Can anyone recommend a good all season tire? Looking at 205/50/17 tires. Have been on TireRack.com and was looking at the Avon Tech 550 but from the reviews it sounds noisy after the miles add up. Also looking at Michelin Pilot Exalto. I'm a spirited driver and like to take fast corners so some performance is a must but also must deal with the crappy weather in Ohio. Any ideas? Thanks!

 

I've been looking at all seasons also and one that has my attention is the Kumho ECSTA in 17" or the Perelli Zero in 18".

 

I just bought two Yokohama YK250 205/50/17 tires (had some damage that couldn't be repaired) from Discount Tire. They have a 60,000 mile treadwear warranty, and so far seem to be stickier, quieter, and shine better than the RS-A's (more flat surface). They ran about $115 each, then plus the $19/tire for their lifetime damage warranty they offer.

I would've gone with Michellin MXV4 Plus tires (have them on our other car and love them) except they were about $70 more/tire.

 

I've been running Toyo Proxes FZ4's in a 225/45R17 (on 17x7 rim) on my 3 and they are holding up great. The rear tires have ~41,000 on them and they are starting to show some feathering on the inside edge due to the negative camber of the rear suspension. Fronts have ~22,000 and still look great (the fronts will go to the rear in a couple of months, then new front tires.)

 

Any idea how the Yokohama's are in snow? From the reviews i read the handling, noise, etc sounds great but no mention of winter performance. Thanks.

 

I drive those Toyo's in the snow all the time (I'm a National Ski Patroller in the winter months) The directional tread and the size of the voids between the lugs seems to do quite well. The only time I got stuck was trying to pull into my in-laws unplowed driveway with ~6-8" of soft snow on the driveway. My car is lowered, so that doesn't help either......They were ~$100/each...

 

I'm rockin' Pirelli P6 Four Seasons. This will be my first winter with them, and I'll keep you updated once the snow starts flying here.... but as of yet, I have not felt uncomfortable with them at all, and I've pushed them on wet surfaces quite a few times... no slippage at all. They run about $140 each (US Dollars).

 

If you're looking for a All Season tire, go for Michellin Pilot Exalto. That's the tire that i have in my 3 and its good in all weather condition. I never had problem driving in the snow weather condition and its excellent in cornering if you're looking for performance. I give it a 2 thumbs up !

 

how bad are your winters in ohio? all season equals no season well. we have proxies summer (dont remember the designation) on the mazda 3 and proxies 4 (all season counter part) on my A3. both are good tires and the proxies4 seems to do pretty well during my spirited driving in a more powerful car than the mazda. honestly the performance summer tires will be way more tire than a stock mazda 3 needs. i can hardly get any wheel spin coming out of a corner with the the summers and cant even come close to locking them up

get economy summers and some cheap snow tires and be ahead of the game. the worst snow tires will still be head and shoulders above the best all season tires in the snow and ice

 

Well I had the Perelli P Zero/Nero's installed at the end of December. So far they have been really good in all the weather we've had in Baltimore. On dry if I run around 36psi I get great grip and have pushed them pretty hard, as hard as I'm willing to go on public roads. No problems. They were pricey but so far I'm impressed.

Oh btw: 215/45/17's