JLoft

We don't have automotive education anywhere near as in depth as in Europe for example. And very few localities have laws about tires. So this all adds up to general ignorance. If you didn't learn from your father, you're not going to understand. The easy decision is "they're black and say all-season so that's what I'll buy." Which of course is a shame on cars like ours because those tires do no season properly.

synergize

LOL...these must be the same people that buy a $200k motorhome and camp out in Walmart's parking lot...they don't have $30 for a camping spot?

ovrkast

It's not that I'm oppose to spending the $1K for winter tires...I just don't want a set of tires to switch out every year. Hence why I wanted to get some high performance all seasons that can be good during winter and summer.

I have had all seasons on my previous vehicles and it was just easy to leave them on year round. I didn't buy my S5 to go around corners fast, or race from street light to street light (where I can see summer tires can be useful in those scenarios)...I bought it because I love the look, fit and finish, and the extra power for passing when needed on the freeway.

Summer tires doesn't do anything for me but for others I'm sure it is warranted. I have never had issues with all season tires during the winter (even in a 8" of snow) so the need to segment summer and winter, and incur the "additional" cost (yes, I said additional) to have both sets is not my forte. Again, I'm not refusing to buy winter tires...I'm just not seeing the need for it. And before we go into the difference of winter tires and all season and how well they do, blah, blah, blah. All seasons work for me and I get plenty of grip from them in all weather conditions

tstiles

ovrkast: eloquently stated, and a position that I personally agree with. I understand the purists' positions on this, however, for those of us who do not drive their cars at the limits all the time, today's generation of all seasons fit our needs well.

peter1

so... can anyone recommend a good set of 19' all seasons ? just looking for decent winter traction and tread life. Reading through the reviews is "tiring" (heh - see what I did there . I dont need ultra high perfomance in summer (sorry but its just true for me!). Even the better reviewed tires have lots of horrror stories on there about lasting only 14 K miles, easy blowouts, etc

ovrkast

I had these on my previous Mercedes and it worked really well in the snow.

https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires...e&autoModClar=

Someone else on here also recommended these...

https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires...e&autoModClar=

Both of the tires received 4-1/2 stars from other reviewers on TireRack. Hope this helps.

tstiles

Another agreement w/ovrkast, especially regarding the Continentals. They're an outstanding tire for the $, demonstrate very good tread life and do well in inclement conditions. For more $, you can go with Pirelli all-seasons, however the advantage is questionable.

Stankia

So if you gonna get a set of all seasons what you gonna do with the stock summers? You still end up owning 2 sets of tires, might as well get a dedicated winter set at this point. And I would LOVE to see you conquer 8" of snow with all seasons

peter1

Well i would probably end up selling the summers - and yes that is a frustration the way Audi offers for A5 sportback 19s with only Summers as the option. I have lived in midwest for whole life - all seasons + AWD has been fine so far. I dont doubt that summer/winter would be better: Like others I just dont want to have to deal with switching. Our seasons are unpredictable here - early and late freezes happen all the time and dont want to deal with the timing.

tstiles

All seasons have served me well in the Pacific Northwest. AWD and all season tires fully qualify for Washington State Patrol transit across the mountain passes without consideration for snow depth. First, wear out those summer tires (happens quickly) then replace them with good all seasons. Issue solved....