I had cheapo no name all seasons on my old OBS and that thing was just great in the snow.

Now that I got an 04 2.5TS I slide around way too much. Ok ok, some of it is me having fun, but for the most part the car slides when I don't mean it to quite a bit.

Anyone else think that the stock bridgestones suck in the snow?

What is a GOOD replacement all season tire?

 

So far I have been happy with the Continental Conti Extreme Contacts I put on last November.

 

i replaced my re-92s with dunlop sport a2s for all seasons and they are a ton better

another really popular tire right now is the falken 512, heard a lot of good things about it

 

I think the Falken 512 is on a national backorder. Tried to get some from American Tires this week, they couldn't get any in a reasonable amount of time.

Yeah, stock tires truely sucks in snow.

 

Thanks guys. I was seriously doubting the AWD capabilities of my new car. Granted I only have an open differential in the back unlike a wrx but still, it was bad.

Looks like I'll just drop a couple hundred on new ones.

 

I have an 04 TS with the stock tires in the snow.

They pretty much suck real bad. Though, I still have to use them because I'm too poor to afford 4 brand new snowtires.

I guess they arn't any worse than any other all season I've used on fwd cars.
The awd does make up a lot for the poor performance of this tire in the snow. But, it's definatly not something I would want to run by choice.

 

Ok to continue the tire complaints.

Today I was on the highway. The roads were a bit wet and slushy. Stupidly I went to pass someone, not fast, or suddenly. Just nice and slow.

My car lost traction completely, I felt the back end going to the side so I turned the wheel in that direction to help keep control in the slide. I started sliding sideways down the highway. Ok so far, I still had control.

Then the tires hydroplaned even more in the slush and I started going the other way. At this point my car wasn't slowing down in the least and finally I hit a dry spot.

That was the end, my car abruptly turned and ran straight into a snow bank. Luckly there was no guard rail and no cars were near me. The car was buried in back to the front wheels. I managed to rock the car a bit in reverse and pull myself right out.

No damage to my car either. Thankfully.

Bottom line. I feel if I had better tires (ie. anything but stock tires) I would NOT have hydroplaned nearly as bad as I did and probably would have maintained control enough to slow down. Why Subaru sells an AWD car and then screws it up with terrible touring tires I will never know.

 

I haven't had any close calls, but I hate the re-92 in the snow. I am going to stick it out for the rest of the year and then grab some new tires in the fall.

 

Kuth678: I think the stock tires on the WRX are CRIMINALLY BAD. I have 60% of the tread left on mine (only 17k miles on them) and today, I made a right turn through an intersection with about 1/2 an inch of water on the ground.

The result? A fishtailing drift right through the corner, exactly the sort of thing that having AWD is supposed to prevent! I've drifted many cars on purpose before and I know how to maintain control in this situation, but to have all four tires break loose with just a little water on the road really ruins my faith in these tires. I won't buy another pair of Bridgestones, I don't care what the S-03 zealots say. I just can't believe Bridgestone can screw up a tire design so badly and then magically hit the jackpot with a tire just $40 more and with a softer compound.

 

We just tested all-season tires in the snow last week. If you want a good performer in the summer and the best I've found in the snow it would be the Continental Extreme Contact. I was quite impressed with snow traction on this one.

 

Another point - don't hold a single bad tire against a brand name. Bridgestone makes some amazing tires, and they also have some lowsy ones. Same with Michelin, Yokohama, etc. In this, the age of the internet, the key is to do your research and sort the jewels from the junk. I'm not loyal to any brand, I just happen to know the good ones because of the ability to test them all out. I use Michelins in the summer and Dunlops in the winter. My wife's car has Bridgestones in the summer and Michelins in the winter. No real rhyme or reason, just getting the right tires for the right applications.

 

thanks for the advice all, this is a great thread

 

I agree. Good advice. I will definately look into those continental extreme contacts.

I looked at the pictures at tire rack and the tread looks really good.

Any idea on the price?