Winter Tire Review Thread (Please contribute)

[tipiman]

Tire: Nokian Hakkapeliita 7's
Size: 215/45/17 on stock rims
Location: Alberta
Driver: First RWD, driven FWD studded and AWD studded for years.

So far they have been great in the light fluffy snow and hard packed snow. They have been amazing at stopping on ice and the hard packed snow along with no troubles to get going again at slippery intersections. They were a pricey tire but I definitely think they were worth the extra dollars if you plan too winter drive your FRS.

Only downside I have found is the grip on dry pavement when it was a bit warmer it can slide pretty easily but worth it for these crappy winter conditions.

[dradernh]

Originally Posted by FRSBRZGT86FAN

Snow tires are a big advantage in lower temps though.....

...

Originally Posted by Arcadien Angel

I need some advice, for anyone feeling particularly helpful.

At the turn of the year, around December 30th - January 2nd, I'll be flying from Texas to Chicago, Illinois to pick up my FRS, and drive it back. The problem I'm having is that heavy duty snow/ice tires are an absolute necessity in Chicago, but in Texas, it's not nearly as critical. Maybe buy some cheap winter tires for the 3 times it snows all year, or tough it out.

I'll be spending a couple days tops in Illinois. And I'm dreading having to buy some snow tires that I'll never use again.

Are there any cheaper options for me? Or am I pretty much screwed?

[FRSBRZGT86FAN]

Originally Posted by dp1

^ that...better in dry, wet and snow below 45 F

But what about dry snow mixed with wet snow at 45 Fahrenheit ??? Paradox!

[dp1]

Originally Posted by FRSBRZGT86FAN

But what about dry snow mixed with wet snow at 45 Fahrenheit ??? Paradox!

It's a mystery...joking aside...now that I read the post about the trip from Chicago to Texas, and as another poster said earlier, unless there is a serious snow storm during the trip back, stock tires will probably be ok on highways.

[FRSBRZGT86FAN]

Originally Posted by dp1

It's a mystery...joking aside...now that I read the post about the trip from Chicago to Texas, and as another poster said earlier, unless there is a serious snow storm during the trip back, stock tires will probably be ok on highways.

Thanks for making me reread it, I'm now thinking he should just use good high performance all terrains and just exercise caution in the snow

[FRSBRZGT86FAN]

Originally Posted by dradernh

...

what the hell was the point of that.....

[cjd]

Originally Posted by FRSBRZGT86FAN

But what about dry snow mixed with wet snow at 45 Fahrenheit ??? Paradox!

Nokian WRG3 - while not a tire I'd personally drive all year 'round, many many people do and find them an excellent tire.

Just got a set for my wife's Prius and was surprised at how much better they drove than the Michelins I replaced (winter tire from a bygone year) - it was rainy all day, and 40-50F all day. Much better feedback, significantly more responsive to change - hard braking, lane changes, even accelerating through a turn (where I typically trigger the lovely electronic nannies) were solid, and they remained good as temperatures dropped (where the all-seasons start to fall off)

We'll see how they do as temperatures drop again, and the stuff falling from the sky freezes (both on the surface and as it falls) over the next few days. Snow doesn't stick around too long - it's slush, wet (and occasionally dry) and cold surfaces all winter. Occasional long drives to visit family, but attention to the weather report and care driving should still get us where we're going with less misery than all-seasons.

We live in the city, and if we actually see significant accumulation are likely to walk or take transit everywhere - only common drive is to a gym with a proper pool (25yard vs 18 or even 15) and the grocery - shoveling is a good workout, and there are decent food stores closer... it's the difference between a 5 minute drive and 40 minutes trying to take the bus to get there...

I should have a set of Pirelli SottoZero for my car showing up, we'll see how they compare. I may wish I'd gone for the WRG3 myself!

C

[bobaab]

Got my winter tires after a freak snowstorm that hit me on the way back to Chicago from Detroit. Luckily, Tire Rack is in South Bend (which got 11 inches of snow that day!!) and I had placed an order previously. I stopped by, but because of the snow, all of South Bend came to Tire Rack. I waited 5 hours to get the tires, but that was faster than the 2 weeks it would have taken otherwise (wheels were on backorder).

Tire: Continental ExtremeWinterContact (EWC)
Size: 205/55/16 on 16x7.5 Monte TITANO MT1 Piana (Tire Rack brand)
Location: Chicago, IL
Driver: Owned a MR2, WRX, Miata, all driven through the winter. The Michelin Ice-X on the Miata last year failed on me by giving me wonky handling characteristic that allowed the rear to kick out extremely quick, which ultimately caused me to end up in a tree and One-Way sign. Partly my fault, of course, but I was not driving the car hard. I blame the extreme cold, the tires, my lack of drifting skills, bumpiness on that turn, and a manhole cover that probably initiated the slipping. Anyways, I've been through older Blizzaks, Dunlop 3D Sport (great balance between dry and snow), as well as the same Continental EWC on previous cars.

The EWC has been proving itself worthy on the BRZ so far. It's very predictable in the snow I've driven through so far, and it's been a nonissue for the light snow Chicago was hit with a few times. I'm planning to add 50 pounds or so to the back via some lead shots (RotoMetals.com has a 12% off deal going on through this weekend! $70 for 50 pounds of lead shots). It's also been great to absorb all the potholes around Chicago.

The only downside is the soft sidewall that makes for a less stable drive down the highway, especially on windy days. It's not bad, but it doesn't always track straight like on the stock tires. Overall, it's an immense upgrade from the stock Michelin's that used to leave me white knuckled through snow.

[Lynxis]

Tire: Used Hankook iPike RC01s 205/55/16 on steel rims
Location: Canada, great lakes region.

Source: Kijiji over the summer for $100 from a guy who bought them last winter for his Toyota Matrix but lost the car.

Dry pavement: On warm days, rear end kicks out easier than stock Primaceys. On cold days, they stick to the pavement much better.

Wet pavement: Seems to be fine. Sticks about as good as dry pavement.

Snow: Had a few days of snow fall already this year that I had to drive through. Rear end is squirrely with no added weight. Drove slow and gave lots of space, everything was fine but definitely unnerving for the rear end to skip out while just driving straight and maintaining momentum. Added 36kgs (~80lbs) of kitty litter to some totes in the trunk and it sticks much better in the snow.

Ice: We only had one very icy day so far which was before I added weight to the trunk. Had the same behavior as snow.

Mileage/Noise: Extremely noisy. My driving habits before switching to my winters had my average mileage at about 6.4l/100km and with these tires and wheels, it jumped to 10.7l/100km before the temperature even dropped. Was to be expected but thought I'd point it out.

---------------

Update 3/24/15: Now that I've spent all winter on these tires, I figure I'll update my impressions.

First I'll talk about grip: When I first put them on the car, I think they had some uneven wear from the previous owner because the car didn't track straight through snow and the rear would skip out to the right constantly while just maintaining speed. They were better with weight in the back but it was still pretty sketchy anytime snow built up. After I spent a few hours one evening practicing driving sideways in an empty parking lot, I noticed this stopped happening so I think I got them to wear down evenly. After that, the biggest problem I had was understeer when driving on snow. I got stuck twice this winter and both times were a result of understeering around a corner and ending up in deep snow that had built up on the other side. In the tires defense, I may have taken the corner a bit faster than I should have but I wasn't going THAT fast so I think a better tire might have made the turn.

I also want to talk about traction: These don't hook up well on snowy roads worth crap and you can forget about starting on any meaningful grade if the roads are bad. By comparison, I drove a friends RX-8 with 225 Blizzaks on it and his car gets the power down much better. On the flip side, stopping power is actually quite good on these tires which is the most important. I had a few late braking situations that I was worried would put me in the middle of an intersection but I always stopped in time and even felt like I could have stopped even sooner if I needed to.

Final thoughts: Would I recommend these to someone else? They will do if they are your only real winter option. They're definitely better than running all seasons or summer tires. That said, there are definitely better options so look for those first. You get what you pay for.

[Efferalgan]

My 5 cents: Dunlop Winter Sport 4Ds are great. In 225/40R18 size it's day & night grip and stability vs. my old 215/45R17 Nokian Hakkapeliitta R!

[Jertronic]

What are options for wheel covers that can be used? And where to obtain a set? I would rather cover for cosmetic reasons. The steelies visually look rather bleak.


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[FRiSson]

I have used Michelin X-Ice3's 195/55/16 on steel wheels for 3 seasons now. I got them for their high rating, and also because I read that unlike several other top brands, the special ice/snow compound lasts as long as the tread, not just the top layers.
I didn't like the tires that much the first year, they had a lot of sideways wiggle and mediocre grip on wet pavement, although excellent in ice and snow.
However, by the second year, the tires were really good, not far from the stock tires in performance on dry roads. Tracking and wet performance is improved as well. Snow and ice grip is still excellent. I guess no tire is optimal when new, but these tires really change with a bit of wear. Overall, an excellent winter tire that is quiet and smooth riding from the start and really come into their own by the second season.

[Burrcold]

Originally Posted by bobaab

Got my winter tires after a freak snowstorm that hit me on the way back to Chicago from Detroit. Luckily, Tire Rack is in South Bend (which got 11 inches of snow that day!!) and I had placed an order previously. I stopped by, but because of the snow, all of South Bend came to Tire Rack. I waited 5 hours to get the tires, but that was faster than the 2 weeks it would have taken otherwise (wheels were on backorder).

Tire: Continental ExtremeWinterContact (EWC)
Size: 205/55/16 on 16x7.5 Monte TITANO MT1 Piana (Tire Rack brand)
Location: Chicago, IL
Driver: Owned a MR2, WRX, Miata, all driven through the winter. The Michelin Ice-X on the Miata last year failed on me by giving me wonky handling characteristic that allowed the rear to kick out extremely quick, which ultimately caused me to end up in a tree and One-Way sign. Partly my fault, of course, but I was not driving the car hard. I blame the extreme cold, the tires, my lack of drifting skills, bumpiness on that turn, and a manhole cover that probably initiated the slipping. Anyways, I've been through older Blizzaks, Dunlop 3D Sport (great balance between dry and snow), as well as the same Continental EWC on previous cars.

The EWC has been proving itself worthy on the BRZ so far. It's very predictable in the snow I've driven through so far, and it's been a nonissue for the light snow Chicago was hit with a few times. I'm planning to add 50 pounds or so to the back via some lead shots (RotoMetals.com has a 12% off deal going on through this weekend! $70 for 50 pounds of lead shots). It's also been great to absorb all the potholes around Chicago.

The only downside is the soft sidewall that makes for a less stable drive down the highway, especially on windy days. It's not bad, but it doesn't always track straight like on the stock tires. Overall, it's an immense upgrade from the stock Michelin's that used to leave me white knuckled through snow.

This right here is my ONLY issue with winter tires (I'm on Blizzack WS60's). I thought it was just me the first few times driving on the highway...thinking maybe my alignment was off. It actually gets pretty scary at around 65 mph if it's windy. I sometimes think the person behind me must think I'm drunk the way the car wanders around the lane lol.

[bluesman]

Originally Posted by Jertronic

What are options for wheel covers that can be used? And where to obtain a set? I would rather cover for cosmetic reasons. The steelies visually look rather bleak

Amazon has so many choices it's hard to pick a favorite. I have the Pilot WH522s:



But any of [ame="http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_2?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=wheel+covers+16%22"]THESE[/ame] would do the job for me just fine. Most of the modern plastic wheel covers are "adjustable" for different rim contours by pushing a split spring steel wire into a higher or lower inside groove. Don't make the same mistake I did and try to push it one step tighter than it needs to be - I cracked one of mine that way. If it's really hard to push into the wheel, it's set too tight and the spring needs to be backed out to the next looser setting.

I've seen at least a few of these in multiple auto parts stores, too - Pep Boys had 3 choices in the Philadelphia area stores.