So, winter looks like it might FINALLY end up here in the Black Hills, and I need to get my snow tires taken off. I had them put on the same day I bought the car (which had worn out OEM tires on the lot, so I had them thrown away) so I don't have any summer tires for it now. Since my Mazda is the I model, it has 205/60/16 tires.
What I'm after is a set of all seasons that will ride and handle well, but which also won't kill me if I get caught out by an early or late snow storm without my snow tires on. I want something sportier than the 3PMSF all seasons, but the tire having decent performance in the snow is absolutely vital for me with the unpredictable weather up here. My Mazda isn't exactly fast, so I don't need some mega performance race tire, but I would like something that doesn't put too much of a damper on the very nice chassis. Tread wear isn't a major concern as I'll be swapping out the tires for winter anyway, and while I will pay for a good quality tire, I'm also a value for money kind of guy so I don't think I'd want to go for something that's super expensive.
I was considering the Dunlop Signature HP, which is pretty cheap and seems to perform well in wet and dry, but Tirerack's testing showed that it's pretty bad in snow and ice, which is very worrying for me. A sporty drive isn't worth it if my car is wrapped around a pole in an early September snow. Nothing else in that performance category is available in 205/60/16 from what I can find, so I'd have to move down a notch. At that level it seems like I'd be looking at the Sumitomo HTR A/S P02 or Goodyear Eagle Sport. There's also a Firestone Firehawk and Yokohama Avid Envigor there, but again, Tire Rack testing shows they're pretty awful in snow so I'm not really looking at them. The Eagle seems highly rated and looks like it'd be a little sportier, but the Sumitomo looks like it'd have a better tread design for any snow that might happen. The Sumitomo is also about $20 cheaper a tire, which isn't the biggest deal in the world, but is nice.
So, does anyone have any experience with the two tires mentioned? Any I've missed? I think the High Performance All-Season category is about right for what I need.
What I'm after is a set of all seasons that will ride and handle well, but which also won't kill me if I get caught out by an early or late snow storm without my snow tires on. I want something sportier than the 3PMSF all seasons, but the tire having decent performance in the snow is absolutely vital for me with the unpredictable weather up here. My Mazda isn't exactly fast, so I don't need some mega performance race tire, but I would like something that doesn't put too much of a damper on the very nice chassis. Tread wear isn't a major concern as I'll be swapping out the tires for winter anyway, and while I will pay for a good quality tire, I'm also a value for money kind of guy so I don't think I'd want to go for something that's super expensive.
I was considering the Dunlop Signature HP, which is pretty cheap and seems to perform well in wet and dry, but Tirerack's testing showed that it's pretty bad in snow and ice, which is very worrying for me. A sporty drive isn't worth it if my car is wrapped around a pole in an early September snow. Nothing else in that performance category is available in 205/60/16 from what I can find, so I'd have to move down a notch. At that level it seems like I'd be looking at the Sumitomo HTR A/S P02 or Goodyear Eagle Sport. There's also a Firestone Firehawk and Yokohama Avid Envigor there, but again, Tire Rack testing shows they're pretty awful in snow so I'm not really looking at them. The Eagle seems highly rated and looks like it'd be a little sportier, but the Sumitomo looks like it'd have a better tread design for any snow that might happen. The Sumitomo is also about $20 cheaper a tire, which isn't the biggest deal in the world, but is nice.
So, does anyone have any experience with the two tires mentioned? Any I've missed? I think the High Performance All-Season category is about right for what I need.