thats my question...is it wise to run "ultra high performance" summer tires(aggressive directional tread) during the winter months in the Bay Area?

Like the Sumitomo HTRZ II or Toyo T1 S or the Falkens?

I don't plan to go to tahoe with it, thats the job of another car.

 

Yeah, that's np at all. As long as it doesn't see snow, the tires will be fine.

 

I'm sure you'll be ok as long as you drive at moderate speeds that do not over stress your tires' ability to grip in the wet

 

I run Falken Azenis on mine. They are ok on wet roads, but they aquaplane very easily on standing water.

I usually change out to my Pirelli 4-Seasons during December-March. I also go to Tahoe a lot though and it make life easier to just swap at the beginning and end of the 'winter' season.

A secondary issue for me is that my GF now also uses the car and I wouldn't want her to get caught in heavy rain with the Azenis.

 

I've run the Sumitomos through a winter or two and even took them up to Tahoe through a snow storm because I hadn't received my snow tires yet. They're very sketchy in the snow (just ask that snow bank I hit), but fine in the rain, as long as you have plenty of tread.

 

i have also ran the Sumitomos through winter ( twice ) and hae not had any problems, even in heay rain.... i havent hit snow with them yet, and truthfully i dont plan on it

 

Like others have mentioned, you're fine as long as they have decent rain tread, I'd avoid baldys like the PS-2 Michelins, although original Pilot Sports are the bomb in the rain

 

pilot sports are good in the rain. so are bridgestone s03, goodyear gsd3, falken fk-451, falken azenis st-115... any summer tire that looks like it was inspired by an F1 rain tire will work fine in the rain.

 

BFGoodrich G-Force T/A KDW2, or Bridgestone Potenza S-03 are both excellent in the dry and rain

 

I never have problems in the rain with my Eagle F1's, even when it's heavy rain and lots of standing water.

 

i ran the stock RE-070s for the past 2 winters...

running on 31k and i dont think they will last, especially of the forecasted EL NINO is true...

 

speaking of... I need to get some new tires as mine are almost bald.

 

I believe a lot of performance tires are rated higher in the rain than all seasons tires. I'm loving the S03's I got on clearance at the Tire Rack.

 

im running some BFG G-Force Sports

 

As long as you are carefull you will be ok.

I hydroplaned at ~80mph on a freeway onramp with some yoko es100's.....scary!!

Good luck