[4Hockey4]

Looking for a year round tire, and leaning this over the Continental. I have stock rims, so have to stay 225/18 non staggered. (not in snow, but will be under 32 degrees)

Ok to use Dinan springs to lower ? Also what spacers would be appropriate ? Like to get closer to fender.

Like thoughts on how that would change handling...well other than going from crappy RFT's to decent performance tire

thx

#novice

[marcthedark]

If you stay stock size (aka no change) why would lowering springs not be OK. They are just a personal preference. Spacers ... 10-15mm.
Tires more grip and better damping, springs make it harsher again (aka offsetting any comfort gain due to tire change). Spacers rarely change much at all.
My guess is slightly harsher/sportier ride with less body roll and more perceived grip. But in the end no night/day difference

[Black Sunshine]

I can’t speak for the lowering, but I love Michelins in cold weather. No idea in snow, as I don’t drive the car in that. I had the run flats first. Now I run dedicated Continental summers since they came with rims I bought. The Michelins do not have as much grip as the summer tires, but they come close. My 2 cents

[ralawren]

Originally Posted by Black Sunshine

I can't speak for the lowering, but I love Michelins in cold weather. No idea in snow, as I don't drive the car in that. I had the run flats first. Now I run dedicated Continental summers since they came with rims I bought. The Michelins do not have as much grip as the summer tires, but they come close. My 2 cents

I had A/S 3s on my wife's C300 for two years and had mixed feelings. They definitely have a lot of grip compared to the Continental Pros from the Mfg. i also was very happy with the traction in rain and light snow, but I had 4matic.

The downside is all that grip increased the road noise and reduced my average fuel mileage by 2mpg. I was very surprised.

I like the Continental DWS06s that I had on my 128i much better. If I was still in Maryland I would be running the DWS06 on my 228i.

Just my opinion...

[Uwrwilke]

Originally Posted by ralawren

I had A/S 3s on my wife's C300 for two years and had mixed feelings. They definitely have a lot of grip compared to the Continental Pros from the Mfg. i also was very happy with the traction in rain and light snow, but I had 4matic.

The downside is all that grip increased the road noise and reduced my average fuel mileage by 2mpg. I was very surprised.

I like the Continental DWS06s that I had on my 128i much better. If I was still in Maryland I would be running the DWS06 on my 228i.

Just my opinion...

+1

Same - performance is great, but road noise does increase a bit. There's always a trade off

[DistantTea]

I've been running the AS3+ all year. Fantastic tire until the temps get below 30 degrees... then they are pretty hard. Snow traction is fine if it's slushy snow. I found fresh dry powder on a chicago 15 degree day to be pretty scary in them and I'll be running snows this winter in Cincinnati just in case. Otherwise I've been very happy with them. I had the dealer swap them when I bought the car as part of my deal. If you aren't going to deal with snow then they are a great true all season (as long as all your seasons don't require ice conditions).

Road noise is par for the course in performance tires of any sort and I find these are quieter than the summer performance tires in most cases. My other car sounds like a gravel in a blender on the highway so maybe I'm just used to it?

[dradernh]

Originally Posted by DistantTea

I've been running the AS3+ all year. Fantastic tire until the temps get below 30 degrees...

Thanks for the confirmation, as that's pretty much what I've imagined to be the case. It's why I recently bought AS3+s for the 35°-55° range. Once it gets cold I prefer to have winters on my cars.