Re: Winter tires

[Chris Newbold <cnewbold@transarc.com>]

Brad Wilson wrote:

> I live in lower Michigan (winter driving is mostly slush, light snow, and
> ice; not usually excessive amounts of snow, though it's possible).  Studding
> is illegal here.

Last year I opted for the Pirelli Winter Asimmetros, one of only a very few
snow tires available with an H speed rating.  They don't have the funky
compounding found in the Guardex 600 or Blizzaks that give those tires their
ice capabilities, but most winters for me result in far more wet/dry road time
between storms than ice.

I found dry and wet performance to be comparable to a typical H rated touring
tire. Not something you'd want to autocross on, but hard to out-drive under
daily commuter conditions. They felt stable up to around 65-70MPH or so on
winding highways and 75MPH on interstates before they began to get squirrily
enough for me to feel like backing off.

As expected in snow, they weren't fantastic like studded Hakkas, but they
delivered far more traction and stability than any all-seasons I've ever
used.

-Chris