keninblaine

I see the R2's are described as "All Season" radial tires. Based on the comments I've seen here, they seem to be considered one of the best overall tires for winter conditions. What is their weakest characteristic? Think I read that they get mushy at 60 degrees and higher. Are they good on wet roads? Trying to decide if they are well suited for Pacific northwest conditions, where there is typically more wet weather than snow, but anything is possible, including deep wet snow, ice covered with snow, etc. Also, I could take a trip to So Cal in Feb and be running in warm weather for a few weeks down there. To go with 18" Neuspeed and R2's it runs about $400 more than Tire Rack 19" rims with Pirelli Sotozero 3's (one of the few choices of winter tires in 235/35/19 size).

tjacoby

weak link for me, and I've got the prev generation from 2015, is soft in the warmer weather, and not designed for the cornering I'd prefer to do. I find them great in the cooler rain, and handle ice well. 4" of slush is a challenge, but I think that's a challenge for all car tires. I found them much quieter than the stock summer Conti's from my 2015 S3. I wouldn't try Launch Control with them, as an example, and ESC light does seem to come on more often.

gergelybg

There is NO perfect tire! But a perfect tire for a specific weather condition. Depending of where you live and how you use your car and with deep knowledge of how different tires perform upon your most common usage will define your satisfaction.
Without prejudice and as a generic guideline:
Deep snow, ice, rural regions with little snow removal: NO RS3 territory, but Hakka 9 studded would be best,
Extreme low temperature with lots of snow: Hakka R2
Changing conditions passing from snow rapidly to ice and, city areas with frequent snow removal, MIchelin x Ice3
Mostly mild winter with chances to get some snow: any high performance winter tire will keep you thinking you run OEM set (or almost)
Mid US States with something they call winter: any respected M+S tire.

Did I cover everything?
M

keninblaine

Thanks. I'm not clear on your second last point "thinking you run OEM set".

gergelybg

Performance winter tires will bring you the closest to summer tires for winter conditions... the smallest sacrifice handling wise.

FlorS3

I'm in the Pac NW (Oregon) and I'm running Bridgetone Blizzak WS80s (215/50R-17) on a set of aftermarket 17" wheels. The other tires I considered - that were well rated by Consumer Reports and Tire Rack - were Michelin X-Ice X13 (and Pilot Alpin PA4), Nokian Hakkapeliitta R2 (and WR G3) & Continental WinterContact Si. I went with the Blizzaks because they seemed to combine good snow performance with better ratings for wet and/or icy conditions - typical Pac NW winter weather. I've had really good past experience with Michelins and I have friends who swear by Nokian. I don't think you can go wrong with any of the above.

ionian2k

Thanks for the input.

ionian2k

Alt3rEgo , what are those rims? They are nice!

Alt3rEgo

Neuspeed RSe10 18x8.5

keninblaine

Are your balancing weights on the RSe10 wheels in the normal location, or did they have to be moved inboard to avoid conflicting with the front calipers?