I need to buy all season tires and had pretty much decided on the Michelin Pilot Sport A/S. But I'm now wondering if the Toyo Proxes 4 might be just as good.
Locally I can get the Toyos for $45 less per tire than the Michelins.
I'm looking for opinions. Are the Michelins worth the extra money? Maybe they are, since it looks like they may last longer. I've never read a bad report about the Michelins but the Toyos seem to be getting uniformly good reports also.
The Dunlop SP 5000 is also a 3rd possibility.
I want a tire that does it all and with all the potholes and bad roads we have around here, I don't want anything with an extremely harsh ride.
Advice please!!

I can't give a fair comparison, because I've never used the Michelins, but I just put on Proxes 4's two week's ago. So far no complaints. I've tried finding their limit on wet on-ramps but haven't found it yet, and I don't think I'll ever will. They've got more grip than I have courage.

Based on the research I did before buying them they are very good in all conditions, expect snow. I'm using them as summer tires, and went with M+S because I drive on gravel sometimes (although I haven't in the last two weeks so that test is still to come.) They are also reinforced so they should handle the rough roads.

I vote for the 5000's ... they beat the Michelin in our testing

if you dont want a harsh ride, get sp5000. soft sidewall, good wet and dry grip. inexpensive (compared to pilot sport as)

my vote goes for Falken 512s. I've had them for about 7 months now and they're doing pretty well. I would say these are the best all seasons I've owned. Another tire thats been recommended is the Dunlop 5000s.

Ken

I'm seriously considering ditching the 92's and putting a set of Pirelli P Zero Nero rubbers on my WRX. Tire Rack did a comparison and they came out on top of 3 other "Ultra High Performance All Season" tires. I don't want to spend the money on new wheels and I also want my car to remain "looking" stock. We get some nasty winters in the Midwest so, all season it is.

I have the pilot a/s, and they are a great tire.... after almost 30k, about time to replace them (mostly highway, but about 12 miles per day of 'serious' twisties, so they've taken what I've thrown at them quite well)

A fairly smooth tire, fairly quiet too. very sticky until about 20k, didn't give up anything in the wet (amazing really)

still debating on what will replace them, but pzero m&s is the top choice at the moment.... depending on how they compare, I'd still go back to the pilot a/s though

luke, how would you compare the ride between the pilot a/s and the goodyear eagle f1 gs-d3? If I can get the cash together, I may go with a summer tire on my 17's.... how would you compare the ride quality on the pzero m/s vs. those two?

Thanks, dward

Originally posted by harrydog
I need to buy all season tires ...

I want a tire that does it all and with all the potholes and bad roads we have around here...Advice please!!

and where might HERE be?

If you are up north, nokian makes excellent all season tires....

p.s. fill in your profile so people have a clue about you - otherwise add more information in your post.

good luck.

Originally posted by mrbigisbudgood
I'm seriously considering ditching the 92's and putting a set of Pirelli P Zero Nero rubbers on my WRX. Tire Rack did a comparison and they came out on top of 3 other "Ultra High Performance All Season" tires. I don't want to spend the money on new wheels and I also want my car to remain "looking" stock. We get some nasty winters in the Midwest so, all season it is.

ok everyone knows that there are two versions right? a summer and an all season (m&s), the tire rack comparison was with the summer tire, not the all season. they handle very differently too, dont think the m&s version will give you the same grip/steering response as the summer version. although the m&s version is probably one of the grippiest and stiffest AS tires out there, along with the pilot sport AS.

Originally posted by mch
and where might HERE be?

If you are up north, nokian makes excellent all season tires....

p.s. fill in your profile so people have a clue about you - otherwise add more information in your post.

good luck.

I'm in southwest Ohio. We get hot summers and winters that range from mild to quite cold (but seldom below zero).
Some winters lots of snow and ice, and some winters almost none.

How does the tread life of the SP 5000 compare the the Michelins?

Originally posted by YinUCSD
ok everyone knows that there are two versions right? a summer and an all season (m&s), the tire rack comparison was with the summer tire, not the all season. they handle very differently too, dont think the m&s version will give you the same grip/steering response as the summer version. although the m&s version is probably one of the grippiest and stiffest AS tires out there, along with the pilot sport AS.

READ (http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/testResultsModel.jsp?tireModel=PZero+Nero+M%26S&tireMake=Pirelli)

This is the All Season test.

Originally posted by mrbigisbudgood
READ (http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/testResultsModel.jsp?tireModel=PZero+Nero+M%26S&tireMake=Pirelli)

This is the All Season test.


That test is one of the main reasons I went with getting the PZero Nero M+S tires (on stock wheels). I've had them mounted for 2 weeks now, and I'll attest to the fact that they've got excellent wet grip. Of course on my WRX I can only compare to the RE92's but I believe the wet grip is far better than the Sumitomo HTRZ II's I had on my old 2.5RS.

What's the difference between the PZero Nero M&S SL and just PZero Nero M&S? In the 225/50-16 size, Tirerack lists both with the SL being slightly more expensive.

Originally posted by reaubideux
That test is one of the main reasons I went with getting the PZero Nero M+S tires (on stock wheels). I've had them mounted for 2 weeks now, and I'll attest to the fact that they've got excellent wet grip. Of course on my WRX I can only compare to the RE92's but I believe the wet grip is far better than the Sumitomo HTRZ II's I had on my old 2.5RS.

What's your opinion on dry grip vs. the 92's?

Depending on what you're looking for, I wouldn't pass up Firestone's Indy 500 tires. It kind of depends on how high of a performance tire you want. Ultra high - have only heard good about P Zero Nero, can check out the user reviews on tirerack as well.

All season performance with gobs of asphalt traction, gravel traction near truck tires, and good winter traction even in deep snow, the Indy 500's will suprise you. I replaced my Michellin MX4 Rainforces with them on my Lesabre. They had a nearly unbelievable dry traction even on a boat of a car. Gravel was equally amazing. They take gravel like truck tires. It's the safest I've felt on gravel ever! They have an aggressive enough tread pattern to handle deep snow too. They're ok on packed icy type snow or ice. Despite being soft, the compound doesn't seem to have the friction characteristics of Michellin when it comes to ice.

My only gripes with the tire is that the sidewalls are a bit soft. The handling will feel a bit more sloppy. Note, I ran a 205 tire at 70 aspect ratio. I ran at 35psi for the most part. They rate at 44psi max and do a lot better when pumped up to full. If you're worried about potholes, don't. They have a good ride, even when transfered over to my Ranger when my Lesabre's tranny went out. That truck was the worst ride you ever had. The Indy's actually helped quite a bit, but you can't do maricles. I live on a poorly maintained gravel road, washboard and potholes abound. It's the kind of road that will make the whole truck just shudder violently. The truck would actually rotate maybe 20 degrees from the road angle while driving straight, lol, funny but annoying. These tires are pretty tough despite the whole Firestone blowout incidents with the Explorers. I've spend many days flying down washboard and pothole infested roads. These are tough.

The ride is very quiet, wisper quite. Squeels are hard to do and are low pitched(soft compound). Don't let the soft compound fool you. They actually wear pretty slow. They have gobs of TRACTION on pretty much any surface. The sidewalls are soft enough to maintain a ride better than your average passanger car tires(note my 70 aspect ratio).

Again, read reviews at tirerack. I've got a couple posts for my 88 Ranger, a before and after winter posts.

Originally posted by Back Road Runner
Depending on what you're looking for, I wouldn't pass up Firestone's Indy 500 tires. It kind of depends on how high of a performance tire you want.
The Indy 500 does not come in a speed rating suitable for the WRX.

-Dennis

Hmm, that kind of depends on how fast you plan on driving. If you're looking for all-season, you're not going to be running them on the track. You should never get close to the speed ratings of S or T You'd get a seperate set of tires for track running. 112mph is as fast as anyone needs to go off the track. In Minnesota, accidents above 85mph get very serious. Anything invovling death and those speeds turns to murder and suicide charges. :lol: no seriously. :eek:

If you want all-season, buy all-season. If you want to go 150mph, get some good high end street tires or even slicks. Then go to the track. You're going to sacrifice all-season drivability if you try to focus on top speed with you will never go.



Also, check out the Continental ContiExtremeContact tires. They ARE V rated and do come in your size. They also seem to be an outstanding all-season tire. Other than the Indy 500, this was another tire I was seriously considering for a good tire that could handle Minnesota winters. The reviews show a very good tire, athough there seems to be some small quality issues, out of round, uneven wear balance type stuff. I don't think Continental's manufacturing quality is as good as larger companies like Michellin or Goodyear(athough Continental's probably owned by one of them, lol :rolleyes: ). I'd have to look into that last part, hehe. Still people seem to love it as an all-season tire. The tread looks like it could handle a good amount of snow.

As a note, after I wear out the crappy Michellin Symetrys on my Forester, one of the two above tires will go on. My bro's probably going to get the Continentals on his Protege 5 before next winter. I'd really like to see how they perfrom compared to the Indy 500's.

I just suggest the Indy 500 from experience. I know how good they are. With nearly unbeleivable grip on almost any surface and a ride quieter and softer than most passanger car tires, it's a tough one to beat. Even with a plush, quiet ride, I could still take corners faster with both my '89 Lesabre and my '88 Ranger than with my bro's Protege 5 with the stock Dunlop SP Sport 5000 M's, and the Ranger was crap around corners. I was quite amused. The soft sidewalls handle the big bumps and potholes well and could take a good beating, even sideways(did a bit of drifting on these crappy roads). The wear seems to be quite good as well, although the sharp edges will round off quickly with "spirited" driving :p

If you're worried about the spongy feeling the soft sidewalls will give(and they are very spongy at 35psi, better at max 44psi), the ContiExtremeContact will be better. If you really want a V rated tire just in case you're doing 150mph down the Interstate, the ContiExtremeContact will be better. Their tread pattern looks like it can handle adverse conditions quite well, possibly very well(rain, snow, gravel, mud, etc...). I just don't know about their overall behavior without any actual experience.

Originally posted by mrbigisbudgood
What's your opinion on dry grip vs. the 92's?

dry grip has been much, much better on the Pirelli's vs. the RE92's.

Also, they're nice and quiet going down the highway and don't howl as much when breaking loose compared to the RE92's but that may be attributed more to the fact that the RE92's were pretty worn when I replaced them.

Given I've only got about 800 miles on them I won't give a real comparison or review yet, I wanna wait till I've got at least 5-7K miles on them.

Well, it looks like I'll be getting the SP5000. A good buddy of mine is a regional manager for Goodyear. I just found out that Goodyear bought Dunlop a year or two ago, so he can get me the SP5000 for $74.90 per tire! If I lived near him I could have had them mounted and balanced for that price too. Even after paying a local shop to mount them, they'll still be the least expensive option I have.

cool :cool: a good choice at a great price