[KneeDragr]

Sounds like you guys are recommending the more dedicated studless snow and ice variety. Have any of you tried the ' performance winter/snow ' variety?

Those have the advantage of good treadwear on cold dry pavement so you can just slap them on for winter and not on/off every time it snows.

I imagine they give up some snow traction but I am wondering how much.

[jdong]

Originally Posted by KneeDragr

Sounds like you guys are recommending the more dedicated studless snow and ice variety. Have any of you tried the ' performance winter/snow ' variety?

Those have the advantage of good treadwear on cold dry pavement so you can just slap them on for winter and not on/off every time it snows.

I imagine they give up some snow traction but I am wondering how much.

The ContiProContact DWS does pretty well as a all-around performer, but it's relatively expensive, and the "S" wears off of the tread (which means it's no longer snow-rated) in as little as 20,000 miles while the DW stays around for 50k. So basically if you want to use them as snow tires, you're going to have to replace them every 20k miles.

They still don't deal with loose snow traction quite as well as a dedicated studless snow/ice variety. When I lived in Michigan I just drove with such tires during the entire winter, and they lasted plenty long for me treadwear-wise.

[CirrusSR22]

Originally Posted by KneeDragr

Sounds like you guys are recommending the more dedicated studless snow and ice variety. Have any of you tried the ' performance winter/snow ' variety?

Those have the advantage of good treadwear on cold dry pavement so you can just slap them on for winter and not on/off every time it snows.

I imagine they give up some snow traction but I am wondering how much.

Historically, it seems like most BMW drivers do buy Performance winter tires over Standard studless winter tires. In addition, Performance winters better match the climate of most US cities.

I'm in Minneapolis and choose standard studless tires. I gladly give up some dry performance to have max traction in the snow/ice. And you certainly don't have to take them on/off every time it snows. I'm in my 5th season on Blizzak WS-60s and am still not at the first wear-bars. Probably will be there at the end of the season and I'll get new ones next year. 5 years of use is more than acceptable to me.

As for traction, performance winter tires usually give up more in ice traction than snow traction. Some of the old tire test info I have showed performance winters tires (Dunlop SP Winter Sport 3D in this case) to be about 5-10% worse in the snow and 20-25% worse in the ice. Over tires such as the the old Michelin X-Ice and Hakkapelitta Rsi. The Dunlops had about 25% better braking on dry pavement over the standard studless tires.

Every year I follow the big Scandanavian winter tire tests - "Motor" magazine used to do a big one and now I believe the same test is done by the NAF in Norway (naf.no). They provide the most comprehensive tests I've ever seen. And I'll note that the Nokian studless tires are never any better than the best studless tires from Michelin, Continental, etc. I would never pay the extra money or hassle to get them.

[elistan]

Originally Posted by KneeDragr

Sounds like you guys are recommending the more dedicated studless snow and ice variety. Have any of you tried the ' performance winter/snow ' variety?

Those have the advantage of good treadwear on cold dry pavement so you can just slap them on for winter and not on/off every time it snows.

I imagine they give up some snow traction but I am wondering how much.

IIRC, there have been a number of positive reports here on the board from people using the Pirelli Winter Sottozero Serie II Run Flat (Performance Winter / Snow) tire.