[V8] RE: Tires and Opinions (was Winter Tires...)

[Michael Thomas]

I think that most differences in tires as stated by drivers are based more on selective memory than actual differences. If an owner has a bad experience of any type, then it must have been the tire's fault and the tire must not be as good as previous XYZ brand.
 
>From one snow storm/winter to the next, conditions can vary greatly even though there may be a similar amount of snow (does the driver accurately remember if there was 4" or 6" of snow last year?) and 4" of snow at 32 degrees is not the same as 4" at 28 degrees. Driving in those two situations will be different.
 
I think most people's opinions about tires are just that (read the Tirerack user reviews for one brand of tire). I don't believe that comments about tires and cars and performance are useful if those comments are made with uncertain facts ("I think they were..."  or  "...something or others"). There is a huge difference in tires and a great selection for us to choose from. Getting accurate information to base our decisions on is difficult enough already.
 
It is my opinion that having a separate set of summer tires and winter tires will give you better handling in each season than having either mounted year round regardless of how well the summer tire might get you through some snow. Current all season tires do a good job of reducing the poor characteristics of each type of seasonal tire when driven in the opposite season but can not match the performance of the seasonal tire when driving in the season it was designed for.
 
Compare a true racing tire with a street high performance tire. The racing tire will almost always be better on the track regardless of the brand of high performance street tire you use. And of course, the track tire can not be used on the street for many reasons.
 
The extreme of this comparison would be with a dry weather track tire and a rain track tire. Neither one is usable in the opposite condition because they are so narrowly designed for each condition. For street tires the goals are to maximize all the conditions we can with minimizing any others. It will always be a compromise. How much you need to or are willing to compromise will depend on the extremes of your conditions.
 
I want to use all the information I can get to decide about tires, from personal experience, to magazine tire tests, to the list posters, to the Tirerack customer reviews. So keep telling us what works and doesn't. Let's be as specific and accurate as we can though and try to leave out the selective, although often fond, memories.
 
Michael T.
'93 Pearl V8
 
 



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