Tonight was my first night driving
the subaru in the snow. Wow was it awful. The pervious owner has some cheap walmart tires on them. What are some good all season tires that are good in snow but will work in rain and during the summer as well? I do not really want to have to have an extra set of tires just for the snow if I do not have too.
When you find these magical tires, please let me know so that I can get a set, too. :raspberry: :icon_wink::icon_biggrin:
There really is no such magical tire - at least not with current technology.
Your use of "good" and "will work" are key relative statements here - and you'll need to really clarify them. What's more, you'll need to understand that tires are a compromise, and you'll need to make a decision one way or another, particularly if you are using only one set of tires.
Try running the aforementioned Xi2 in the summer, you won't be very happy. Back when the Xi2 was king, this Car & Driver points out very well the fallacy in believing that one tire can be the end-all in every scenario:
2009 Winter Tire Test - Comparison Tests
You need to pick your poison.
But before you do so, since this is your first time driving your Subaru in the snow, there's several things you need to check off on the list:
What's your actual tire pressures? If you have TPMS, just because the light isn't on doesn't mean that your pressures are anywhere near optimal for conditions. It may well be necessary for you to run different pressures in order to achieve your desired level of traction.
What's the tires' tread-depth? But before that, exactly what brand/make and model of tires are they?
Next, assuming that the previous owners cheaped-out on the tires, what's the likelihood that they also cheaped-out on maintenance? Does your suspension check out? Even with the best tires onboard, suspension faults and misalignment can well make those tires considerably less effective.
Finally, as a reality-check, what were the vehicles around you doing? Were they all going considerably slower than you - or were you being passed like you were standing still, and yet you still had traction issues.
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While an "All Weather" tire can meet
most of your criteria reasonably well, you'll need to realize that a big part of the equation in running a tire year-round is treadwear. If you put a lot of miles on your tires, be prepared to have a running "tire budget" so that you can change out the tires regularly to insure sufficient traction when you need it most. If this is the route you're thinking of, you'll want to read through my reply to the OP of this thread, and fully realize the compromises that I've painted:
http://www.subaruforester.org/vbulletin/2792834-post10.html