Learn me: "high performance" all-season tires

Here's the situation: I have 2 cars, a 2016 VW Golf R and a 2007 Honda S2000. The VW will need new summer/all-season tires soon and I'm considering picking up a set of high performance all-seasons to replace the OEM summer rubber (Bridgestone Potenza Pole Position S-04).

Currently, the VW is actually wearing dedicated winter tires, but the summer Bridgestone's have worn down very quickly- tread was at 4/32" at only ~10k miles (just before I mounted the winters). If they make it to ~13k miles, I'll be shocked.

By contrast, the S2000 will wear nothing but sticky summer/performance tires.

Things that are somehow relevant:

-My VW is my daily driver, and 99% of it's miles are just commuting back and forth. While the extra response and grip from a dedicated summer tire are nice, I can't justify such short tire life when the extra performance is rarely ever used. With that said, I would like to at least try to keep decent steering response if possible.

-I would like to try to get more miles out of my upcoming 3-season tires. I think 30k-40k+ miles is reasonable.

-I will continue to use dedicated winter wheels/tires for winter, as I prefer the extra stopping/cornering traction when the snow starts falling. As such, winter performance really isn't a concern for my 3-season tire.

-The S2000 is much more fun to drive and will retain dedicated summer performance tires. For track days, I'll take the S2000. AutoX? S2000. Canyon carving? S2000. Point being, pretty much all of my performance oriented driving will be done in the S2000. That led me to ask the question: if 99% of my performance driving will be done in the S2000, why would I want to spend extra money paying for quick wearing summer tires on my daily? Hence this thread.

-My primary motivation for this is really just trading a bit of performance, for a bit of extra treadlife. My wallet could surely use the break from buying tires so frequently.

If you guys know of summer tires that are commonly known to stick around for over 30k-40k miles, I'm all ears; but it seems to me like a set of UHP all-seasons are more likely to fit that bill.

Tire recommendations? Experiences? Random "no-season" rubber comments?

Thanks in advance!

-Brandon

Continental Extremecontact DWS 06 is probably the droid you are looking for.

In reply to roninsoldier83:

Continental Extreme Contact DWS for all season

or

Dunlop Direzza DZ102 for summer tires could maybe go to 30K if you don't get all drifty with them.

I am totally loving the BFG Comp-2 A/S I put on SWMBO's Focus (with mild suspension tuning) Really very good 3-season giggles with sharp turn-in response, easy to modulate on the rare occasion that I take a corner/on ramp really hard, and just excellent cold weather dry and wet grip. They are, in fact, the most sporty-feeling and best gripping "performance" all-seasons I have ever used. I like them better than the Conti DWS06 my SIL has on his V6 Accord.

drdisque wrote: Continental Extremecontact DWS 06 is probably the droid you are looking for.

The Pzero AS+ school them though. http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/testDisplay.jsp?ttid=216

After sifting through lots of reviews on Tirerack, it seems like people have a lot of good things to say about the Continental Extreme Contact DWS 06 tires. They've definitely made my short list.

I had a set of Dunlop DZ102's on my old WRX. They seemed like a decent tire at the time, I don't remember having any complaints... but with my driving style, I'm not sure I could get 30k miles out of them.

The Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3+ tires also look fairly appealing. Anyone have any experience with them?

red_stapler wrote:

drdisque wrote: Continental Extremecontact DWS 06 is probably the droid you are looking for.

The Pzero AS+ school them though. http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/testDisplay.jsp?ttid=216

Thanks for the link!

Since I'll still be running dedicated winter tires, I'm thinking the Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3+ tires might be the ticket I'm looking for.

The link says the Michelin's are the closest thing to a performance tire, with the best steering response and most outright grip. Looks like it's closer to a summer tire, but with a 6-year 45k mile warranty (500 AA A treadwear rating). They complained about the ride being borderline harsh, but I can't imagine it's any stiffer than the OEM summer rubber the car came with; and I had no problem with the ride on the S-04's.

Thus far, the Michelin's seem pretty appealing for what I'm looking for. Although with them being so new, longevity is tough to gauge, but I've always had good luck with Michelin's in the past.

Now that I think of it, I suppose I'm kind of a Michelin fan boy, as both of my cars are currently running Michelin's- the S2000 is on Pilot Super Sports and the Golf R is on X-Ice Xi3's.

I've gotta +1 for the BFG Comp 2. I have some, and they seem pretty good.

I had the Michelins on my TDI. Corded in 40k miles, but that may have been due to an unknown bushing issue. Loved them though! All 4 wore evenly with regular 5kish rotations.

I hate to be "that guy" but I think that you may have to adjust your driving style to get anywhere near the thirty or forty thousand miles you want no matter what tire you put on.

dean1484 wrote: I hate to be "that guy" but I think that you may have to adjust your driving style to get anywhere near the thirty or forty thousand miles you want no matter what tire you put on.

Agreed. I'm lucky to get 30K miles out of a set of tires on my TDI, even rotating them religiously. I seem to get about 40K out of the tires on my Grand Caravan (generally buy whatever TireRack has on sale). But I have this habit of not braking much for corners, so...

Another vote for the Conti DWS.

roninsoldier83 wrote: After sifting through lots of reviews on Tirerack, it seems like people have a lot of good things to say about the Continental Extreme Contact DWS 06 tires. They've definitely made my short list. I had a set of Dunlop DZ102's on my old WRX. They seemed like a decent tire at the time, I don't remember having any complaints... but with my driving style, I'm not sure I could get 30k miles out of them. The Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3+ tires also look fairly appealing. Anyone have any experience with them?

Good short list! I subconsciously tend to ignore tire models that either don't come in the sizes I need or fall under the "rich guy tire" category (Michelin). Hence my experience with the DWS 06 and the BFG Comp-2 A/S.

I love the DWS and plan to put them on anything that doesn't have dedicated winter tires. But if you are truly going 3-seasons with them, I'd suggest stepping up to the DW. More fun in the summer, and the ones I have on my E46 have held up remarkably well being driven daily for 9-10 months per year, even with several dozen autocross passes on them. I've probably got 30,000 miles on them, and they are far from dead. They're great in the rain, too.

Duke wrote: I love the DWS and plan to put them on anything that doesn't have dedicated winter tires. But if you are truly going 3-seasons with them, I'd suggest stepping up to the DW. More fun in the summer, and the ones I have on my E46 have held up remarkably well being driven daily for 9-10 months per year, even with several dozen autocross passes on them. I've probably got 30,000 miles on them, and they are far from dead. They're great in the rain, too.

And with that thought, let's not forget that it appears that the DeeDub is about to be superseded by the new ExtemeContact Sport!!! Same 340 TW but suposedly has even sharper steering, better predictability, and even more dry and wet stick. And it comes in three sizes I can use!

WildScotsRacing wrote: And with that thought, let's not forget that it appears that the DeeDub is about to be superseded by the new ExtemeContact Sport!!! Same 340 TW but suposedly has even sharper steering, better predictability, and even more dry and wet stick. And it comes in three sizes I can use!

Where are you finding the sizes for this tire?

2 sets of B stone RE960AS on neon #2. UHP AS 400AA A. Good for 2 "summers", so about 20k. Directional tread was great in the rain, but front/rear rotation only FWIW. More grip than I could use on the street. They held up well enough to an autoX. I liked them aside from the 2 year life span. They have been replaced in the lineup with the 970.

Cooper RE3-A on the civic. 500 AA A. Lasted just over 1 season, in part to lack of rotation and aggressive rear camber. Again, more grip than I could legally use on the street, although no autoX time on them. Once more, good aside from lifespan, although 8th civics are known for chewing through rear tires. I would try them again on something without tire wear issues.

In reply to ProDarwin:

ExtremeContact Sport

Scroll to the bottom.

I have used both the Conti DWS (pre-06) and more recently the BFG Comp 2 A/S. Either would be a great choice for what you are looking for.

I loved the dws06's I had on my Jetta.... if I had kept it I would have bought another set.

I'm not really a fan of Continentals. Most of them just haven't felt good. When I was shopping for E46 M3s years ago, I had a handful that I really liked to drive and some nearly identical cars that I hated driving. I couldn't figure out why an '02 silver SMG coupe on 18s rode so differently from an '02 silver SMG coupe on 18s. Then I figured out that the cars I liked were on Michelins and the ones I disliked were on Continentals. Same deal when I was looking at Boxsters. I stayed away from Continentals for a long time.

When I bought my current 911, it came with DWSs and I kinda like them. It's a C4, and with these tires, it's been a frigging tank in the snow and it handled a cross-country winter trip with no drama. The tires are kinda loud and they're not super sticky in the warm and dry. The sidewalls feel soft. No way I'm taking these things to the track, but for a driver, they've been pretty fantastic.

I don't know about getting 30k out of a set of tires. I rarely get 30k out of a whole car before I'm bored and move on to something else.

I have Pilot A/S3's on my '11 GTI now ... loving them, especially in comparison to the OEM Pirelli's with respect to turn-in and noise. 15k miles on them now, I'd say they have another 15k+ left before they need to be replaced. I do '3 season' them, switching to Blizzak's to deal with Cincinnati winter weather, since this is my DD all year round. For comparison, we had DWS's on our '09 Accord and turn in was not as crisp on those as it is on the A/S3's. Sure, the car they are on is not a GTI, but I still think the comparison would hold between the two tires on the same car (if that makes sense). Benefits of the DWS's that I saw were lower cost, and better tread life - but I don't think the Accord got driven nearly as aggressively by my wife (that was her car) as I run the GTI. All in all ... if I were replacing the A/S3's today, I'd get another set.

I have Cooper RS-3 A/S on the Passat right now. I really can't ask for much more out of a street tire (and AWD means I don't bother with true "winter" tires) They are wearing evenly, stay nice and quiet, grip well enough that I can get in ALL the legal troubles before the tires would ever give up.

I think Cooper is a highly underrated brand.

I have the Toyo Versado Noir's on my Focus. They are quiet and good in the wet and dry. Much better than the Cooper's that were on the car. These are not sold at TireRack so you have to go to other sources like Tread Depot.

dean1484 wrote: I hate to be "that guy" but I think that you may have to adjust your driving style to get anywhere near the thirty or forty thousand miles you want no matter what tire you put on.

You may be onto something there.

WildScotsRacing wrote:

roninsoldier83 wrote: After sifting through lots of reviews on Tirerack, it seems like people have a lot of good things to say about the Continental Extreme Contact DWS 06 tires. They've definitely made my short list. I had a set of Dunlop DZ102's on my old WRX. They seemed like a decent tire at the time, I don't remember having any complaints... but with my driving style, I'm not sure I could get 30k miles out of them. The Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3+ tires also look fairly appealing. Anyone have any experience with them?

Good short list! I subconsciously tend to ignore tire models that either don't come in the sizes I need or fall under the "rich guy tire" category (Michelin). Hence my experience with the DWS 06 and the BFG Comp-2 A/S.

For the record, the "rich guy" Michelin's and the Continental's are actually pretty comparable in price. For my Golf R (225/40r18) Tire Rack has the Michelin's at $143.96/per tire vs $141.45 for the Continentals.

With that said, the BFG's are considerably cheaper than both of them- $114.40. Although the BFG's have a much lower treadwear rating (400 vs 560 vs 500) and based on reviews over on Tire Rack, they don't look like they last as long as the Michelins or Continentals; which kind of negates a bit of the lower price point in my book.