Midwest... With a family - tires!

[Ddeshpan]

I live in the Midwest with adequate dry but also about 4 months of snow. Brand New purchaser of a 2023 Acura Integra aspec + tech. When the tires come due for changing, any recs if my priorities are:

1. Safety for the family (kids) but I do have two AWD SUVs so this is more occasional snow/fun driving

2. Performance/speed/handling/grip - my son is obsessed and wants me to trade in for a Type S lol. We go Sport mode here and there just to feel the thrust, though admittedly there are faster cars out there. Any tires that would make it "feel" faster or sportier?

3. Tread - ideally 40k + miles

Thoughts? I've read Michelin pilot, any others you'd recommend based on the priorities above, if we pretend money isn't an object?

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[Integra23]

continental dws06+
Quieter than stock tires and better traction in snow and dry payments

 

[Justpassedu]

continental dws06+
I'm running 275/30R19 on factory wheels.
Quieter than stock tires and in that size a higher load rating

Any rub ? Isn’t stock 265 ? I was thinking of going 265 35R19 on the stock wheels with those tires .

 

[Integra23]

Any rub ? Isn’t stock 265 ? I was thinking of going 265 35R19 on the stock wheels with those tires .

No rub. I'm lowered on eibach prokit springs and 15/20mm spacers. The wider tire does give a little more side wall.

 

[Mr. LargeCoffee]

The OP has the Aspec-Tech, so 235 is the stock width. If you go with a summer only tire you’ll have to park it for the 4 months of winter since the rubber compound is not designed to be used in under 40 degree weather. They do make an all season version of the pilot that should work in light snow. I have Michelin Pilot 4 sports on my Miata, they last about 20k miles, so if you’re looking for a 40k tire that‘s not it.

 

[Balefire]

I live in the Midwest with adequate dry but also about 4 months of snow. Brand New purchaser of a 2023 Acura Integra aspec + tech. When the tires come due for changing, any recs if my priorities are:

1. Safety for the family (kids) but I do have two AWD SUVs so this is more occasional snow/fun driving

2. Performance/speed/handling/grip - my son is obsessed and wants me to trade in for a Type S lol. We go Sport mode here and there just to feel the thrust, though admittedly there are faster cars out there. Any tires that would make it "feel" faster or sportier?

3. Tread - ideally 40k + miles

Thoughts? I've read Michelin pilot, any others you'd recommend based on the priorities above, if we pretend money isn't an object?

Impossible to have tire that is
1) safe in snow
2) high performance
3) high tread wear.

For tire that is safe in snow
Michelin Cross Climate 2 is highly regarded as an all weather tire. You sacrifice performance and tread wear

For tire that is high performance
Michelin Pilot Sport 5 for Summer tire
Michelin Pilot All Season 4 for light snow
Both will sacrifice tread wear

For high tread wear 40k mile
I have no idea since those tires are typically commuter low performance tires

 

[Justpassedu]

No rub. I'm lowered on eibach prokit springs and 15/20mm spacers. The wider tire does give a little more side wall.

I’m on 20mm spacers and have the H&R springs to install but I’ll wait until after winter for those . I think it’s wide enough now but could use more meet , that’s why I was thinking of going with the 35’s . How do you like the tires ? You think 35’s would be good ?

 

[Integra23]

Oops.
Still go with the Continentals DWS06+
Great all around tire and if you drive moderately they could last 40k .. I will let someone else on here guide you on sizes

 

[Victorofhavoc]

I live in the Midwest with adequate dry but also about 4 months of snow. Brand New purchaser of a 2023 Acura Integra aspec + tech. When the tires come due for changing, any recs if my priorities are:

1. Safety for the family (kids) but I do have two AWD SUVs so this is more occasional snow/fun driving

2. Performance/speed/handling/grip - my son is obsessed and wants me to trade in for a Type S lol. We go Sport mode here and there just to feel the thrust, though admittedly there are faster cars out there. Any tires that would make it "feel" faster or sportier?

3. Tread - ideally 40k + miles

Thoughts? I've read Michelin pilot, any others you'd recommend based on the priorities above, if we pretend money isn't an object?

Impossible to have tire that is
1) safe in snow
2) high performance
3) high tread wear.

For tire that is safe in snow
Michelin Cross Climate 2 is highly regarded as an all weather tire. You sacrifice performance and tread wear

For tire that is high performance
Michelin Pilot Sport 5 for Summer tire
Michelin Pilot All Season 4 for light snow
Both will sacrifice tread wear

For high tread wear 40k mile
I have no idea since those tires are typically commuter low performance tires

This is pretty correct.

There's no magical tire that can handle Chicago slush/ice/snow, perform and grip well, AND have tread wear as insanely long as 40k miles.

If "money is no object", the correct answer is to buy two sets of tires and swap. A set of performance winters will give you the sporty balance and cold-dry handling of a summer tire, but it won't have the ultimate grip. The balance of performance winters is sporty handling vs snow/ice traction. They will dramatically out perform no-season tires over ice and will be a bit better over snow. They will not grip snow or ice like an ice and snow tire, but i&s tires will be loud, rough, heavy, and have about 15k of life before they turn into rocks.

A set of performance summers will give lighter weight, much more grip, not as much comfort or life as a pedestrian tire. Unless you're looking to autox or do some light HPDE, 200tw is entirely unnecessary, but they would certainly make everything "faster". You'll hook off the line and the lower weight and huge grip will mean the car can go into corners at ludicrous speeds that will scare people around you. A better balance is the "max performance" tires like the Michelin ps4s or ps5.

For performance winters i like the Michelin alpin pa4, and I assume the alpin 5 are a similar replacement for the pa4, but they don't have a ton of sizes for them yet. These days I run blizzaks on our suv and vredstein wintrac pro on my sportier street cars. The vreds are great and have a wonderful balance, with very good ice traction. I'm south of you in kc, and we get 4 months of slush, ice, and random snows. My top priority is safety followed by fun. The vreds will actually stop on ice and won't just understeer, and that's important to me.

For performance summers, the ps4s is one of the best summer tires ever produced. I haven't driven a ps5 but I bet it's comparable. There are several tires in this category though, so there are definitely options to line up against price and comfort. The pirelli pz4 is amazing and outperforms the ps4s in the wet, the conti extreme contact 02 is solid, and the potenza sport is also pretty good.

Since moving to the Midwest 11 years ago I immediately converted to two sets of tires because I drove up here from the south on summers that were year round tires there. I've run all seasons twice, and each time I've regretted it, especially over ice or snow. With two sets of tires, I heat cycle them out and wear them out within 5 years typically, and I rarely wear out the tread before they're cycled out. I also don't drive 20k mi per year so tread life isn't a huge concern for me. 5 years is more than adequate life imo.

 

[Ddeshpan]

Really really great answers, thank you all

 

[dlaw]

I put crossclimate 2s on my Aspec 6MT. These tires are great in the wet and snow, no surprise there, but I've been pleasantly surprised with their handling in the warm & dry. I am a spirited driver, around 6/10 in town when the roads are empty, and these tires have felt confident and well matched to the capabilities of the engine & suspension. I was originally planning to get a set of summer tires next spring ,but based on experience with the crossclimates so far, I think I'm going to run them year round.

Here is an interesting Tire Rack test in which they compared the crossclimate against the PS4S and PSAS:
https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/testDisplay.jsp?ttid=270
Interestingly, crossclimate scored higher than PSAS in the subjective ratings for cornering feel.

Cheers
David

 

[Unity Performance]

continental dws06+
Quieter than stock tires and better traction in snow and dry payments

+1 excellent tire, it will get OP closest to what he's seeking for 8-9 months of the year. Would still recommend a separate winter set for the 3-4 winter months

 

[Ddeshpan]

I put crossclimate 2s on my Aspec 6MT. These tires are great in the wet and snow, no surprise there, but I've been pleasantly surprised with their handling in the warm & dry. I am a spirited driver, around 6/10 in town when the roads are empty, and these tires have felt confident and well matched to the capabilities of the engine & suspension. I was originally planning to get a set of summer tires next spring ,but based on experience with the crossclimates so far, I think I'm going to run them year round.

Here is an interesting Tire Rack test in which they compared the crossclimate against the PS4S and PSAS:
https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/testDisplay.jsp?ttid=270
Interestingly, crossclimate scored higher than PSAS in the subjective ratings for cornering feel.

Cheers
David

Thanks for this! While I now realize there's no magic tire that will be summer tire thrilling and also 100% all season practical, it seems like you all have some close compromises.

Another criteria I suppose is implicit... I'd like them to be "better" than the stock 18s

 

[Integra23]

Thanks for this! While I now realize there's no magic tire that will be summer tire thrilling and also 100% all season practical, it seems like you all have some close compromises.

Another criteria I suppose is implicit... I'd like them to be "better" than the stock 18s

I have ran my DWS for almost 20k miles. First winter they were great. Mostly light snow 3" or less but my car won't clear much more that that anyways

I will update how this next winter goes.. the wear indicators still look good with the S still visible.
D- DRY
W- Wet
S- Snow
This acronym is the wear indicator on the tread

 

[chopsuey34]

Crossclimate2's were the best all-season / all-weather tires for the past 2-3 years. However, competitors have responded and it's been surpassed or at least matched by new products. Look into Continental offerings on Tire Rack.

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