re: 164 all season tires/tire sizes

[TJCallahan@xxxxxxx]

Glenn,

You asked for opinions on a couple of different all season tires. I have run
Michelin MXV4's on my two daily driver cars for a couple of years and think
they work well for the conditions here. I live in the Seattle, WA area and
bought them primarily for their wet weather performance (it rains from October
through July here). I'm happy with the way they work in the wet.

I had the chance to test their snow performance when, during the Dec holiday
period of 96, the whole extended family took the two cars over the Cascade
mountains (9K+ foot peaks and some of the passes are higher than Mt.
Washington by you). Both cars (a VW Jetta and Jaguar XJ-6) ran well in the
heavy snow (the passes were being closed regularly that year). Even the Jag,
heavy as it is, did fine with the normally squirrely front engine/rear drive
design. Of course, we had four people and lots of luggage in the Jag.

I've taken the Jetta out to a track and had some fun with it. The Michelins
were very nice for me - a slow, predictable and even break away at the limit.
They did fine for the asthmatic car and novice driver.

The MXV4's are a little spendy, but if you can afford them they work fine in
the wet. I suspect our winters are little different, Seattle has more rainy
days than NY does and the temps stay in the 35-45F range most of the time. We
usually get a little snow for 3-5 days a year. We roll up the sidewalks and
break out the SUV's during those days ... :-)

Can't give you anything on the Yokohamas. Last set of Yokohamas I had was the
"dog-bone" treads back in the late 70's. Those worked OK, though.

Likewise, can't give you any input on changing tire sizes. I did it on the
Jetta, but went to the factory option "sport" size with the MXV4's. Got new
wheels and tires. I knew the size would work because the factory had already
tested it. The Jag stays the same size, no interest in changing that one.

Sorry about the little Alfa content (there is SOME, see below).

ciao

Tom
'63 Spider, needing 5 new 155/15's (<-- Note: Alfa content!)
Seattle

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