Well there I decided to pull the trigger on the AT3 4S's. Got them on a black Friday sale for $140 a pop, 265/65-18. I am using them as a 4-season replacement for the 265/60-18 Michelin Latitude Tour HP's that were on my runner when I purchased it.
Had them on the rig for two days now and here are my initial impressions:
City Driving - seem to handle as well as the Michelin's in the current dry road conditions. Haven’t noticed any additional float or roll from the tires. They due transmit minor road surface imperfections into the car more than the Michelin's, however I find it actually nice to feel more "connection" to the road surface.
Highway Driving - no perceived noise increase, in fact they may actually be quieter than the Michelin's. Same issue (or non-issue) regarding the transmittance of road imperfections. It's not enough to be annoying, you just feel bumps/expansion joints etc. a bit more.
Snow Driving - I was able to test them on a snowy road today when I went out backcountry skiing. It is a gravel road, but was completely covered with snow/ice. I hardly varied by driving from how I would if it was just gravel, and felt no slip from the tires. Was
incredibly impressed with the level of traction they exuded. On one particularly steep and icy hill, I punched it to see if TC would kick on, and got nary a flicker. Really eased my concerns of not going with a dedicated snow tire.
Overall, I'm very impressed with this tire, and would definitely recommend it to anyone looking for one do-it-all tire who deals with a moderate amount of winter driving conditions. Of course this is only after two days, to things can always change, but I'm happy with my decision at this point. (pics can be seen in my build thread in the 4th gen forum).
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2008 Limited V8 - Natural White - Nav
Bilstein 5100/4600+RAS - Cooper AT3 4S 265/65-18
My build thread