Winter Tire Choices

[Jrohit]

Blizzaks are iffy on ice for me, on them currently. I was able to move about though. I loved my Wintersports 3D (Discontinued).

[TheMaummar]

First year with the car and I am running Dunlop WinterMaxx tires. I have already driven through several storms throughout Northern New England this year and am thoroughly impressed. I also have never run a winter tire in my life living in Northern New England and am having a revelation of why have I never bought a winter tire before. First storm of the season this year I drove through 6 inch deep snow for several miles with no problems blasting right through the stuff. Stopping an going was no problem at all in just snow.

Ice is ice.....you get pounded with the stuff, I feel driver skill comes into play more than the tire cause it just sucks to drive in it regardless.
Anyway I recommend the Dunlop WinterMaxx....If you are a good driver just buy the winter tire that fits your budget and you will be fine. Hope that helps.

[changy]

I can tell you what not to get, the Yokohama ice guard. I got a set off Craigslist mounted on Wrx rims, I start in second gear if there is any snow on the ground.

Sent from my NX507J using Tapatalk

[Jesse36m3]

Originally Posted by jawn

The General Altimax Arctics are pretty legit for a cheap option, too. Also squishy.

Squishy you say? Feels like I'm driving on greased jello at any speed higher than 60mph.


Holy FACK.

[Jaylyons1]

I've never bought winter tires for Maryland, but it all depends on the person. I replaced the stockers with Continental DWS's and they haven't let me down on ice, snow or very low temps. I'm not a fan of winters for this area due to how warm it is here and how quickly they would wear out.

[Guru Woodman]

I am very happy with my Nokian Hakkapeliitta R2's

[IloveBaldEagles]

Nokians are best. Nokians is life.

[Guru Woodman]

Originally Posted by IloveBaldEagles

Nokians are best. Nokians is life.

Yes, and lets be honest, just saying that your car has 'Hakkapeliitta's' is pretty darn awesome too.

[IloveBaldEagles]

Originally Posted by Guru Woodman

Yes, and lets be honest, just saying that your car has 'Hakkapeliitta's' is pretty darn awesome too.

I will never learn how to pronounce that! NEVER!

[Guru Woodman]

Originally Posted by IloveBaldEagles

I will never learn how to pronounce that! NEVER!

One minute in :

[dennyhendrix]

never had winter tires either. went with altimax artics as well 215/45/17. so far so good!

[why?]

Oh come on, that squishy feeling is awesome. You'll get used to it, also just add some more air.

Blizzaks are just way too expensive and the reviews are too mixed.

[lamawithonel]

There are three classes of winter tire: Studdable Snow, Studless Ice & Snow, and Performance Winter.

Studdable tires are the most extreme, able to get better traction on ice than even a summer tire can in the dry. But without studs, which are illegal in most our area, they are useless in almost all conditions-- dry snow might be OK.

Studless Ice & Snow tires are great all-around winter tires, working well on both snow and ice without studs, but they also give up a lot of dry/warm traction. I currently have a set of these, Michelin X-Ice Xi3s-- 'had them for two and half seasons now. I love them in the cold-wet, snow and Ice, but they really suck 95% of time around here. Be it dry or wet, when the temperature gets up around 35F or warmer they're quite a bit worse than the stock tires.

What I wish I had purchased are a good set of Performance Winter tires. Think of them as a winter-biased all-season tire. They do well on warm, dry surfaces, but their tread is designed to work well in snow and ice and the compounds are slightly biased to cold weather. On the downside, they don't do as well on snow or ice compared to the above classes and they wear out faster than all-seasons. But for our area, I think this is probably a good compromise.

From what I've read, the Pirelli Winter Sottozero Serie II are the best of the Winter Performance class. I've even heard they can have better dry traction than summer touring tires due to their soft compound. Once my tires wear out, these are what I plan to get.

[Entroper]

I gotta say, not impressed with my WinterForces. I got them and the wheels they were mounted on barely used for cheap, so I can't complain about the value, but I'll be mounting a better tire once these wear out.

I don't mind the squishy-ness, they just don't have the grip I was expecting. I've driven lightweight RWD cars in snow before, so I have some basis for comparison. These tires definitely work, but not enough to give me real confidence.