Tire Selection for 22 WRX

[K20SiGUY]

So, the tire of choice ended up being the Michelin. I was going to wait until at least Memorial Day to see what deals there were, and run the Dunlop summers till fall. But browsing ebay last night I found more than a few vendors, including Discount Tire, that are using an Ebay tire coupon code TIRESAVINGS23 for up to 200$ off tires. It took a bit of searching, but I found all the tires in this thread minus the Vredestien listed with discounts.

Total for all 4 tires shipped OTD was 850$, I didn't think a Memorial Day or Labor Day sale would beat that so I went ahead and ordered them.

My reasoning for going with the Michelins were, DWS wore quickly, and if their snow ability is solely based on tread depth then id be better off with something else. The Bridgestone's, I really wanted to like, they have emerging sipes and according to tireracks winter testing did well on packed snow and had the shorted stopping distance on Ice. However their wet handling and especially wet braking were so far behind everyone I couldn't get over their trade off for wet vs snow grip. The Michelin appear to do everything well, maybe not the best in any class, but always 2nd. They also appear to rely on an emerging tread pattern for winter grip, so hopefully it will keep its light snow ability longer than the DWS. Ill be able to give an assessment of the tires once they are shipped and mounted. I will continue to drive my Civic Si with the DWS on it until its sold, so ill be able to compare tires, all be it on different cars.

 

[DirtyGary]

Had PSAS4s and DWS06+. Prefer the Continentals for ride/noise/cost but the Michelins definitely felt more 'performance oriented'. Continentals were better in snow (Michelins were disappointing) but with AWD, you'll be fine.

But echoing what others have said - winter tires on a WRX is where its at. Probably the most common used wheels for sale on offerup/facebook too. Go full winter rally mode. You'll love it... I feel like it's at least half of the reason to buy a WRX. I know you have a truck for winter but it would be hard for me to not use the WRX for what it's best at. $850 would get you a great lightly used winter setup.

 

[TiGeo]

PS4 all seasons are fantasic all arounder. I even did a track weekend on them Handles the rare light snow here in central VA with ease.

 

[Mainia]

From my research Michelin wrecked the PS 4 A/S for dry handling at the limit because of the added sipping and when compared to the old PS 3+ A/S. And Michelin's characteristic "vague steering"personality. I have owned about 4 sets of Extreme 06 and 06 plus on lesser of my cars and they were ok. But on my tuner Hyundai Kona AWD with a ton of suspension work they were horrible. Way too soft of side wall even at 40 psi.Too easy to out drive that tire. I had flat spotting issue with 2 sets and a very knowledgeable Discount Tire manger pushed me into some DT private labeled Conti A/S Sports ( now no longer available) that had a stiffer sidewall then the DWS 06 Plus and where way better of a tire handing wise that did not flat spot on me. I used those for 3 years as my winter tires as I performance drive in the winter and did not want a soft sidewall winter tire. When my PS 3+ wear out (mid summer) I will put these on as my summer tire. I use UHP tires as summer tires as I can eat up a summer tire every summer and can't afford $1,200+ a summer for tires, and I run my summer rims in spring and late fall and summer tires would put me in a ditch.

The funnest UHP tire I have had on my car is the General G-Max 05, a very darty tire with great steering response, but lacked total grip at the limit. You could out drive the tire and scrub off speed predictably. I wish General Tire ( owned by Continental) would upgrade the 8 year old tire compound.

After I wear out my Continental Sport A/S in a couple of years I hope some better UHP compound tire come out. Before I thought to use my winter tires as summers my next tire was going to be the BF Goodrich Comp 2 A/S Plus as you had on. Noisy tires don't bug me as I listen to music most of the time.

How did you like your BF G's as far as grip (dry) at the limit, how was the progression of grip to the limit? Was there any weird breaking lose to a violent oversteer common situation you noticed?

 

[TiGeo]

From my research Michelin wrecked the PS 4 A/S for dry handling at the limit because of the added sipping and when compared to the old PS 3+ A/S. And Michelin's characteristic "vague steering"personality. I have owned about 4 sets of Extreme 06 and 06 plus on lesser of my cars and they were ok. But on my tuner Hyundai Kona AWD with a ton of suspension work they were horrible. Way too soft of side wall even at 40 psi.Too easy to out drive that tire. I had flat spotting issue with 2 sets and a very knowledgeable Discount Tire manger pushed me into some DT private labeled Conti A/S Sports ( now no longer available) that had a stiffer sidewall then the DWS 06 Plus and where way better of a tire handing wise that did not flat spot on me. I used those for 3 years as my winter tires as I performance drive in the winter and did not want a soft sidewall winter tire. When my PS 3+ wear out (mid summer) I will put these on as my summer tire. I use UHP tires as summer tires as I can eat up a summer tire every summer and can't afford $1,200+ a summer for tires, and I run my summer rims in spring and late fall and summer tires would put me in a ditch.

The funnest UHP tire I have had on my car is the General G-Max 05, a very darty tire with great steering response, but lacked total grip at the limit. You could out drive the tire and scrub off speed predictably. I wish General Tire ( owned by Continental) would upgrade the 8 year old tire compound.

After I wear out my Continental Sport A/S in a couple of years I hope some better UHP compound tire come out. Before I thought to use my winter tires as summers my next tire was going to be the BF Goodrich Comp 2 A/S Plus as you had on. Noisy tires don't bug me as I listen to music most of the time.

How did you like your BF G's as far as grip (dry) at the limit, how was the progression of grip to the limit? Was there any weird breaking lose to a violent oversteer common situation you noticed?

The PS4 A/S hasn't been "wrecked" that I can tell....here are PS4 A/S on track at VIR. Not much experience under my belt here with just. a few track days total so tires were the least of my concerns but still...held up pretty well to some track use all things considered.

 

[Mainia]

Research it, they made it a better snow tire but at a cost on dry. I would push the mileage wear warranty on my PS3+ A/S's, but I don't want to be stuck with PS 4 A/S's.

 

[edyvw]

Research it, they made it a better snow tire but at a cost on dry. I would push the mileage wear warranty on my PS3+ A/S's, but I don't want to be stuck with PS 4 A/S's.

Yes, you will get stuck. Absolutely horrible tire. I mean, get LingLong, or Westlake.

You are looking for performance in A/S tires. That does not exist. Get yourself then PS4 or a new PS5.
You are talking about BFG Comp, which is a Michelin budget brand. So, you expect better performance from the budget brand of Michelin? I am having a hard time fallowing that.

 

[Mainia]

Yes, you will get stuck. Absolutely horrible tire. I mean, get LingLong, or Westlake.

You are looking for performance in A/S tires. That does not exist. Get yourself then PS4 or a new PS5.
You are talking about BFG Comp, which is a Michelin budget brand. So, you expect better performance from the budget brand of Michelin? I am having a hard time fallowing that.

I see you did not read my post, and you definitely did not do your own research with your above post. You just got sucked into branding I guess. The PS 4 A/S is a TURD.

You can pay my $1,200 "EVERY summer" summer tire bill if you want me on summer tires. I am a working stiff. Many people have the same issue and use A/S as their summer tire, add the fact I would have have my to use my heavy OEM crap rims 2++ more months out of the year if I had summer tires.

And yes I have been told the BFG A/S will out perform the "compromised PS 4 A/S", as the small lugs and syping wrecked the tire in the dry. You don't get the Corvette carcass with it's stiffer side wall and advanced belting unless you buy that specific tire size and speced Corvette PS 4 A\S. Two different Tire Rack techs that drove both said they feel the BFG is a better tire in the dry over the PS 4 A/S. Michelin lets no one test the two side by side because the BFG would win in performance driving.

The PS 4A/S is for the soccer mom in the BMW. The PS 3+ is a way better tire for my use case and many others have said the same. They wrecked the PS 4 A/S. It's a TURD, it's a soccer Mom tire NOW.

https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/spiderChart.jsp?ttid=266

.

 

[edyvw]

I see you did not read my post, and you definitely did not do your own research with your above post. You just got sucked into branding I guess. The PS 4 A/S is a TURD.

You can pay my $1,200 "EVERY summer" summer tire bill if you want me on summer tires. I am a working stiff. Many people have the same issue and use A/S as their summer tire, add the fact I would have have my to use my heavy OEM crap rims 2++ more months out of the year if I had summer tires.

And yes I have been told the BFG A/S will out perform the "compromised PS 4 A/S", as the small lugs and syping wrecked the tire in the dry. You don't get the Corvette carcass with it's stiffer side wall and advanced belting unless you buy that specific tire size and speced Corvette PS 4 A\S. Two different Tire Rack techs that drove both said they feel the BFG is a better tire in the dry over the PS 4 A/S. Michelin lets no one test the two side by side because the BFG would win in performance driving.

The PS 4A/S is for the soccer mom in the BMW. The PS 3+ is a way better tire for my use case and many others have said the same. They wrecked the PS 4 A/S. It's a TURD, it's a soccer Mom tire NOW.

https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/spiderChart.jsp?ttid=266

.

lol. Turd? Michelin or Hyundai? I would say it is Hyundai issue.

 

[Pew]

I wouldn't say AS4 is a turd for a soccer mom vehicle now. There's absolutely no way to get a tire that does good in all tire categories, it's the nature of the beast. People that normally shop all seasons want a more well-rounded tire that can at least handle some sort of snow. Granted dry grip and turn response is worse but the wet grip, light snow and NVH is better - prime reasons to get an all-season tire. If you truly wanted a tire that gripped, you'd just stay with a summer-only UHP or better tire regardless of the two months of the year where the seasons transition. Different strokes for different folks.

 

[Mainia]

I wouldn't say AS4 is a turd for a soccer mom vehicle now. There's absolutely no way to get a tire that does good in all tire categories, it's the nature of the beast. People that normally shop all seasons want a more well-rounded tire that can at least handle some sort of snow. Granted dry grip and turn response is worse but the wet grip, light snow and NVH is better - prime reasons to get an all-season tire. If you truly wanted a tire that gripped, you'd just stay with a summer-only UHP or better tire regardless of the two months of the year where the seasons transition. Different strokes for different folks.

I truly need another kind of car too. I would love a Golf R 8th Gen, with a full suspension reworked and 500 hp. Buy me one please, so I can conform to your thought process. I don't have your kind of money. I can be your token welfare case. Half the people I know with performance cars get A/S as they chew through summer tires every summer. Some of those are $2,000 a set. They can't afford what they "want" they get what works for them. No, Michelin made a Turd out of the PS 4 A/S and made it a soocer Mom tire. The PS 3= A/S is a better tire for performance driving. So they changed the criteria of what they want for that tire.

 

[TiGeo]

I see you did not read my post, and you definitely did not do your own research with your above post. You just got sucked into branding I guess. The PS 4 A/S is a TURD.

You can pay my $1,200 "EVERY summer" summer tire bill if you want me on summer tires. I am a working stiff. Many people have the same issue and use A/S as their summer tire, add the fact I would have have my to use my heavy OEM crap rims 2++ more months out of the year if I had summer tires.

And yes I have been told the BFG A/S will out perform the "compromised PS 4 A/S", as the small lugs and syping wrecked the tire in the dry. You don't get the Corvette carcass with it's stiffer side wall and advanced belting unless you buy that specific tire size and speced Corvette PS 4 A\S. Two different Tire Rack techs that drove both said they feel the BFG is a better tire in the dry over the PS 4 A/S. Michelin lets no one test the two side by side because the BFG would win in performance driving.

The PS 4A/S is for the soccer mom in the BMW. The PS 3+ is a way better tire for my use case and many others have said the same. They wrecked the PS 4 A/S. It's a TURD, it's a soccer Mom tire NOW.

https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/spiderChart.jsp?ttid=266

.

I just don't get "turd" when I drive my PS4 AS and neither do the reviewers I've seen. It's a great performance all-arounder.

 

[Mainia]

lol. Turd? Michelin or Hyundai? I would say it is Hyundai issue.

No, not a Hyundai issue. You know that.

 

[edyvw]

No, not a Hyundai issue. You know that.

Well, actually, I do. That is why I wrote it.

 

[krzyss]

I would have bought you 300hp Golf R but since you insist on 500hp you are on your own.
It sounds like you are among people who can afford a car but not its maintenance/upkeep. With high performance “things” it is not if one has money to buy one but to keep one.

Krzyś

 

[thescreensavers]

I have AS4s on my G37 got them cheap during the typical Costco sale. The dry grip once they warm up some is very good for an all season. I have autocross with them and well they are decent they are not an autocross tire. For what it's worth the tires still look new even after beating them.

This is a great video comparing all seasons. Since you see some snow I think these tires will serve you well.

 

[Jimmy_Russells]

I truly need another kind of car too. I would love a Golf R 8th Gen, with a full suspension reworked and 500 hp. Buy me one please, so I can conform to your thought process. I don't have your kind of money. I can be your token welfare case. Half the people I know with performance cars get A/S as they chew through summer tires every summer. Some of those are $2,000 a set. They can't afford what they "want" they get what works for them. No, Michelin made a Turd out of the PS 4 A/S and made it a soocer Mom tire. The PS 3= A/S is a better tire for performance driving. So they changed the criteria of what they want for that tire.

A set every summer is a bit dramatic unless you are putting on pretty high mileage. I have an RS3 and a set of summers last me 2.5-3 years (eight months of the year), and it would be another .5-1 year if I could rotate them.

 

[Ws6]

Ok So,

Taking delivery of my first "New" car ever. Unfortunately for some unknown reason Subaru went with the Dunlop whatever summer tires. Id like to switch them over to an UHP all season, I would probably wait until October to mount them after buying them either on Memorial or Labor day sale.
My choices are, Michelin Pilot Sport 4 All Season , Vredestein Hypertrack All Season,Bridgestone Potenza RE980 +, or the Continental DWS 06 +.

I would like to have a tire that can handle light duty snow, I normally drive my current car about April-Thanksgiving, and then I drive my Honda Ridgeline in the winter with Xice Snows on it. I travel about 20 mins to work and can telework if the weather is bad. But recently (last April and November) we received a few surprise storms that left 2-3 inches on the road. Id like to have a tire that can safely get me home but doesn't have to be a dedicated winter or even all weather tire.

My current car is a 2006 Honda Civic Si, no traction control but a good limited slip diff in the front. I am running the DWS 06+ on it, and the first snowfall I had it in was the surprise 3" midday April snowfall. While my experience with driving it in the snow is limited, it did handle the 3" slush snow well. This past November when we got 3-4" and the DWS06+ were a bit more worn (the S was still visible but worn) things were not great. The even at 10mph the car did not like to turn or stop at what I consider a safe margin. Other than that so far they are extremely quiet, ride well, and handle the wet well.

What I am looking for is a tire that may give up a little dry traction for some mild snow traction. I would not want to give up wet traction or deal with any intrusive tread noise (BFG G-Force Comp) worst tires I've ever owned noise wise. It seems as though the Michelin is the most rounded of the bunch, but some people complain about tread noise. The Vredestein I am fully unsure about, these seem to be tireracks baby, and they don't seem to test high in any one category yet they seem to build them up to be just as good as the competitors. The Bridgestone's I don't know much about, other than watching a Topher video on YouTube where he is driving an NSX on a snow track with these tires mounted.

If anyone has driven or rode in a car with the DWS 06 plus and has experience with any of the other tires listed I would appreciate some input as I am totally stuck right now on what I should buy.

I have had PSAS4's on 2 vehicles and would like to try the DWS06+ if they came in the size I needed.

 

[Ws6]

By the looks of what Tirerack reports, both the Vredestein and Michelin are tops for snow handling, with the DWS 06+ tops for dry handling. I guess what I am looking for is a UHP All Season that can handle light snow duty, but unlike the DWS 06+, has whatever magical compound they use for snow traction integrated into the whole tread depth, not just the upper section like the D-W-S has with its wear indicators. Not sure if such a tire exists, but I have yet to see any mention of compounds throughout the whole tire on the Bridgestone or Michelin.

My PSAS4's did amazing in an ice storm at 6/32. That said, I don't believe DWS changes as you wear them in compound, just that for snow 6/32 is the industry recommended minimum, so the "S" wears off below that, I believe. I had LX25's and they did amazing down to 2-3/32 in snow, although not as good as when new. The compound certainly didn't change, just depth.

 

[Mainia]

I would have bought you 300hp Golf R but since you insist on 500hp you are on your own.
It sounds like you are among people who can afford a car but not its maintenance/upkeep. With high performance “things” it is not if one has money to buy one but to keep one.

Krzyś

I own a Hyundai and you come with THIS comment.