Winter vs. All-Season Tires, etc.

I've been reading all the messages about winter tires and it looks like the hot favorites are Pirelli Winter 210 Asym or Dunlop Winter Sport M2. Does anyone know if one of them significantly quieter on the tarmac than the other? If I put these tires on for Tahoe trips (twice a month) can I leave them on or do I need to put my S8000 back on after the winter? If I can not leave them on, can anybody recommend a good all-season tire that will be safe for snow but good for the summer too? I don't want the extra hassle of changing and storing tires! My last question is, why would I want to get winter rims? Surely the main source of damage to alloy rims is from chains, which I will obviously not be using? Many thanks in advance for any help on this "tired" subject. 98 A4 2.8 QTS

People usually go to dedicated winter wheels/snow tires to maximize performance in snow. This would typically entail going to a 15 inch wheel and a narrower (usually 195) tire. I don't have 15" wheels to protect the alloys - I have smaller rims so I can run better snow tires.

Don't be sure about never using chains! In California you'll be OK with M+S tires for R-1 and R-2 conditions, but if it hits R-3 ALL vehicles must chain up. That even includes (gasp!) quattros with snow tires.

For maximum summer performance, you of course go the other way - 17" or bigger wheels, wider and lower profile tires.

So running a single set of tires year around, especially if you deal with snow, is inescapably a compromise. No M+S is all that hot in the summertime, but the two you mention do seem to get good reviews.

If you're going to Tahoe twice a month, all winter long, that's quite a bit of time in snow country. Think of all the stupid drivers out there who have tried to nail you through the years. Are you sure that second set of wheels and tires might not be worth the hassle???

I have purchased a dedicated set of winter tires (Nokian Hakka 1) with alloy rims. Driving on snow with the factory Dunlops I hear is useless.

Thanks ! Can you tell me what exactly is meant by R1, R2 and R3 ratings? How likely are the (presumably) extreme conditions of "R3" ?

Thanks ! Can you tell me what exactly is meant by R1, R2 and R3 ratings? How likely are the (presumably) extreme conditions of "R3" ?

See link to Cal Trans for more info. (never done this so hope it works)

• Cal Trans web page