ok, now i am thoroughly confused

[azzazal]

a little background. i haven’t left my driveway since november, as i have the stock tires on there. the other day, it was clear out…so i took it for a wash. while scrubbing the tires, i noticed a gash in one of them. it’s about the size of a quarter. it’s not a slice…but almost like a melon scoop attempted to attack it and then put the flap back. anyway…i know this isn’t good and everyone is going to say don’t drive on it…my thought…these tires have 1k miles on them. i have never hit a pothole! the dealer says it's not covered by anything and i have to pay $250 for a new one.

so, since i drive about 5k miles a year, just to the train station and back, i thought i’d get some all-season. then i could be safe year round. and selling the 3 good one’s would cover the cost.

i have called local places and even one’s that work with tire rack. i get different answers. first they all swear i should get separate winter rims. i did that before with my other car, it’s a pain for a renter who has no where to storm them. and i don’t think i drive enough to warrant that. we also have an suv, so when it’s that bad out, i get a ride.

i am a sunday boring driver. so all i want it to be safe on both wet/dry/snow etc….

so, looking at tire rack, it seems the ecsta asx, eagle f1 and eagle gt are the best all around. the potenza and g-force don’t get a great rating in the snow/ice area. the tire guy recommended proxes 4. which are twice the price as tire rack’s recommendations.

so, what should i get? i don’t want to be one of those silly people in the hot cars sliding all over curing myself for wasting money on tires that don’t work.

thanks everyone!!!

[Myriad]

Wish I had a good suggestion for you, but I was never able to find that perfect balance on my GTP when I still lived back near Chicago. In the end I just went back to the stockers (Goodyear Eagle RS-A) since it had a decent blend of performance on a mid-size car and didn't put up too much of a fight in heavy snow. I agree that a dedicated set of winter rims and tires is the best way to go, but without a garage to store them in during the off season it would be a real pain. I'm sure there's a better option out there, but I never had the chance to find it.

SGT-MS6 stated in another thread that he's running the Kuhmo Ecsta ASX All-Seasons and seems to like them through all the weather ranges just like what you experience. Maybe he'll be able to give you a little more insight on them.

[azzazal]

yes. before me is a printout of all sorts of tires. i went to the dealer, and they recommended a set that are $108 each...they really couldn't give me a good reason why not to get the one's that are $209 each. a local tire place recommended the proxes 4. which i can't find any info on.

ugh! way too confusing! i would think the more $ the better...but it's not really the case it would appear.

[xtrememps]

I'm sorry but if you're able to not drive it then don't! Just keep the summers on there.

However, if you must get new tires just go on tirerack.com and read some reviews to determine what set of tires suits you and your budget the best. Some tires are actually worth the extra money.