Comparing high performance all seasons with comfort oriented summers

[Triumph]

I've reached the ripe old age of 37, and have decided to place a higher priority on comfort versus sporty. I figure that buying more comfort oriented tires for my GTI would be a lot cheaper and quicker than buying a new car. And while the GTI is certainly a platform that benefits from a nice set of Pilot Super Sports (which I have now) or Continental DW summers (which I had in the past), I'm at the point where I'm willing to trade performance for comfort and quietness.

So what are my options for Quietest summers, or Highest performing all seasons. Would something like a Michelin Pilot Sport A/S be quieter than say, a Bridgestone Turanza?

Or a direct comparison - are Continental DWS all-seasons quieter than their summer DW counterparts?

I'm not worried about winter considerations.

Thoughts?

 

[Dr. Detroit]

Hit up TireRack and look at their tire test reviews.

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/testDisplay.jsp?ttid=221

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/testDisplay.jsp?ttid=200

 

[Zivic]

Ive ran a few of those tires.. Im a week or so away from 38 yrs old and know where youre coming from. have a few fun cars now with experience with more than a few summer tires -> twin turbo 350z, 06 evo, AP1 S200

out of the ones you discussed I have ran PSS (on RWD Z), conti DW and DWS (both on my Evo). I like the PSS the best. I don't find the DW any more or less quiet/comfortable than the DWS. I think profile seems to matter most in comfort.

Id opt for the best tire in terms of grip and wear.....and IMHO the PSS is the best tire out of those.

other high'er performance tires I have used:
I have a set of bridgestone RE71R on my S2000. they are a bad@ss tire, but only under perfect conditions. a little sketchy in the rain. fine for a convertable, but I doubt I'd run them on a car that has more daily driven duties than a 65+ degree only car.

BFG T/A KDW - pretty noisy, found them to grip pretty decently though on my Z

Vredestein Ultrac Sessanta - were a great value at the time. pretty quiet tire, OK grip on my Z. have gone up in price about 15-20% since I bought them. price increase makes them not worth it

Khumo MX. Gripped well on a FWD application I had them on (300 whp mazdaspeed protege). probably the worst tire I have personally used for RWD on my Z. Absolutely turn to bricks under 60 degrees, and pretty darn sketchy in the rain. I think they have a newer version that has good reviews.


ALL THAT SAID, when I buy new tires for any of my cars I couldn't go wrong with the PSS. I like the DW and would buy them again if they are priced low enough in relation to the PSS. Id probably get the bridgestones again on my honda as they are relatively inexpensive and grip like crazy, damn near like drag radials. one thing I found locally, prices seem to be all over the place when I price tires over the yrs. I have one place I generally buy from and I am constantly surprised at what he comes back to me with for pricing (good and bad)

 

[ThatsABigOne]

I would suggest going with Pirelli Cinturato P7+. I am currently on Continental DW and after this set, I will be going back to Pirellis. Summer grip didn't improve with DW. They are quiet in the beginning, but start to get super loud as tread wears. Turn in response is better on Pirellis and they feel more stable at speed. More importantly, for similar driving, my DW are going to have to be replaced by 20k mile mark, while Pirellis lasted almost 50k miles. I am very tough on my tires.

 

[JulesMaximus]

You're never going to make a car like that comfortable or quiet just by changing tires.

 

[Triumph]

In Europe, tire noise is actually measured and published (there's a procedure), but trying to find the same data on US tires is difficult because not all models are sold in both markets, and who knows if the model is slightly different for each market anyway.

 

[WhoBeDaPlaya]

Will be swapping out my old, worn Pilot SuperSports for ExtremeContact DWS06s this Thursday,
though comparisons may not be fair since the PSSs are pretty badly worn (~3/32, I know, I know...)

 

[NutBucket]

3/32" is fine for dry use.

 

[Wuzup101]

I currently have PSSs on both my corvette and my evo and love um. I previously had DWSs on the Evo and they were a good all season tire. I don't recall them being any quieter than the PSSs... but then again my evo was running with a straight pipe from the turbo back to the exhaust tip and was noisy as all hell (I've since put a HFC and a quieter exhaust on lol).

You are probably reaching to think that any tire is going to make a huge difference. They can/do make a difference, but they won't make a GTI into a towncar.

 

[WhoBeDaPlaya]

3/32" is fine for dry use.

True enough, but the rears are actually at closer to 2/32 and they're kind of old at this point (~3.5 years).
Figured a fresh set of good all seasons would be nice if we get some inclement weather this winter
(yeah, it's north Texas, but it happens sometimes - drove all year on the PSSes last year, even in ~30F weather).

 

[iwajabitw]

Currently have the Goodyear Eagle F1 Supercar tires that came on the 2014 GT500. Noisy as hell unless its really hot outside. They are an extreme summer tire. They are probably great on the track which mine will never see. 700hp spins them in first and second, sometimes third if they are now warmed up. I cant recommend them for daily driving, nor do I in the rain, when down shifting, which happened once. Looking at the Firestone Firehawk Indy 500's as a possible change out come late spring. I don't drive it in the winter, but the Shelby club guys have suggested I use the Pilot A/S as a great performance tire for winter.

 

[monkeydelmagico]

Touring tires. It is a category unto itself. Check it out.

FWIW I find stock GTI's to be plush compared to most performance vehicles.

 

[BurnItDwn]

I stuck some Bridgestone Ecopia tires on my 08 Forester a couple years ago. They are "grand touring" "all season" tires.
They were a huge upgrade over the yokohamas that came stock.

Car isn't the most quiet or comfortable, but, the tires did a lot to improve things vs stock.
They arent winter tires, but, they are a lot better than OEM, and generally "good enough".for the mild chicago winters. (snow only 3-4 months of the year, usually less than 1 foot of fresh snow most days, and, flat land with very minimal hills)

 

[DaTT]

I currently run staggered Conti DWs for the summer and only find them extremely noisy on concrete highways, otherwise they are quieter than my exhaust.

Unfortunately, I get to see how they handle in snow tomorrow as I am away for work and we have 10cm of snow scheduled for tomorrow. I am not excited about this.

 

[BurnItDwn]

10cm of snow, that's like ... 4 inches. Practically nothin ....

I wish we had snow coming here!

 

[WhoBeDaPlaya]

Wouldn't Conti DWs (not DWSes) become problematic in sub-freezing temps?
I drove my SuperSports in ~30-40F weather (dry roads) fine, but wasn't very confidence inspiring.

 

[DaTT]

Wouldn't Conti DWs (not DWSes) become problematic in sub-freezing temps?
I drove my SuperSports in ~30-40F weather (dry roads) fine, but wasn't very confidence inspiring.

Yes, very problematic. The last time I drove in snow with summer tires (Goodyear Eagle F1 Supercar), they froze. It was like driving on hockey pucks.

The snow luckily isn't sticking to the roads, but I'll be driving slow anyways.

 

[Triumph]

Went with Pirelli P Zero All Season Plus (revised compound, it makes a difference), based on a Tirerack review between them and the Pilot Sport A/S and Conti DWS. They liked the Pirellis best and also said they were the quietest. I find them to be...ok. I actually really like the performance, but they are not as quiet as what I wanted. Probably true that they are quieter than the high performance alternatives, but maybe I should've gone with some grand tourings. Oh well, live and learn. I should just buy a new car.