All weather or Regular Tyres?

[CaliJoe]

Hey everyone, I’m coming up to replacing the tyres on my VW California Beach and wanted to get some opinions from those with more experience. At the moment, I’ve got all-weather tyres, which have been fine, but I’m wondering whether to stick with them or switch to regular summer/winter tyres instead.

A few things I’m mulling over:

Do all-weather tyres actually last longer, or do they wear down quicker than standard tyres?

Are they really worth the price difference in the long run?

If you’ve run both, have you noticed much of a difference in handling, fuel economy, or road noise?

I mainly use the van for longer road trips (some European travel too), but I don’t do anything too extreme off-road-wise. Although I typically head to the Alps in spring, so I like the all weather peace of mind for this.

Just keen to hear what others think, what do you run, and what would you recommend?

Thank you!

 

[RedWhiteMonkey]

I live in Southern Germany and run all year tyres (Hankook Vantra) on our T6.1 Beach. We ordered them as factory fit to avoid the annoying winter/summer tyre changing routing you have over here.

The rears are still fine but we did replace the front two at 45,000 km (around 28,000 miles) with the same tyre. I personally don't think that's too bad for a heavy vehicle that is used daily.

Suitability wise, we get properly cold weather and snow here, I have never felt they were struggling for grip. They were fine in proper snow in the Alps a couple of weeks ago. Noise wise, I doubt I could tell any real difference, a VW Cali is brilliant but it is hardly the quietest vehicle to start with. I think I could tell any real world difference in fuel consumption, far too many variables.

 

[RedWhiteMonkey]

Edit, typed faster than my brain, meant to say I don't think I could tell any real world difference.

 

[Ch1pbutty]

All weather usually wear quicker than ‘summer tyres’.

The word summer is actually a bit misleading as summer tyres will generally perform better in the wet (shorter stopping distance) than all season tyres.

All season tyres tend to be jack of all trades, master of none, but give extra confidence when getting out of muddy fields, snow.

It’s better to have 2 sets if you venture into snow, summers + winters (on steel rims). Winter tyres have a different tread pattern with a softer rubber compound which works better in cold conditions, but will also wear a lot quicker.

 

[RedWhiteMonkey]

All weather usually wear quicker than ‘summer tyres’.

The word summer is actually a bit misleading as summer tyres will generally perform better in the wet (shorter stopping distance) than all season tyres.

All season tyres tend to be jack of all trades, master of none, but give extra confidence when getting out of muddy fields, snow.

It’s better to have 2 sets if you venture into snow, summers + winters (on steel rims). Winter tyres have a different tread pattern with a softer rubber compound which works better in cold conditions, but will also wear a lot quicker.

Is your response based on experience or just what you've heard or read?

 

[RedWhiteMonkey]

I should also add I've driven the van on those tyres at 40+ degrees in Croatia as well. It's true that all weather tyre don't grip as well as summer tyres but that's talking about limits of grip really. The dynamics, suspension, etc of the van stop it getting anywhere near testing those tyre grip limits. At the end of the day it's a van not a sports car.

 

[CaliJoe]

Thanks guys really helpful. I don’t think I can handle 2 sets, and probably don’t do enough genuine winter driving to justify that. Great insights, my front have also worn faster I was wondering if that was due to the all weather (Falken Euroall) and the fact that they’re cheaper than the Good Years, but given what you’ve said I think it’s probs just the fact they’re on the front!

Will aim for a mid range all weather.

 

[RedWhiteMonkey]

Thanks guys really helpful. I don’t think I can handle 2 sets, and probably don’t do enough genuine winter driving to justify that. Great insights, my front have also worn faster I was wondering if that was due to the all weather (Falken Euroall) and the fact that they’re cheaper than the Good Years, but given what you’ve said I think it’s probs just the fact they’re on the front!

Will aim for a mid range all weather.

The fronts (summer, winter or all seasons tyres) wear quicker due to the weight of the engine, those wheels doing the propulsion (assuming it isn't a 4Motion) and them doing the steering. Totally normal for them to wear faster.

 

[pjm-84]

All seasons....whilst I hated the A005 Bridgestone they were mighty in the wet and better than the CC...... softer rubber.

With campsites and the like.....all seasons.

 

[Flower Power]

I have one set of all weather tires here in the German Alps. Good in the snow, when there is snow! Fine in the Summer. What I want to point out is that you might want to choose 17" nondirectional or asymmetric tires and get a spare wheel as well. Winter tires these days are directional (80-90%) so no proper spare possible. Majority of all season/4 season are as well but there are good choices of asymmetrical like Vredestein Quatrac Pro, to Yokohama Geolandar or General Graber AT3 for added off the tarmac performance. Depending which size of wheels you have. 18" wheels do not fit under the van. But you can get narrower tires and they will.

 

[Camperfamily]

We ordered All Season on our Beach. It came with Bridgestone A005 Weather Control. I’ve not had all weathers before, so nothing to directly compare them to, but they give me more confidence in icy weather and muddy lanes; some of this is no doubt placebo effect.