This will be going on an 02 accord with stock 15 inch rims. I'm looking for a low-priced fairly sticky tire that will last a while. I've heard good reviews about the Kumho SPT, but that is a summer tire. Where I live (MI), in the winter temps go down to about 15F, but after a snow storm, roads are plowed and salted right away. How would summer tires perform in cold temps like this? The tire would mostly see wet and dry roads (hot and cold), and very rarely snow (maybe 5 days out of the whole year). My stock tire size is 195-65-15, but I'm willing to switch out to 205-60 or even 205-55.

 

You should not use summer tires in winter conditions. Not just when roads are covered by snow, but also when the roads are dry but it's very cold out.

The best strategy is to get a second set of wheels with winter tires on them. That gives you the best of both worlds - winter tires for the winter, and summer tires for the rest of the year.

If, for whatever reason, you have to use the same tires all year round, then you need to get all-season tires rather than summer tires. All-seasons are designed to perform reasonably well all year round, in snow and frigid cold as well as in warmer weather. No, they're not as good in winter as winter tires, and they're not as good the rest of the year as summer tires, but that's the compromise you have to make when trying to make one tire do everything. All-seasons are satisfactory for many people, as long as you're not too demanding when it comes to performance.

I would stick to your stock tire size of 195/65-15. Remember, for winter use, narrower is better. And they will preserve the accuracy of your speedometer/odometer.

If you want to get all-season tires for your car, get the Kumho Ecsta ASX. It's one of the best all-seasons available, and the price is incredibly low ($47/tire in 195/65-15 at the Tire Rack).

BTW, temperatures get a lot colder than 15F where you live. That's just the normal low temperature this time of year. If you've lived there for any length of time, I'm sure you can recall plenty of days when it's dipped below zero. The record low temperature in Detroit is -21F.

 

How do summer tires perform differently in warm weather than in cold weather?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by 02 accord &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">How do summer tires perform differently in warm weather than in cold weather?</TD></TR></TABLE>

Summer tires are designed to grip well in moderate to warm temperatures, on dry pavement as well as in rain. They are not designed to grip well in colder temperatures or on snow, and they don't.

 

It might seem like I'm trying to argue with you, but I'm not; I'm just curious. So even if the summer tires (in the winter) are warmed up, they will not grip the cold road surface very well? Would decreasing the sidewall height (from 65 to 60) improve the performance in any way?

Getting another set of wheels with winter tires is out of the question, because I'm trying to keep my expeses as low as possible.

Edit: just got another idea. Are there any drawbacks to getting both summer and winter tires and mounting each set (on the same rims) as the weather permits? Walmart charges $35 to mount and balance 4 tires, and that seems much cheaper than getting another set of rims.


Modified by 02 accord at 1:24 PM 1/25/2007

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by 02 accord &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">So even if the summer tires (in the winter) are warmed up, they will not grip the cold road surface very well?</TD></TR></TABLE>

That's correct. Summer tires just do not grip well in cold temperatures.

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by 02 accord &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Would decreasing the sidewall height (from 65 to 60) improve the performance in any way?</TD></TR></TABLE>

No.

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by 02 accord &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Getting another set of wheels with winter tires is out of the question, because I'm trying to keep my expeses as low as possible.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Then the all-seasons (and particularly the Kumho ASX) might be your best bet.

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by 02 accord &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Are there any drawbacks to getting both summer and winter tires and mounting each set (on the same rims) as the weather permits? Walmart charges $35 to mount and balance 4 tires, and that seems much cheaper than getting another set of rims.</TD></TR></TABLE>

The only drawback is the cost to mount and balance the tires, which you will have to incur twice a year, every year. Oh, and another set of rims isn't necessarily all that expensive; you can often find sets of used steelies (black-painted steel rims) for as little as $40-80 for a set of four, which means they will pay for themselves in mounting costs in one year. Look around, and you'll notice lots of folks using steelies in the winter, usually with winter tires.

 

Believe me, I understand tight expenses. Were you planning to purchase your tires locally, or online through tirerack.com, discounttiredirect.com, etc? You can often save a ton of money buying the tires online. Then you would be able to swing for a summer and a winter set. Plus winter tires can be purchased online and mounted/balanced on steelies for a very decent price. Also, all-season tires tend to be more expensive than either winter or summer tires anyways. Plus, you can get 4-5 winters out of one set.

After years of replacing expensive all seasons, I've finally switched to having a summer (Kumho Ecsta SPT) and winter (Dunlop Graspic DS-2) tires. I now buy online and will save a lot of money in the long run and have better performance all year round.

Ken (nsxtasy) helped me a lot when I was deciding what to do

 

I agree with everything Doespike says except this one sentence:

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Doespike &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Also, all-season tires tend to be more expensive than either winter or summer tires anyways.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Prices can vary, depending on the tire, the size, etc. What you say might be true for the tire size for one car, but not for another.

For example, if I were buying tires for 15" wheels on this fellow's 2002 Accord, and I wanted good performance as well as good value, here are the tires I would get, and current prices at the Tire Rack for 195/65-15 size tires:

Winter tire - Bridgestone Blizzak REVO 1, 195/65-15, $77 or Dunlop Graspic DS-2, 195/65-15, $61
All-season tire - Kumho Ecsta ASX, 195/65-15, $47
Summer tire - Yokohama AVS ES100, 205/60-15, $84 (Kumho SPT is not available in 195/65 or 205/60)

So in this case, it happens to be the reverse. But in another case, it might be true.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Doespike &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">You can often save a ton of money buying the tires online.</TD></TR></TABLE>

That is the way I'm planning to go.

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by nsxtasy &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Summer tire - Yokohama AVS ES100, 205/60-15, $84 (Kumho SPT is not available in 195/65 or 205/60)</TD></TR></TABLE>

The SPT is not available in those sizes, but it is available in 205/55-15 and only costs $61. Seems like a good deal, but the only drawback is the tire is an inch smaller than stock; but I can deal with that.

So it looks like I'll get the SPTs in the summer, and get some rims/winter tires when the winter comes.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by 02 accord &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">The SPT is not available in those sizes, but it is available in 205/55-15 and only costs $61. Seems like a good deal, but the only drawback is the tire is an inch smaller than stock; but I can deal with that.</TD></TR></TABLE>

I wouldn't. That's a HUGE difference (4.4 percent smaller in diameter). They'll throw off your speedo and odo, they'll lower your car. I wouldn't get tires that much smaller. I just wouldn't.

 

bf goodrich gforce sport. best bang for the buck

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by TunerTalk &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">bf goodrich gforce sport. best bang for the buck</TD></TR></TABLE>


WRONG worse tire bang for the buck

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by TunerTalk &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">bf goodrich gforce sport</TD></TR></TABLE>

= crap.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by nsxtasy &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Summer tire - Yokohama AVS ES100, 205/60-15, $84</TD></TR></TABLE>

I decided to go with summer tires in the spring, and I'll figure something out before next winter. So the ES100 would give me the best performance for the money?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by 02 accord &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I decided to go with summer tires in the spring, and I'll figure something out before next winter. So the ES100 would give me the best performance for the money?</TD></TR></TABLE>

Yes.

 

Same question all over again.

Are any new, sticky, low priced summer tires out on the market, or is the ES100 still the best performer for the money? Tire rack has them in 205/60 at $90 each.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by 02 accord &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Are any new, sticky, low priced summer tires out on the market, or is the ES100 still the best performer for the money? Tire rack has them in 205/60 at $90 each.</TD></TR></TABLE>

The ES100 is still the best. tires-easy.com has them in 205/60-15 for $78.10 each.

 

Thanks.