When to get new tires?

I'm replacing my Potenza 92s at 26K miles. They still have some tread on them but like you say, they are horrid in snow- and in rain.

I've ordered a set of Continental Extreme Contacts. It's an all season tire that, according to user ratings at tirerack.com, is good in the snow but has good performance on dry pavement, too.

My second choice would have been Dunlop Winter Sport M3's. It's a winter tire, but according to the ratings has good performance in summer too, as well as decent treadwear.

Whatever you do, don't use winter tires in the summer. They'll wear out extremely fast, they'll suck your gas back because of the soft rubber compond, and they simply cannot compete with a dedicated summer tire for handling. My recommendation is to have a set of winter tires and summer tires. If you're in NYC and don't get much snow, go with a good all season. But like I said, don't drive winter tires in the summer, it's just silly.

Chris

I replaced the RE92's on my 2002 Legacy at 26K miles, (even though they had plenty of tread) with Kumho HP4's from Tire Rack. They are quiet, excellent in snow and very inexpensive. They also handle far better.

I replaced my 92's with Potenza 950's, based on recommendations here and the user feedback available at tirerack. They are a great improvement, very good in all conditions, *except* snow. They are not snow tires, I have a set of Yokohama 720's for winter. Those are the best tires I've ever used on ice, and excellent in snow as well. (Hakka Q's are better in deep snow, not as good on ice, and nowhere *near* as good as the

Larry Van Wormer

Did that. But it doesn't say anything about how many miles they should typically last.

Thanks. I'll check them both.

Who said I got stuck? My driver skills are excellent. The reason they suck in snow is that they don't grip. Lots of slippage when making turns, fishtailing. Don't make assumptions!

Not if they're already worn out at 33k. I've had a couple of sets of all-season tires that didn't last that long. I don't think any car will do well in snow on worn-out tires.

Sometimes when people decide their tires suck (too noisy, hydroplane too easily, no grip in mud or snow), it's because there isn't much tread left.

Um.......I would challenge the driver skills Any subaru will be good in snow with tires like yours. I took one with all seasons through snow deeper than the headlights and did not get stuck. The snow was coming over the hood.

I highly recommend the Continental ContiExtremeContact. Note that they have a "directional" tread pattern, so when you rotate, you have to swap front and rear on a given side (so as to maintain the direction of rotation).

I would like to see the response from a Subaru rally driver on your comment. Snow tire make a night and day difference.

I have installed Hakka 2 on my Forester and they are wonderfull.

Well, they did feel this way last year in the snow at around 9K. So, while they may in fact be worn down now, they're not very good even when new.

Various "all-season" tires behave differently in the snow and there is no regulation as to what is and isn't an "all-season". You may have been on "all-seasons" that were good in the snow. The RE-92s are NOT. Worn ones are even worse. Dunlop D60 A2's are "all-season", but they are even worse in the snow. During my 2nd winter with those, having bobsled driving skills would have been more relevant. The car would slide down a 2-3% incline with no hopes of stopping at any distance. I renamed my car Rosebud. Bought some Hakka Q's....whole different story. Did the whole snow over the hood thing too and without a LSD in the rear.

Stu

Now, now. NYC isn't so bad. Not too many stray bullets these days - and none from drunk Baja drivers aiming for dogs...

florian

I'm curious as to where you were and what kind of snow you were in. I'm guessing it was dry powder.

In Pennsylvania, where I live, a big snow tends to be wet and dense. I can't imagine driving in heavy wet snow up to the headlights like that - it would probably pack up in front of the car and under the car. Fortunately the snow plows do pretty well here (in Pittsburgh), so I'm not often in such deep snow.

Also, I have 27K miles on my OEMs and although I could go pretty well on them in snow, I was not happy with the stopping power. So I got Nokian Hakkapeliita 2's for the winters. Of course it hasn't snowed since I got them! I plan on putting the OEM tires back on in the spring, since they were good in wet/dry conditions and still have good tread remaining. I have a storage room a few blocks away, so I have a place to keep the off-season tires. A New Yorker might not have that luxury!

kl

Isn't that a requirement for all radial tires?

Not really. People say it's obsolete now. Although I have read at least one recent claim of premature tire failure (belt slippage?) apparently caused by going the other way.