MTG 604

Sorry for the long message, but I need to purchase new tires and I am not sure what to get. I live in Chicago and I have a 2001 180 TT Coupe Q that came with P6000's on them, which I do not like very much. I may drive my car in the winter, but not too much. Would the Michelin Pilot Sport A/S be a good year round tire, or do I really need to purchase a good snow tire?

RobbyTT

I'm in chicago too and if you want your car to safely be used in cold weather you need a snow tire. Not only is it better in poor road conditions, the rubber compound on summer tires isn't in its operating temperature and won't work at all! Some people have had good luck with an all season but you can tell I'm against it. Plus, our car is SO much fun in the winter with the proper boot

seaTTym

The OEM tires are good when the ambient temperture is above 60 degrees. when it drops below that the rubber compounds on these types of tires harden, thus you will lose some grip even on good surfaces.

All seasons or winter tires are more tolerant of low temperatures and maintain their "stickiness" in the cold conditions, as well as of course provide better traction in snowy/wintery conditions.

It sounds like you wont be driving the TT very much during the winter and probably not at all when foul weather hits your neck of the woods, which I imagine is a often in Chicago. So unless you want the TT to be a garage queen for the winter months, I suggest getting a 2nd set of wheels with winter rubber.

BTW I have a set for sale ;-) let me know if you want to see pics or want more detail.

AkRascal

They, of course, are not as good at speed, but then most of us don't really need a speed tire. They will not perform as well on ice and snow as a dedicated snow tire, but will do for limited snow use. Mrs. Rascal drove on all-seasons, on her many Saabs, for years w/o any significant problems. IMHO the Michelins are a good compromise tire.

MTG 604

The tires that I am looking at are the Michelin Pilot Sport A/S. Has anyone heard good or bad about them?

JazziTT

until the Dragon had it's way with them.

Don

I had Pilot Sport A/S tires mounted. I haven't driven them enough to scuff them in and know exactly how they're going to perform. I can tell you that they are quiet and steering is quick and responsive.

The reason I chose them is because they seem like a good trade off. Wear rating is 400 vs 220 for the standard performance tires. They are Z rated. The shoulders of the tires have the same dry compound as the standard tires.

Incidently, I got them at Costco for less than Tirerack sells them. Total cost for the four was $912 out the door. That includes repairs, rotation, and rebalancing every 7500 miles. Did a great job mounting and torqued the wheel lugs by hand.

Oh, and they have a premium going on right now. Other Michelin dealers are giving away Motorola Talkabout 2-way radios. But through Costco, they're giving a "3-in-1 Power Station" that is a combination 400 amp starter, a 260 psi compressor for inflating tires, and a 12v socket "for up to 50 hours of portable power for your cellular phone, CD player, power tools, computer, and more." They value it at $60 but I've seen the same unit in some of the mail order catalogs for $170 w/o the compressor.

BillK

They're an all-weather tire, work well in snow and I noticed no difference in traction on dry or wet roads.

I'm sure if you took your car to a track you'd notice a difference between the stock tires and the all-weathers, but I say two thumbs up for the P7000 SuperSports (which also have around 15K miles on them at this point and really don't seem to have all that much visible wear...)

MTG 604

The Pilot Sport A/S is the front runner at this point, just a bit expensive. Have you heard anything about the Dunlop Sport 9000 or the Nitto NT 450 Extreme. The NT 450 is rated all season, but they are very inexpensive. I wonder if you get what you pay for?

MTG 604

I looked at the P7000's, but I have had such a bad experience with the P6000's (dry, rain, snow) that I am not sure if I want to try another set of Pirelli's. I will give them another look.