HPH

I just returned from a week in the mountains of north-central Colorado, where it's been winter for the past few days.

My stock P6 allroad "all-season" tires, with about 6K miles, are very definitely not winter tires. On slush and hard-packed surfaces, they're quite squirrely and don't feel at all secure. The car, of course, is still a rocket, but it's a slip-slidey rocket. (This refers to acceleration and cornering; of course, only studs will do much for stopping.)

For real winter, real winter tires are indicated. HPH

JBaumgart

I agree - they aren't nearly as bad as pure performance tires, as they are manageable with a little care, but they don't inspire near the confidence that only dedicated winter tires will. My 4 new Pirelli Assimetrico's are stacked in the garage right now, and I'm planning to put them on in mid-November. My wife's A4 will get the Blizzak's at about the same time.

Dutch8griffin

I haven't gone thru a winter yet. I'm still debating on getting snows, or just another pair of GY.

artyQ7A4

worth every penny. If you don't, or if you get one or two rough ones a year, alter your driving for those couple of days and you might be OK with the OEM's.

Milpitas2.7T

So what is the feelings on the OEM Goodyears vs the P6's?

razzo

I'm planning on giving the P6 tires a 'go' in Aspen, CO this winter. Perhaps I'm just asking for trouble.

Then again, managed to drive through 2 Minnesota winters with Pirelli 7000SS 17" 'all-season' tires with out much effort.

If you see a black AR stuck in snow, you'll know who it is

HPH

My original remarks for this thread were based on the (Copper to Climax) ascent of Fremont Pass the other day, with hardpack and slush in the right hand lane and the passing lane pretty clear. So naturally all the slow folks were in the passing lane.

What was squirrely was 65-75 mph on that ascent. So what I was kvetching about was high-performance handing on the P6s in those conditions.

Naturally if you slow down, it'll be better. HPH

MNSteve

What made you choose the Asymetrico over the Blizzaks? It seems the Blizzak are the tires of choice in many places I have searched.

Just curious about your experience.

Steve

QQQQuattro

It's hard to beat Asymetrico's going for $92 right now at Tirerack, and it doesn't look like Blizzak's come in 225/55-17. Tirerack's other winter tires in that size are $169 and $174. Can't speak from personal experience...however, the ratings show Asymetrico's are more than adequate (but not quite as good as Blizzak's).

JBaumgart

I've had previous experience with both the 210's and the Blizzak's, and even here in Minnesota I found the 210's to be more than sufficient on even a front wheel drive vehicle (a Ford SHO). Plus they are "H" rated and handle better than most winter tires on dry pavement. The Blizzaks are great on ice the first year, but I found the handling (on our '98.5 A4 2.8Q) to be terrible on dry pavement. Plus the soft compound on the Blizzaks wears very quickly, and after about one season they're not much better than all season tires. However, these observations on the Blizzak are based on the Blizzak's of 3 years ago - I understand the new "H" rated model is much improved (although I'm not sure that the new model wears any better than before). But as QQQQuattro says, the sale price on the Pirelli's cannot be beat, and I just couldn't pass it up.