Winter Tire Suggestions Please

[SVTKen]

This will be my first full winter season with the Shelby, and I plan to drive it in the cold weather, but it will stay parked unless the streets have been plowed or the snow is light. I live in Maryland, and fortunately we don't get much snow here, but tempertures can be very cold, especially on the morning commute.

I'm planning to replace the stock rubber within the next week or so and am looking for suggestions for tires to get me through the cold winter months.

I've been thinking through a couple of different options:

1. Put all season tires on all 4 corners for the winter months. I've been considering Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3s, but I'm not sure how they will be in the really cold temps. Will they be acceptable or would you not recommend them for the cold weather? Can you think of another all season tire that would be better? How would they be in light snow?

2. Put all season tires (such as the MPS A/S 3s) in the front and snow tires in the rear during the cold weather. What I may do is just keep the all season tires in the front year round and then swap out the rears with Michelin Pilot Super Sport tires during the summer and snow tires during the cold months. Do you think snow tires will be necessary in the rear and if so what do you recommend that will fit the Shelby?

Keep in mind that I will only be driving it in very light snow or after the roads have been cleared. I mainly want tires that will get decent grip in the cold temps. Obviously the stock rubber is out of the question. Please help with your suggestions and personal experience. Please don't tell me to park it during the winter. I would never do that.

 

[Jon96cobra]

I have been looking for a set myself for winter. I have looked at the Pirelli Winter Sottozero Series II for a winter tire. I have also looked at just getting an all season like. Goodyear Eagle GT or the Eagle Sport. Since I have the Eagle F1 Asymmetric 2 as a summer tire which I have no complaints about so far. I didn't like the Continental Extreme Contact DWS tires since they didn't seem to last very long. I made it through the winter last year with the F1 tires but I rather not take my chances since I take mostly back roads to get to work. Has anyone tried these tires? I'm curious to get opinions.

 

[GOTSVT?]

Blizzaks

 

[14 sn8k]

With a traction issue on dry pavement i can only suggest a set of tire chains my be the only cure....lol good luck trying to keep it shinny side up.

 

[cobra23]

I have the pirelli sotto zeroes mounted on Boss 302 LS 19 by 9/10 wheels from the tire rack.

The difference in grip from the goodyear stock OEM tires is like night and day. Outstanding ride and traction from the pirellis. I bought them mounted and balanced. I have no worries now if I get caught in light snow.

Highly recommended. I did not buy the TPMS. I just hit ok when the warning comes up and it goes away

The tires/wheels are slightly smaller than stock but I have been at speed and didn't notice any difference in ride or handling

 

[SVTKen]

I think I've made up my mind. I plan to put dedicated snow tires (Blizzaks or Pirellis) on the rear and A/S tires on the front, probably the Michelin Sport A/S 3s. If I'm happy with the A/S tires, I'll keep them during the summer months too so I only need to swap the rear tires. I plan to put the Michelin Pilot Super Sport tires in the rear when the weather gets warmer, and may put them on the front too during warm weather if I'm not happy with the A/S 3s.

Many people seem to like the Blizzaks or possibly Pirelli Sottozeros, so that is what I'm leaning toward using for the winter tires. Now I need to check and see what's available in the size I need:

Front Tires P265/40 R19, Rear Tires P285/35 R20

I'm not planning to change the wheels - just the tires.

 

[SVTKen]

UPDATE:

I found these two choices at TireRack that are a perfect fit on the rear of my car:

** Bridgestone Blizzak LM-25 RFT Performance Winter / Snow
** Pirelli Winter Sottozero Serie II Performance Winter / Snow

I don't normally like runflat tires, and the Blizzaks are runflats. Which do you prefer? The Blizzaks or Sottozero Serie IIs?

I cannot find a single all-season tire match for the fronts (265/40 R19) at TireRack. I'm very surprised out of all the tire choices at TireRack there isn't a single exact match for the front. Is there another size that you can recommend for the front wheels?

 

[shetheri]

Personally, I would run the Pirelli's on the front and rear. This is the preferred method. I would run the 255/45R19 in the front and the 275/40R20 in the rear. It is better to go narrower and taller for a winter tire.

 

[rwboring]

ive ran blizzaks and they are great however that wasn't on a 650 horse car...

since you don't think you are going in snow that isn't plowed you probably dont need to go smaller tire like you typically would for a winter tire but i would agree a 275 is probably OK

I would also run the same on the front and back to be safe (typically tirerack has pretty good prices on cheap rims to just get a full set for winter)

 

[Competition]

I've never understood how people can afford a 70k dollar car but not a 1500 dollar beater to drive in the snow. I wouldnt drive my gt500 if it was cloudy out let alone rain or snow.

 

[SVTKen]

I've never understood how people can afford a 70k dollar car but not a 1500 dollar beater to drive in the snow. I wouldnt drive my gt500 if it was cloudy out let alone rain or snow.

What you recommend is a complete crock of crap (re-read my posts). My counter question would be why would anyone buy a $70K car and park it 4 months out of the year? To me, that would be a waste. I could afford any second vehicle I wanted, but I don't want that. I want to drive my Shelby during the cold months. Just because it's cold doesn't mean you have to park your car. As I stated, Maryland weather isn't bad in terms of snow. We haven't had any measurable snow in two years.

And I repeat: I would NEVER drive a beater! You can baby your Shelby all you want, but I want to drive mine! The Shelby is perfectly capable of being driven in cold weather and light snow.

 

[biminiLX]

I've never understood how people can afford a 70k dollar car but not a 1500 dollar beater to drive in the snow. I wouldnt drive my gt500 if it was cloudy out let alone rain or snow.

Not worth it, obviously that's our shared opinion and Ken likes to get defensive about driving it all the time. We had that discussion in several threads already, his choice.
I would say probably 90% of people wouldn't consider buying a GT500 that was driven in the winters, so if he wants to kill his resale, his loss.
Once salt is on the roads, mine's parked.
And I like my beater...AMG makes a nice beater
-J

 

[jason6488]

I agree with SVTken, resale value be damned... i bought the car to drive the lugnuts off it...However I also don't have a problem with people who buy it, stick it in a glass box and stare at it... I just bought mine purely for the driving enjoyment. I don't care what happens to the resale, i plan on keeping it until a little after I'm dead anyways..

I live in Texas, Dallas specifically. Anyone keep the stock tires on the car through the winter? I've found traction is quite crappy when it's in the 50's and 40's... well crappier than usual... For safeties sake would I need to get a different set of tires?

 

[SVTKen]

I agree with SVTken, resale value be damned... i bought the car to drive the lugnuts off it...However I also don't have a problem with people who buy it, stick it in a glass box and stare at it... I just bought mine purely for the driving enjoyment. I don't care what happens to the resale, i plan on keeping it until a little after I'm dead anyways..

I live in Texas, Dallas specifically. Anyone keep the stock tires on the car through the winter? I've found traction is quite crappy when it's in the 50's and 40's... well crappier than usual... For safeties sake would I need to get a different set of tires?

I could care less about resale value as well. I don't buy a car with concern about resale. Most people trade their cars in anyway (I'm not of those people) and they get screwed regardless of how much they baby it. I always get a great price for all my cars when I go to sell them anyway because they are always in perfect condition other than minor stuff. Our cars will not rust because of a little winter driving, at least not in Maryland. We got like 4 inches of snow total in the past 2 years!

You will definitely want to change your tires for temps below 50 degrees, and for temps less than 40, the stock tires are unsafe for the daily commute, especially on cold wet roads.

 

[CM5878]

+1, last time I checked, a car is a depreciating asset:read:

What you recommend is a complete crock of crap (re-read my posts). My counter question would be why would anyone buy a $70K car and park it 4 months out of the year? To me, that would be a waste. I could afford any second vehicle I wanted, but I don't want that. I want to drive my Shelby during the cold months. Just because it's cold doesn't mean you have to park your car. As I stated, Maryland weather isn't bad in terms of snow. We haven't had any measurable snow in two years.

And I repeat: I would NEVER drive a beater! You can baby your Shelby all you want, but I want to drive mine! The Shelby is perfectly capable of being driven in cold weather and light snow.

 

[phil123]

I agree with SVTken, resale value be damned... i bought the car to drive the lugnuts off it...However I also don't have a problem with people who buy it, stick it in a glass box and stare at it... I just bought mine purely for the driving enjoyment. I don't care what happens to the resale, i plan on keeping it until a little after I'm dead anyways..

I live in Texas, Dallas specifically. Anyone keep the stock tires on the car through the winter? I've found traction is quite crappy when it's in the 50's and 40's... well crappier than usual... For safeties sake would I need to get a different set of tires?

+1
I live in California so no snow but the car is a DD. The MSPP's work fine in the 50's and 40's but the GY's wouldn't. Certainly people have the right to treat it like a museum piece and not drive it if there are to many leafs in the air but can't say I get it. Its a car enjoy it for what it is. Leaving it in the garage and driving it 1,000 miles or less a year is actually quite an expensive hobby when you consider depreciation on the Shelby and paying double insurance and DMV fees.

 

[Pete Grimaldi]

I purchased a set of American Muscle Boss Charcoal 19x9 wheels and Pirelli 275/40/19 P Zero Nero A/S tires for the GT500 for cold weather driving. These have allowed me to drive in the colder New England weather with the car. I do have a 2001 Mustang V6 with 105,000 miles on it for winter driving, etc.

There is no cold morning traction loss. Also, if there is traction loss with cold weather, there will be less grip when braking too. These just make it safer all around to drive on the street at this time of the year, and let's me get more driving time with the car. The Pirellis aren't the best tires on the market, but they seem to be doing what I want them to do. Since they are asymmetrical I can also use one of them as a spare if I need too! I may only have to garage it for a couple of months or less depending on snow accumulation.

BTW I have over 5000 miles on my GT500 since April.

Pete

 

[SVTKen]

Thanks again for all the advice and information guys! I have been reading about all the different tire options and looking at the TireRack website. I found a local dealer who I've done businesss with before and trust with my wheels and the installation. As an added bonus, he said he can beat the price on any tire that TireRack sells.

I still haven't made up my mind between the Blizzaks and Sottozero Serie IIs. I've heard a lot of good things about the Blizzaks, but not too much info on the Sottozeros. What do you guys think of run flats? I'm personally leaning toward the Sottozeros because they are not run flats.

Thanks for the tip regarding tire size (a little narrower than stock in front will probably better for snow than the wider ones anyway). There were lots to choose from in that size and I found the Michelin Pilot Sport A/3s in that size, so I think they would be great on the front for my purposes (cold temps/plowed roads/very light snow). They are available W or Y speed rated. Which do you think is better?

I found this article on the MPS A/S 3s:

Tire Test - Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3 - European Car Magazine

They have good reviews from everything I've read.

My goal is to make it safely through the winter months (basically late November through early April), and hopefully be able to continue to use the A/S 3s in the warmer weather. I don't want to have to swap out the fronts twice a year unless the A/S tires perform poorly, but it sounds like they will be fine.

 

[Jon96cobra]

Thanks again for all the advice and information guys! I have been reading about all the different tire options and looking at the TireRack website. I found a local dealer who I've done businesss with before and trust with my wheels and the installation. As an added bonus, he said he can beat the price on any tire that TireRack sells.

I still haven't made up my mind between the Blizzaks and Sottozero Serie IIs. I've heard a lot of good things about the Blizzaks, but not too much info on the Sottozeros. What do you guys think of run flats? I'm personally leaning toward the Sottozeros because they are not run flats.

Thanks for the tip regarding tire size (a little narrower than stock in front will probably better for snow than the wider ones anyway). There were lots to choose from in that size and I found the Michelin Pilot Sport A/3s in that size, so I think they would be great on the front for my purposes (cold temps/plowed roads/very light snow). They are available W or Y speed rated. Which do you think is better?

I found this article on the MPS A/S 3s:

Tire Test - Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3 - European Car Magazine

They have good reviews from everything I've read.

My goal is to make it safely through the winter months (basically late November through early April), and hopefully be able to continue to use the A/S 3s in the warmer weather. I don't want to have to swap out the fronts twice a year unless the A/S tires perform poorly, but it sounds like they will be fine.

If I was going to choose between the tires I would get the Sottozero Series IIs. I have a friend that has them and loves them also not run flats. I'm not a big fan of run flats since they have a stiffer sidewall.

 

[Klinsmann18]

I've never understood how people can afford a 70k dollar car but not a 1500 dollar beater to drive in the snow. I wouldnt drive my gt500 if it was cloudy out let alone rain or snow.

I'm more concerned in our culture with the person who buys a $70k part-time car but can only afford a $1500 daily driver.