rowan

Ok .. I know they are "no"-seasons. And I have proper Winter tires on right now and have been very happy with them. But I have to face the fact that I have no storage space for tires and will be needing to get r-compounds once autocross season starts back up again late-Spring.

So given that, what are some suggestions on all-season tires for an MP3 I have a few in mind but it is hard to find an online site with reviews for all the brands in once place that are trustworthy.

205/45/17 is oem and would be great
215/45/17 i wouldn't mind either (actually might prefer)

I don't drive aggressively on the street. Only when competing. But want to keep the good handling of MP3 .. and here in Toronto there is not usually much snow on the ground but I would need to occasionally deal with maybe 2" of snow and slush if it storms.

Currently on my list:

- Continental ContiExtremeContact (this is now #1 on my list .. not too expensive, a bit more than Falken) but needs to be special ordered from USA.

- Yokohama Avid H4 ( pro: cheap, con: low speed rating, durability issues? )
- Pirelli P7000 Supersport ( pro: good handling, con: expensive, not good in snow )
- Falken Ziex ZE-512 ( not much info on these yet )
- Toyo Proxes FZ7 ( con: bad reports, and overpriced? )

There could be others that I don't know about ( Nokian? Continental? ) .. I would have checked with my usual tire shop but they are closed for holidays... go figgure

Thanks all.

kingkong

I currently use Sumitomo HTR+ and they are good. Very quiet too! It also has better treadwear rating than comparable A/S tires. I've used them on wet/slushy roads and some light white stuff sprinkling and came out in one piece (judicious use of right foot required though). Overall, I'm impressed with these that I'll get them again next time. Check if they're available in that size though. I think TireRack has a good test/comparo on that one. Goodluck.

charvey

I'm not sure about your sizing, but I am in the same boat for my 1999 ES. I have searched for DAYS! and many many nights for info on a good all season hi pro tire... and it's a compromise, always. The Nokia's WR are really well rated to handle snow and go thru all season. I selected the Falken 512's as a finalist but from further reading, snow is a caution and would not fare well in the North during winter (I'm in Minnesota). Continental seem to have some options, Vredestein Quatrac 2 is H rated, not sure on the size for you.. M+S rated as well. The BF Goodrich Touring TA VR4's are well rated to handle 4 season (hence the VR-4) from what I read in reviews, they're high on my list and I'll probably end up trying them. Sumitomo has a few options as does Dunlap and Toyo's.. check their websites for selection and specs. I also am considering the Yoko Avid V4's. Hope this narrows your search, it all depends on your driving and some sacrifices from summer tire to M+S. Canada's national safety has some good recommendations for brands carrying the M+S if you haven't already checked. Autopedia has a tire opinion survey post.. I also checked the Audi A4 websites and the Saab/Volvo for any all season hints as well.

MadeInJapan

Don't know if they make them in your size but I just got through putting Bridgestone Turanza LS-H's on my 850 Turbo wagon yesterday. They are 205/55/16's....and then it snowed last night. Gosh what a difference compared to the BF Goodrich Touring TA VR4's I had on it before. They went right through the white stuff without any hesitation with good grip, and I live on a pretty steep hill. Before the snow, I gave the turbo a try, taking the speedometer up past 100mph on the interstate, and it was the smoothest and quietest ride I've ever experienced at that speed. These are highly recommended tires...just under $100 each at TireRack. With 50,000 mile warranty I would think they'll hold up...I hope so, anyway. Bridgestone has 30 day free try, but since the tires that came off of the car were pretty much gone, they were left behind at the tire installer. I guess if I end up not liking them I'm SOL...LOL. So far I'm really impressed.