From what I understand the Pilot Sport a/s 3 tire is a good 3 season tire. I believe the Conti DWS will be much better for winter use. Although it won't beat a dedicated winter tire.
A set of wheels with dedicated winter tires is a lifesaver here in the Midwest during our crappy winters. An all season, no matter how good it is during the rest of the year just cannot compete with a winter tire during the wintertime.
If you are concerned about performance why consider all-season? They are a compromise tire. Get a set of dedicated summer and winter tires/wheels. A bit more expensive to begin with, but the tires will last twice as long.
I have Pirelli Cinturato P7 All Season Plus on my R52 S and have been pleased with the performance in both wet and dry conditions. Customer survey results compiled by TireRack.com give this tire excellent performance ratings.
I have 2 R53s and 1 R50. My R53 [106k] is a daily driver and weekend track and /or twisty car. The other R53 [55k] is strictly a daily driver, since it belongs to my wife. The R50 [58k] has seen track, twisty and daily driver use, too. All 3 MINIs have oem 16" wheels and all three wheel sets are shoed with 205/50/16" tires.
I put 205-50-16 Kumho 4x high performance all seasons on my wife's clubman. They stick well & are very good in the rain. Don't know how they work in the snow, we switch to Blizzak's when the winter comes.
I like these tires so much I put a set on my GTI too.
I have Kumhos as Fuzion Tourings on my cars. Both are all seasons and both do ok for me [I wouldn't have it any other way in 3 season use]. Both are cheap and have good wear and grip. For Winter, I use Blizzaks.
Thanks for all the info! I agree that dedicated winter and summer treads are likely the best option but must stick with an all season tire this time. That being said, I'll check out the pa31s and p7s. The p7 seem to have a crazy high tread wear rating..... Did that sacrifice ultimate traction? Any further thoughts on the yokos or dws tires?
Wmwny, how much did the tire/wheel gap increase going to the shorter tires? How much higher do you rev at highway speed?
I agree that the best performance option is separate summer and winter tires, especially if you do any track days, but, I run all-season tires on my daily driver MINI, and they do just fine.
I put a set of Hankook VENTUS S1 noble 2 tires on my MINI about nine months ago, because they were very highly rated by Tire Rack. I have to say, they have really impressed me in wet and dry conditions. I have not driven them in snow.
I'm a Michelin guy, so I was skeptical... Hankook???? Seriously???
But, everything Tire Rack said about them has turned out to be true.
I like the stance of the 50s. The 55s just do not work well at Putnam Park or at Mid Ohio [too high]. The 50s lower the car just enough for me and I use that aspect on my wife's car, too, as well as on my 15" holeys when tracking the car or going thru twisties like at the Dragon.
Did you lower your ride to reduce wheel gap or are you at factory ride height minus the reduction due to slightly smaller tires? Can you post a pick of one of your MINIs with the 50s?
Check out "my garage". The Royal Grey '06 with the burnt orange holeys is running Nitto Neo Gen 205-50-15s. The car has been lowered with TSWs.
My wife's '06 Pepper White MCS is not pictured but is bone stock and has OEM R-84s with Kumho ASX all seasons in a 205-45-16 size. They are a significantly better change from the 205-45-17 wheels and tires the car came with. The ride is not as stiff and bumps seem much better absorbed. Any wheel gap difference is negligible...to me, at least.
The '03 Silk Green R50 has the original 16" wheels with 205-50-16" tires and the '06 OEM springs my S had before I went with the TSWs.
I live in Indiana so winter weather is not east coast bad, but can be unpredictable. My concern with the dws was the soft sidewall causing a loss of precise steering response. Has anyone tried the newer dws06 tires? There is a rumor that the sidewall has been stiffened to help with the steering response. Isthe A/S 3s winter performance terrible or simply on par with most other all season tires with superb dry and wet traction?
Sorry, I cannot make a good comment on your tire dilemma. I run a/s Nitto Neo Gens from Spring to November on 15" holeys. For Winter, I have a set of 8-spoke 15" wheels with Blizzaks. My wife's S has Kumho ASX a/s on R-84s from Spring to November and for Winter, she has another set of R-84s with Blizzaks. We live in Western Ohio, about 125 miles East of you [just north of I-70 off I-75], so we pretty much share the same weather
From what I've read the a/s 3 is supposed to be a pretty sub par tire for snow use. I've also read that the latest version of the DWS is supposed to be better.
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