Here is my tire issue.. I have a 2013 GT that needs new rubber I only drive the car spring summer and fall I love the grip of high performance tires but the problem is here in Western MA it can get quite cold in the spring and fall and most if not all high performance tires are slick as wet hockey pucks below say 45 deg F. So I was thinking about going to a High performance all season tire my question is just how much summer grip will I be giving up doing so? Should I just live with the bad grip in cold temps with the max performance tire or make the switch to a High performance AS tire? What do you all think?

 

Even a good all season will offer considerably less grip then a good summer tire at higher temps. Whether or not the grip is still acceptable with all seasons is personal opinion, really.

 

Check out TireRack's testing. The slolam speed, lap times, and cornering stability numbers will give you a good indication of what the differences are between All Season and Summer tires.

 

I run Conti Extreme Contact DWS year round, they have great grip at all temps. I have only driven a few summer/track performance tires, I would say they are close to the stock Pirelli's that my car came with but no issues in the wet.

 

I run the Michelin Pilot Sport A/S+ in 275/40 squared on Track Pack wheels and they are great. They are way more progressive if they are going to break traction. You know when it's going to happen. I use them all year here in Germany and don't have any issues other than being more careful when it's super snowy and they haven't plowed the roads yet. Wet traction is awesome if you don't mash the gas pedal. I have driven on the Hockenheimring for 16 laps and they held up very well and didn't get that greasy feeling. The new Pilot Sport A/S3 is supposed to be even better and outperform some of the lower summer tires out there. A friend runs them on his '13 GT500 during the winter months and he does fine.