Sorry if this has been covered. But hopefully you can give me a hand.

I hav only had OEM tires on my S2000. It gets quite a bit cold where I live so I tend to not drive my car much from Dec-Feb. I drive it some, but I'm scared I'll get caught in a snow/rain with summer tires.

I could get a set of snows + rims for around $1k and I also need 2 replacement summer tires for around $350 (I only need rears b/c I have an extra set of nearly new fronts but I will need to get 4 wheels mounted), then I swap winter wheels/tires on for 3-4 months of the year.

Or

I could go with a set of 4 all season tires (use them year round) for $500-$600. No need to mess with swapping on and off, extra rims, storage etc..


So what do you think? And do you have and "best tire" recomendations?

 

I assumed that OEM tires of your MY03 is S-02, this is Max Perf Summer tires. This tire is very good for dry roads in summer, but it is not very good in the rain or when temperature drops down to freezing.

If you like to drive your S year round and you like to spend the least amount of money, then a good set of all-season tires is your best choice. Avon Tech M550 A/S is at the top of the Ultra High Performance All-Season tires, specially when you take into account that for a set of 4 tires you will pay about $380 shipped + mounting and balancing, you will not worry about swapping, storage ...

 

Just to add another option to the list, I'm quite happy with my Pirelli PZero Nero M&S (Ultra High Perf. AllSeason) thus far (15K miles). They are great in the rain, and quite good in light snow...I will be testing heavier snow (3-6"), once the winter comes... Granted I'm sure they don't handle like the S-02's in ideal conditions, but I've made an emergency maneouver @ 65 on the highway with little drama, so they are quite performance oriented.

 

Thanks, yes I have S-02s. I'm afraid with all season tires I'll loose that glued to the road feel. Will all seasons feel like I'm driving on cold S-02s all year long?

Thanks for the all season recommendations.

 

I switched to the Yokohama AS430 all season, you will give up the "bite" from the S02 but it sure handles better in the rain and snow. Still all in all, buy a winter car because the S is horrible in the snow

 

I was thinking of another car for the winter instead of a set of snows. But that's always more money. I like the new Civic which gets 30/38 mpg on regular gas. I know I should be thinking more along the lines of a used car for a lot less money, but I'm a sucker for new cars.

I kind of feel guilty having the S2000 and parking it most of the winter. And I have a hardtop that I only use for the winter. So that's not getting much use.

Probably the biggest point is, I'd have no problem talking my wife into a set of snows. But a whole other car as a winter beater would be a harder sell.

Finally I already have 4 cars counting the minivan and my wifes SUV. So another DD or beater would be hard to justify right now.

 

I don't know how much snow you get in Mount Airy or how cold it gets, but if you go through a "real" winter, 4 seasons are not a good choice for any car and even less so for ours. Below 5 degrees 4 season tires become too hard to get decent traction even on dry pavement and are essentially never good in the snow or on ice.

They also offer much less warm weather performance than a good summer tire. Basically they don't do anything well and will not come close to the performance of a summer tire in the summer nor of a winter tire in the winter.

Auto journalists and the transport ministry up here have a yearly campaign of ads and articles to try and convince people to put winter tires on their cars.

Also in the long run if you keep your car for several years, the cost evens out as your 2 sets of tires last longer than the 1 set of 4 seasons.

In my eyes (no diss meant here!) putting 4 seasons on our car in the summer is sacrilegious and in the winter it is dangerous.

 

PdC

I have come around to that way of thinking. I have 4 vehicles now and 2 of them have sets of snows for the winter. Our winters aren't the worst but it does get very cold at times and it can snow a lot.

I know the S2000 will never be a great car in the winter, but with snows it will be safer. Also I think I don't want to give up my summer tires for all seasons anyway. So it looks like I'll be spending for another set of rims.

Sorry part (or good part) is I think instead of getting cheap wheels to go with the winter tires, I will mount them on my stock wheels and get nice 17" wheels for new summer tires next spring.

Thanks