about 40 when there is any rain or left over snow/ice. These will never see snow. PS4's + snow = crash.

I think you have to look at how/when you drive the car and answer that yourself for your situation. What I do works for me but you need to do what works for you but trust me when I say you don't want to be out in the stock tires if freezing temperatures are approaching and there is any precipitation.

[xtougher]

Originally Posted by JABCAT

I wouldn't do this, they're completely different tread compounds between star & non-star.

Originally Posted by KC87ZB

Have to agree on this. Different compounds front and rear will lead to unpredictable handling.

A/S versus summer tires. My main concern when running summer tires is less about temperatures and more about precipitation. I can manage myself and drive easier when these things are rock hard (when cold) but add any precipitation and low temperatures and the car becomes a real handful.

Living in KC, I will drive on the PS4's down to the 20's (DEGF) or even below but I absolutely will not take them out below about 40 when there is any rain or left over snow/ice. These will never see snow. PS4's + snow = crash.

I think you have to look at how/when you drive the car and answer that yourself for your situation. What I do works for me but you need to do what works for you but trust me when I say you don't want to be out in the stock tires if freezing temperatures are approaching and there is any precipitation.

Thanks for that insight on the different compounds...great to know.

I do have a bit of time before I will replace tires, so I'll have to chew on that a bit.

I am in Texas, and although we don't have a long winter compared many, it does get cold a few days at a time several times a year. As with you, I think I'm okay with the cold and dry. I can be careful if I have to be out & about.

But with precipitation and cold, I figured it would be a concern...my dilemma is whether I will find myself needing to be out in that situation. Honestly, a significant portion of our area just stays home when it's like that, which is probably a good thing.

Not 100% decided yet, but I may be slightly in favor of summer tires at the moment, for the reasons above.

[RockCrusher]

Originally Posted by xtougher

It gets cold enough where I am, but it's a bit up & down and not many "total" cold (under 40 or so degree) days, compared to many other locations.

But I daily drive my car, and do not have another car to drive when it is cold.

So with that being said, is it enough of a reason to go with AS tires? Or should summer tired be alright? Honestly, if it's dry and cold, I may be on the road...but where I am, if there's precipitation AND cold, I'm probably not driving.

I have the Michelins that came with my car, and I've driven it a bit while temps were near 30 degrees. I did not drive when it was worse than that, but schedule didn't require it.

It's an intriguing question because I'm also technically not pushing the limits or anything while I drive like some others in this forum either.

If it's similar to the Michelins (likely will not get the star tires for the rear, as I will "upsize") is it worth changing if it costs a bit less?

If I stick with the Michelins, I will have that star in front and not in the rear.

If I go with Conti's, need to consider the sport 02's vs the all seasons.

Sorry for the rambling, as I'm sort of thinking out loud.

Any thoughts are helpful.

Lived in the tri-valley area (Dublin, then Livermore) for 17 years. Had a couple of (well 3) Porsche cars, among other brands. All the Porsche cars were fitted with high performance tires.

Never had any problems and I dare say it got a little bit colder out in Livermore than it gets in SF.

Most of my driving was my 60 mile a day work commute to the east bay and back. There was no real opportunity to push the high performance tires to their limits on any day summer or winter. On weekends if it was cool I stayed off the interesting roads or if I chose to take a drive remembered not to push the car. Too much.

Honestly I think you'll be ok with the high performance tires. What you need to be more worried about are the tires on the majority of other vehicles you will encounter.

It wasn't the high performance tires on the Cayman S that was the problem. It was the crappy/bald (probably original) tires on the '89 Volvo the driver lost control of on the wet pavement. My Cayman S was stopped.

[chris719]

I like PSAS4 better than DWS in terms of feel. Feels more sporty. I have run both but on different cars.

[xtougher]

Originally Posted by RockCrusher

Lived in the tri-valley area (Dublin, then Livermore) for 17 years. Had a couple of (well 3) Porsche cars, among other brands. All the Porsche cars were fitted with high performance tires.

Never had any problems and I dare say it got a little bit colder out in Livermore than it gets in SF.

Most of my driving was my 60 mile a day work commute to the east bay and back. There was no real opportunity to push the high performance tires to their limits on any day summer or winter. On weekends if it was cool I stayed off the interesting roads or if I chose to take a drive remembered not to push the car. Too much.

Honestly I think you'll be ok with the high performance tires. What you need to be more worried about are the tires on the majority of other vehicles you will encounter.

It wasn't the high performance tires on the Cayman S that was the problem. It was the crappy/bald (probably original) tires on the '89 Volvo the driver lost control of on the wet pavement. My Cayman S was stopped.

Yikes!

But good point. I feel like my brain is now wired to just look around to see when the next obstacle is going to dart in front of me at any given moment...you can do everything right and someone else comes and hits you.

Sorry that happened!

[HeatJoey]

I have the conti all season dws06's too and they are great. south florida here so no winter but i opt for them for the extra tread life comparted to summers.. around there they last twice as long and I've tested quite a few of them

[xtougher]

Originally Posted by HeatJoey

I have the conti all season dws06's too and they are great. south florida here so no winter but i opt for them for the extra tread life comparted to summers.. around there they last twice as long and I've tested quite a few of them

Yeah, tough choice.

I saw somewhere that the width of the Continentals are slightly narrower than the Michelins of the same size spec.

Notice that at all?

[DrewNewM2]

You can get by on all seasons fine but BMW ships these with high performance summer tires for a reason. They are the proper tire for a car like this.