eolson

I've seen many discussions about the best solution for spirited winter driving.

Since my Mustang is a second car, I only want a tire that will have the best maximum grip in clear dry road conditions in the winter here in Michigan for good and clear cold weather in temps between 20 degrees F to 40 degrees F. It turns out for my needs that certain ultra high performance all season tires are the clear choice for maximum cold weather dry and wet grip. They clearly out perform performance winter tires for dry and wet cold weather performance driving..

I was happy to read this article specifically focusing on the topic of Winter performance tires(best in snow and ice) and ultra high performance all season tires(best in dry pavement/wet pavement winter).

http://www.caranddriver.com/comparis...mparison-tests


It made the choice easy for us "fair weather" only winter enthusiasts. This is always followed by a "California Duster" dusting to remove dry salt dust from the entire body and wheels, followed by an in closed garage(with drain) rinse off of the lower skirting and outer under body, as well as wheels and wheel wells to rid the dry salt dust. This has resulted in no additional corrosian in 4 years.

The entire after drive routine takes about 12 minutes. I enjoy full use and enjoyment of my Mustang on clear road days in the winter as a result.

I have 275/40/18's(26.7" high) Goodyear F1 ultra high performance AS in rear and 255/45/18(27" high) in front. They rock in cold weather dry!! Erik

Syracuse315

I love the Xi-2's, and put them on both my '00 GT and my GF's Mazda6. I have never had an issue driving around upstate NY (including the mountain roads to/from Lake Placid). Glad to see they did so well in the test (except for that wet braking #).

Ricardo

Some good info. I appreciate your thoughts on cold weather driving, road salt, and tires.
Moving to central Utah eventually and these were some concerns I had.

Thanks man!

eolson

There's no question that if you're going to see any snow or ice for any length of time that you would want the dedicated winter performance tires. That seems to be the difficulty for some folks is figuring out what there winter behavior's going to be. Erik

Syracuse315

Don't forget your sand/salt bags over the rear tires.

alkemist

I like my Michelin X-Ice 2's. They have been great to me when it's dry and when it's wet/cold rain/snow. The ride is good and road noise is minimal. I even ran it through spring and they were still good.. got my summer tires on a little late in the season.