My Michelin Primacy Alpin PA3s went on last weekend (17/10). I generally leave/return home in the dark at this time of year and the temperatures I'm driving in are close to the daily minimum on the forecasts. It was -1°C on the MFD this morning but I'm not worried about warmer temps during the day anyway really...
From what I've read, I believe winters only start to show significantly worse performance and/or wear faster than usual if used on proper balmy/summer days when the temps are 20-25°C or higher. In fact, Continental's web site recommeneds using winter tyres all year round in the UK if you can't change every season, because although winter tyres aren't as good as summer tyres in summer, the difference in safety performance (i.e. braking and cornering) is less than the difference between the two types in winter. For instance: you might save 1 car length stopping in dry on summers in summer temps, but you might save 3 car lengths stopping in wet on winters in winter temps... so in other words, winters are less crap in summer than summers are crap in winter.
Obviously the cynics amongst us (me included) might think that Continental would say that, wouldn't they? I mean... winters are definitely going to wear faster in the summer and overall they'd probably sell more tyres. But my personal experience is that my winters out-perform my summers from as soon as I put them on until I take them off - which suggests either my summers are crap or I've been putting on my winters too late and not leaving them on long enough. For reference, the only summers that I can compare with my winter tyres are Pirelli Pzero Rosso and Pirelli P7. I haven't done a comparison in the summer obviously, but in cool/autumn temps and especially in the wet, the PA3s strongly outperform either Pirelli model for braking and starting off. The Pzeros were more stable cornering at speed though. And I'm not a fast driver so perhaps I'm not appreciating the talents of the summers?
Anyway, I've been reminded how much I like my Michelin winters.
Compared to the OE Pirelli P7s on my Ecomotive, they're more comfortable, slightly noisier (they're quieter than the Pzeros though) but offer much better braking performance in the wet and on frosty dry mornings like today.
The Michelins are also about 2-3mpg more efficient than the P7s, which is doubly impressive given that the P7s are supposedly a low-rolling-resistance eco tyre (hence why the Ecomotive is supplied with them).
Think I'll wait until temps are consistently over 15°C before swapping back in the spring.
