Summer tires vs performance all seasons (no winter driving)

[FC]

We'll be getting winter tires for the GTI. That's a given.

Car came stock with some Pirelli all-seasons (Cinturato P7) that have been pretty good, but occasionally I do sense the grip limits sooner than I'd like and would always prefer to have as much braking power available to me as possible, but I wonder about balancing the awesomeness of great grip with the potential cons of wear, cost, noise, shorter season due to cold and not just ice and snow, etc.

Any thoughts? Am I crazy to even consider summer tires?

[equ]

I like my 340i on MPSS. But then again, I don't drive too much. I think you would enjoy the GTI a bit more with summers, but then you have an m3 for that. It depends on who drives the car and how. If it's just an A to B commuter or the driver is not into pushing it, I'd say stay with all-seasons (but may be get slightly better ones), then there is less winter switch stress as well as longer wearing rubber. Are the p7's worn?

[JST]

Since swapping the Pilot Sport 4s on the Tesla with Pilot Sport AS, I can’t say I’ve noticed any difference in grip around town. I don’t get close to the limits of adhesion in the driving I do, so the difference is really immaterial.

For a FWD commuter car? I don’t think it’s worth the compromise in cold weather grip and wear and cost to go with summer tires. Maybe if it were your only car? But as equ says, there’s always the M3.

I’d grab a set of Michelin performance all seasons and call it a day.

[dan]

I don't understand why you would run ever run all seasons and winters

[Nick M3]

Originally Posted by dan

I don't understand why you would run ever run all seasons and winters

Depends on the all seasons, and it depends on the driving conditions. The Michelin Pilot Sport AS has gotten pretty good as well.

[JST]

Originally Posted by Nick M3

Depends on the all seasons, and it depends on the driving conditions. The Michelin Pilot Sport AS has gotten pretty good as well.

Oh, yeah--sorry, I missed the part about winter tires. Honestly, around here I'd run Pilot Sport AS all year round without hesitation, but it doesn't snow here like it does up there. Still, I'd be tempted to try a set of Sport AS and see how it goes without a full winter set.

[clyde]

Originally Posted by Nick M3

The Michelin Pilot Sport AS has gotten pretty good as well.

Ditto this.

For regular driving, I'm much happier with my Michelin Pilot Sport 3 AS than the OE GY Supercar 3s. The only place on the street where I'd "want" the extra grip from the GYs is at full throttle in first and second gears.

The Michelins are quiet, compliant and comfy without feeling soft while also giving decent steering feel (relative what feel the car is capable of). A little more longitudinal stick and resistance to spinning at full throttle in first and second gears might be nice, but there's no issue. They also allow for running a pretty aggressive alignment without the twitchiness present with any extreme performance summer/competition tire.

[wdc330i]

I also have the Pilot Sport A/S+ for year-round driving on the 2 and like them very much. Also don't get much snow.

[FC]

Thanks for your feedback. It basically reinforces my opinion that when the time comes, I'll just get the sportiest AS tires I can find.

As for getting by without winter tires, I don't know about that. It can get pretty icy and snowy around here. Highways will get slushy and gross and people are stupid. Most importantly perhaps, is that my wife feels safer with winter tires.

Finally, I'll look into the details, but at 6k miles, I suspect there is plenty of life on these Pirellis and I don't know that I trust them on Boston winters, so I might need winter tires well before I need to make a call on the main tires.

[Jeff_DML]

I prefer A/S for rwd cars but I guess not for fwd understeering ones Still planning on getting a stiffer RSB on my GTI so I can get some lift throttle oversteer