R&T Pirelli tire comparo

[swchang]

Anyone else see the tire comparo in the latest R&T (Nov issue)? They compared winter, summer, and all-season Pirelli run-flats and an all-season Pirelli conventional tire. Brief summary, as best I can remember:

1. Summer run-flat slightly better in wet than all-season run-flat.
2. All-season run-flat better or basically the same in everything else, including lap time, slalom, braking distance, etc.
3. All-season run-flat comparable to all-season conventional tire with only very barely noticeable additional NVH.
4. Winter run-flat >> all-season run-flat >> summer run-flat in snow.

Seems like the logical inference is get all-seasons and winters instead of summers and winters, or at least wrt the Pirelli tires they tested (all-seasons were more summer-like in their compound/tread balance). All-seasons tend to be a bit cheaper than summers, IIRC, and they're slightly better in the snow in case a wintry dusting catches one off guard.

Thoughts?

[wagonman]

Anyone else see the tire comparo in the latest R&T (Nov issue)? They compared winter, summer, and all-season Pirelli run-flats and an all-season Pirelli conventional tire. Brief summary, as best I can remember:

1. Summer run-flat slightly better in wet than all-season run-flat.
2. All-season run-flat better or basically the same in everything else, including lap time, slalom, braking distance, etc.
3. All-season run-flat comparable to all-season conventional tire with only very barely noticeable additional NVH.
4. Winter run-flat >> all-season run-flat >> summer run-flat in snow.

Seems like the logical inference is get all-seasons and winters instead of summers and winters, or at least wrt the Pirelli tires they tested (all-seasons were more summer-like in their compound/tread balance). All-seasons tend to be a bit cheaper than summers, IIRC, and they're slightly better in the snow in case a wintry dusting catches one off guard.

Thoughts?
makes sense to me. i live on portland, oregon. we get very little snow here but it can happen. i cannot see getting summer/winter tire combo. not worth it. all-seasons make the most sense to me. i like what the article said regarding all season and that it is more appropriate to call them all temperatures....that would be best for portland...

[Pinecone]

If you are willing to give up that extra performance, yep.

Also I find A/S tires to be less precise due to the tread design. They tend to squirm. Also, if you want to do a track day, they will more likely overheat, against due to tread design wtih the more open grooves and smaller tred blocks (more squirm that generates heat).

Also, if you are going to change tires anyway, go with tires optimied for each season. If you are not going to change tires, then go with A/Ss.

[swchang]

If you are willing to give up that extra performance, yep.

Also I find A/S tires to be less precise due to the tread design. They tend to squirm. Also, if you want to do a track day, they will more likely overheat, against due to tread design wtih the more open grooves and smaller tred blocks (more squirm that generates heat).

Also, if you are going to change tires anyway, go with tires optimied for each season. If you are not going to change tires, then go with A/Ss.

I suppose that was the point of the article. The A/S were better or the same in every respect.

When people talk about tires for each season, it's interesting that "summers" are always picked to be the spring-summer-fall tire, whereas "all-seasons" are pooh-poohed...

[Pinecone]

In that ONE brand of tire. In other brands, the summer tires are MUCH better than the all seasons.

Check out:

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/mi_pilot_sports_charts.jsp

And while the tire may perform ultimately as well, the feel is much less nice.