Brakes Wheels 2nd Gen Tires High Perf All Season Tires

Ive heard tons af good about the Potenza G019 Grids... Probably will be my next tire.

Looks just like the 960.... Are they basically one in the same??? lol

 

I believe the Grid 19 and 960's are very similar but the 960's a bit grippier and the 19's conversely a bit more durable

 

I'll throw another name into the hat - Kumho Ecsta ASX.

We pretty much get the same weather as you do, I've had a couple sets of these on my MINIs and get right at 30K out of them. The other thing I really like is how quiet they are, even when worn down to the wearbars. They do well in everything but deep snow, where they're just OK - but they got me everywhere I needed to go, even so.

Only $94 each too......

 

I have B'stone Grid 019's on my other car, an E36 BMW and they're great. Comfortable ride, quiet, and sticky enough. They're nothing like the Dunlop Star Specs on my MINI, but they're solid when I throw them into a corner.

I wouldn't recommend taking all-season tires to the track, though. You'll cut 5,000 miles off the tire in one weekend. The small, tall tread blocks on all-seasons heat up unevenly and chunk off. When you put that kind of tire into a turn, the tread blocks lean over before the tire does, creating a lot of stress and heat at the bottom of the block. They heat up and fall off as the rubber gets overstressed. My all-seasons start squealing way before my summer tires do - I can hear the tire's unhappiness. If at all possible, pick up a set of somebody's takeoffs and run whatever tire they have on there, especially if they're down below 4/32nds of an inch (2/ or 3/32 is ideal).

A Swiss Army knife is a knife, but you'd never use it at your dinner table to cut steak. You'll be much happier using the right tool for the job. And I don't mean to single you out, Tim, I just hear this line of thinking a lot.

 

What BThayer is saying is correct - depending on just how agressive you want to get at the track.

I'm not trying to set TTOD, so I have yet to damage my Kumhos, this in no way means I'm a slow driver - I'm not. I guess I'm more of a Jensen Button than a Sebastian Vettel when it comes to tire wear.

Tread design has a lot to do with it too. The Kumhos have a different tread than other UHP all seasons - I'm not suggesting they're as good as a summer tires, but they certainly don't chunk off under hard use. They're also very progessive and give fair warning before they slide - when they do slide it's not an abrupt all or nothing deal either - very forgiving. Oh, and they're "Ultra" High Perfomance - like they go up to eleven instead of ten!



As to my style, I don't speed on the road, and here in Kansas twisty really isn't in the vocabulary - straight and grid-like figure heavily, but curves? Not so much. However I do partake in the "onramp grand prix" whenever possible, and I do about 6 track days a year - rain permitting. This year I'm 0-4 so far, with another one scheduled for this Wed and t-storms threatening again to cancel the event yet again!

I'll have my vid cam in for Wed's track day, that should give you an idea of my style and the amount of tire squeal I produce (very little actually) like I said, I'm more out of the JB school of "smooth and boring but fast and easy on the tires" type of driver.

 

I just got two Conti Extreme Contact DWS in 215/45 ZR 17 for the front due to having to replace one Dunlop runflat. I will eventually get the other two when I can. I love these tires! $329.00 out the door. I've never been on a track but I like going on MINI runs when I can. The more aggressive, the better.

 

We had a DWS "club" going on the local forum. Consensus seems to be great wet and snowy tire, smooth quiet ride, but at the expense of grip. Price is great for an all-season, though.

 

Another thing

I found is that when I went from stock front camber to -2 degrees, I doubled my tire life with all types of tires. I now get mid 20ks from the tires I run, including track days. With stock camber, one weekend would really eat up the outside fronts, and two weekends could kill a set. My driving has gotten better so it's not as bad as it was, but if you haven't gone to more agressive camber, you may find that a set of plates will pay for themselves in one or two sets of tires.

Matt

 

Sounds like a plan.

And yeah, it's Ben.

 

If you drive hard in twisties

then some camber help up front is a must for tire life. The "extras" you get with it are better front/rear balance (it reduces understeer) and higher grip levels before the car slides because of improved contact patch management. Sell it to the wife/girlfriend as a safety upgrade!

Matt

 

General UHP Exclaim is a Summer tire, not an all-season.

 

Odd. My dealer called it a Summer tire too!