OT: 3PMSF all season tires vs real snows

[rice rocket]

Has anyone shopped the new(-ish) 3PMSF all seasons?

I've been on X-ICEs for the past decade, and Blizzaks WS-xx the decade before, but we haven't had regular snow accumulation here for the past few years now.

The marketing says they're not giving up much versus a performance snow (Pilot Alpin, Blizzak LMxxx or similar) in most situations, but part of me still wants the most traction on ice, since that's when you're most likely to write off your vehicle.

Any experiences? I've been looking at the Pirelli Cinturato WeatherActive mostly, but maybe the CrossClimate2s as well. These would be winter only, as I'll be on summer rubber for whenever it's above 45 degrees.

[jadmt]

I am going with crossclimate2's. I live in Montana and seems like they get about as good of a rating as you can get for my conditions.

[Mr. Pink]

I have been on the Crossclimate 2s for a few years now. They are as advertised. Not very noisy or rough in the dry, excellent in snow, and I ski. First season I woke up in an unplowed condo parking lot in Vermont to a foot and a half, and drove right out. Honda HRV. They claim 60,000 miles, we'll see. Not cheap.

[Wunder]

I have Cross Climate 2s on my and my mom's Subaru Outback. Been very happy with them. I think they're ideal for a tire you can leave on year round and drive even when it's 100 degrees out that still does okay in snow.

If I lived somewhere where true winter rubber made sense I'd consider swapping wheels/tires twice a year. But in middle america where it can snow but you can also get a 70 degree day in February I think the cross climates are ideal.

[Mr. Pink]

Even if you live in the northeast where it snows some, this tire works. I lived in CT., and 90% of my ski driving was on well plowed or bare pavement. Snow tires have a short life on paved. Even in Albany and certainly Boston, this is a great tire. But, yeah, if you lived in Burlington or Syracuse, snows.

[gospastic]

Have been using Crossclimate2s for about 20k miles now. They’ve been great, no complaints. Not a lot of snow here but have performed well when needed.

[Derosid]

This is an interesting OT topic. I moved to Rochester, NY 20 years ago and have two sets of wheels for each car, one set with summer tires and one set with winter tires, usually some flavor of Hakkapeliitta. I used to swap the snows on at Thanksgiving and swap the summers back on at tax day. However, in the last few years I have noticed with our milder winters the actual time that I need snows is compressing, so at some point might want to think about 3-season tires in the winter for tire longevity. However, all it takes is one trip to Buffalo in a snowstorm and I’m glad I still have the Hakka’s on the car.

[C40_guy]

Originally Posted by Derosid

This is an interesting OT topic. I moved to Rochester, NY 20 years ago and have two sets of wheels for each car, one set with summer tires and one set with winter tires, usually some flavor of Hakkapeliitta. I used to swap the snows on at Thanksgiving and swap the summers back on at tax day. However, in the last few years I have noticed with our milder winters the actual time that I need snows is compressing, so at some point might want to think about 3-season tires in the winter for tire longevity. However, all it takes is one trip to Buffalo in a snowstorm and I’m glad I still have the Hakka’s on the car.

Same here. Been sporting Hakkas for decades. Run Conti DWSs06+ for three seasons...some people think they're good in the snow, but...I run wide summer tires and am happy to have narrower winter tires, purpose built for the white stuff.

[Mr. Pink]

#1 reason I bought the Cross Climates was lack of space to store another set of wheels and tires year round. Lived in a condo.

[.RJ]

The other consideration is temperature, snows will offer more grip in very cold conditions.

But for most places having dedicated snow tires just dont make sense, and most 'all season' tires are more than adequate.

[benb]

I just < 1 week ago got Yokohama Geolander CV4S tires put on my Outback.

They have this rating, but obviously I can't have any comment until it actually snows. I haven't even driven them in the rain yet. They are quite nice in the dry so far. Interestingly the tread blocks look an awful lot like a snow tire, it's like they've figure out some way to use similar shape/geometry without the tread being so super soft like a true snow.

This is kind of academic since it's an Outback, it has always had Continental all seasons similar to the OEM tires and as long as the tires weren't worn out it was a beast in the snow with those tires, so 3PMSF should be even better.

I had one occasion last winter were I was worried I was going to get stuck in deep mud at a ski area when the weather went crazy and got really warm.. the parking lot there really needs to be frozen. Because the tires were almost worn out it did get a little dicey but I didn't end up stuck. Also just last month had a really sketchy drive up in VT in the dark/rain on really bad roads, but again all down to the tires being very close to shot.

Our winters just keep getting milder but the ski/snowboard trips have still put me in some long drives in snowstorms the last 5 years.

I see snow tires vs these as very much a car model specific choice.. a vehicle less well tuned for the snow needs the snows more. The Outback will leave any of the cars I had on snows for dead without snow tires just because those cars had their throttle response, gear selection, suspension tuning, brake pedal tuning, etc.. all biased towards dry weather performance. I had some of those cars get stuck in the snow with snow tires simply due to their lack of ground clearance.

[Likes2ridefar]

I recently got an outback and after a few weeks swapped tires to 3pmsf rated falken wild peak a/t trail and kept the OE 18” wheels. I got them after reading too much. The general consensus online was they are better than all season in snow but aren’t as capable as a snow tire. No surprise there and echoes comments already here..

The tires don’t look a lot different from a typical all season but I’ve been pleased with how they handle on paved and dirt roads so far. Notably better traction than the OE Yokohama avid GT on dirt.

[tellyho]

The one year (2 years ago) that I didn't swap my snows on, I got both cars stuck. Because I was used to driving in the winter with the snow tires, I plowed them into situations where the all seasons couldn't dig out.

We really don't get snow anymore in the Boston area, but I'm reluctant to ditch the snow tires. I will say that if I had a Subaru or AWD, I'd see no reason for snow tires (and when I lived in VT, the Sube wore all seasons and did just fine).

[edgerat]

different vehicles so, not a fair comparison. I have Duratracs on my Tacoma and I do not feel as sure-footed as I do when I am in my WRX with Artimax or whatever the General snow tire is. If ultimate performance on snow and ice is your goal, you have your answer. If you want "pretty good" or the best you can get whilst still being good for dry surface driving, 3PMSF may be a better fit.

[truth]

I've never driven on real snow tires but I have been using the 3PMSF all weather tires for years.

I've had some Nokians, CrossClimates, and Assurance WeatherReady. The Nokians and Assurance WeatherReady seemed better than the CrossClimates.

They work much better than all seasons. I've used them for frequent skiing driving in the snowiest conditions in Tahoe and in the Cascades. At both times I was living and doing the majority of my driving in milder conditions.

In California they count as snow tires for chain control purposes, so you typically won't have to chain up if you have AWD.

If I ever wanted high performance summer tires, or if I lived the full winter in the mountains I would get dedicated snow tires. These all weather tires with the 3 peak mountain snowflake logo seem to not compromise on much.