Comments on: I Love My Summer Tires http://www.bretkuhns.com/blog/2010/04/i-love-my-summer-tires/ Programming, Cars, and Life Fri, 03 Feb 2012 15:37:50 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 hourly 1 By: Bret Kuhns http://www.bretkuhns.com/blog/2010/04/i-love-my-summer-tires/comment-page-1/#comment-109 Bret Kuhns Thu, 07 Apr 2011 20:21:51 +0000 http://www.bretkuhns.com/blog/?p=123#comment-109 I've learned you can never trust the "all season" branding on some tires. There are a handful of all-seasons with the large circumferential channel (or usually two channels) in the center like your Goodyears. As you said, this is terrible in snow and on ice. The RE-01R is specifically a summer tire and would never handle even light amounts of snow, so the channels work. I have a set of unstudded General Altimax Artic snow tires which were bafflingly cheap and provide as good performance as my Blizzak WS-60's and Nokian Hakkapelitta 2's did in the past with my other cars. One important aspect to a good snow tread design is to never introduce longitudinal grooves of any length for the snow/ice to creep into. You'll notice the majority of top winter tread blocks form diagonal patterns for that reason. Throw in some good siping with soft & jagged tread blocks and you've got yourself an awesome snow tire. Can be a bit squirrelly on dry pavement at highway speeds, but you wont' be flinching in the worst of lake-effect storms we get in Ohio. I’ve learned you can never trust the “all season” branding on some tires. There are a handful of all-seasons with the large circumferential channel (or usually two channels) in the center like your Goodyears. As you said, this is terrible in snow and on ice. The RE-01R is specifically a summer tire and would never handle even light amounts of snow, so the channels work.

I have a set of unstudded General Altimax Artic snow tires which were bafflingly cheap and provide as good performance as my Blizzak WS-60’s and Nokian Hakkapelitta 2’s did in the past with my other cars. One important aspect to a good snow tread design is to never introduce longitudinal grooves of any length for the snow/ice to creep into. You’ll notice the majority of top winter tread blocks form diagonal patterns for that reason. Throw in some good siping with soft & jagged tread blocks and you’ve got yourself an awesome snow tire. Can be a bit squirrelly on dry pavement at highway speeds, but you wont’ be flinching in the worst of lake-effect storms we get in Ohio.

]]> By: Volomike http://www.bretkuhns.com/blog/2010/04/i-love-my-summer-tires/comment-page-1/#comment-108 Volomike Thu, 07 Apr 2011 06:30:42 +0000 http://www.bretkuhns.com/blog/?p=123#comment-108 I used to have some Goodyears once that had this large groove down the middle. Notice they don't sell those anymore? Yeah, the advertising said that they took rain into that groove and displaced it rather well. Sure, it did that and all was fantastic. And then it snowed. And when it snowed, it locked ice in the middle groove. That meant I was sliding all over the place. Lousy tires. I used to have some Goodyears once that had this large groove down the middle. Notice they don’t sell those anymore? Yeah, the advertising said that they took rain into that groove and displaced it rather well. Sure, it did that and all was fantastic.

And then it snowed. And when it snowed, it locked ice in the middle groove. That meant I was sliding all over the place. Lousy tires.

]]> By: dave++ http://www.bretkuhns.com/blog/2010/04/i-love-my-summer-tires/comment-page-1/#comment-46 dave++ Sat, 15 May 2010 13:32:42 +0000 http://www.bretkuhns.com/blog/?p=123#comment-46 I'm always hearing talk about summer and winter tires. I take it the market isn't so hot for Spring and Fall tires? I’m always hearing talk about summer and winter tires. I take it the market isn’t so hot for Spring and Fall tires?

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