Winter Tire Review Thread (Please contribute)

[cjd]

Got a little time in on my SottoZero Serie 3. I put 205/50/17 on 17x17.5 (would have preferred a 17x7 but had other future plans limiting me so I went with Sparco Asseto Gara's in black) - they're very slightly stretched but look good.

Snow: Nice. Dry? Pretty good. Wet and above freezing? a little fuzzy. They just lack feedback in the wet! Not up to WRG3 standards, to be sure, and given how much I (don't really) drive I probably won't be switching. I'll just have to keep that in mind.

The first road-trip was over the Thanksgiving holiday and was sub-zero temps, mostly dry roads. Smooth, quiet, reasonably responsive - only slightly mushy compared to the Primacies and, IMO, slightly more progressive at the limit, though I didn't really push hard except exiting the highway a couple times (turning off a stop on a clear road.) Wet handling was not bad here - back country roads, winding but not particularly fast. I paid heed to the signs (especially on the drive back in the dark - deer and turkeys are common) so was often at 20 on a corner in a 50 zone. There were a few spots as I got further North where there was snow-cover/slush, and the tires performed well. I got to push a little exiting a gas station that was packed snow (I had to! there was a notable rise to the sidewalk and over, onto a wet road...) and nothing got out of shape whatsoever - in fact, I had to goose it to get the tires to spin, and they found traction surprisingly quickly and got me moving a little faster than expected. Nice.

So, above freezing and wet? Yeah. Maybe I was just tired, maybe I was nervous (dropping temps, rain all day, Chicago traffic) and grumpy (I had to drive out to the house we're trying to sell to clean up garbage the last contractor left, and had to do it on a Monday evening...) but the feedback just didn't feel there on the highway. Maybe it was just the change in road-feel, I thought I was going faster than I was pretty consistently, and that's the opposite of the usual in this car. I didn't realize it was a feedback thing till I exited and ended up on roads that were mostly dry (how's that work? No idea.) On the way home I had some clear space and experimented a little - the response is still there, so the tires weren't lacking grip - I just couldn't tell.

Given my commute is all public transit and we live in the city (garaged, thankfully!) I didn't want a full on snow tire - unless we're out and trying to get home, we'd just walk or take public transit if the snow got bad. The Nokian WRG3 was my pick, but I couldn't source it and wheels in time for said Thanksgiving trek, so I took a chance on the Pirelli which were often on the lists with the WRG3... nice tire all around.

[pastuch]

Very happy with how this thread has taken off.


I wore out my Bridgestone Blizzak LM60s so now I'm running Evergreen EW62s for $420 cash on the stock rims. Incredible deal IMHO.


The Evergreens have better grip in all conditions so far. Haven't tried a really deep snow day yet but they dominate under 3 inches of snow and the rain/ice grip is respectable. They aren't quite as much of a "performance" tire as the WS60 so they feel a little softer but I don't consider that a bad thing in snow.


Nice job United Tires in Kanata, buying direct from a distributor is awesome. (WWW.unitedtires.ca)

[calidus]

I have been extremely please with how well the Blizzak WS-80 handle in the snow and ice. They aren't every impressive when it is wet and 45 degrees outside when theirs snow and slush on the roads the the tires grip amazingly well. I feel like I slide more with my stock tires when it is dry out than I do with the Blizzaks when there is snow on the ground.

[eddieflyinv]

Tire: Hankook I-Cept Evo
Size: 205/50/17
Location: Brantford Ontario Canada
My 20 minute commute to and from work combines a few twisty roads, some city driving, a sometimes iced over bridge, and 2 steep uphill sections of road and I have yet to have any issue.
For the ~$500 I spent I really cannot complain. The grip is decent, there is a little bit of side to side motion from the rear when taking off in really deep snow, but I think that is to be expected regardless of what tire you have. I have had no issues stopping with these tires on any road surface condition I have encountered so far this winter either. They hold on in the wet pretty good as well.
I drove with the stockers during the first "flash/teaser" of winter and I had very little confidence in them. As cheap as these Hankooks were, they are so much better in comparison. High speed grip/stability (80-100) feels good to me, even on a snow covered road.
If you want something cheap to get you by during the winter I think these will do. Just everyone drive according to the road conditions/leave some space etc, because as great as some of them are, there is no such thing as a tire that will save your ass from an accident... thats on you, so be careful and goodluck this winter!


honestly the only time ive had the car do anything unexpected with these was one morning when my brakes were extremely grabby, and i hit them a little hard in deep snow and the ass end locked up.

[APEXIT53]

nokian hakkapeliitta OE size.

We haven't had much snow this year but so far these tires are quite good. Expensive compared to other tires but they are very good on snow and ice. I don't run sand bags or anything in the rear of the car and I have not had any issues on hills or anywhere. Also great when turning the traction control off and holding great "power slides" and trasition drifting ��.

When it was warmer out this sidewall is a bit softer than a blizzak and the car wanted to wander a bit, that's about the only issue I have with this tire.

Bang for the buck... Hmmm I would say now, generals still are the best at that honestly.

[ARTBRZ]

Tire: Michelin Xi3
Size:215/45/17
Warranty: 40,000
Price: $162/tire (Discount Tire)
Location: Indianapolis, IN
Tires Previously Owned: Continental DWS (Scion tC), Pirelli Scorpion A/S (RDX), Michelin Xi2 (RDX)

I almost made it through the winter without changing to winter tires. I decided to get winter tires because I slipped on black ice on a bridge. The back stepped out and I almost spun. Good thing for traction control. A week later there was snow. Winter tires is a must for this car!

The steering wheel gets lighter because of the tires. Excellent grip on ice and snow. I was going to put weights in the trunk but decided not to because I read it's only useful for inclines. If you do loose traction it's easy to correct. I encountered 6 inches or more of snow and slush when I was exiting the freeway (because of the truck plow). I thought I was going to get stuck but the car was fine. The back end stepped out a little. I felt more comfortable driving BRZ in the snow/ice than my wife's RDX. Noise level...the car doesn't have much insulation so it's noisy anyway. The longest trip I had with these tires were 75 round trip with snow/ice.

I even had a little fun with these tires (post# 10718): http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showt...10312&page=488

[lollotus]

Tire: Nokian Hakkapeliitta r2
Size: 215/45/17 on stock rims
Location: Scandinavia


Not feeling like writing a in depth review, but here's the good and the bad after driving on these for a whole winter.

The good:

-Extremely good grip in snow/slush/cold rain.
-Very progressive and predictable below -0 Celsius.
-Reasonable grip even on ice.



The bad:
-Annoyingly floaty while new, even at low speed. Gets better after around 1k km's. Feels almost like driving on a cheap studded tires.
-Very soft sidewalls, turn in precision not great.
-Wears quickly, but this is probably just my driving style.
-Sketchy on a warm around ~5c asphalt. Caused by very soft compound of the tire.
-Almost hazardous on damp and warm (~5c) asphalt. Snap overstears without any warning, feels almost like a cold r-compound on wet.
-Overpriced


And some silly POV footage of spirited driving on these tires:

[Talus1]

I finally disposed of the six year old Pirelli Snowsports and the rusty steelies that I tried to get by on last year. (The best one had 3/32 tread...). I put 205/50-17 Continental ExtremeWinterContacts on the stock rims back in November. I had been hoping to get the new Bridgestones but everything else in close to stock size was already sold out in Eastern Canada by then and the Contis were my second choice. I also put 50 lb of sand in a gym bag in the trunk.

Snow traction and handling were reasonable, but deep wet snow was still a problem, by which I mean deep enough for the chassis to rub. We had a snowstorm back in December that had the back end twitching the whole way to work. Ice traction wasn't great, but that was the compromise I got choosing the Contis over, say, XIces. The extra weight in the back helped with straight line traction, but really ruined the ride. I eventually moved the bag to then back seat, which helped. I think the poor thing had been running on the bump stops. The dry handling is kind of snaky, especially with the roads being so salty and dusty. The Contis really don't like combined lateral and longitudinal load especially with bumps. The extra oversteer was entertaining, especially with the sand in the back. It was really fun before I secured the gym bag to the rear seat back latch to keep it from sliding around the trunk.

I'm looking forward to getting my new summer tires and rims tomorrow.

[abolis]

Tire: Nokian Hakkapeliitta R2
Size: 195/55R16 on Subaru 68700 16x6.5 steelies
Location: Indiana

Spent the first two weeks of winter on stock tires; damp roads with slightly below freezing temperatures had me all over the road.

I've driven FWD and AWD with these tires the past four years, and knew they were some of the best studless around for snow and ice. I was not disappointed after mounting them on the FRS. Got this size to match revs per mile as close to stock as possible (845 stock, 852 snow). Tried 15" Subaru steelies, but they didn't clear the calipers.

I was honestly a little sad we didn't get enough snow this year to keep the roads covered for more than a day, because the time I did get on snow and ice kept me smiling as much as I do when I've got the stocks on in the summer.

Winter driving is all about knowing how your car will react, and driving smart, but these definitely help take the edge off.

[JarredH]

Slammed on Fast Samba 16s

[MoarGeesPlease]

Shopping around now for Winter '15 now. Apparently this is a decent time to buy while the stores stock-up. Here's what I found:

-TireRack has all the manufacturer rebates listed. Most are listed (General's already finished apparently), but most end by next week with a few exceptions.
-Sears has this deal for online only, but says it requires install at one of their local shops. As of today, their pricing is not that competitive.
-Call your local shops to see if they have any deals right now. I gotta do that yet.

[Lorico]

Tire: Micheline Xice 3 X13
Size: 195/55R16 on 16x7
Location: Ontario

Best winter tires i've ever purchased/used. Very glad to have these on my FRS since this is a light weight RWD

[gouldilocks]

Tire: BRIDGESTONE BLIZZAK WS80
Size: 205/55-16
Wheels: Spraco Terra
Size: 16 x 7

[KoolBRZ]

I read all the reviews on Tire Rack and decided on 2 of the Continental ExtremeContact DWS 06 tires. I have a 4.30 FD and 225/45/17 brings it right back to about stock gearing. The taller wider tires give a better ride which is much more predictable then my worn Michelin PSS 2's. They slide easier, but not as much, if that makes sense. In Vancouver WA. it hardly ever snows, so these are more of a rain and ice tire. I'm still using the stock Michelins in front, but if these work like I hope they do, I'll be buying 2 more of the same size for the front. I'll be climbing a rutted, potholed, muddy road tomorrow, so I'll see how they do. I normally have my car lowered about 1.5", but for this I'll be airing up to about 100 psi in the rear and 80 in the front just to get max clearance, and since the suspension won't be soaking up the bumps, the tires are going to have to work that much harder to keep traction.