Summer Tires on M35x: Work ok for snow?

[dougdude9]

Well, hopefully I won't get made fun of too much for this, but it has been awhile since I have had a car. I got rid of my QX4 and now have a '06 M35x. The dealer for some odd reason put Ventus summer tires on it. I'm curious how the car will do in the snow with these tires. I don't know if the awd with the snow button activated will be good enough or if I should really get all season tires put on it. There are two reasons why I don't want to get tires. One of course being cost. The other is because I really like the way the summer tires look... they are aggresive!

Anyway, I live in KC where the winters can be harsh, but we get more ice than snow sometimes.

If all seasons are recommended, can anyone suggest ones that wouldn't break the bank, but aren't completely bad on quality?

I really hope someone on here has summer tires on their m35x and has had experience in the snow.

Thanks,Doug

[maxnix]

Summer means above 40° F.

"All Season" is a marketing euphemism.

In winter, get true winter tires even on a different set of wheels.

Salt is death to a steel chassis.

[dougdude9]

Bummer! I tempted to see how it does with the first snow, but may be risking it. Thanks for the info!

If anyone else has anything comments or suggestions, please add them!

Thanks,Doug

[szh]

Bummer! I tempted to see how it does with the first snow, but may be risking it. Thanks for the info!

Summer tires get hard as billiard balls in freezing temperatures (even when not in snow) and are unsafe.

Definitely get a set of cheap wheels and snow tires!

Z

[maxnix]

OK, try reading the Tires sticky in Infiniti General. No winter tires there, but one is glad to survive the ice and snow until spring brings a return to real driving.

Winter is all about survival.

[jedgington]

As others have said, get some snow tires. I ran the stock "all-season" RS-A's last winter here in Iowa. We had a nasty winter. Going was fine. AWD took care of that. Stopping was poor. Turning was terrible. We have a roundabout on the way to work, and I had to creep around it. It is at the top of a hill, it was plowed but wind blew snow across it all the time. I can't imagine how summer tires would be. I just put on a set of Yoko W.Drive on 17-inch wheels from Discount Tire. I'm anxious to see how they do. I chose them over the Dunlop M3 Winter Sport (my second choice) because they're not unidirectional...I wanted to be able to X-rotate them for more even wear.

The other recommendation I have for you is to get the factory all-season rubber mats if you don't already have them. Not very expensive (I think they were ~$80 a set of 4), fit perfectly, save your carpet from salt.

I've got about 4/32 left on the RS-A's at 25k miles. I'll be looking for new tires next spring. A guy at work has Sumitomo HTR Z III's on his Audi S4 and loves them. Anybody tried these on an M?

[antzrus]

I've got ContiExtreme Contacts on all season and they are truly the best all seasons in the snow in my experience. They are also the cheapest all seasons around.

Why spend the extra time, effort and money changing tires when technology has trumped such anachronistic behavior; unless of course you live far up North (i.e. Fairbanks, AK)?

[F1SportsFan]

I've got ContiExtreme Contacts on all season and they are truly the best all seasons in the snow in my experience. They are also the cheapest all seasons around.

Why spend the extra time, effort and money changing tires when technology has trumped such anachronistic behavior; unless of course you live far up North (i.e. Fairbanks, AK)?

I had the ContiExtremeContacts on my last car (supercharged BMW M3) and it did great around town and on the freeway in the light snow / slush we get in Washington. Grip was fantastic!

I just go Yokohomo AVID W4s for my M45 based on good reviews, we'll see how they do this winter.

[MagicM]

I have the GoodYear RSA OEM on my 07 M35x, took it out last winter, well lets just say never going back out in snow/ice with those tires on. She stayed in the Garage all Winter long. i would HIGHLYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!! recomend getting a set of good winter tires .

[szh]

I have the GoodYear RSA OEM on my 07 M35x, took it out last winter, well lets just say never going back out in snow/ice with those tires on. She stayed in the Garage all Winter long. i would HIGHLYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!! recomend getting a set of good winter tires .

Good!

Remember that the "RSA" is supposed to be an "All-Season" tire. And, yet, it has its serious limitations in snow and ice (not to mention its poor performance in summer too)!

With any high-power, rear-wheel drive (or even all-wheel drive) car, I strongly recommend using true snow tires. Put them on a set of cheap wheels to avoid the "twice-a-year" change and cost problem - those always occur at the wrong moment in time (snows when you are still at home on summer tires! )

BTW, snow tires tend to wear rapidly, so you do not want to use them all year round - they are not designed for dry conditions too much.

Z