All Season Tires Recommendations
 

I am looking to get some recommendations on all season tires for the Z. I have the Continental Extreme Contact DWS currently. Although a decent tire traction wise, tread wear has much to be desired. I have been toying with the idea of General GMAX and Cooper Zeon RS3‑A. Michelins are a bit too pricey. Any help or experiences with any all season tires I would love to hear from you. Thanks in advance!

I think you are mistaken if you think either of those are going to outperform the DWS. If you absolutely have to have all seasons, you can't do much better (and you can do A LOT worse). I don't recommend trading better tread wear for crappier performance :twocents:

Conti is a good performing tire: if you want good grip you will give up longevity.

I run in the non warm season 18" Dunlop SP Sports that have been replaced by newer models on the Z. Mich AS3 while being expensive often has very good wear patters so cost per mile can be good over the life of the tire. I replaced Conti's on my WRX with the AS3's once they came out, great tire and a tad better then the Conti's on that car.

- b

I just got the AS/3s a month ago. Great tires. $1135 with road hazard, taxes. etc. out the door from a local tire company. Same basic price as COSTCO.

The Contis were my second choice after reading Tire Rack reviews... which led me to the Michelins.

JARblue - I didn't know if they will outperform them or not. Just asking/looking for options.
BTW - I had the DWS on my G35 Coupe before I traded it in on the Z. They are great in the snow and I really like the tire - just not the treadwear. They have a 50K mileage warranty (25K for the staggered rears) and I will probably get about 12K out of the rears and 25K out of the fronts. And no, I do not race, drift, or track the car. It is a dd and I drive mostly conservatively, except for the occasional stoplight challenge and carbon blowing out session. I agree on the AS/3 - probably a good choice, but a bit more than I want to spend at the moment. Thanks for the input everyone.
Anyone have any experience with the Coopers or Generals? I have had people with other vehicles say the Generals are decent, but I would prefer someone with a Z to share their feelings on them before I jump on the GMax bandwagon.

Will,

I'm not exactly helping much in you picking between the Coopers and the Generals, but I had the DWS on my Si before I got the my 370 and they were really good. I DD my 370 so I needed something for the winter and the rears for the AS/3s were out of stock in my size everywhere I looked so I ended up ordering a set of the Yokohama Advan Sport A/S for around $700 w/ road hazard from tire rack (figured I'd try something different and the price was great). After about 4k miles, they're really pretty good. The dry grip is not far off from stock, which makes it pretty good for AS tires and the wear has pretty even so far.

Then I will reiterate. I would not sacrifice performance for tread wear. And I would not put either of the tires you suggested on my Z :twocents:

I'm sure those tires will work just fine - they're round and made of rubber. But I just don't like the idea of going cheap on the only part of the car that touches the ground. The point at which I can't afford to put quality performance tires on the Z is the point at which I sell it.

25K/12K is fairly normal for a tire providing any sort of performance on a powerful RWD car with a staggered fitment that doesn't allow rotation.

I understand you're just looking for other options but please understand the performance impact you'll make using harder, longer-wearing tires.

I think my Michelin SuperSports are pretty darn awesome.

ivtec07 - I had also considered the Yokohamas as well. Any snow experience?

I figured since the DWS's were warranted for 50K miles, they would be harder, longer lasting tires, sacrificing performance and traction for mileage and snow usage. I expect a sacrifice in handling/traction going from a summer tire (OEM Bridgestone's) to ANY all season tire. I did notice a slight drop in performance, but nothing too concerning. But, I did like the fact that I was able to drive in light snow with little trouble. However, I did expect better mileage out of them. So, really I'm looking for a decent all season tire that will get me home in the snow if I get caught out in it, decent handling/traction, and fairly decent mileage.
schellingr - I believe those are summer tires. Really looking for all seasons.

Thanks for the input folks! Keep it coming!

I had the continentals DWS and their best feature IMO is the 540AA tread wear. Keep in mind I was not doing anything crazy with it as far as SCCA or any other track event. But for daily commute they are superb and they ride a bit quieter than factory.
Although I have to say, the sidewalls are softer than most tires so the car will handle (slower reaction to steering inputs) a bit slower than before.
If you want longevity then the DWS is the way to go if you want responsiveness then Michelin should do the trick.

Yea and they have a 45k tread wear warranty with them too.

Because they're staggered and cannot be rotated, they cut the mileage warranty in half from what I was told.

The more I drive on the Michelins, the more convinced I am that I made the right choice for performance, noise (or lack thereof) and Michelin's reputation for quality, as I've never owned a car with Michelins before now.

You are correct sir. There is no way to go wrong with Michelin tires or Pirellis. The Continentals with a 540 tread wear can not be beat if doing mostly highway driving.
And I never knew that asymmetrical/unidirectional/staggered tires lose half of their mileage warranty since they can not be rotated. Good info and I'll look into it.

Thanks for the feedback guys.
Yes - almost all manufacturers of high performance tires with any form of mileage warranty cuts the mileage warranty in half for the rear tires for staggered fitments. I guess they figure we'll be burning them down.