Change History

So, put some All Seasons on the 16s this morning in anticipation of more snow and found the difference in handling marked, which led me to write this post.

I have used three different tire/wheel combinations in the past year in various configurations.

1) 205/50/R16 Front and 225/50/R16 Rear (on 16x6 front and 16x7 rear rims) Toyo Proxes RA1s - I used these primarily for track and AutoX, although they did get some street and wet use. Great AutoX and Track tires that definitely provide a lot of adhesion on skinny tires. Definitely slippery in the rain, but not as bad as you would expect.

2) 225/40/R18 Front and 255/40/R18 Rear (on 18x8 front and 18x10 rear rims) Michelin PS2. These are my summer street tires, even though I have also used them for AutoX and track, and have driven them in the rain and snow. Interestingly, they provide pretty good Track/AutoX performance - and are almost as sticky as the RA1s, but just miss that extra edge. I suspect that given the larger contact patch on the 18s, the PS2s are picking up traction due to surface area which compensates for the compound. I am thinking about mounting RA1s on my 18s for next season. They are very good in the rain. I have driven them in the snow, but DO NOT recommend it.

3) I bought a set of Continental all seasons (205/50/R16 Front and 225/50/R16 Rear (on 16x6 front and 16x7 rear rims)) today after almost spinning the car on the PS2s last week. These tires came highly recommended by a reputable source as being a good all season compromise between performance and dealing with the white stuff. I didn't go with pure snows since a I wanted a tire I could use year round and it doesn't snow that much in DC. When I got the car back on the street, I was stunned at the performance differential with the PS2. Not that the car was bad but when I pushed it through a few corners I could definitely feel it sliding and being a little twitchy, which I almost never got with the PS2 or the RA1. And I am not denigrating the tire - the shop I bought them from race Porsches in their own right and have never steered me wrong, so I am sure these tires (which are nice and quiet, BTW) will be great in the wet and snow and are just fine for street driving. But I was still surprised at the difference in adhesion in just moving from a summer tire to an all season (I haven't used an all-season tire in about two years).

Thought it was an interesting observation on tires and how there is no real "all around" tire and how we have to make compromises based on what/how/where/when we are driving.

So, put some aAll sSeasons on the 16s this morning in anticipation of more snow and found the difference in handling marked, which lead led me to write this post.

I have used three different tire/wheel combinations in the past year in various configurations.

1) 205/50/R16 Front and 225/50/R16 Rear (on 16x6 front and 16x7 rear rims) Toyo Proxes RA1s - I used these primarily for track and AutoX, although they did get some street and wet use. Great AutoX and Track tires that definitely provide a lot of adhesion on skinny tires. Definitely slippery in the rain, but not as bad as you would expect.

2) 225/40/R18 Front and 255/40/R18 Rear (on 18x8 front and 18x10 rear rims) Michelin PS2. These are my summer street tires, even though I have also used them for AutoX and track, and have driven them in the rain and snow. Interestingly, they provide pretty good Track/AutoX performance - and are almost as sticky as the RA1s, but just miss that extra edge. I suspect that given the larger contact patch on the 18s, the PS2s are picking up traction due to surface area which compensates for the compound. I am thinking about mounting RA1s on my 18s for next season. They are very good in the rain. I have driven them in the snow, but DO NOT recommend it.

3) I bought a set of Continental all seasons (205/50/R16 Front and 225/50/R16 Rear (on 16x6 front and 16x7 rear rims)) today after almost spinning the car on the PS2s last week. These tires came highly recommended by a reputable source as being a good all season compromise between performance and dealing with the white stuff. I didn't go with pure snows since a wanted a tire I could use year round and it doesn't snow that much in DC. When I got the car back on the street, I was stunned at the performance differential with the PS2. Not that the car was bad but when I pushed it through a few corners I could definitely feel it sliding and being a little twitchy, which I almost never got with the PS2 or the RA1. And I am not denigrating the tire - the shop I bought them from race Porsches in their own right and have never steered me wrong, so I am sure these tires (which are nice and quiet, BTW) will be great in the wet and snow and are just fine for street driving. But I was still surprised at the difference in adhesion in just moving from a summer tire to an all season (I haven't used an all-season tire in about two years).

Thought it was an interesting observation on tires and how there is no real "all around" tire and how we have to make compromises based on what/how/where/when we are driving.

So, put some all seasons on the 16s this morning in anticipation of more snow and found the difference in handling marked, which lead me to write this post.

I have used three different tire/wheel combinations in the past year in various configurations.

1) 205/50/R16 Front and 225/50/R16 Rear (on 16x6 front and 16x7 rear rims) Toyo Proxes RA1s - I used these primarily for track and AutoX, although they did get some street and wet use. Great AutoX and Track tires that definitely provide a lot of adhesion on skinny tires. Definitely slippery in the rain, but not as bad as you would expect.

2) 225/40/R18 Front and 255/40/R18 Rear (on 18x8 front and 18x10 rear rims) Michelin PS2. These are my summer street tires, even though I have also used them for AutoX and track, and have driven them in the rain and snow. Interestingly, they provide pretty good Track/AutoX performance - and are almost as sticky as the RA1s, but just miss that extra edge. I suspect that given the larger contact patch on the 18s, the PS2s are picking up traction due to surface area which compensates for the compound. I am thinking about mounting RA1s on my 18s for next season. They are very good in the rain. I have driven them in the snow, but DO NOT recommend it.

3) I bought a set of Continental all seasons (205/50/R16 Front and 225/50/R16 Rear (on 16x6 front and 16x7 rear rims)) today after almost spinning the car on the PS2s last week. These tires came highly recommended by a reputable source as being a good all season compromise between performance and dealing with the white stuff. I didn't go with pure snows since a wanted a tire I could use year round and it doesn't snow that much in DC. When I got the car back on the street, I was stunned at the performance differential with the PS2. Not that the car was bad but when I pushed it through a few corners I could definitely feel it sliding and being a little twitchy, which I almost never got with the PS2 or the RA1. And I am not denigrating the tire - the shop I bought them from race Porsches in their own right and have never steered me wrong, so I am sure these tires (which are nice and quiet, BTW) will be great in the wet and snow and are just fine for street driving. But I was still surprised at the difference in adhesion in just moving from a summer tire to an all season (I haven't used an all-season tire in about two years).

Thought it was an interesting observation on tires and how there is no real "all around" tire and how we have to make compromises based on what/how/where/when we are driving.