Bill S.

I've ready everything in the archives, and I think I understand the basic tradeoffs: Pirellis will be better in the dry and maybe the wet, and the Michelins will be much better on ice and probably similar in snow. What I don't know is just how significant the differences are.

I am not a particularly fast or aggressive driver, mostly concerned with safety under all conditions, live in Boston and travel west and north. Where I go, the roads are plowed quite quickly, so most common conditions are dry, wet, light snow, packed snow, and sometimes ice.

How good are the Pirellis on ice? And just how bad are the Arctic Alpins on dry and wet roads? I'm trying to get a feel for how large the trade-offs are. I want to feel very secure in the worst conditions, but I certainly don't want to have long stopping distances and sloppy emergency handling in dry and wet, by far the most common conditions.

I know this has been beaten to death, but any specific comparisons of these tires would be greatly appreciated.

Bill S.

More info: 98.5 Avant Quattro, will get 15" on steel wheels

knh

I'm quite pleased with the Michelins in both the snow and dry. BTW, I live in Boston as well. I like the Michelins so much on my Audi (205/55/16), I got a set for my Subaru as well. I'm downsizing on the Sube to 195/65/15, so I'll see if that makes much of a difference.

I've never used the Pirellis, so I can't make that comparison, but again, the Michelin Artic Alpins are not a major compromise in the dry.

good luck. i'm sure you'll be happy either way.

John

Been driving around in both 75 degree dry weather and rain on AAs this last week - I was surprised how well they performed. I couldn't tell much of a difference between the AA 15s and my OEM Conti 16s, but like you I'm not an aggressive driver.

Another potential buyer.

I read good things about the Arctic Alpins from various magazines, but I am concerned about the tread wear on them as the new design doesn't really have much gaps within each tread and so by running them, will the somewhat arched shape smooth out fairly easily? Sorry for the non-technical lingo, don't know exactly how to describe it, but hope some of you understands my point.