Tires Pirelli or Nokia

A very competent "All Weather" tire would be Nokian WR G3. It probably won't have the traction as a dedicated winter tire, but will be better than an all-season tire. as it still has the Mountain-Snowflake logo indicated severe service.

I second the praise for Nokkian. Best winter tires I ever had. I hope they'll perform well on the GSW...but in no rush to find out :laugh:

I have the Pirelli P Zero Nero All seasons, and live in Wisconsin. I still have dedicated snow tires, but am happy with the all seasons.

Coming from Blizzaks, the R2s are a night/day difference, it almost feels like you have all-wheel drive. I never had an issue with Chicagoland winter driving over the past few years.

Replaced the factory Conti's with less than 20k on them with the Pirelli P7's and I can report they are a better tire. Road noise is reduced, handling in snow and rain improved.

I have used Nokian "Hakkapelitta R" and then "Hakkapelitta 8 Studded" on my Jetta MK6. Really happy with either

I autocrossed my car in the Houston SCCA, NGS class back in early June 2015. Car did great, and I have a non PP car. I'm gonna be upgrading to ECS red stuff pads, and stainless steel brake lines for next months autocross. The only complaints I have are the crappy stock Pirelli P7 tires but I will upgrade them when its time to replace those.

I've been AutoX-ing my MkVII this year as well. Nothing too serious though, just more for the fun of getting out and tearing around in the car and meeting lots of great people. I went with tires/wheels this season rather than a tune as many others have, not only to stay in GS, but also because the stock Pirelli P7s just didn't cut it, even for street driving, it would only be worse with more power. I went with a nice easy package from Tirerack on some wheels that were 5lbs lighter per corner and I couldn't pass up on the closeout pricing for the Direzza ZIIs. I only wish I had done it sooner! The added grip really did transform the car, turn-in is so much crisper, and most of the time you can really get the car to go where you want to put it. Rotation is greatly improved too, I'm continuously amazed at how well this car rotates for a heavy FWD.

As for the WRG2's - had them for less than two years. Rotated every 6500 miles. Very noisy starting at 18,000 miles and down to the bottom wear bars after 23,000 miles. There was no way they were going to make it through another winter. No treadwear warranty from Nokian. The Entyres are quiet and the ride & handling are very good. I only wish they had just a tad more grip in the Chicago snow, but overall I'm very happy with them.

From my experience, when the pirellis start to go, they suck quickly. Didn't realize how bad noise / vibration was @ 20k until I got new Hankook v12s.