All season tyres, which ones?

[Paul70]

I really like my Michelin CrossClimate + tyres but I have never tried another brand of all season tyres so cannot compare. Saying that I liked my PS4s on a previous golf and I know you don’t rate them but the CC+ are based on a summer tyre and I personally find them responsive for what they are.

[Kingy25]

I think all season tyres on a second set will be just fine for me.

If you are running two wheel sets surely one set on summer and one set on winter is the perfect combination? All season are great if just running one set of wheels all year round. As good as all seasons are (I’ve run cross climates and Pirelli all seasons) they are designed as a compromise for all year use if you just run one set of wheels.
The wife’s last car (Mazda 2) had x2 sets of wheels so ran conti winters on the second set and their ability in the snow/ice in the Peaks was amazing. The car would go anywhere it had clearance and was better than the BMW X3 we had with Pirelli All Seasons on despite being front wheel drive whilst the BMW used their x drive system.

[mcmaddy]

I think all season tyres on a second set will be just fine for me.

If you are running two wheel sets surely one set on summer and one set on winter is the perfect combination? All season are great if just running one set of wheels all year round. As good as all seasons are (I’ve run cross climates and Pirelli all seasons) they are designed as a compromise for all year use if you just run one set of wheels.
The wife’s last car (Mazda 2) had x2 sets of wheels so ran conti winters on the second set and their ability in the snow/ice in the Peaks was amazing. The car would go anywhere it had clearance and was better than the BMW X3 we had with Pirelli All Seasons on despite being front wheel drive whilst the BMW used their x drive system.

could be right to be honest. Currently looking at full winters too 👍

[Paul70]

Based on your previous posts subjective handling is an important requirement for you. As the previous posts states its all about compromise so perhaps full winter tyres whilst providing stunning traction and grip may not be as nice to drive especially as temperatures creep up, so a key factor is how much traction do you need? Ive used cross climates in the alps for the last 3 years and they have been faultless in all weather conditions. They provided grip even on sheet ice with the appropriate throttle modulation. Of course they are not as good as full winters but they do a bloody good job and drive really well.

[martin998877]

I really like my Michelin CrossClimate + tyres but I have never tried another brand of all season tyres so cannot compare. Saying that I liked my PS4s on a previous golf and I know you don’t rate them but the CC+ are based on a summer tyre and I personally find them responsive for what they are.

I'm finding my crossclimate's good too, very quiet compared to my previous tyres and good handling in the dry and wet.

[Guzzle]

I'm sure the all season tyres are very good, i've read many a review praising them. But i'm not sure I would want to incur the outlay and the hassle of a second set of wheels if I wasn't going to get the benefit of a full winter tyre. The difference between my Pilot Alpin 4's and the Bridgestone's is night and day in winter driving conditions. Winter tyres aren't just for snow, the softer rubber compound sets them apart from all season tyres. Anything sub 7°C is ideal for the winters, which for me is about 5 to 6 months of the year for the time of day when i'm traveling to and from work.

If the all season tyres are good enough for winter use, then surely they're good enough for summer use too? They exist to give you better performance than a summer tyre in winter, and better performance than a winter tyre in summer. If that's all you want then all season tyres will be fine. But they won't match either the summer or the winter tyre in the respective seasons they were designed for.

[Paul70]

I'm sure the all season tyres are very good, i've read many a review praising them. But i'm not sure I would want to incur the outlay and the hassle of a second set of wheels if I wasn't going to get the benefit of a full winter tyre. The difference between my Pilot Alpin 4's and the Bridgestone's is night and day in winter driving conditions. Winter tyres aren't just for snow, the softer rubber compound sets them apart from all season tyres. Anything sub 7°C is ideal for the winters, which for me is about 5 to 6 months of the year for the time of day when i'm traveling to and from work.

If the all season tyres are good enough for winter use, then surely they're good enough for summer use too? They exist to give you better performance than a summer tyre in winter, and better performance than a winter tyre in summer. If that's all you want then all season tyres will be fine. But they won't match either the summer or the winter tyre in the respective seasons they were designed for.

I fully agree with all of the points you’ve raised. Perhaps, I was not clear in my point of view, so let me clarify.

Winter tyres are better than all season in winter, I am not trying to suggest otherwise. Most summer tyres are better than the CC+ in summer. This last point is my personal view (not scientific), I preferred the feel of the CC+ compared to the S001 when I replaced them last autumn, but Ive no doubt the S001 would be quicker against the stopwatch in warm and dry conditions.

My point is that in most driving conditions during UK winter months the CC+ would be as good as a full winter, the difference would be minor in the 5 degree wet road conditions you mentioned but the trade off is they have the dynamics of a summer tyre so will mostly likely feel nicer when driving, which is a key factor when you own a high performance golf. In more extreme climates in the UK,  I would recommend winters every time but the Sunderland area does not have an extreme climate.

I am of course biased as I have two sets of wheels, one with CC+ tyres and the other with CUP 2s.

[mcmaddy]

Based on your previous posts subjective handling is an important requirement for you. As the previous posts states its all about compromise so perhaps full winter tyres whilst providing stunning traction and grip may not be as nice to drive especially as temperatures creep up, so a key factor is how much traction do you need? Ive used cross climates in the alps for the last 3 years and they have been faultless in all weather conditions. They provided grip even on sheet ice with the appropriate throttle modulation. Of course they are not as good as full winters but they do a bloody good job and drive really well.

cheers 👍👍

[mcmaddy]

I'm sure the all season tyres are very good, i've read many a review praising them. But i'm not sure I would want to incur the outlay and the hassle of a second set of wheels if I wasn't going to get the benefit of a full winter tyre. The difference between my Pilot Alpin 4's and the Bridgestone's is night and day in winter driving conditions. Winter tyres aren't just for snow, the softer rubber compound sets them apart from all season tyres. Anything sub 7°C is ideal for the winters, which for me is about 5 to 6 months of the year for the time of day when i'm traveling to and from work.

If the all season tyres are good enough for winter use, then surely they're good enough for summer use too? They exist to give you better performance than a summer tyre in winter, and better performance than a winter tyre in summer. If that's all you want then all season tyres will be fine. But they won't match either the summer or the winter tyre in the respective seasons they were designed for.

I fully agree with all of the points you’ve raised. Perhaps, I was not clear in my point of view, so let me clarify.

Winter tyres are better than all season in winter, I am not trying to suggest otherwise. Most summer tyres are better than the CC+ in summer. This last point is my personal view (not scientific), I preferred the feel of the CC+ compared to the S001 when I replaced them last autumn, but Ive no doubt the S001 would be quicker against the stopwatch in warm and dry conditions.

My point is that in most driving conditions during UK winter months the CC+ would be as good as a full winter, the difference would be minor in the 5 degree wet road conditions you mentioned but the trade off is they have the dynamics of a summer tyre so will mostly likely feel nicer when driving, which is a key factor when you own a high performance golf. In more extreme climates in the UK,  I would recommend winters every time but the Sunderland area does not have an extreme climate.

I am of course biased as I have two sets of wheels, one with CC+ tyres and the other with CUP 2s.

with Sunderland being a seaside city so to speak it's got to be a very heavy snowfall for it to lie for any great length of time. Wet roads and surface slush are more likely 👍. To be perfectly honest I'm sure any winter or all season will be better in the cold than the standard bridgestones even though I haven't had any major issues with them.

[Guzzle]

I'm sure the all season tyres are very good, i've read many a review praising them. But i'm not sure I would want to incur the outlay and the hassle of a second set of wheels if I wasn't going to get the benefit of a full winter tyre. The difference between my Pilot Alpin 4's and the Bridgestone's is night and day in winter driving conditions. Winter tyres aren't just for snow, the softer rubber compound sets them apart from all season tyres. Anything sub 7°C is ideal for the winters, which for me is about 5 to 6 months of the year for the time of day when i'm traveling to and from work.

If the all season tyres are good enough for winter use, then surely they're good enough for summer use too? They exist to give you better performance than a summer tyre in winter, and better performance than a winter tyre in summer. If that's all you want then all season tyres will be fine. But they won't match either the summer or the winter tyre in the respective seasons they were designed for.

I fully agree with all of the points you’ve raised. Perhaps, I was not clear in my point of view, so let me clarify.

Winter tyres are better than all season in winter, I am not trying to suggest otherwise. Most summer tyres are better than the CC+ in summer. This last point is my personal view (not scientific), I preferred the feel of the CC+ compared to the S001 when I replaced them last autumn, but Ive no doubt the S001 would be quicker against the stopwatch in warm and dry conditions.

My point is that in most driving conditions during UK winter months the CC+ would be as good as a full winter, the difference would be minor in the 5 degree wet road conditions you mentioned but the trade off is they have the dynamics of a summer tyre so will mostly likely feel nicer when driving, which is a key factor when you own a high performance golf. In more extreme climates in the UK,  I would recommend winters every time but the Sunderland area does not have an extreme climate.

I am of course biased as I have two sets of wheels, one with CC+ tyres and the other with CUP 2s.

Yes I see your point. Of course there is a degree of subjectivity and circumstance. All season tyres have come a long way over the past 5 years or so, and they can be ideal for those that only run one set of tyres all year round. What I am saying is that it if you are going to get a second set of wheels, this comes with a large financial outlay, you also need space to store them, and the hassle of swapping them over twice a year. All season tyres won't offer anything in winter that the winter tyre doesn't offer. Unless it's a mild winter, in which case leave your summer tyres on and save yourself the bother of swapping them over.

Last winter was fairly mild so I didn't bother with my winters and left the summers on instead. There was the odd day when I wished I had, but for most of the time it was fine. The winter before we had Beast from the East, and the full winters allowed me to go about my business knowing I was as prepared as it was possible to be.