Unless it's freezing, not really. All-seasons are typically soft and even feel greasy on warm weather. Some magazines test cold weather performance, meaning high 30°F's or so and there are significant differences. Which is one of the reasons I went with Conti PremiumContact. Great in cold weather, phenomenal on wet and can run with the big boys when it's warm and dry.

Then again, I have studded 245/50R19:s on dedicated OEM winter wheels for winter, which is essential for living north of the 60:th parallel and driving the Bentley year around.

 

#1-Except they have this disclaimer on those tires:

"Grand Touring Summer tires are not intended to be driven in near-freezing temperatures, through snow or on ice."

#2- They don't have the correct load rating for Bentleys 101Y vs 105Y

#3- They probably are sticky with a 280 treadwear

If you go to Tire rack and search by vehicle those tires won't come up because they don't meet the required load rating. Should always search by vehicle, not by tire size if you want to be safe, and also be aware of warnings on tires as to their safe usages.

 

Comparing an Summer grand touring Conti Premium Contact 6 and a Michelin Pilot Sport All Season 4 according to Tire Rack Ratings which have been pretty good as they have a very good testing program-ratings below:

Conti - Michelin

wet- 8.4 - 9.1

dry- 9.2 - 9.3

Winter/snow- NA - 7.4

Comfort - 8.8 - 8.8

Treadwear - 7.8 - 8.4

Seems like there are some good all season choices with a winter/snow rating-obviously not for heavy winter snow which is snow tire only, but the Michelin can still be used in cold/wet weather and still give good performance on dry which is actually better than a summer grand tourer in this case.
Michelin also carries the 105Y load rating so an approved tire for Bentley.

 

Try PremiumContact 7. There was a rather massive improvement from lukewarm PC6 to 7 last year and it has matched and beat even Pilot Sport 5 (the real one, not all-season) in a number of dry and wet handling tests. I have never seriously considered the older 6 at all. I've had quite a few Pilot Sports on a variety of cars, starting from early 90's and PS2, all the way to Sport Cups on track day toys and PS4/PS4S having been my go-to tire in most application during last few years on most cars.

There are quite a few publishers who perform tests on tires, some quite a bit more comprehensive than Tire Rack and I've leaned towards the German Auto Bild and ADAC lately. Partly because of their real world Autobahn testing for high speed handling and stability. All-seasons are by definition sensitive to heat accumulation and unless you're really going to use a single set of tires the year around in four season climate, pretty much the last type of tires you'll want on a performance car.

 

Maybe be true, but if your going to run a tire that does not have thee correct load criteria for your car, what good is all these great test results? I just don't want people to buy something that is not safe or comes with warnings about cold weather driving. You can do whatever you want with your car, but should not recommend inadequate tires to others on the forum who just might take your word for it not realizing the restrictions or the improper load ratings.

 

What do you mean? Load rating is mainly a given and not commonly an issue unless you aim for a truly insane vehicle/tire combination, like a massive Ford F650 pimped out with 30-profile 24" tires. For example, the load rating on mine is 107, for a maximum GWV of 8596lbs or 4298lbs per axle. Far more than the Spur weighs, which isn't anything unexpected or out of the ordinary. Even a load rating of 99 (typical for 215/55R18 tires, for example) would suffice for its heavier, front axle weight.

Load ratings aren't usually something you need to worry about as they're commonly far higher than the weight of even the heaviest cars and light trucks, the figures above serving just as an example.

 

There is a reason for load ranges on vehicles, if it didn't matter they wouldn't publish them. But you do you, I think I've made a good case that you're not right, and as long as other folks can see the true story, I'm Good. I've been involved in the tire business for over 50 years and have dealt with people like you that know more than all the engineers and I just sent them out the door, because I don't want to be responsible for them getting killed or injured. You probably ride a motorcycle without a helmet too.
You start out in this thread running Dunlops, and GOING to switch to Conti Premium Contact 7's, so a few weeks later your giving reviews on tires you've either never owned or you just bought a couple weeks ago, you say a 99 load rating on a tire size Bentley doesn't use is adequate, well going from 105 to 99 is not adequate.

 

Be well.

 

Hello All,
Just a reminder, please keep all conversations civil/polite.

I say this in response to reported comments.

Sincerely.
Johnny

 

Now that we're back to somewhat civilized conversation, let's put it this way: I most likely take a car (including its tires) to its very limits more in an hour than a regular driver takes during his or her lifetime. The 500-ish miles I had put on the Contis by my initial assessment had already included quite a few spirited stints on what's considered one of the nicest "driving" roads in the entire district (we see a LOT of bikes and sports cars storming it every weekend, I live at the far end of it) on top of regular commuting. I haven't taken them past 140mph yet, though.

My background? FIA international racing license since the 80's, mainly endurance/touring cars and some Gp.N rallying. Moonlighting as a high speed defensive and offensive driving instructor as a government contractor and for private security corporations. And I drive like a proverbial pig. I treat the Spur like an oversize WRC car, with fine leather interior and Naim audio. My personal record is going through three sets of (R-compound, street) tires in a single (track) day, from brand new to bald.

If it takes more than an hour or two to assess tires, you're either not trying, driving Miss Daisy or can't Drive.

As far as the load bearing capacity is concerned, 99 officially suffices for the curb weight of a Bentley. Not necessary an ideal choice but as an example of how far from OEM you can go and still be fully road legal and insured. And if you're driving like a geriatric or people who buy Bentleys for show and don't have a clue what trail braking into a fast corner - for example - means, it'll work perfectly in practise too.

 

Just like the warnings about using certain tires below 40 degrees means nothing, we get it you know more than both the manufacturer of the car and the tires-good luck, hopefully the people who see this are not so obtuse.

 

I wouldn't have thought after your earlier outburst you were moderated to edit out you'd come up with yet another ridiculous strawman fallacy, fetching as far as rubber compound temperature deformability/friction characteristics to say something. If you don't like well documented, well-known and obvious facts contradicting your beliefs about load ratings, it might be a good idea to educate yourself about even the very basics instead of throwing a tantrum like that, don't you think?

Still waiting with amusement for your explanation how you'd think 1545kg of maximum axle weight will exceed the combined tire load rating (namely 99) of 1550kg for said axle, but maybe you're applying some higher mathematics you've possibly... come up from your imagination? Other rational explanations are in short supply at this point.

Thank you.

 

Just going by Manufacturers recommendations, after the engineers do their well calculated studies, I'll take their word over some board guy determined to say every engineer is wrong. It's not math it's common sense. More goes into it than axle weight-what is the weight on that tire in a hard turn? Much more than 1/4 of the cars weight. You think you know, but any engineer from Bentley would not agree with you. On your car you can do as you wish, but let Bentley do the recommendations for the others here. There is a reason that when you search by car vs by tire size you get a different selection of tires because the Tire sales people also know what is the correct tire for your vehicle - yes you can ignore them, but that is not the wise choice.

 

What, exactly, of anything I've said contradicts these recommendations you keep talking about? Just out of interest, as even my speculations about the extremes have been in compliance with industry-wide SAE standards. Manufacturers' recommendations are a great rule of thumb for people who know nothing about cars or the technology involved, especially when they've seemingly hung around with their equally ignorant peers for so long that they're grown paranoid about anything they can't read in the concise user's manual in layman's terms.

You still failed to explain how your imagination came up with 1545kg exceeding 1550kg, so don't try to run away by changing the subject, please. I'm sure you'll grow used to being reminded of this as the years go by, but just to entertain all the readers of this thread, give it your best shot.

 

Here's one for you that you haven't explained, what do you think the load is on the tire at high speed hard turn?
Let's just see how much of an engineer you are.