[enzia35]

Originally Posted by ctrlz

well... you have company. I think these tires were great bang for the buck. I have these on my winter 5-spoke wheels.
Pretty sure I am going with the BFG comp 2 plus A/S for my 10-spoke 50th wheels. Ugly tire, but feel like a little variety is in order.

I personally think the tread pattern is awesome on the comp 2 a/s. Just the Generals were newer at the time. BFG does have the "Plus" variant out now for the comp 2 a/s now though.

[Emoto]

Thanks for all the good responses. Am pulling the trigger tomorrow. It'll be nice to have fresh rubber.

[Emoto]

Got the tires put on earlier today. All went smoothly. Had it done at a Town Fair Tire store, which I was a little concerned about, it being a big national discount chain. But, I have to say the people I dealt with there were all very nice and easily tolerated and accepted my concerns about not scratching the wheels and whatnot. I had printed out the page of the manual with the wheel torque spec and another showing the jack points, and these were given to the tech.

I took the guy outside who was helping me check-in for a little "walk around" so he could see the condition of the car before it was worked on. He took it seriously and actually had really good eyes and drew my attention to some things that I wasn't really aware of, which was good.

The lifts they use are essentially a padded flat platform that splits in half and lifts by most of the area just under the rocker panels. This seems ok to me and didn't appear to cause any problems.

Something I didn't expect, but really liked, was that they had a big monitor (50"?) in the waiting area with closed circuit tv of the shop, so you could see all of the bays and most of what was going on in them. There was also a regular tv that I ignored. So, I was able to keep my eye on the car the entire time it was in being worked on. I watched it the whole time. Even saw the guy use the torque wrench as the last thing he did.

I didn't want a front end alignment or fluid checks and all the other BS that shops routinely want to do, and the guy checking me in had no problem at all and gave no push-back, which was nice.

The job came in at a little less than quoted, which was cool. Before I left, I pulled a 12-pack of Sam Adams out of the trunk and gave it to them along with my thanks. It's just a small token, but I know that stuff like that is appreciated.

Then, I went for a drive. First thing I noticed is HOW MUCH QUIETER these Michelins are than the OEM Goodyear run-flats. Really quiet. I know the noise will increase as they wear, but still it is a nice change.

Tires were set to 34 PSI by the technician. They provided a slightly softer/smoother ride than the old tires, but not by a lot. They deliver a firm but compliant ride. Turn-in is immediate; either about the same as the stock tires or maybe just a wee tiny bit slower. I am not sure if I am imagining it because I am looking for it, or if it is real, so the difference is insignificant on turn-in. They continued to roll smoothly even at elevated highway speeds, so when the tech used the dynamic balancing machine, and always ran it again after adjusting the weights, he wasn't just going through the motions. One of the tires took him several re-tests before he was happy with it.

The best thing is that now my driving season has been expanded. Of course, once the salt hits the roads the car will be parked until spring, but I am happy to not be concerned about driving in low temperatures.

As I spend more time on these tires and have thoughts about them, I will try to add them to this thread. But, my initial impression is that these are really nice tires that you won't go wrong with for the street, if you live anywhere it gets cold.

[FarmerFran]

I am still on the fence for these on my SS. I put a set on my last car and the way they gripped on that car, there is no way in the world they hold up to the SS.

[enzia35]

Originally Posted by FarmerFran

I am still on the fence for these on my SS. I put a set on my last car and the way they gripped on that car, there is no way in the world they hold up to the SS.

They're fine for every day use. Unless you're doing launches at every stop light.

[Emoto]

Originally Posted by FarmerFran

I am still on the fence for these on my SS. I put a set on my last car and the way they gripped on that car, there is no way in the world they hold up to the SS.

What was the other car, and what do you consider holding up to mean?

It would be unrealistic to expect the same level of grip as a sticky summer tire gives in the warm weather. An A/S is also not a tire intended for the track.

[FarmerFran]

Originally Posted by Emoto

What was the other car, and what do you consider holding up to mean?

It would be unrealistic to expect the same level of grip as a sticky summer tire gives in the warm weather. An A/S is also not a tire intended for the track.

I 100% agree and I should have been more specific, I am on the fence switching over or buying a set of tries-wheels for the cold weather.

[Emoto]

Originally Posted by FarmerFran

I 100% agree and I should have been more specific, I am on the fence switching over or buying a set of tries-wheels for the cold weather.

Not sure what your needs are or what the weather is like where you live, but I'm in New England and I was willing to give up a little grip in order to have the car on the road more of the year. It isn't realistic for me to have multiple sets of wheels and tires, so I figured that All Seasons would be a decent compromise for my needs and budget.

I know Michelin makes a quality tire, so I figured I wouldn't go too far wrong with them. Had some on a Vega about a million years ago, lol, and have had and liked their motorcycle tires a few times.

[FarmerFran]

Originally Posted by Emoto

Not sure what your needs are or what the weather is like where you live, but I'm in New England and I was willing to give up a little grip in order to have the car on the road more of the year. It isn't realistic for me to have multiple sets of wheels and tires, so I figured that All Seasons would be a decent compromise for my needs and budget.

I know Michelin makes a quality tire, so I figured I wouldn't go too far wrong with them. Had some on a Vega about a million years ago, lol, and have had and liked their motorcycle tires a few times.

Personal needs are, well we shall call them complicated. This is a very touchy subject because someone will always take things out of context. And flame away.

But Oh well, here we go...

SO BEFORE WE CONTINUE, I will retort, I am on the fence about a new set of tires/wheels for winter duties or a total replacement for year round.

I bought a performance car that I want to be a performance car, not on the track or street racing. Those days are over for me - well not that I ever street raced but you know what I mean - I hope.

The car I had was a decently modified EcoBoost Mustang pushing 350hp/400tq (I would say more but), and the tires were not good enough for that car in spirited driving. Let alone the 455hp/455tq on my SS. I will say though, the Stang was 255 tires on all 4 corners and the SS is 255 front and 275 rear so maybe the 3/4" in the rear is magical but I kind of doubt it. And as we know (and you stated) the Summer tires are just better.

This all said, I am not starting a war/fight. It is just my personal demon talking and wondering if I sacrifice the handing and acceleration for some winter driving. Which were I live would be about 80/20-sih.

And like yourself - even at 80/20 I am considering the pros/cons of multiple sets of wheels

I should have stated all this on my original post.

[Emoto]

Originally Posted by FarmerFran

Personal needs are, well we shall call them complicated. This is a very touchy subject because someone will always take things out of context. And flame away.

But Oh well, here we go...

SO BEFORE WE CONTINUE, I will retort, I am on the fence about a new set of tires/wheels for winter duties or a total replacement for year round.

I bought a performance car that I want to be a performance car, not on the track or street racing. Those days are over for me - well not that I ever street raced but you know what I mean - I hope.

The car I had was a decently modified EcoBoost Mustang pushing 350hp/400tq (I would say more but), and the tires were not good enough for that car in spirited driving. Let alone the 455hp/455tq on my SS. I will say though, the Stang was 255 tires on all 4 corners and the SS is 255 front and 275 rear so maybe the 3/4" in the rear is magical but I kind of doubt it. And as we know (and you stated) the Summer tires are just better.

This all said, I am not starting a war/fight. It is just my personal demon talking and wondering if I sacrifice the handing and acceleration for some winter driving. Which were I live would be about 80/20-sih.

And like yourself - even at 80/20 I am considering the pros/cons of multiple sets of wheels

I should have stated all this on my original post.

Don't worry; I would not take it personally if you or anyone else thought some other tire was "better" for some reason. We all make our own choices, and I find it interesting to learn about differing decisions that people make, because it may offer insight when it is time for me to make another decision.

Now that these A/S tires are on, I am going to find out what I think of them. Maybe I will decide they are not as grippy as I want. Or, maybe I will find them suitable for my driving. Only time will tell. I am looking forward to finding out.

Today will be my first time driving the car in temps below what the summer tires allowed. It is 36 right now, and I think it is only going up to 44, so I'll get to find out what that is like.

[foshjowler]

Continuing the above discussion, in my experience, in warm weather the A/S 3+ is at a similar performance to a budget summer tire. It's not going to compete with the PS4S or Conti ECS, but it's not terribly far behind. I will say, through turns at least, if you're going beyond the grip of the A/S 3+ on the street, then you're probably doing something that you shouldn't be.

I don't have much experience with them in the cold, so I can't really comment on that, but I do expect them to do fairly well and not fall off like true summer tires do.

[Emoto]

Originally Posted by foshjowler

Continuing the above discussion, in my experience, in warm weather the A/S 3+ is at a similar performance to a budget summer tire. It's not going to compete with the PS4S or Conti ECS, but it's not terribly far behind. I will say, through turns at least, if you're going beyond the grip of the A/S 3+ on the street, then you're probably doing something that you shouldn't be.

I don't have much experience with them in the cold, so I can't really comment on that, but I do expect them to do fairly well and not fall off like true summer tires do.

Yeah, I am pretty cautious these days about picking and choosing times and places for getting sporty. The older I get, the fewer places seem suitable. Funny how that works.

[foshjowler]

Originally Posted by Emoto

Yeah, I am pretty cautious these days about picking and choosing times and places for getting sporty. The older I get, the fewer places seem suitable. Funny how that works.

There is a reason why in almost 10 years of driving, all of them in sports cars, I haven't put a car in a ditch or hit anything other than one damn deer.

Did learn the hard way that even if you're smart about where you do "sporty things," it doesn't prevent (big) speeding tickets. Sometimes state troopers hide in the median of an empty highway.

[Andrew S]

Originally Posted by BlakeR

I've had cont. dws06 and the as3+ And prefer the as3+ by far. The dws06 may do better in snow, but since you don't need that, as3+ for the win!

I was considering the dws06, but from what I read the as3+ is closer to a good summer tire. What about the as3?
I will need to drive in the snow occasionally and all I can get is the as3 instead of the as3+. Is it much worse in the occasional snow?