[Milliwatt Rob]

Here in my area, the earliest snow flurries can come as early as the first week in October. Last year, the last snow that stuck came as late as Memorial Day weekend. That was unusual, but we do get snow that sticks until mid April normally.

Which means that, unless you want a Stingray to be a strictly 6 month a year drive, some all season or snow tires are advisable, on a second set of wheels. For a pure winter tire, I see that a Michelin Alpin PA4 is available in z51 sizes, but going out and intentionally driving the Stingray in mid winter snow would seem crazy.

I am looking for an all season tire to fit on a second set of wheels that would get me past the "not recommended below freezing temperatures" limitation of the stock Michelins that come with the car, and allow me to get around on clear cold weather days, and get home if an inch or two of snow were to suddenly come out of nowhere. I am leaning toward the Continental ExtremeContact DWS, an "Ultra High Performance" all season tire which comes in Z51 sizes, seem reasonably priced at Tirerack, and of all the all season tires, have a higher than average snow traction rating. They are UTQG rated 540 A A .

Anyone have any experience with all season tires, especially in light snow, and how they perform in dry roads? I would refit the summer tires to the car in warm weather months. But wouldn't it be nice to take a mid winter break, drive the Stingray to a warm weather location in mid winter for a couple of weeks, and be able to drive home again and make it up a recently plowed hill?

 

[jsvette]

I know of one local owner who has put Michelin Super Pilot all season on his back tires. I PM him and get him to respond.

 

[NightRaceRick]

My wife drives her Lexus IS year round and it too came factory with low profile tires. I put the Conti Extreme DWS on it and I thought they were great. I had to drive it on a snow covered interstate at Christmas (Santa can't be late!) and was quite pleased with them. Liked them so much that I never bothered putting the factory tires back on as the the DWS's were also great in the rain and also wear great. Of course, the Vette may be a totally different animal with them on, but I don't think you can do better than the DWS's as a UHP tire to get you through in a pinch.

 

[Songcat]

I live in Nevada and wanted to travel back to Iowa this past mid-March. Decided to put the Michelin
Pilot Sport AS3's on my rear wheels and very glad I did!! They not only gave me excellent traction in light snow, but we then drove down to the Alabama/Florida gulf coast. There was no increase in road noise ( as compared to the run flats that came with the C7 ) and my gas mileage was essentially the same. Hope this answers the last paragraph of the inquiry you started! Safe travels, Brian

 

[mjw930]

Putting AS tires only on the rear is dangerous. 70% of your stopping force is generated by your front tires. If you are going to swap out to AS tires do all four........

 

[NightRaceRick]

Putting AS tires only on the rear is dangerous. 70% of your stopping force is generated by your front tires. If you are going to swap out to AS tires do all four........

Yes, I should have specified above concerning the Conti's that I put them on all four corners for the reason you mentioned. All 4 tires should have the same grip/handling characteristics as it's just as important to be able to steer and brake in snow as it is to get grip with the rear tires.

 

[Mac57]

Milliwatt. I had the Pirelli Sottozero's on an A5 two years ago and they were excellent in little snow as well as on wet and dry roads. Not as noisy/aggressive as Blizzaks. I was considering them for the Z51 for winter rides (not for snow unless caught off guard). I notice you mentioned the Alpins but not the Sottozero's. Have you heard anything negative on the Pirellis?

 

[Milliwatt Rob]

No, I have heard nothing negative about the Pirelle Sottozeros, and in fact they are an excellent winter performance tire. But I am not planning on driving the car on packed snow, or fresh snow. Only looking for something with some snow capability in the event I am away from home and a snow squall shows up before I can get home. And also looking for some dry road capability if I get lazy and don't immediately change to summer tires in the Spring.

The first radial tires I ever bought were Pirelli CN72 tires in 1968. Put them on a C2 Corvette, and the performance difference was amazing. Back in those days, GM put two ply bias ply tires on Corvettes, no different than a Chevy Bel Air. And given that I was a poor college student, I wore them out entirely, and had two of them re-capped as snow tires. Can you imagine that?