Winter tires: good in rain?

I live in Indiana, and we do get snow and ice here. I can get
snow tires (Blizzaks) if necessary, but I'd prefer to get
Michelin Pilot Sport A/S (ultra high performance all seasons) if they perform
acceptably in snow. The Pilot reviews on tirerack.com are great, but are mostly
from people living in California or Florida or places like that, and the few reviewers
from the snowbelt are not very enthusiastic about them.
Anyone here ran Pilot Sports in snow?

Also, if I get Blizzaks, would they grip well in rain?

Thanks ...

In article <BkHgf.592219$xm3.408501@attbi_s21>, 223rem >
wrote:
>I live in Indiana, and we do get snow and ice here. I can get
>snow tires (Blizzaks) if necessary, but I'd prefer to get
>Michelin Pilot Sport A/S (ultra high performance all seasons) if they perform
>acceptably in snow. The Pilot reviews on tirerack.com are great, but are mostly
>from people living in California or Florida or places like that, and the few
> reviewers
>from the snowbelt are not very enthusiastic about them.
>Anyone here ran Pilot Sports in snow?
>
>Also, if I get Blizzaks, would they grip well in rain?
>
>Thanks ...

I have Z-rated Pilot Sport A/S's on my '00 Saab 9-5. In snow they are
"adequate". They are in NO way a substitute for proper snow tires in real snow
and ice. But they are far, far better than a "real" summer-only high
performance tire in snow and ice - those are lethal. I would not choose them
(they came with the car), and will not buy a new set when these wear out for
two reasons:

1. They are STUPID expensive
2. They are really LOUD, and are getting worse as they get older.

For the price of them, you could buy a set of winter tires AND a set of summer
tires from a less exhalted name. I only had to drive them in the last couple
storms of last year. This year the Saab is getting a set of Hankook W404's,
which I have on my BMW and like very much. Haven't decided what I want for new
summer tires yet, might get a couple more seasons out of the Michelins.

I have had Blizzak's on a couple of different cars, they are not my favorite
snow tire due to the short life inherent in their construction. But they are
OK in the rain, IIRC.

Kevin Rhodes
Westbrook, Maine
'00 Saab 9-5 SE V6t Wagon

223rem wrote:
> I live in Indiana, and we do get snow and ice here.

Correction: you get *Lake Effect* snow and ice there; as in a ****load
of it (at least in northern IN).

> I can get
> snow tires (Blizzaks) if necessary, but I'd prefer to get
> Michelin Pilot Sport A/S (ultra high performance all seasons) if they perform
> acceptably in snow.

They don't. At least not for the snow you deal with. Get yourself
dedicated snow tires. You'll no doubt save the cost of them the first
time you *don't* spend your insurance deductible by *not* crashing on
the Mickeysports.

> The Pilot reviews on tirerack.com are great, but are mostly
> from people living in California or Florida or places like that, and the few reviewers
> from the snowbelt are not very enthusiastic about them.

Well, what does that tell you? All the snowbelt folks are damned liars
that don't want *you* to get really cool all-season tires?

> Also, if I get Blizzaks, would they grip well in rain?

Blizzaks are excellent in rain, too. For the same reasons that make
them great in snow.
--
C.R. Krieger
(Been there; drove those)

223rem > wrote:
>I live in Indiana, and we do get snow and ice here. I can get
>snow tires (Blizzaks) if necessary, but I'd prefer to get
>Michelin Pilot Sport A/S (ultra high performance all seasons) if they perform
>acceptably in snow. The Pilot reviews on tirerack.com are great, but are mostly
>from people living in California or Florida or places like that, and the few
> reviewers
>from the snowbelt are not very enthusiastic about them.
>Anyone here ran Pilot Sports in snow?

I have some experience with Pilot Sport A/S tires in snow
(FWD, in southern MI). As CR and Kevin said, you're not
going to mistake them for dedicated snow tires, but they
will allow you to keep driving without much worry.

IME, they have pretty good dry- and wet-road characteristics
for a snow-capable tire, so I'd recommend them to someone
who has to deal with snow intermittently. If you have a
long steady snow season, I agree with the other posters that
true winter tires are more appropriate.

People have different philosophies on snow traction. Some
folks aren't comfortable unless they have the best snow
traction they can afford. Some are happy on summer tires as
long as they can (eventually) reach their destination.

I'm somewhere in between: more traction is always better,
but if I have more traction than I need to reach my
destination *and* more traction than most of the people
around me, I'm OK with that. Since most people in S MI do
_not_ change to winter tires, a good set of A/S tires will
usually meet my needs.
--
Chuck Tomlinson