Question for snow country owners

[myother45isalesbaer]

I have a 2004 M45. It came with factory sport tires. Using the sport tires I can get stuck in 2" of snow in my own driveway. So I bought a set of ice and snow tires. Every spring and fall I have to change the tires. I am getting tired of doing this and its costly. I need new tires anyway. Does anyone have a recommendation for an all weather all season tire? One that works reasonably well in the summer and winter?

Thanks for your help.

[The00Dustin]

I don't think there are too many RWD snow country owners. I am one, though. That said, I have never used snow tires to know if they are better (or how much) than the latest all seasons. I have used the Pilot Sport A/S Plus and only ever got stuck with them in two cases:
1) When my frontend slid sideways downhill into a ditch, I was able to back out of the ditch with the help of a bit of road sand, so that was impressive.
2) When I stopped and tried to back up while the bottom was rubbing the snow (I probably could have pulled forward into the garage if I hadn't tried to back into it which effectively left me body hung).

However, the tires were super loud. I am using Continental Extremecontact DWS tires right now, and I have seen a lot of good reviews (I think they even show better on TireRack), but we didn't get much snow last winter, so I can't really give a fair opinion on them. They are much quieter, and I already have more miles on them than the typical M owner gets on them.

I am leaning toward Goodyear ComforTreads for my next set (I don't need UHP tires). I don't know if they'll be any good, but the Goodyear TripleTreads were great on my Park Ave Ultra (FWD). I would definitely get those for my M. Unfortunately, they don't make them in my size. I am hoping the comfortreads use the same compounds, but don't know for sure that they do. I am also considering Big O Euro Tour tires, they were awful on the Park Ave Ultra (vibration, never had much traction experienc since I could'n t stand that), but I did notice that they have an M+S on them, and I need to research, but it seems I read once that M+S was good and required some sort of certification while other things (like a snowflake) to indicate tires are good for snow were just marketing and didn't mean much. I could be backwards on that, or it could be flat out wrong. I don't remember where I read it.

[myother45isalesbaer]

Thanks. I don't need high performance tires. I run my M at most 70-85MPH an sometimes hit 100+. I need a good all weather tire that can also handle snow and ice. I'd like a quiet, comfortable ride. I looked at TireRack and could not find a tire that suited what I wanted. Most of the reviews on TireRack had nothing good to say about any they offer. I am not going with real snows or studded tires. I don't live in that kind of snow country. I just need a nice ride with tires that do well in the snow.

I appreciate your input.

[antzrus]

I do lots of driving in the snow-but then I have an M35x as well. The Conti DWS is superb in wet and snow. It doesn't appear to be a really hi mileage tire tho. That's OK, it's quiet and handles very well (safety is the issue) in all season use-and a bit cheaper than some other tires.

Oh yeah, how are your Les Baers hanging..?

[chitownson]

Try Continental extreme contact DWS:

http://www.conti-online.com/generator/w ... ws_en.html

Best all weather tires with a great ride. Have them on my M45.

[myother45isalesbaer]

Took my car to my local shop today for an oil change. Since Continetal DWS where recommended by nearly everyone I had him buy and mount up 4 and throw away my sport and winter tires. Thanks to everyone for your help.

[myother45isalesbaer]

I do lots of driving in the snow-but then I have an M35x as well. The Conti DWS is superb in wet and snow. It doesn't appear to be a really hi mileage tire tho. That's OK, it's quiet and handles very well (safety is the issue) in all season use-and a bit cheaper than some other tires.

Oh yeah, how are your Les Baers hanging..?

LOL. Do you know what a Les Baer is?

[antzrus]

I do lots of driving in the snow-but then I have an M35x as well. The Conti DWS is superb in wet and snow. It doesn't appear to be a really hi mileage tire tho. That's OK, it's quiet and handles very well (safety is the issue) in all season use-and a bit cheaper than some other tires.

Oh yeah, how are your Les Baers hanging..?

LOL. Do you know what a Les Baer is?

You told me a while back. You don't remember? You said it was French for a lesbian. That you were dating a 45 y/o French lesbian...

[myother45isalesbaer]

Hey antzrus,

Be nice. This is a car site not a p0rn site. Les Baer makes one of the best .45 semi-autos on the market.

[antzrus]

Hey antzrus,

Be nice. This is a car site not a p0rn site. Les Baer makes one of the best .45 semi-autos on the market.

Hehehee, I know, I know. We've been here before and done that. I was just checking your memory.

[myother45isalesbaer]

LOL. Fair enough. Wish I had the money to get a Wilson. Too many other things going on. Wife is in the hospital. Professionals have checked my brain function and all have told me I am losing it. Still LOL!

[antzrus]

LOL. Fair enough. Wish I had the money to get a Wilson. Too many other things going on. Wife is in the hospital. Professionals have checked my brain function and all have told me I am losing it. Still LOL!

Old man Siggy Freud said that humor was the best defense against the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune. Try at least to hold onto that!

My best wishes for your wife. As we get old(er) we have spent more time w/our wives than anyone else in our lives. Mine it's been 38 years together-36 married. Having them get ill and hospitalized can get very scary. Hang in there buddy.