Summer or All-Season

[Tsuru]

Hi to all,
I'm doing some research on tires for my Mazda5 GS. I currently have the stock Toyo 205/55R16 on the factory rims and I have a set of Goodyear winter tires on steel. I'm looking to replace the Toyo's in the near future with another set of 205/55R16's but I'm wondering if I should get another set of All-Season's or should I get some Summer tires. Climate here is not too wet during the warm months and there's snow on the ground for almost half the year. Also when the snow hits, it hits hard so I might be driving in snow for one day out of the year before I can swap tires. Priorities lean more towards quiet ride and low-rolling resistance than anything else.
Any suggestions welcome.
Thanks in advance.

 

[DKaz]

Summers + winters is the ideal combination. All-seasons + winters is the next ideal. All-seasons all year is not recommended, winters all year is really not recommended, and summers all year is a suicide wish.

Depending on tread pattern, summers are typically superior to all seasons in dry and wet weather down to 55F. They maintain dry traction under 55F perhaps down to near freezing but wet traction sucks under 55F.

All-seasons maintain dry and wet traction down to near freezing, and some may not do too bad in snow, but they're a compromise in all areas. They often have pretty good tread life however, unless you're going for a performance all-seasons which has dry and wet traction almost as good as a summer tire at the expense of treadwear the little winter traction normal all-seasons have.

What are your priorities?
-Dry tracton, performance oriented or just in terms of safety?
-Quiet
-Low Rolling Resistance

-Wet and snow traction not a concern

Nokian i3 comes to my mind very quickly, though they are pricey.

 

[ljmattox]

Given the "performance envelope" of our 5's and their typical uses, it's hard to figure the up-side of summer-only tires.

It's possible to get all-weather rated tires that have some high percentage of the max dry-weather grip of a summer-only, yet they'll still perform in marginal conditions where many summer tires would not.

Some site like Tire Rack is great in that it will let you compare, via owner surveys, factors such as adhesion, snow performance, noise, ride comfort, etc. between various all-season tires. And it's entirely possible to choose an all-weather-branded tire that's cr@p in the snow (the stock Bridgestone Turanzas on my CX-7 come to mind) so, again, it's good to get owner feedback to help make a choice.

I'm going with some good all-season choice (ride comfort, noise, and acceptable light snow performance) on the 18's I'm planning on, and I'll use my stock 17's for real winter tires.

 

[Tsuru]

Thanks for the replies so far.
@DKaz: You highlighted something I didn't consider: How different class of tire performs at different temperatures. Since there's at least a few months of the year where it's between 32F and 55F where there's no appreciable snow on the ground but it can be quite wet I think summer tires are out. Now I just need to find some good all-seasons. I checked out the Nokian i3's but where I am there's only one distributor and they don't carry the 205/55R16's.

@ljmaddox: I've done a fair bit of hunting on tirerack already. What the site doesn't tell me is whether a summer or all-season tire would be best for me. Your Bridgestone's remind me of the all-seasons I had on my old Buick. Now those were crap tires in any amount of precipitation.

I'm not a "spirited" driver by any stretch of the imagination. I like to giv'r every now and then but for the most part the tach stays below 2200RPM. "Safety" traction is far more important than "performance" traction.
That being said does a tire like the Kumho Ecsta LX Platinum (that seems highly regarded here) fit that bill or should I be looking at something else?
Again, thanks for the replies.

 

[KBrian]

IMO, since you have two sets of rims, continue with the winters on steelies, no matter what else you do.

The web is a great way to compare performance of many different brands under a variety of conditions. Most of the big car mags have tested tires for noise, wear, grip, price and customer service/warranty. C&D did one within the last few years that was pretty exhaustive, using the G35/37 as a test vehicle.

 

[Snagjim]

Tsuru, last spring I replaced the OEM Toyo "rim-protectors" with a set of Dunlop SP Sport Signatures. I'm driving a GT but they should be available for your GS too. I'm really pleased with the greater responsiveness and lateral grip without the howlies. I run a set of X-Ice on 16" steelies in winter.

When the early snows hit last October I still had the Dunlops on for a 1500 km round trip weekend to northern Alberta. I was surprised the Dunlops did as well as they did - not as good as the winters, obviously, but they were got the job done with no drama.

 

[rodslinger]

I'm with these guys. If you get summer tires, get a separate set for winter. Otherwise get a decent all season if you are only going to run one set.

I have summer tires on my 5. I rarely need a cold weather tire in Atlanta. Except this year of course..... All I can say is I got out of the driveway, went 50 feet up the road and decided summer tires SUCK in the snow then went back home. Not recommended at all.

Jumped in the wife's 3 with the all season tires on it and felt like I was running snow chains compared to my 5.