Need opinions on two dedicated sets of tires

[Snow Drift]

Just ordered my Model 3 LR AWD - I live in NY state and need to be able to drive in 1-5 inches of snow about 5-10 times a winter, but I live near a metro area and am not likely to ever need to drive in deep snow (6+ inches).. I'm willing to get a 2nd set of wheels to have dedicated winter tires. I've seen lots of tire recommendations in various threads, but I'm hoping to get some sort of a consensus recommendation for my situation/desires for 2 sets to cover me for the full season.

Important note for my below rankings, I care very little about handling & cornering, my #1 concern is traction (safety) in all conditions (except for deep snow).

1. Dry traction/handling/cornering
2. Wet traction/handling/cornering
3. Ride comfort
4. Noise
5. Energy use / efficiency
6. Cost/Price/Budget
7. Tread longevity
8. Looks / low profile
9. Track use / performance

Michelin X-ICE Xi3 are the best combo of snow/efficiency. I've had them on my Model 3 and a Subaru STI. I think that Blizzaks and Hakkas will be overkill and too loud for all of your dry days.

I have 18" Aeros, so I just bought the same size/load X-ICE and swap them twice a year.

 

[nilesgold]

Michelin X-ICE Xi3 are the best combo of snow/efficiency. I've had them on my Model 3 and a Subaru STI. I think that Blizzaks and Hakkas will be overkill and too loud for all of your dry days.

I have 18" Aeros, so I just bought the same size/load X-ICE and swap them twice a year.

View attachment 463789

What tires are you using the rest of the year, and what time of year do you usually make the swaps?

I should've clarified before, I went with the standard 18" Aero wheels. My main priority is safety, I'm not a driver who's looking to maximize acceleration, push the limits when cornering, etc...

I'm definitely leaning towards a dedicated snow tire that will function well in light snow, wet, and dry conditions, as those are what I'll be dealing with 99% of the time I drive the car in December-Feb. As such I think I'm also leaning towards the Michelin X-ICE Xi3 tires (assuming these are still better than the very highly regarded All-Season MICHELIN CROSSCLIMATE+ in the winter?)... but if anyone has a better suggestion for my situation I'm all ears.

Assuming I go with winter tires Dec-Feb, I'm hesitant to use a summer tire the rest of the year because it will definitely drop below freezing in New York State other times in the year and if we get early or late snow fall I don't want to be caught with summer tires on the car.

Thanks for the responses so far!

 

[Snow Drift]

What tires are you using the rest of the year, and what time of year do you usually make the swaps?

I should've clarified before, I went with the standard 18" Aero wheels. My main priority is safety, I'm not a driver who's looking to maximize acceleration, push the limits when cornering, etc...

I'm definitely leaning towards a dedicated snow tire that will function well in light snow, wet, and dry conditions, as those are what I'll be dealing with 99% of the time I drive the car in December-Feb. As such I think I'm also leaning towards the Michelin X-ICE Xi3 tires (assuming these are still better than the very highly regarded All-Season MICHELIN CROSSCLIMATE+ in the winter?)... but if anyone has a better suggestion for my situation I'm all ears.

Assuming I go with winter tires Dec-Feb, I'm hesitant to use a summer tire the rest of the year because it will definitely drop below freezing in New York State other times in the year and if we get early or late snow fall I don't want to be caught with summer tires on the car.

Thanks for the responses so far!

By rule, I'll change Thanksgiving and Easter, but lately, October due to weird early snow fall (climate change...). The rest of the year for the M3 I use the stock all-seasons for now. For the STI I had summer tires. Once the M3 stock tires die I will replace with summer tires.

All-seasons are mediocre in all situations compared to summer/snow tires in their optimal climates.

 

[hmgolds]

The biggest benefit of snow tires isn't "going", it's "stopping". So even in 1-5" of snow, they can be a big benefit. The problem I have is with summer. There just seems to be too much of the year where the temps are so variable it's too cold for summer tires one day and too hot for winter tires the next. And, if you drive 200 miles north or south, you might find that situation in the same day.

I ran the stock all-seasons all last winter in Boston area (M3, RWD, LR). But I'm retired and if the weather sucks, I have the option of staying home (or at least not driving far). Even going up the very steep hill to my son's house I didn't have an issue. But I am considering winter tires for the snowy months and all-season for the rest of the year - more for the stopping than the going. And we have an older ICE car that we drive when it looks like bumper-car weather.

 

[nilesgold]

By rule, I'll change Thanksgiving and Easter, but lately, October due to weird early snow fall (climate change...). The rest of the year for the M3 I use the stock all-seasons for now. For the STI I had summer tires. Once the M3 stock tires die I will replace with summer tires.

All-seasons are mediocre in all situations compared to summer/snow tires in their optimal climates.

For the last 10+ years I've used winter tires in the winter, and all-season tires the rest of the year. In hindsight, based on my driving conditions 99% of the time I think I've traded-off far too much wet & dry traction in favor of light/deep snow traction. I thought I was being safer, but I probably put myself more at risk.

My hesitation with running summer tires is that in order to be sure I don't get caught driving in snow or cold I'd really need to make the swaps in late October and late March, even though having the snows on is worse than the all-seasons in November & March. At that point wouldn't it just make more sense to use all-season tires March-Nov? That way I'd only have the snow tires on for 3 months a year, vs 5 months a year.

Kinda comes down to whether it's better to have all-seasons on for 9 moths & winters on for 3 months... or summers on for 7 months & winters on for 5 months. I'm not really sure if one is better than the other.

 

[Snow Drift]

@nilesgold Uh, 5 months winter, 7 months summer tires seems like a normal expectation south of Canada. I used to go to NH all the time, which gets more snow than Albany area, and it was fine.

 

[nilesgold]

I looked at the TR test scores of several tires covering all-seasons, winter, and summer categories... primarily focusing on the wet/dry and snow/ice stopping distances... the results were surprising.

The overall dry/wet/snow/ice performance of the Michelin CrossClimate+ is extremely impressive here... it does very well in snow/ice compared to the Michelin X-Ice Xi3 (even appears to provide shorter stopping distance in snow), and very well in dry/wet compared to the Michelin Pilot Sport 4S. Maybe other variables like the car being used for testing has an impact?

https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/chartDisplayWinter.jsp?ttid=231
https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/chartDisplayWinter.jsp?ttid=193
https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/chartDisplayWinter.jsp?ttid=230
https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/chartDisplay.jsp?ttid=241
https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/chartDisplay.jsp?ttid=223

From about April-October I can be virtually guaranteed that I won't encounter snow or ice. But for the other 5 months, the weather is unpredictable, I might have to drive in snow one day, and dry roads the next.

This has me strongly considering running summer tires (maybe Michelin Pilot Sport 4S) April-October, and Michelin CrossClimate+ Nov-March... or just keeping the CrossClimates on all year.

Does anyone have experience using the Michelin CrossClimate+?