I am currently running Falken Espias on Mille Miglia wheels for the winter. I've sold my stock wheels and balding runflats so I am in the market for another set of tires and possibly wheels as well. Since these wheels are pretty heavy I am thinking about either selling them and getting steelies for the next winter, or just leaving them as a winter set and trying to find some reasonably priced lightweight 15s for the summertime and putting on some suitable rubber.

I live in Victoria, BC and we tend to get our share of wet days in the spring and summer. I'd like to get a set of dedicated summer tires since I have the winter tires already, but I'm wondering if the summer tires will be rough in the wet weather. Would performance all seasons be a better bet?

I have heard good things about Yokohama Avid Envigors. Any input is appreciated!

 

I got 4 Goodyear F1 AS last month and they are great in the rain & actually OK in most snows.
The sidwalls are carbon reinforced and so it corners like my Dunlop Sport DSST RunFlats.
Goodyear is offering $80 rebate & up it to $160 if you get their card + interest free for 6 mos.

 

Your question is an excellent one for Alex at Tire Rack. Just how much do you want/need to maximize dry/summer grip?

If you decide to go with a high performance A/S tire, I think the ENVigor would be an excellent choice. I've been trying to decide between that and the Sumitomo HTR P01 in my 16" size.

On my M3 I finally switched from a Maximum Performance summer tire to an Ultra High Performance A/S tire (an oxymoron, I think). I gave up some maximum dry/warm weather handling and grip for better performance in nasty weather. The losses and gains are both noticeable. From my experience, a good summer tire can handle the wet okay, but doesn't perform very well in cold weather. Even in very light snow or slush, they can be very scary.

We don't have winter tires for any of our four cars here in Virginia, but three have A/S tires.

 

Seattle here and having a tire that works in the rain a must. I ussually go with the best rated rain tire in a high performance summer tire. Based on reviews I think I will go with Conti DWS's. Price is good too.

 

When it comes to wet traction the tire I always hear getting rave reviews is the BFG KDW 2. They don't come in 15" only 16" but its the only summer tire I could specifically recommend.

 

Thanks for all the tips guys, I'll look into the Contis, Goodyears and BFGs. I'll see if I can get some input from Alex at TireRack as well. Since I do have a set of ice/snow tires i'd like to get as much dry performance as I can out of a second set. I'll be doing a few roadtrips this summer up into the desert of the BC interior on some twisty empty highway, and may make it down to California as well.. they will have to get me through the wet springs of Victoria though, so maybe an A/S is my best bet?

 

Summer only tires are fine in the wet and will perform quite well so long as you're looking for a summer tire and not a track and competition tire (eg Michelin Pilot Sport Cups or Yokohama Advan A048's).

Summer only tires function well until temperatures drop below 45 degrees farenheit or about 7C and are not made of a compound to deal with snow in any form at all. Drive through snow at your own risk with these. All-seasons are meant to work year-round, but are still very limited compared to dedicated summer or snow tires. They won't corner as well in the summer, hindering performance, but won't break apart in hot temps like the winter compound tires will. They are useful in temperatures down to around 32~35 degrees farenheit (0C~1C) and good in light snow. They won't give you the same traction in deep snow or temps taht drop well below the freezing mark. The rubber compound that gives them the ability to take the hot summer temps is also what keeps them from being able to be pliable in extreme cold. The other nice thing about summer only tires is that you can go for a slightly wider tire, and get even more cornering grip (you'll want narrower tires for winter so that more of the vehicle's weight is in one spot and can give you more grip in deeper snow, but it's the opposite for the summer).

All seasons can be a good all-arounder but are especially helpful when you don't have the space to store a 2nd set of tires/wheels or don't want to be bothered with changing the tires out twice a year. They are a jack of all trades/master of none, as exemplified by the poster who metioned he has them on his M3.

Since you already seem to do swap out tires regularly, you might as well get the summer only tires. You will get much more enjoymet out of the car and maximum performance as opposed to the all-seasons.

Personally, I have used summer only tires high performance driving events and they have worked great, even in the rain. As I wanted to get the most out of the limited track time, rain or shine, I would use summer onlys as opposed to competition tires (which are also much more expensive). As another poster mentioned, the Tirerack guys are a great resource and can add more technical info on when to change the tires out based on where you live. Definitely send them an email or give them a call.

 

I'm running the Mich Pilot sport A/S+ and it is doing pretty good in snow, and did fantastic in wet during the fall. Much better than the summer tires I had. If I had gotten the summer tires I really wanted it would have been the Conti xcontact DW. They seemed fantastic, but I don't have dedicated winter tires, and the ones I have are a good compromise I got lucky I made with all the snow we have had here so far.