# best all season tires?



## hutch1973 (Aug 7, 2010)

Had a bit of an accident today with the TT. Didn't realize how lousy my tires would be and awd can't compensate for summer tires. Currently up in the air on seasonal wheels, so curious if anyone who gets real snow has any luck with all season tires? To those who've run both all season and snow tires, like your input on how much difference their is. 

Thanks in advance. Should find out tomorrow if the TT is totaled, shouldn't be though...and new tires will be on very quickly thereafter.


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## notoriouszig (Jun 14, 2010)

i really liked my hankook ventus'. i switched to falken ziex's and i think they are garbage compared to the hankooks.


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## audiguy01 (Aug 12, 2008)

I just put these on my 02 roadster last week and they are quite good on dry pavement as well as the wet slop we have had here in MN this time of year. I will admit they are a lot better than I thought they would be and a good price. They are definately not Pilot sports though this is my daily driver so I wanted a good all season tire. 

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Continental&tireModel=ExtremeContact+DWS 

I ran Nokian all seasons and have also ran Nokian winter only and can say the winter only were much better in deep snow though not a substantial difference outside of heavy snow. 

The best set up I have found for winter is a good set of all season tires and a blue haldex controller. I have driven through some crazy snow storms with this combo.


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## TTC2k5 (May 23, 2008)

I've had the conti DWSs on my tt since last may. absolutely love them.


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## raart (Aug 9, 2010)

I do have 3 sets of winter tires and I think that during the winter everyone should drive with winter tires. If someone wants to know how they are handling I will write down my personal experience: 

Winter Tires: 
1.	Michelin X-Ice 16’’ – amazing in the snow and slush and very quiet. Will recommend them to everyone. Purchased another set for my wife’s car. 
2.	SnowLion 16’’ – good in the snow and not so good on dry, but quiet too 
3.	Good Year Nordic – good in the snow and rain, medium quietness 

All-seasons: 
1.	Michelin Pilot Sport 17’’ – good on dry pavement, medium in the rain, medium quite. Never tried them in winter. 
2.	Falken Ziex – very good on dry, amazing in the rain but on cold days they are not so good and absolutely not recommended even in the light snow. 

I had Conti’s and Toyo Proxes all-seasons before and they were very good. Don’t like the Yokohama’s while they are loud and even Uniroyal’s were better option there. I had all those tires in the last two years and I don’t think that design has been changed. Still looking for perfect all-season tires too but I do think that my next purchase will be General summer tires… Cheers :beer:


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## raidendb (Jul 25, 2008)

I live in Canada and IMHO all season tires will get you through the winter just fine if you drive according to the road condition. TTs AWD will prevent you from getting stuck in those snowy days. If you live if a snow filled area all winter months then a dedicated winter tires is a must. Here I can say I've only driven maybe fives times where there is snow on the road. But I do put on a set of winter tires during winter and I can say its such a big difference having them than a set of summer tires. With winter tires you will slide but you can safely maneuver and slow down to where your going but with summer tires...good luck. If you drive slow and safe, say 40-50 KPH on a snowy road, you won't have any problem even with all season tires. Its the other drivers that you need to worry about.


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## bauch1425 (Jun 29, 2006)

I love my Conti DWS! I think there's a reason it's one of the highest rated all season tires at the moment...


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## jdoublehcubed (Jan 29, 2010)

I've been very happy with my Hankook Optimos. I've owned two sets of them, 225/45/R17 and 225/50/R17. I would recommend going up to the 225/50, even if you normally run 225/45s (like me), as the slightly increased sidewall flex helps them grip the road a lot better.


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## hutch1973 (Aug 7, 2010)

Thanks for the feedback. I had seen some positive reviews of the Condi's and might go that route. I had been going back and forth with alternating rims between seasons, but leaning towards just not driving the TT when the weather gets super bad (mostly due to ground clearance) and going the all season route.


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## TTMAN225 (Jan 20, 2005)

you have a winter coat and winter boots right? and perhaps a pair of running shoes and shorts. 

if its in the budget a set of dedicated winter tires and or wheels with an alternate set of tires and or wheels for the summer is ideal. I would encourage you to go that route. 

If the budget cant accomodate that the continental DWS's have been a hit with my customers. However we did have a car that wore a set out in 4000 miles of normal adult driving with a totally in spec alignment and continental refused to warranty them. Could have just been a fluke occurrence though.


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## tt32dsg (Aug 14, 2008)

Also love the Conti DWSs


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## hutch1973 (Aug 7, 2010)

TTMAN225 said:


> you have a winter coat and winter boots right? and perhaps a pair of running shoes and shorts.
> 
> if its in the budget a set of dedicated winter tires and or wheels with an alternate set of tires and or wheels for the summer is ideal. I would encourage you to go that route.
> 
> If the budget cant accomodate that the continental DWS's have been a hit with my customers. However we did have a car that wore a set out in 4000 miles of normal adult driving with a totally in spec alignment and continental refused to warranty them. Could have just been a fluke occurrence though.


 I get the comparison to summer/winter coats, but the difference is when the roads are bad enough that you'd need true snow tires, the car can't be driven 'fun' safely. When the roads are miserable, I have trucks. 

I could afford both winter/summer tires and rims, but I see it as a hassle. I bought the TT as basically a weekend car that I use it for occasional business meetings. Monday thru Friday I use a work truck. I'll probably only put 1k miles on every winter in sporadic driving and maybe 4k annually in spring/summer/fall. 

I had kicked around body kits and such, but ultimately decided against it because I don't want to lower the 'ground clearance' of the TT should I be driving in a few inches of snow. Yesterday ran to a business meeting and roads got miserable. It wasn't supposed to get bad until later, so I just want to be better prepared in case the weather turns. 

Final tab on the damage...$5200. Goes in on the 11th.


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## TTMAN225 (Jan 20, 2005)

i know its a hassle but dont you want the best tire you can run all summer? an all season would hold you back in the summer as badly as the wrong tire will send you careening into a $5200 repair because you were not prepared. 

plus with the confidence that winters will give you once you experience them im certain you will be driving the car more in the winter!


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## hutch1973 (Aug 7, 2010)

It doesn't matter how confident I am in the Audi in the elements, it can't replace a work vehicle with all the equipment I need, and that's 90% of my driving. My work vehicle gets 20-30k a year. By the time the week is over I'm not in a hurry to go anywhere, hence the low mileage on the TT. 

Regarding summer performance...I don't think whatever limits an all season puts on the car will affect me, given I've driven it so little I wouldn't notice if the car couldn't corner as well or whatever. 

If the TT were a daily driver, at least 10-15k a year, I wouldn't hesitate to run summer/winter tires.


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## Doooglasss (Aug 28, 2009)

Winter = Bridgestone blizzaks

Summer = Falken Azenis RT615's

I'll never go back to using an all season tire again. IMO they are just garbage.


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## ejg3855 (Sep 23, 2004)

They don't call them no season tires just because. 

Dedicated snows are a must if you live in the NorthEast or any snowbelt region.


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## raidendb (Jul 25, 2008)

Speaking of snow, we just had a blast of winter snow yesterday and it was crazy. Everyone was caught unaware thinking that spring is in the air. Cars where spinning, sliding and some couldn't get going from stop cause the road wasn't salted. My TT did good with a set of Nokian Hakka, the best winter tire out there. They cost a fortune though. I remember reading too that Nokian develop a true all season/all weather tire of some sort. Maybe try to consider Nokian brand if you have the budget.


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## hutch1973 (Aug 7, 2010)

raidendb said:


> Speaking of snow, we just had a blast of winter snow yesterday and it was crazy. Everyone was caught unaware thinking that spring is in the air. Cars where spinning, sliding and some couldn't get going from stop cause the road wasn't salted. My TT did good with a set of Nokian Hakka, the best winter tire out there. They cost a fortune though. I remember reading too that Nokian develop a true all season/all weather tire of some sort. Maybe try to consider Nokian brand if you have the budget.


 It's what happened here too. I knew a storm was coming, but it wasn't supposed to be bad until late afternoon. Since my meeting was going to be over by noon figured I'd miss it, but weather forecasters were wrong. Roads were awful and the TT wasn't so hot with the summer type tires on it. 

In the end, I don't know that tires would have done a huge amount of difference. Hit a very slick Y intersection and the car just slid sideways into the front of truck. Shortly after the accident, I was at the intersection in 'his' position, and if I wouldn't have backed up would have had someone hit me in the same manner I hit him.


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## Doooglasss (Aug 28, 2009)

Yep sometimes you just hit ice and unless you're running some kind of studded tire you're in trouble either way.


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## raart (Aug 9, 2010)

Happen to me really similar with Falkens on last year but I managed to get away without accident and some wild manoeuvres but yesterday I drove with those SnowLions (Chinese Tires!?) through the same snow storm and was upset while all those people driving 40-50km/h only. I was feeling so stable on the road (amazing acceleration thanks to Quattro) and under braking that I almost double the speed of others and car was going straight without sliding. I just dismantled two weeks ago my X-Ice tires and left them in my wife's house in Quebec and had only those Chinese tires temporary but they was way better then all those all season's... 

Summer performance + dedicated winter setup is a must for me... especially I am commuting regularly between Toronto and Montreal... I am just scared when I look on my mileage (242.000km) but the car is running so strong and never let me down... eace:


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## warranty225cpe (Dec 3, 2008)

Hankook Ventus V12 for summer. The best snow tires ive EVER used were made by Verdstien and they had walnut shell impregnated into the rubber. AMAZING tires! but a little on the pricey side.


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