So I fitted all season tyres…

Conti AllSeason Contact 2 – for specific reasons, but I was very keen to see how they were in this middling weather and if I wanted to keep them on all year or not. I have the previous part worn summer tyres (Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 5) and a spare set of wheels in the garage. I used to run summer/winter tyres, so now I have the option of running summer/all season OR leave the all seasons on all year. I know the all seasons are perfectly capable in summer but I didn’t know if they would be noisier/quieter or more/less comfortable.

Well, I can report that they are similar in terms of comfort, they handle pretty well but overall they are noisier. There is a bit more general noise but also a separate mid-range whine which is presumably from the tread.

Indeed I leave mine on all year and put up with a db or two more noise and a mile or two less per gallon compared to the uber-efficient summers I have had before.
Seeing as summer weekend in Scotland can become winter on a Tuesday in July, that works for me…

I wasn’t a fan, found them too soft for summer use and not really much more useful in the winter (good quality summer tyres with decent tread remaining have never made me come up short under braking or steering).

Maybe I just drive like an old person.

IME, different all seasons behave very differently. Just like bike tyres have huge differences.
We keep fitting either Michelin Crossclimate or (more likely these days, the difference is neglible for a huge cost saving) Hankook kinergy 4s. I find the Hankook’s less good on snow & ice, but better on cold rainy roads and summer than the Michelin.

I wasn’t a fan, found them too soft for summer use and not really much more useful in the winter (good quality summer tyres with decent tread remaining have never made me come up short under braking or steering).

Not all all-seasons are equal: some are more summer- or winter-orientated. I deliberately chose some more towards the ‘summer’ end of the spectrum as they (apparently) prioritise dry/wet cold conditions more than ice or snow. Closer to a summer tyre than a winter tyre I guess, but still hugely better in snow than a summer tyre. Suits my particular use well.

Bridgestone WeatherControl A005.

Edit – too slow typing. What Matt says!

We have michelin all seasons on one car and they’re amazing in the wet, no additional noise or fuel use. They do limit dry driving, so you can’t drive past 7/10ths. Fine for normal driving

There’s certainly an argument to keep them all year. If I only had them, I doubt I’d bother buying spare wheels and summer tyres. But I already had wheels and I already have the part worn tyres. Once you’re in that situation you aren’t spending any more money to run two sets, it’s just the couple of hours a year to swap them and the garage space. And the bit of extra noise :)

I haven’t had chance to check the fuel yet but it seems to roll pretty well.

I’m still a 2-sets-er, mostly because used wheels are so cheap- I’m going to have to replace my winters this year but I got the wheels and tyres for £200, from someone else who’d bought 2 sets of wheels then sold the car. They live in the garden under a cover, very minor hassle.

But allseasons keep getting better.

i need to replace my winter steels – they have rotted out.

replacement steels are NOT cheap anymore .

Used to get a set for 40 quid.

now its 200quid for something that doesnt look like it was dredged out the clyde.

but i wouldn’t be without all seasons or winters in winter…. id sooner forgo my summer tires….

Every year you can spot which of the neighbours has not put their winters on by the time the cold starts – they get stuck on the hill onto the main road.

My wifes care has full winters on steels – my 108 has all seasons. – i certainly have never found the limits on the 108. The tires(vredstien quatracs) have lasted 20,000 miles as well – the fronts are approaching the 2mm mark and will be changed out this week or next for the coming winter.

Yeah they’re not cheap eh? I eventually gave up looking and got a set of alloy wheels off a new vehicle for effectively the price of the new (conti) tyres that were on there, sold the tyres on at 60% of their value and the wheels were then dirt cheap – like £150 for a set of 18s, so it can be done at a reasonable price.

There’s still a few winter wheel bargains around for the likes of Skodas, but not much.

Use  summers/winters on the car and Michelin all seasons on the van which seem to work fine in the snow with a bit of due care. I’m in the expensive point where I’ll need new summers and winters in the next 6 months, so tempted to go down the all seasons route on the car give how rarely we get excessive snow anymore. Might finally be the incentive the weather needs for a properly snowy winter – so if any one wants a set of Seat Leon 16inch alloys!

We run Pirelli Scorpion Verdes (M+S rated) all year round on my wife’s 4WD Kuga as the extra grip helps in muddy fields too.

They aren’t cheap, but they really do last! Getting nearly 30k miles from them.

We had planned to go to Germany in October, but my sister annoyingly planned her wedding that week, so now we’re going in Feb which means M+S tyres (these are not just tires…). The Conti Allseasons are M+S rated and are probably more suitable for the UK generally, especially down here, but they were also a good chunk cheaper than any tyres for my car, winter or summer.

The wheels I bought a couple of years ago because they came up on eBay quite cheaply (in my favourite OEM style, plus it’s a rare size that was rarely specced by the purchasers of the new cars) and I was worried about getting stuck in my RWD car. Of course, since then they’ve barely seen an ice crystal never mind a snowflake.

IME, different all seasons behave very differently. Just like bike tyres have huge differences.

This why people like Cross climates. IIRC, they were developed as a summer tyre with M&S rating, and they feel like a summer tyre, except in the winter when they grip like a winter tyre. They really do seem to have the perfect compromise.

Proper winter tyres and winter leaning all seasons can feel very different with the soft compound. Personally I’d leave them on all year regardless, but depends on the car and level of performance you’re expecting.

I’ve been on a bit of a tyre journey having gone from winters on alloys all year, to winters on steels and then finally all seasons on the original alloys. It’s largely been driven by cost – getting spare steels was getting silly. Then there was a tpms question.

So I’ve ended up on cross climate 2s, and I’m pretty impressed after a full highland year and a proper trial in deep snow over 30cm up our track. The last tyres were conti winter contacts, these were excellent, ironically across the seasons but not quite as convincing in deep snow in the alps. Also a bit rumbly whereas the ccs are silent in the size I have.

Seems to me you can’t really go wrong with any of them, you can pick an attribute that is important to you and there’s a tyre that will deliver it.

Inevitably it’ll come down to cost and availability – twice I’ve wanted Goodyear vector’s but both time unavailable for my size locally.

This year My tyre guy offered me the ccs at the Goodyear price which was unmissable. I was slightly concerned the XL rating would be an issue on a small hatch but it’s not noticeable

I used to spend half the winter in the alps and there was plenty of times where winters would be defeated, usually fresh snow on tarmac. So chains still 100% required there although I never carry them at home

I used to swap wheels for summer/winter, but now I just put all seasons on all year. They are not as good in the snow as pure winters, but I haven’t got stuck yet. When I know it could be challenging I have chains with me too, but have never needed to put them on in anger either.

With Goodyear Vector 4 seasons my fwd Octavia managed to get me out the estate one year when the unplowed fresh snow was above the bottom of the bumper. Nobody else got out. Very rarely need the snow performance but for an extra £30 or so a tyre it is worth having it. One year driving home from Torridon on New Year’s day we were driving on snow for 20 miles or so over the hill to the Great Glen. Made a nervous drive on summers completely relaxed.

Costco currently doing 4x Goodyear Vectors 215/55 R17 at £128 each. Almost £50 a tyre cheaper than Black Circles.

I wasn’t a fan, found them too soft for summer use

Found this with Michelin Cross Climates, front pair on a fwd van lasted less than 7000 miles. They are better than summer tyres in winter but not a patch on proper winters in snow/icy conditions and don’t last very long if used in summer. I went back to two sets of wheels after the trying the all seasons

I was very keen to see how they were in this middling weather

…and so you took your car to a test track and ran an extensive series of blind tests?

I have the same tyres OP on my 320d – after 2 yrs/20k miles  I think they are superb, cant pick up any addition noise and my average MPG went up 2mpg.

What’s more, I wasn’t towed out of a muddy field like many at Hever Castle Events this weekend* and they were as sure as a sure thing  in the minus temps & snow of December ’22 over the Cotswolds.

* I will admit to scouting out the firmer run out to the road, but even so, the car was sunk 2-3 inches in soft yet not wet mud.

…and so you took your car to a test track and ran an extensive series of blind tests?

No need for a a test track. I hear a drive to Barnard Castle is ideal for testing…

Both our winters and summers needed replacing this year and as I’m not planning to keep the car many more years I’ve just switched to all seasons. Seem fine so far, don’t feel much different to the old summers and definitely not as noisy a the winters. Also means I can get rid of the steels and make a bit more room in the garage ?.

I have recently changed my set up for this winter ,to maximise tyre use they wear.

Winter wheels-  Cross Climate with very good tread and less loved alloys for the salty roads.

Summer Wheels…Cross Climates as the tread wears abit is the plan and thus i will always have matching tyres and get max use out use of them.

Previously used Winter tyres so be interesting to compare.

The original Michelin Primacy 4 on the Zoé lasted 17000km on the front, lots of mountain road use is my excuse. ;) I changed at 3mm in the middle and tread still showing at the edges. Fine in the dry not so fine when cold and wet.

Replaced with Cross climate+ . No downsides noted. Economy should be worse but not measurably so. No difference in noise noted. Excellent in the cold and wet with a reassuring feel. Nearly as good as Michelin Alpin on snow and ice. Even at 40°C or more in Summer they feel fine. What was unexpected was 24000km for the fronts.

…and so you took your car to a test track and ran an extensive series of blind tests?

No, I mean I wanted to see how they compare in normal driving. I’m not interested in ultimate performance.

I had Crossclimates on my V70 and got better MPG and more miles for the extra £’s purchase price. We drive to the Alps skiing each winter and the extra grip was noticeable. I always carry chains as well so the lack of a full winter wasn’t an issue.

My current V90 has its OEM summer tyres on it still. They’ve done 22k miles and still have 4-5mm of tread so being mean, not ready to change yet. I’ll get Crossclimates again. Or mebbies the Conti version as they come out slightly better in the comparison tests. The OEM summer tyres were scary last year on fresh snow/steep slope/tight bend/off camber. Luckily the 4wd saved the day though I swore for years I wouldn’t have it as not needed in my use case. My current mota only comes in 4wd for the spec/engine configuration I wanted hence the rapid back pedalling…

TL:DR I’ll buy Crosswhatsits at next change as I find them betterer and the extra cost is self funding.

I change car tyres like I change my bike tyres – when they are worn out

I’ve been stuck once – trying to tow a 2t caravan out of a muddy field on SUV road tyres

We only have 1.5 seasons now anyway. Warmish and maybe wet and maybe a bit cold and wet

I had CrossClimates fitted to the front of my EcoSport about two years ago, the original Goodyear OEM tyres on the rear failed the MOT earlier this year, after nearly five years, so the CC2’s went on the back, and I’ve got Continental all-seasons on the front – reviews rate them higher, and they were cheaper.
They seem slightly noisier on certain surfaces, but considering how rough the roads are, barely noticeable. As I’m doing at least half the miles I was doing, it might be another three years before I’ll need to check them.

(good quality summer tyres with decent tread remaining have never made me come up short under braking or steering).

You clearly have absolutely no idea what kind of difference that driving on winter (or decent all-season) tyres actually makes.

We got our new car with all seasons. Can’t actually remember what they are, maybe the Muchelin’s. Not used in anger yet as we’ve only had it 6 months.

Up in Newcastle it seemed an obvious decision and surprised it isn’t the standard – at least now it’s an option at purchase. . We spend more days/time driving on cold, wet or snowy roads that we do on hot ones.  Also as someone mentioned up there. Doing MTB events and CX they will probably come in useful most getting out of fields after races.

I avoid driving in bad winter weather but occasionally have to. I don’t really expect to notice a difference as I’m fairly relaxed when driving. That said some years it’s been an adventure even getting off our residential street.

Vehicle is a caddy so a bit noisier than the car it replaced so didn’t notice the tyres. Even on the old car the road noise was more about the surface than anything on the car.

good quality summer tyres with decent tread remaining have never made me come up short under braking or steering).

Or live in south of England where arguably you can cope without them and just accept staying at home for the 15 minutes of non human based snowflakes you get each year ;)

Had our V70 for lots of years and ran it alongside my Defender110 through a few winters for comparison.

We bought it with new Vredestein full winter tyres – they were as you expect very good in both fresh and packed snow – better than the 4×4 LR on BFG all terrains. I ran them through the summer and they wore fairly quickly

Changed to Michelin cross climates which were as good in winter but quieter than the Vredestein in summer.

Recently I’ve gone to Bridgestone ‘rain tyre’ – bit cheaper than CC’s but appear to be wearing quicker and have a louder dead ‘boomy’ noise to them. Will replace them with CC again.

No idea on ‘sportiness’ as it’s a big heavy wobbly Volvo.

Tldr. Normal car/driver – just buy Cross Climates.

This why people like Cross climates. IIRC, they were developed as a summer tyre with M&S rating, and they feel like a summer tyre, except in the winter when they grip like a winter tyre. They really do seem to have the perfect compromise.

I disagree. I was a fan of the original Cross Climates for this reason but with the CC2 they have changed the bias towards very cold weather performance and as a result CC2 performance in the wet is pretty poor now. Still an OK choice if you’re likely to be driving on snow or ice but no longer worth it for me (living in the SW).

better than the 4×4 LR on BFG all terrains

Fun fact and RnP is probably aware . But a large amount of bfg ATS sold are not snowflake approved – and most folk don’t care.

You can be m+s but not have the mountain snowflake logo.

The non snowflakes are for hot climates and shite in snow …..

I rejected 3 of 4 at the fitter because they were not snowflaked and the main reason I have a 4*4 is for winter use.

I’m old enough to remember when these threads were an argument between whether you needed winter tires  or not

Now it’s shifted to winter vs all seasons.

You can’t stop progress (massive laughing smiley)

Have the hankook 4s2 on the superb and they are great.

Ok probably less summer grip than dedicated summers but still more than enough and don’t have to change them.

I still run 2 sets on my mazda simply because when I bought it,  it was cheaper to get the smaller wheels and winters than to buy the normal size winter tyres on their own.  Not the case now though so if doing it again I would probably just have all seasons

I’m old enough to remember when these threads were an argument between whether you needed winter tires  or not

Don’t you mean Crossply  and radial …

The fact crossply auto corrects to cosplay suggests kids these days wouldn’t know the difference either

Or live in south of England where arguably you can cope without them and just accept staying at home for the 15 minutes of non human based snowflakes you get each year ;)

I’ve experience the driving skill of the South Coast’s population in snow conditions.

It’s safer being at home where the muppets won’t drive into you.

As per other threads, I’m a big fan of all seasons..

Used to have CC2s, but on the Polestar i’ve got Bridgestone turanza all season 6…

These are more suited to cold and wet, rather than ice and snow..which suits me on the South coast just fine..

I’m such a fan of all season that (unless I wanted to track my car..which, erm, I do!!) i’d just stick on a set of decent all season and leave it.

DrP

I used to run summer and winter tyres on a previous car, with two sets of wheels. Now I run All Season Tyres, Goodyear Vector 4 Seasons. Driving up to Inverness last winter along a snowy A9 they worked well. Car is a STW approved Octavia diesel so I’m never hammering it around corners at 10/10 so can’t say I have noticed any loack of performance in the summer/dry.