lexusben

iTrader: (3)

I recently bought a used 2008 IS 350 and it needs some new tires. It currently has Bridgestone Turanzas which have very little tread left. I live in Ohio so I am in the market for all season tires. I would like the tires to be spirited, but give decent performance on the occasion that it snows (not very often in Cincinnati).

Here is my shortlist:
Bridgestone Potenza RE970AS Pole Position
Continental ExtremeContact DWS
General G-MAX AS-03
Hankook Ventus S1 noble2
Bridgestone Potenza RE760 Sport

I had a fairly new pair of G-Max tires on my old Lexus GS 400 and they seemed to do well in terms of rain, snow, and tire wear for the length that I had them. Let me know what you all think!

pheonix72

iTrader: (6)

My top choice would be Continental ExtremeContact DWS.

crazybuggy

I had the continental dws and I really felt solid with those in the rain. In the snow, I would get out if I got myself into trouble. I honestly felt like they handled better in the rain than they did in dry weather.

lexusben

iTrader: (3)

Thanks for the input guys. Aside from the tires I have listed, are there any others you have been impressed with? I realize any tires I go with are going to feel more sporty than they would on my old GS because of the lower profile on the IS (GS had 235 45 17's).

Bichon

I'll third the recommendation of the Continental ExtremeContact DWS. Other than losing one to a bad pot hole, I've been very pleased.

zany

iTrader: (1)

fourth recommendation for DWS. had them on all my cars. As someone mentioned, they do feel like they handle better in rain than in dry conditions.

Theo@TireRack.com

The DWS is going to be the best of the bunch in the snow by a considerable margin. It's not the sportiest tire in that group, though. Aside from the Bridgestone Potenza RE760, which is a summer tire, the most sporting tire there is the RE970AS PP. The General is a nice tire, and so is the Hankook, but neither one is as good in the snow as the Conti or as sporting as the Bridgestone.

jgoorn

760's have never failed me.

lexusben

iTrader: (3)

I went ahead and got the General G-Max tires because they had a $70 mail in rebate. I got them for $604.74 shipped from Tirerack. It will be another $80 for them to be installed and balanced at Firestone. The total should be around $615 unless I decide to get an alignment done.

FSportIS

iTrader: (13)

I'm running Continental DWS in Southern CA
Pro: The treadlife seems to last forever. 10k miles and still look brand new.
Very quiet and comfortable.
Cons: spinning, lost traction in rain!
Look fat and ugly.

I will be trying out the Michelin A/S one soon.

ALWAYS get alignment done right after tires installation, it save you money down the road lol.

rhyle07

I just installed my Conti DWS last month. Was planning to get the Hankook but I got a good price on Conti's from 4WO|Click Here for Tires. So far, I like the grip and smooth ride of this tire. Traction on wet roads is quiet impressive.

Johnny Rad

I'm too late to the party to help the OP, but wanted to share my experience with the Bridgestone Pilot RE960AS tires which I believe were the precursor to the newer RE970AS. I went through two sets based on excellent day/wet performance, but was consistently disappointed with them in the snow. I chalked it up at the time to my GS430 being RWD, but in hindsight the snow ratings on tirerack supported my experience. All in all, I vote trust the tirerack ratings.

The winter I tried out a dedicated set of snow tires coincided with one of the mildest winters on record. Ha, go figure.