Any one using all season tyres on a fast(ish) car?

[ODP]

My daily drive for work is a GTI which is beyond hopeless in snow.
I’ve been reading up on the new all season tyres (Michelin cross climate plus et al) and was wondering if anyone had any real world experience of using them on a fast (ish) car?
I won’t be keeping it long enough to be able to justify a separate winter set of tyres so am not interested in this option.

[DavidL]

I put a set of Dunlop winters on our c55 last year and frankly I was disappointed. I expected not to notice the snow but I couldn't even get off the drive! This is the same drive that our old imprezas on summers sailed up and down with apparent impunity in those conditions. Once up and about there were no dramas but I have no idea if I would have been more slidey on the summers.
I've always wondered how just rubber compounds make "that" much difference but general opinion seems to be that it does. My experience was not positive.
I have just put a set of Vredstein Quadtrac 5 on my old RR but I have only done about 5 miles since so its a tad too early to say. And quick it is not.

[Tooks]

I ran Michelin CC+ tyres on my Golf GTE as my ‘winter tyres’ (more suited to our cold but wet winters I thought) and they were great.

Ok, the GTE isn’t a GTI but it was remapped and approx 235bhp and FWD only.

They saw me through the ‘beast from the east’ and I’d recommend them. Whilst not total snow tyres, they’re 80% of a snow tyre in the snow but better on the dry days than a winter.

I’m about to be putting the same set of wheels/tyres on my e-Golf, that’ll be the 4th winter they’ve gone through and they wear really well.

[Tooks]

I put a set of Dunlop winters on our c55 last year and frankly I was disappointed. I expected not to notice the snow but I couldn't even get off the drive! This is the same drive that our old imprezas on summers sailed up and down with apparent impunity in those conditions. Once up and about there were no dramas but I have no idea if I would have been more slidey on the summers.
I've always wondered how just rubber compounds make "that" much difference but general opinion seems to be that it does. My experience was not positive.
I have just put a set of Vredstein Quadtrac 5 on my old RR but I have only done about 5 miles since so its a tad too early to say. And quick it is not.

Full winter/snow tyres don’t just rely on the compound being more suitable for lower temps, they also have Sipes (small slits) that collect snow in the tyre that then grips the snow on the road. Michelin CC+ have Sipes too.

I’ve had a 4WD car in the snow on ‘normal’ tyres and the traction was pretty good as you’d expect. Braking and steering were still pretty sketchy though.

Winter tyres on a 2WD car are still great at keeping you safely moving (and stopping) on snow/ice better than any normal tyre I’ve tried.

Apologies if any of that was egg sucking!

[ODP]

I can’t seem to find anything on the handling side. I Don't want to spend hundreds of pounds and then find I’ve improved winter use at a significant detriment to the cars handling performance.

[Bluehase284]

Michelin Cross Climate all day until the clocks change.

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[billymac]

I just bought a pair Michelin CrossClimates for my fwd winter drive based on very good reviews. They should be getting delivered tomorrow so too early to say for myself. I got them from Camskill, a place I've bought tyres from for years. Great prices and great service.

[Tooks]

I can’t seem to find anything on the handling side. I Don't want to spend hundreds of pounds and then find I’ve improved winter use at a significant detriment to the cars handling performance.

All season tyres are a compromise, just as your normal tyres are in cold/snow.

Maybe they’re ‘jack of all trades, master of none’ in some people’s eyes, but I think for everyday driving they’re fine.

The CC+ tyres do hang on pretty well in the dry, and certainly way above how you’d be driving on the road, but they come into their own when the white stuff arrives, without any serious compromises when it isn’t.

It depends what you want really, if ultimate dry grip is your priority, get some pilot sports or something, if you want something that will get you up a compacted snow hill when other cars are floundering, then some CC+ might be the best for the job.

There are a few tests out there, what car did a test on the old version of the CC, that had it for all intents and purposes level on dry handling.

https://www.whatcar.com/advice/ownin...und-tyre/n1161

[higham5]

Just fitted Michelin Cc on my second car , first one did 24,000 fronts 36,000 rear. Drove very predictably in the snow. Everyone goes on about grip and acceleration. Its breaking grip that's important as its this that save most of the bumps.

How do I know , because I played skittles with a summer tyred discovery on a snowy carpark befire I discovered all weather tyres

Mine started life at appx 8 mm and at 15,000 were 6 mm. So I was pleased BUT I was running a Honda Diesel with 120 bhp on tap. With a Golf GTI you might get 12k ish.They are £100 a corner so compare the cost of a slide and bump.

Im sold on winter/ all season tyres

[Robsmck]

Not much help here but my previous 2 vehicles, both JLR, came with OEM Pirelli scorpion Verde, both amazingly good in snow. My current Macan came on summer Goodyear f1, which I didn't notice until a couple of months old.
I plan to replace the f1s with some sort of all season tyre when the originals are worn, so will be an interesting comparison. Would always run all seasons in the future.

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[gmt 16750]

My car has Mich CC+ all round and whilst I haven’t had any driving in snow (yet..), in the cold/wet/dry they have been excellent thus far - handling is not ‘wooly’ as it can be with full on winters in the dry. It’s not a performance car tbh though (220hp and fwd).

[CardShark]

...Camskill, a place I've bought tyres from for years. Great prices and great service.

I bought a full set of tyres from them a week or two back. Not the first time for me and, as you say, great price and service.

Not winter/snow tyres though, it was a full set of semi-slicks for my Lotus...

[Vanguard]

You may find they don't have the Cross climates in larger sizes, I couldn't get them for my Car last time I checked which has 19" wheels on

[WarrenVrs]

I can’t seem to find anything on the handling side. I Don't want to spend hundreds of pounds and then find I’ve improved winter use at a significant detriment to the cars handling performance.

Really depends how enthusiastically you drive. Driven as intended, you get more tyre squeal, less grip, and noticeably less traction when the weather is warm.

Using summer performance tyres, in 3 years the weather has led to 2 journeys being abandoned, so for me they aren't worth the compromise in UK climate.

[theoriginaldigger]

2 cars back I ran an Audi A6 (252) Quattro on Pirelli SottoZeros, it would drive through standing water, slush and snow like it was nothing, quieter softer ride too than on the summers. Currently have an XC60 which obviously isn't a performance car on which I use Michelin CC Nov-March. Not as surefooted as Winter tyres but definitely better than summers. Switching between the summers and cross-climates will probably mean just 2 sets of tyres for the time I keep this car.

Dig