Grand Touring All-Season for Sports Feel?

[joshjaks]

I was looking for some opinions on what tires some of the sports car daily drivers would recommend in the touring category. Currently have a set of ExtremeContact DWS 06+ on my Veloster Turbo and they're great tires. Definitely have a great feel going fast on the curves, but as a daily driver tire on the freeway, I miss grand touring.

I had a set of Yokohama Avid Ascend GTs and they were really nice. Had a sporty feel, but still felt great while using cruise control on the freeway. Been eying the Vredestein Quatrac Pro possibly as my next set. Anyone else fall into this category for this specific tire taste? I live in Idaho so all-season is a must. So yeah, let me know your picks for a Grand Touring tire that feels good on a sports car.

(P.S Michelin CrossClimate2 is supposed to do everything, thoughts?)

 

[Wolf359]

Well another Michelin tire that comes up would be the Pilot Sport A/S 4. Costco usually has them at a good price every other month or so when they offer a $150 rebate on a set. Treadwear is close, Michelin is about a 45k tire and the ExtremeContact are about 50k.

 

[joshjaks]

Well another Michelin tire that comes up would be the Pilot Sport A/S 4. Costco usually has them at a good price every other month or so when they offer a $150 rebate on a set. Treadwear is close, Michelin is about a 45k tire and the ExtremeContact are about 50k.

I had a set of those on my car when I bought it. They are actually an Ultra High Performance tire, not a Grand Touring. I found them to have a very harsh ride on normal to bad roads and found the DWS 06+ to be an upgrade in that regard. My Yokohamas cruised a bit better though.

I know, I'm being weirdly specific on this one, but I definitely notice the differences.

 

[Wolf359]

I had a set of those on my car when I bought it. They are actually an Ultra High Performance tire, not a Grand Touring. I found them to have a very harsh ride on normal to bad roads and found the DWS 06+ to be an upgrade in that regard. My Yokohamas cruised a bit better though.

I know, I'm being weirdly specific on this one, but I definitely notice the differences.

I have them in an xtra load set. Better than other tires in that I haven't had as many flats on them as other brands probably because of the higher load rating. They're a bit harsher than some Purecontacts that I have on another car. Those are also good all seasons but not considered as good as the DWS, but you get a 70k treadwear warranty on them. Costco had the Michelins which is why I went with them, they don't really do Continental. Costco does a pretty good tire warranty and if you make an appointment, they're not bad getting in and out. You get the 5 year road hazard and free rotation/balance. Had some cracked/bent rims and they only charged $20 to swap the rim/tpms.

 

[slacktide_bitog]

Welcome to BITOG

I heard good things about the Quatrac Pro. It seems to be worth trying

 

[Passport1]

If your bias is towards touring and not so much sporty these are great tires;

 

[skyactiv]

We need a few to try the NEW General Altimax RT45 so we can hear how great they are for the next 14 years.

 

[Blueshound]

We have Cross-Climate2's on my wife's CX-5 (admittedly not a Veloster lol). They are quiet and comfortable and good in snow so far. Only about 4,000 miles on them though. If I had a nifty car like yours, I'd spring for dedicated snows and summer UHPAS.

 

[hrv]

I would also say Michelin... Over the years I have always had good luck with Michelins...They have corrected ride issues that the dealer said...They all do that.....Maybe they did with Goodyear...Firestone or General tires. But the Michelins corrected them to a smooth ride with good handling...

 

[joshjaks]

Thanks for the welcome! I appreciate all the feedback here, this is helpful.

I definitely don't have the budget for snow and summers, but even if I did I don't know if it would be worth the trouble. The roads get plowed well and the biggest reason I need an all season is the temps. Oct-May can easily have below freezing temps at night and early morning. My new job, I won't even be driving on snow days and just work remotely.

I've wondered about the CrossClimate2 for a while. I'm sure they ride well, just wonder how they would handle in the hard curves. Quadtracs are less money though....

 

[Blueshound]

Thanks for the welcome! I appreciate all the feedback here, this is helpful.

I definitely don't have the budget for snow and summers, but even if I did I don't know if it would be worth the trouble. The roads get plowed well and the biggest reason I need an all season is the temps. Oct-May can easily have below freezing temps at night and early morning. My new job, I won't even be driving on snow days and just work remotely.

I've wondered about the CrossClimate2 for a while. I'm sure they ride well, just wonder how they would handle in the hard curves. Quadtracs are less money though....

They are definitely squishier in the curves than some; it's a very deep tread pattern. But boy do they stick to the pavement.

 

[Pew]

I've found that the DWS06 has a super soft sidewall and is more categorized as a GT A/S tire versus a UHP A/S. I haven't tried the DWS06+ but I heard it's pretty much the same feel as the non Plus. The DWS06 has the same soft sidewall and cruising characteristics as the RT43 and both are the softest I've ever used. So in the end all be all, if you thought the DWS06 was harsh, it may be a different issue other than the tires.

 

[meep]

Bridgestone tends to make excellent GT type all seasons. I think the quiettrack is their current offering. The key with Bridgestone is to not buy their budget tires but to stay towards their better offerings. I’ve got enjoyed their potenza UHP all seasons as well, but they are a firmer ride with softer rubber, so the treadwear is short. I’m eyeballing the Michelin CC2 as well, agreeing with the above: quiet, sticky, don’t quite corner as aggressively as a trade off.

 

[joshjaks]

I've found that the DWS06 has a super soft sidewall and is more categorized as a GT A/S tire versus a UHP A/S. I haven't tried the DWS06+ but I heard it's pretty much the same feel as the non Plus. The DWS06 has the same soft sidewall and cruising characteristics as the RT43 and both are the softest I've ever used. So in the end all be all, if you thought the DWS06 was harsh, it may be a different issue other than the tires.

I wasn't trying to say the ride was harsh per se, but I notice the resistance when cruising compared to a touring. Also affects gas mileage a bit, but there something about a grand touring tire that just rolls nice and smoothly at those 70+ MPH cruise speeds. DWS06+ has great ride quality and handling, but not as "smooth" riding for lack of a better term at highway speeds. Which makes sense because they are meant to grip not only for corners, but braking and accelerating too.

Now the Michelin Pilot Sports I found to be pretty harsh though.

Bridgestone tends to make excellent GT type all seasons. I think the quiettrack is their current offering. The key with Bridgestone is to not buy their budget tires but to stay towards their better offerings. I’ve got enjoyed their potenza UHP all seasons as well, but they are a firmer ride with softer rubber, so the treadwear is short. I’m eyeballing the Michelin CC2 as well, agreeing with the above: quiet, sticky, don’t quite corner as aggressively as a trade off.

I'll have to keep an eye on those. The more I think about it, the more I think the Yokohama Avid Ascend GT was really a great sporty grand touring tire. I think some of the Bridgestones scored a bit higher in ride comfort though which is worth considering for long trips. The one thing I noticed about the Quadrac is they have a pretty low UT rating, but the Bridgestone and Yokohama score much better there. Thanks all, this thread has been awesome, at least to me!