[Oldguysrule]

I'm looking at all-season, non-RFT options for the 21" wheels once my Bridgestones wear out. I've been looking at reviews for the Vredestein Quatrac Pro and from what I can tell, it seems to be a good, well rated tire that even has some snow performance. Wear is indicated at 40,000 miles which would be almost 3x what the summer RFTs offer.

Not offered in the same exact sizes though but close. On the fronts I could put a 245-35 instead of the 245-40s and it would impact speedo by -2.2 mph at 70.

On the rears I could mount 275-40 instead of 275-35 which would affect speedo by +2.7 mph at 70. I'd need to buy a doughnut spare and tool kit to stow in the back but would there be any other issues with the sizing on the factory wheels? Costs would be $192 for a front and $224 for a rear. Thoughts?

[Rbrown]

I don't have experience of that tyre, but I have run Vredstein Wintrac Extremes.

They were excellent in the winter and I actually ran them all year a couple of times. They were great; some people say they are as good as all seasons.

Maybe another option? Think you can get correct fit as well.

[PostModernHero]

Yeah... I wouldn't run at same width but wrong profile. You'd be better off going with different widths with a proper profile to keep rolling diameter the same.

I will be going with the Sottozero 3s after my Alenzas wear down...

[Oldguysrule]

Originally Posted by PostModernHero

Yeah... I wouldn't run at same width but wrong profile. You'd be better off going with different widths with a proper profile to keep rolling diameter the same.

I will be going with the Sottozero 3s after my Alenzas wear down...

Will you run them just in winter or all year??

[MinscLovesBoo]

I only have 19s on my M40i but switched to the Vredestein's Quattac Pro's from the summer run-flats; love the tire.

I was able to keep the differences to only about 1% though...so not nearly as much impact on the speedometer (255/50 vs 245/50)

[PostModernHero]

Originally Posted by Oldguysrule

Will you run them just in winter or all year??

Yessir... in the PNW we don't have enough of a summer to worry about swapping them out. mainly concerned with wet traction here, and at least half of the months are in the 50's or below. These will deliver, and treadwear should be better...

[AcidLotus]

Originally Posted by PostModernHero

Yessir... in the PNW we don't have enough of a summer to worry about swapping them out. mainly concerned with wet traction here, and at least half of the months are in the 50's or below. These will deliver, and treadwear should be better...

Interesting. Considering moving there. Are you an outlier in your thoughts on this or is that what most do? How do the Alenzas handle now?

[SteveX3M40i]

Originally Posted by Oldguysrule

I'm looking at all-season, non-RFT options for the 21" wheels once my Bridgestones wear out. I've been looking at reviews for the Vredestein Quatrac Pro and from what I can tell, it seems to be a good, well rated tire that even has some snow performance. Wear is indicated at 40,000 miles which would be almost 3x what the summer RFTs offer.

Not offered in the same exact sizes though but close. On the fronts I could put a 245-35 instead of the 245-40s and it would impact speedo by -2.2 mph at 70.

On the rears I could mount 275-40 instead of 275-35 which would affect speedo by +2.7 mph at 70. I'd need to buy a doughnut spare and tool kit to stow in the back but would there be any other issues with the sizing on the factory wheels? Costs would be $192 for a front and $224 for a rear. Thoughts?

Hi,
The fact that the new fronts would have a smaller overall diameter and the rears would have a larger overall diameter would possibly cause warranty problems if you have gearbox or differential issues caused by the 6.9% difference between front and rear diameters.
This difference is well outside the manufacturer recommendations and this is why you could face problems - the speedometer reading is really the least of your worries!
Try to find tyres that either keep near to original sizes or that don’t have a different front to rear diameter difference.
Cheers
Steve

[dmicah]

Originally Posted by AcidLotus

Interesting. Considering moving there. Are you an outlier in your thoughts on this or is that what most do? How do the Alenzas handle now?

Another PNW guy here. For city driving you could probably make do with all seasons. If you're going to the mountains to ski (good reason to live here), you should get winters. Alenzas are summers--it would be irresponsible to recommend them in any way for snow.

[EVTee]

Originally Posted by dmicah

Another PNW guy here. For city driving you could probably make do with all seasons. If you're going to the mountains to ski (good reason to live here), you should get winters. Alenzas are summers--it would be irresponsible to recommend them in any way for snow.

Another PNW guy here but north of the border. I've always had dedicated summer and winters on all my cars. If anything I agree that you don't need dedicated winters if you don't go up mountains. Maybe the conti DWS is a good choice if you want a compromise. Running winter tires all year round will increase the wear significantly on the hotter months.

[PostModernHero]

Originally Posted by AcidLotus

Interesting. Considering moving there. Are you an outlier in your thoughts on this or is that what most do? How do the Alenzas handle now?

Haven't been able to drive enough to comment on handling. Ordered from the factory and took delivery just as things were going into lockdown.

My thoughts on just leaving the winters on... I have a lot of experience driving with performance summer tires here. Under 40 degrees, they get rock-hard and I have experienced many situations where I lost traction. I don't want to deal with seasonal swapping of wheels/tires, and I figure it would be less detrimental running the Sottozeroes all year vs the summers. Wet traction will still be there, and can't see myself driving much over 100MPH anyway...

Though these are "performance" winters, and rated well over 100:

https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires...i&autoModClar=

Pretty much the only option for the 21" rims that aren't performance summers. Haven't been able to find all-seasons...

[Alias1431]

Eastern WA here, we definitely need both summers and winters.

[dmicah]

Honestly I find the 21's way better looking than my 20's, but the paucity of tire options in that size just make it really hard. I think if you buy them you have to be willing to get a second set of wheels and tires if you don't live in the warmer climates.

[Oldguysrule]

Originally Posted by dmicah

Honestly I find the 21's way better looking than my 20's, but the paucity of tire options in that size just make it really hard. I think if you buy them you have to be willing to get a second set of wheels and tires if you don't live in the warmer climates.

Or, don't drive the car in the snow. For me, that's not difficult as I have other vehicles. I'm not so remote here that things take long to get cleaned up. When we get snow, most of the time the roads are clear within 24 hours. I'm not fond of having my car look like a salt lick anyway so I'll keep the X3 garaged when it snows or is salty. It would be nice to have all season tires if for no other reason than the wear factor. From what I can tell, summer RFTs will only give me 12-15K miles.

[MinscLovesBoo]

One note for folks - the Quattrac Pros are all weather, not all season. They are not as good as a pure winter tire on ice, however in snow they generally test close to most winter tires and far beyond the typical all season (which is really a 3 season).

All weather tires have shown up in the last few years more often (new rubber tech) - there are only a few brands that make them out there that I've found.

[IS350]

Looking at getting this for a 24 X5 50e, going with a square setup, 275/40/21 up front and at the back, since I'm told they'll fit fin, same height at 29.7 inches and the tire can fit up to an 11 inch wide rear rim, stock is 10in. Curious how anyone else likes these tires?