Winter Tire Review Thread (Please contribute)

[Suberman]

I'm running Sottozeros in 225/45x17 size.

Straight line traction is poor in these cars.

Braking and cornering are just fine.

I'm not sure softer rubber, narrower contact patch or taller sidewalls will make any difference.

I'm adding 90 lbs of weight to the trunk this week to see if traction improves with more weight on the rear axle. I'm sceptical that it will help at all.

If weight won't help then it isn't the tires.

[djdnz]

I have Goodyear/Motomaster Nordic's on all my vehicles and my families vehicles and for the price they are great winter tires. They are very good on ice, pretty good in the deep stuff. I would guess they are only available in Canada though.

[tiz22]

Was gonna go with Blizzak W70s but decided against them because of the reviews of poor performance on dry pavement

Instead, went for Michelin Xice i3s on stock rims (215/45/17) and so far - awesome!

Haven't been stuck once (and I've driven through some sh*t! Afterall, I live in Canada). Absolutely no additional road noise, no decrease in fuel efficiency and the tires only slip out enough for traction control to snap them right back. I fly by SUVs and F150s on the daily

[Joxer]

Also on X Ice 3, not really enough time for me to make a proper review here in Toronto. First big challenge was last Saturday and I was disappointed, but I think the conditions were extremely treacherous that day as even my wife in the A4 was sliding the rear end around a bit. Later driving in the snow this week on the highways and byways I've found them better, and yes passed a few Audis on the right on the 427 northbound!

Last car was a G37S Coupe with Blizzaks - that car was just a giant turd in general so I don't know if I can compare tires across cars. I found the Blizzaks noisier, maybe a wee bit loose on dry pavement but consistent. In the snow with the G the traction control HAD to be turned off, as any little slip made the VSC try to set the car back straight despite the fact that I was turning - massive understeer. The FR-S can be driven just fine with all aids on, or in sport for more aggression/transitioning from side-street to busy main. Would like some more time to play with everything off.

In the worst weather I always wish for some Gislaved or Nokian, but you do give up a LOT on dry pavement. 3-series at 8 degrees C was sort of fun with that much mush tho

[Suberman]

That description of the Infiniti coupe belongs in a road test...priceless. Accurate.

Mind you, the mini assessment of snow tire performance is also right on the money. Good advice especially for someone trying to decide what type of snow tire to buy.

[BRZNutt]

Originally Posted by amram

Hey brznutt, how are the sottozero working out for you?

Am considering those on 16" steelies from tirerack. Didn't see many reviews here. I like the idea of great cold dry and wet performance but am concerned about the lesser snow perf (than altimax or blizzak) for the about 2-5% ice/snow of my winter driving time that I would really need the winter tires for, given our mild winters here. (The stock bridgestones seem fine for the other 95% wet/dry time) Thanks in advance!

They are working great so far. Haven't had any significant amount of snow yet, but we did have some ice a few weeks back and they worked exceptionally well. Interestingly, my straight line traction has improved drastically in the wet (as compared to Suberman's negative experience above, not sure if this can be attributed to the different size or maybe temperature difference between Kentucky and Canada) I mainly went this route because I wanted something I could put on the car in November and leave on the car until March or April. We have very large temperature swings here in Kentucky, some weeks will start out in the 20's and by the middle of the week it's 60! I needed something to get me through an occasional snow or ice storm, but only for the short 7 miles I drive to work each day. If we had any significant amount of snow, I would be leaving the BRZ at home. That's why I didn't opt for a dedicated snow and ice tire. I'd highly recommend the Sotto Zeros if your situation is similar to mine. I assume your stock tires are all-seasons, mine are summer only so I had to get something for the winter.

[OjiGeorge]

Park my 86 for the winter, but use Pirelli Winter Carving on my civic, and these tires are awesome. Traction and steering are good even on full snow. Wet performance is pretty darn good as well. I'd buy these again

[Suberman]

Originally Posted by BRZNutt

They are working great so far. Haven't had any significant amount of snow yet, but we did have some ice a few weeks back and they worked exceptionally well. Interestingly, my straight line traction has improved drastically in the wet (as compared to Suberman's negative experience above, not sure if this can be attributed to the different size or maybe temperature difference between Kentucky and Canada) I mainly went this route because I wanted something I could put on the car in November and leave on the car until March or April. We have very large temperature swings here in Kentucky, some weeks will start out in the 20's and by the middle of the week it's 60! I needed something to get me through an occasional snow or ice storm, but only for the short 7 miles I drive to work each day. If we had any significant amount of snow, I would be leaving the BRZ at home. That's why I didn't opt for a dedicated snow and ice tire. I'd highly recommend the Sotto Zeros if your situation is similar to mine. I assume your stock tires are all-seasons, mine are summer only so I had to get something for the winter.

Straight line performance in snow or on ice is poor.

Bare road handling, especially in the wet, is actually better than the Primacy at summer temperatures, IMHO. Slightly lower grip in summer but much more progressive handling.

I highly recommend Sottozeros for variable temperatures.

For severe winter driving I'd now fit studless winter tires and put up with the decreased bare road handling, maybe. I'm checking out adding weight to the trunk instead which I haven't done since the 70's when all tires were crapola compared to today's tires.

[spralwers]

Running general altimax arctics, 205-60-16, on subaru forester rims. I'll have pics uploaded later. Haven't ran them in the snow yet, but the ride is actually much smoother and much quieter than the stock bridgestones. The temps got up to even the low-mid 50s over the past few days and these tires were still much better! Definitely more resistance from the tires if you turn the wheel more than 30 degrees tho and a bit less steering feel, but it's still addicting to drive this! Will update again when there's lots of snow, but so far the performance and ride comfort on wet and dry is great!

[amram]

Originally Posted by spralwers

The temps got up to even the low-mid 50s over the past few days and these tires were still much better! Definitely more resistance from the tires if you turn the wheel more than 30 degrees tho and a bit less steering feel, but it's still addicting to drive this! Will update again when there's lots of snow, but so far the performance and ride comfort on wet and dry is great!

Great to hear that. With temps yesterday in the 60s here this is very comforting to hear. My altimaxes are arriving today!

[Frost]

Running Michelin X-Ice 2s on my daily driver for the third winter and amazingly, I still have 1/4" inch tread depth left as of yesterday!

They grip the ice on the roads we had in Toronto fairly well and while softer on turn in compared to my Michelin Defender all seasons, it is a marked improvement on snow compared to them (I drove the Defenders through the first snow fall and only had the tires changed 3 weeks ago). On ice, they are not bad but I can't say I compared them to the all seasons because, well... I didn't drive them (all seasons) on the ice.

I might actually get very good value out of these tires!

[CoupedUpSubie]

@Suberman I just have to say, give me a 4wd 3/4 ton truck with Goodyear Wrangler Duratrac tires on it and I will show you an amazing winter vehicle. No weight in the rear. Trucks are not lousy winter vehicles.

I had the Dunlop WinterSport 3Ds in 205/55/16 for about a month. Could make it in to my parents house and got stuck. They are a good highway and well traveled back road tire. They give way with the smallest amount of ice under snow. Straight line 2nd gear pull leads to major traction control involvement.

Today I had studded generals put on. Same stretch of road, similar conditions 2nd gear pull lead to a brief activation of TC then solid traction. I have run these on my 95 FWD Impreza and drive everywhere, including through 3 inches of snow while passing people doing 20 mph on clear road.

[Young_makaveli]

I have the bridgestones blizzaks ws70 and i must admit that they are very good in the snow

It's been almost 2 months and the driving feels really easy almost as there was no snow

So far I'm really happy about my purchase

Sent from my SM-N900W8 using Tapatalk

[spralwers]

Had some snowstorms up here in MA. The general altimax arctics held up nicely! Had to make sure not to put too much hp to the ground on take off, especially on the hills. And the wet traction is absolutely amazing. When I'm having fun in the parking lots on a very rainy day, I really need to rev the engine to break traction.