2014-2015 Winter Tire & Wheel Discussion

[Black Tire]

I am on a budget this year, and live in a northern climate, so I thought this would be a good time to start a winter tire and wheel discussion for the 2014-2015 winter season.

Winter Tires

This is a list of winter tires I am considering for my FR-S this year. I have spent 2 years on the Nokian WR-G2 all-season/winter tires (215/45R17), and now want to have a dedicated winter tire with more ice grip and still great deep snow traction. Also, the WR-G2 was NOISY in the dry and had a stiffer ride than my BF Goodrich Rivals. On a previous car, I had the original Blizzaks, which felt like riding on squirming gelatin in the dry. These tires should all be better than that, but I still expect a significant compromise on dry roads. My favorite winter tires so far were the Hankook Winter I*Cept Evo's I had on my 1999 BMW M3. These gave the best winter traction I ever had in that car, rode smoothly and quietly, and handled dry roads well for a winter tire. I did not include the Hankook Winter I*Cept Evo's on the list as they are being fazed out, apparently replaced by the I*Cept iZ. I will be going with a separate set of winter wheels this year, so I will be using 205/55R16 winter tires, which I think will also help with winter traction.

Key:
(LRR) low rolling resistance tires for better fuel economy
[Newer] Designed in the last year or two – since tire manufacturers tend to leap frog each other's best tire designs, this may be significant

Bridgestone Blizzak WS80 [Newer]

Continental ExtremeWinterContact

Hankook Winter i*cept Evo, W310

Hankook Winter i*cept iZ, W606 [Newer]

Michelin X-Ice Xi3 (LRR)

Nitto NT-SN2 Winter

Nokian Hakkapeliitta R2 (LRR) [Newer]

Toyo Observe GSi-5 [Newer]

Yokohama iceGUARD iG52c (LRR) [Newer]


Winter Wheels

The conventional wisdom is to buy 16 inch steelies for the winter. I really dislike the idea of 30 pound steel wheels on a lightweight car with no torque, so I have found two 16 inch alloy wheels that are weigh about half that (16 lb class), are relatively inexpensive and that I do not find hideous. Additionally, the two alloy wheels listed here have both 5x100 and 5x114.3 bolt patterns for future versatility and used value.

Steelies, About $60 + shipping

Maxxim Sixx Wheel {Maxxim is produced by Konig}

Drag DR-9 Wheel

[jvincent]

I used the Toyo's in 205/55/16 last winter with no issues and we had a ton of snow.

I have them on 16" alloys that came from the dealer.

[D_Thissen]

I was using these last winter. 205/55/16 General Tire Altimax Arctic's. Never had any problems up here in thunder bay

[Jertronic]

I bought 16 inch steelies with x-ice 3's. Great snow and ice performance but I was a little shocked at the overall softness in overall handing. Namely tramIining.

I have read that conti extreme winter contact is best "all around" winter tire.

Wish that I had bought more sporty road performance winter varietal.



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[Black Tire]

Originally Posted by jvincent

I used the Toyo's in 205/55/16 last winter with no issues and we had a ton of snow.

I have them on 16" alloys that came from the dealer.

I have heard that the Toyo Observe GSi-5 is noisy on dry roads, especially at higher speeds. What was your experience with the noise from this tire?

[ray7792]

I survived last year's (worst winter in 5+ years) winter by having a set of Dunlop's Winter Maxx on stock wheels. Keep in mind this is coming from a NJ/NY area driver.

I believe dunlop came out with Winter Maxx within 2-3 years ago, maybe even 1.5ish years ago so shouldn't have to worry about that part.

Pros:
-Very good in the snow/ice never once did I panic due to loss of control or unpredictable movements. No problems braking or going up very steep and long hills. Stopping in the middle and starting on a hill covered in snow - almost no issue, 1 or 2 seconds to find traction maybe.

-Cheap, not dirt cheap but very reasonable price for 205/17

-Road noise isn't as bad as some other winter tires, it is there but not as bad haha

-Milage...I saw a very very slight decrease but that could be due to any number of reasons.

-Durability, can't say for certain yet, but I will say this, I drove a lot last winter and also had a bunch of fun having less grip. Life on the tires are still wonderful.

-feedback, tires were predictable in snow/ice/dry and overall gave off a good amount of information. Not applicable to when it rained though.

CONS:

-Not so great when it is dry or raining. Still better than the stock summers in below 35 F haha...not much of a comparison there.

-Really...be careful in the rain with these. Tires had very little feedback in the rain and I felt like the car was floating whenever I turned in the rain with these lol Not a fun experience to have often.

-Lose traction every time just by suddenly going WOT in a straightline at 4-5k rpm in 2nd, not terribly but man...


Drive safely, use common sense, and the winter maxx's will do their job.

TLR Great newish tires by Dunlop if shopping on a budget. Will do a great job and more in Snow/Ice. Be extra careful in rain and drive normally in dry.

[jvincent]

Originally Posted by Black Tire

I have heard that the Toyo Observe GSi-5 is noisy on dry roads, especially at higher speeds. What was your experience with the noise from this tire?

I did not find them overly noisy. I expect a little more noise from a winter tire, but I didn't notice them at all.

[Canehda]

I had the bridgestones last winter with winters on and they were ok up here in Canada however this year I am selling the bridgestones and switching to the Nokians. I had Nokians last winter on my Honda SUV and they were by far the best winter tires I have ever owned with experience using the Michelin's, Hankooks and toyos. Last year when I attended a few rally events I noticed on light/medium snow a lot of the nonprofessional teams were using the Nokians as well. Just my two cents though, my tire size was 205/50/R16 and my turn in was very nice for such a lightweight car!
and in terms of rims, steelies are all you need for 16" wheels if buying new but look on the Subaru forums for guys selling old wrx wheels for dirt cheap.

[Jertronic]

I remember seeing dunlop snow tires on rwd bmw's around Boston, not positive which model Dunlop. Now, 80% of the bimmers in my area are x-drive. Arguably, x-drive bmw's suffice just fine with all season tires.

The point of my post is to comment that the dunlops have a sporty characteristic which would match nicely with the sports car that we own.

[dem00n]

I had the Continental ExtremeWinterContact for two years, i wore them down to the "snow wear" limit. In the end, one tire had a bubble, not surprised. They were good for the snow, i really got to test them hard in some serious Ohio snow. Nothing bad.

Will be running Michelin X-Ice Xi3 this winter on OEM wheels.

Btw, i was told that by the installer that the OEM wheels look "okay" (after two winter seasons), will have to see how long they'll last...
If OEM fails, time to get a set of BBS SR's for the winter then.

[toast]

I used Dunlop wintersport 3d on my STI. Fantastic all around tire, a little noisier than all seasons but that is to be expected. Used them for four winters and the tread was still at 60% when I sold them with the car a few months ago. I'll be getting them for the BRB this winter and running them on the stock wheels.

[Ubersuber]

Originally Posted by Jertronic

I bought 16 inch steelies with x-ice 3's. Great snow and ice performance but I was a little shocked at the overall softness in overall handing. Namely tramIining.

I have read that conti extreme winter contact is best "all around" winter tire.

Wish that I had bought more sporty road performance winter varietal.



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I like the Continental. I have driven those in summer weather (down from the NWT) and they actually work OK in summer heat which is very impressive. I wouldn't run them in summer unless I had no choice but it is impressive that they work at those temperatures AND work so well on snow or ice.

For high performance winter tires Conti excel, they are very effective in deeper snow and good on ice.

Michelin X Ice is a totally different tire designed for excellent ice performance and OK for everything else except dry roads where they squirm.

I also don't think going down to 16 inch wheels is really worth doing these days. If snow and ice grip is the issue stay at 17 and fit soft tires like the Michelin X Ice. If snow and ice grip isn't as important as bare road (especially wet bare road) grip then go for 17 inch high performance snows like the Conti, the new Michelin PA4 or the Pirelli Sottozero. This car works with 16 inch tires but it works better with 17's.

It's hard to go wrong with Nokian products though. You just need to fit the correct type for your expectations. Generally LRR tire designs do not make good winter tires.

The Japanese brands are now also pretty good. Bridgestone now makes a competitor to the European high performance brands, the older Blizzaks were pretty useless once they were half worn.

[drewbot]

Oh no, let the winter tire debate begin with Suberman

FWIW, I'm riding on 205/55/R16 Bridgestone Bilzzak WS70 on steelies. I chose 16 since I'm a cheap, and 17s are just that more, and the replacements will be that much more.

Bilzzaks in general are squishy and noisy, as you know, but on a light RWD car I chose to get a tire that could get us home safely than something performance oriented (whatever that means for DD in winter). Dry, salty highways at 70+ mph aren't confidence inspiring, but to me, that's not the point of a winter tire

Not the prettiest combo, but got through a pretty ugly winter for Ontario. Here's a photo of the only time I got stuck this winter - pulling into my driveway that snow was taller than the car

Toronto Snow Storm February 2014 by Drewbot 95, on Flickr

[Black Tire]

Originally Posted by drewbot

Here's a photo of the only time I got stuck this winter - pulling into my driveway that snow was taller than the car

Toronto Snow Storm February 2014 by Drewbot 95, on Flickr

Yup, been there, done that. That's why I usually keep a small shovel in the back during the winter.