Winter Tire Review Thread (Please contribute)

[Lynxis]

Originally Posted by churchx

Deep snow & even wider then stock (i have 205 now, but probably would prefer 195) + removing extra weight from wheels due car underside sliding upon deep snow? No wonder.

I wasn't scraping except a little over drifts where the snow built up. I do accept that the 225 wide probably don't help but I needed something that fit my 17x8s.

[subaruMike]

I'm going to get a set of Hakkapeliitta R2's through KalTire i see two load ratings 89 and 93 which one did you choose?

[churchx]

Originally Posted by subaruMike

I'm going to get a set of Hakkapeliitta R2's through KalTire i see two load ratings 89 and 93 which one did you choose?

I'd probably would get lower rated one. due ours being relatively lightweight cars. I have suspiction that higher rated load might meant heavier/stiffer/more expensive tires. Also not sure, but if higher rated ones may also mean stiffer rubber compound, maybe it can reduce grip on snow a bit. But within one tire model line probably used rubber compounds are same, with maybe just cord plies strengthened/a bit thicker tire walls?
If for higher rated loads tires mean stiffer sidewall, it may matter for choice of summer/track tires for sharper turn-in, but not so much for winter ones, where one pushes to lesser degree due less grip on the plate.

[pitotshock]

Put the Gislaved Nordfrost 100 (Continental owned) on mine in 205/55r16 and I am very impressed with their ability in the winter conditions. They are designed with snow in mind as opposed to icy conditions, which suits me fine up here in the Ottawa Canada area, as we usually get more snow than ice.
Paid around $120CAD each mounted and balanced, which is much cheaper than the XIce3 around $170 each.

I have used a number of brands before including Blizzaks, Toyos, Yokohamas etc. and these are a very good tire and very reasonably priced. They get good traction, are very stable transitioning through slushy conditions and are very reasonable on dry asphalt. I would have no hesitation on suggesting them to anyone at this point, we shall see how they hold up over time; although, I think on this car more tire rotations will be necessary as the rears seem to do more spinning than my other cars...

They seem to be showing up on top 10 lists. http://www.guideautoweb.com/en/articles/36317/the-car-guide's-2015-top-10-best-winter-tires/

Had to do alloys for the winter, couldn't stomach putting on steelies for the 4-5 months of the year we run winter tires up here. I also wanted a higher profile because we get lots of pot holes in the asphalt too.

[Cheve]

Hi,

I've been reading that the OEM summer tires are so bad in snow. Sould I care if they are going to see the snow only a couple weekends in the next two months? Or is it just a matter of driving carefully?

[churchx]

Summer tires in general are bad in snow. OEM summer ones included. If snow is rare happening, yet you don't want to get stranded in case of it happening .. how about all season tires? (i'd still change to real summers in summer .. for well, track days ).

[Cheve]

Originally Posted by churchx

Summer tires in general are bad in snow. OEM summer ones included. If snow is rare happening, yet you don't want to get stranded in case of it happening .. how about all season tires? (i'd still change to real summers in summer .. for well, track days ).

Then, I may get all season tires. In summer I'll receive my new wheels and can put new summer tires on them and have a pair to keep switching if needed. Thank you!

[SirEspo]

Originally Posted by Cheve

Then, I may get all season tires. In summer I'll receive my new wheels and can put new summer tires on them and have a pair to keep switching if needed. Thank you!

If you have an FR-S, the Turanzas are bad in snow, but not to the point of being unmovable. Just plan on spinning your tires - a lot. They're a summer oriented all-season compound not designed with anything more than light snow in mind.

The BRZ comes equipped standard with the Michelin Primacy tires which are a grand touring summer tire and not meant for snow or cold conditions at all. Definitely switch them out if you're seeing either of those for extended periods of time. Cold conditions being 40F or below.

Source; I work at a multi-brand tire dealership and am education certified on most major tire company programs.

[why?]

Originally Posted by Cheve

Then, I may get all season tires. In summer I'll receive my new wheels and can put new summer tires on them and have a pair to keep switching if needed. Thank you!

If you are going to get summer tires there is zero reason not to also get winter tires. This care is awesome in the snow on winter tires, and all seasons are just useless.

[geezerbrzeezer]

205/50 Blizzak WS80's - skinniest that would work on stock rims.

I've run winter tires on stock rims for twenty plus years (always used all seasons or summers on aftermarket rims - can't visually stand steelies for winter, or OEM for summer).

The Blizzaks have been phenomenal during this, my first winter, with my BRZ. The most recent ice storm here in eastern Ontario sealed the deal. And in slippery conditions the car is still a fucking ball to drive, although I confess to using the snow nanny and forgoing the paddle shifters during the real slippery stuff.

The downside is the bubble gum feel in the dry. Wanders like hell above 80kph, ironically making the Prius rubber shine.

These were expensive, but they deliver, and the trade off in the dry is so worth it. Between these tires and the nannies, anyone that tells you this car needs to be stored in the winter is full of shit.

What would be awesome is to be able to try a bunch of different winter tires in differing winter driving conditions on the same car. But let's face it - that ain't realistic. Most winter tires are damn good, to the degree that the subjective differences are almost negligible.

If you have the smarts to care about putting on winter tires, any winter tires, score yourself a rung above the 'masses are asses'.

[churchx]

Originally Posted by why?

If you are going to get summer tires there is zero reason not to also get winter tires. This care is awesome in the snow on winter tires, and all seasons are just useless.

But he also wrote that snow is rarely seen. So more of a time of rubbery feeling in relatively warm weather, and just day or two per year where they would work their best. So i wouldn't call it zero reason. Everybody lives/drives in places with different weathers. So "best" tire choice is different to everybody. I am among those with normal winters, but i wouldn't suggest winter tires for someone living in tropics .

[SirEspo]

Originally Posted by geezerbrzeezer

What would be awesome is to be able to try a bunch of different winter tires in differing winter driving conditions on the same car. But let's face it - that ain't realistic. Most winter tires are damn good, to the degree that the subjective differences are almost negligible.

Not true. I cheaped out since I figured I'd only be using these for the next couple months, but the 205/50/17 Hankook Winter IPike RS (W419 variety) are complete garbage in anything BUT snow. They provide decent grip and I can break them away if I really want to, but in dry and wet conditions, if I don't have traction completely off, they spin and the car cuts throttle at less than 50%. They get loud above 45F too and the tread squirm is noticeable. Would not recommend.

Didn't want to double post, but I wanted to give a review since everyone else has bought Blizzaks or Nokians it seems. You gave me an excuse to do so

[Cheve]

Originally Posted by churchx

But he also wrote that snow is rarely seen. So more of a time of rubbery feeling in relatively warm weather, and just day or two per year where they would work their best. So i wouldn't call it zero reason. Everybody lives/drives in places with different weathers. So "best" tire choice is different to everybody. I am among those with normal winters, but i wouldn't suggest winter tires for someone living in tropics .

Then what would you recommend? I didn't want to "hijack" the thread, so I was thinking about posting in the North California subforum. The thing is, I just moved to the Bay Area and it seems it is never going to snow around here, and the "winters" are not actually any cold. However, I would like to know what's best when I plan to go to the mountains to ski or whatever (the BRZ is my only car for the moment).

To be honest, all this winter/summer/all seasons thing is pretty new to me. I come from Spain and there, at least in my region, we used "normal" tires and just put on chains when we went to areas with snow. But it seems it is not recommended to put chains in our cars... So I'm kind of lost.

I can get a set of winter tires if needed, but it seems a bit overkill to me for just a few weekends.

[Guru Woodman]

I guess it is better not to call them "Snow tires" but refer to them as "Winter tires"

Rule of thumb is usually not the amount of snow but the outside temperature. Winter tires preform better when the outside temperature is below 7C (44F for you Yanks).

The standard setup of the BRZ/86 are summer tires, unlike regular cars with regular tires. Summer tires perform great in the summer but as soon as it gets too cold, they are simply too hard to give enough traction. So it is more important for a twin to have two setups, one for the summer (which are the stock tires) and one for the winter.
@Cheve. if you are regularly experiencing temperatures below 7C and really need to drive, you will be safer with a set of winter tires. In the end it will not be more expensive to have two sets (apart from having to buy extra wheels). When you don't use the summer set, they will not wear and visa versa.