****! Blew a tire. Need tire recommendations!

So yeah, on the way home last night I was going 65 then Blalblalbaklbjsaklbjalbjlakjbklasdjflk;jasdfkl;JDK L:FJAKLJSDKLFJAKLSJDKLAJSd the car starts thumping. Rolled at about 20mph to the next exit...stopped in a parking lot, changed the tire. There's a gash about 4" long on the sidewall of my tire, it almost looks like it was knifed. Who knows. Anyway, my tires are almost all gone anyway, so what do you guys recommend? I need all season tires, but I'd like them to be quiet, nice riding, sticky, and if possibly cool looking.

Let me know!

- Ca$h

I'm running Dunlop SP Sport A2's on the stock wheels for the winter. Great all-around tire. Quiet, good cornering, EXCELLENT in the snow and rain... I highly recommend them.

Mike

[mattski]

By cool looking you mean something like hugely wide white walls?

I think Yokohama AVS dB are highly recommended but they are allegedly poor in snow. I guess you have to decide how much snow you are likely to encounter and what "poor" will mean in those conditions. If you live in a very hilly area, get frequent dumps, and are likely to drive through unplowed roads, then these may not do. If however the area is flat and you get a few inches here and there, and the roads are usually well plowed, then "poor" may be adequate with the AWD.

Matt

[Mr. Pockets]

Originally posted by Green1995SVX
I'm running Dunlop SP Sport A2's on the stock wheels for the winter. Great all-around tire. Quiet, good cornering, EXCELLENT in the snow and rain... I highly recommend them.

Mike

I think these replaced my Dunlop D60 A2 tires, which I've been very happy with in any conditions. I'm on my second set.

[Paisan]

Well I had the D60 A2s on my XT6, good all around tire. Overall though I'd go for:

Dunlop SP5000s for All-season, you just can't beat these for all weather tires.
AVS Intermediates for summer tire. Great grip, excellent tires and $60 @ tirerack right now.

-mike

[Shadow248]

First of all, any car with 225/50s is not going to be very good in the snow...so i wonder if those ratings are relative to the car, or just generic?

Anyway...the Yoko AVS db are probably the best tire all around, though i have never experienced them in snow. As for money savers, i recommend the Kumho Ecsta Supra 712. You can get these on Tire Rack for about $70 a piece. Considering their price, they are remarkable tires. Mandi's SVX had Dunlop SP 5000s and they were horribly loud, so when they got old we put on the Kumho's...they are quieter, handle better, seem about the same in the snow, and cost like $20 less a piece than the Dunlops.

[nubs]

Originally posted by $VX
There's a gash about 4" long on the sidewall of my tire, it almost looks like it was knifed.

- Ca$h

Can't imagine something like that happening

I just put the AVS DB's on mine this summer and I am very pleased.I probably will not be driving in the snow,so I am not really worried about winter performance.

[Mr. Pockets]

Originally posted by Shadow248
First of all, any car with 225/50s is not going to be very good in the snow...so i wonder if those ratings are relative to the car, or just generic?

I disagree. I found the SVX to be very sure-footed in the snow. How much was due to the car and how much to the tires? I have no idea. I just know that I was driving in snow deeper than the SVX had clearance. Granted, I hung the car up once. But other than that I've never had the SVX stuck.

As for general performance in the snow, I've always thought that the SVX had the power to get me in trouble and the ability to get me back out.

'Oh for crying out...look what you've gone and done. Okay, let me save your butt again...'

Understand that, in accordance with my rants about the average driver not understanding driving physics, I'm not just saying I felt confident in the car in snow. I was genuinely impressed with the SVX in any type of slippery condition and overall I have experienced much more control than in my old 4WD Toyota pickup. Granted, that truck had more ground clearance and narrower tires. But the SVX's variable AWD, ABS, low center of gravity and limited slip diff have proven to be a fantastic combination.

I've got about 2000 miles on my AVS dbs (had them mounted in march) and love them. Haven't drive them in snow, but they're great in slush and rain.

Since you're in madison, maybe you want to think about different tires, but I dunno. I only drive about 200 miles a month so I'm not too worried about the winter. You could always pick up a spare set of rims and some Blizzaks and be even happier.

If you're not going to have to drive during snow storms / before roads are cleared, I say get the AVS db's. The only downside is that they're so bleeding quiet that you start hearing all the other stuff that's wrong with your car

[Paisan]

Have to disagree on the Kumho 712s. I know of several cases (about 6) that these tires just went to crap after about 2000 miles. Several had bubbles in the sidewalls, and others just lost grip.

-mike

[Uncamitzi]

It wasn't your engine!!! I'm still so sad I can't stand it!!!!!

[Aredubjay]

I've got Goodyear RS-A's on one and Perelli P7000 Super Sports on the other. I won't have either of them again. The RS-A's are moderately noisy and much too expensive for the tire you're getting. The P7000 are EXTREMELY noisy. Both stick like stink in the rain, but, unfortunately, we don't get much snow here, and, when we DO get a DECENT amount of snow, my car's usually in the shop, or the AWD isn't working -- GRRRRR!

I do like the tread pattern on the Perellis, but, my next tire, on both cars, will be the AVS Db's.

[Shadow248]

Have to disagree on the Kumho 712s

Mandi's 712s have almost 10,000 miles on them and they are still running perfect. They haven't gotten any louder, and if anything, traction has improved. They are actually wearing alot better than the Dunlops she had before.

Since most of you drive the SVX all the time, i wouldn't expect you to notice bad handling in the snow, because you have nothing to compare it to. I was speaking in comparison to my front drive grand prix, the SVX does not handle snow as well. Granted if you drive at 10mph all the time it's fine...but much faster than 25mph in more than 2 inches of snow, and traction is all but gone due to those wide tires. So while it's certainly not unacceptable performance, it is less than what i would expect from an AWD car.

[wawazat??]

I've used a variety of tires on my vehicles (AWD, FWD, RWD) and recently have had experience with:

P7000SS - VERY LOUD on the SVX (16") and my Passat (17")

Sport A2 -Winter tires for my SVX. Very quiet and comfortable. Very inexpensive.

Kumho 712's - On the SVX and Passat (both 225-45-17). Very pleased with the performance to $$ ratio. Have about 3K on the SVX and about 17K on the Passat. Still relatively quiet and very longlasting based on tread wear on the VW. Not all season.

[Landshark]

i always go to the local high school parking lot around the first snow of the year to practice driving in it. i wish more local nitwits would do the same. and its only for practice - i get no pleasure from fishtailing sideways and doing doughnuts

i got Yoko AVID V4's ($115 each) with the car and they are quiet, good in the rain. can't comment on the snow traction yet.