Winter Tire Review Thread (Please contribute)

[Lizai]

Originally Posted by DetroitJake

Nice! Ya I'd be scraping with your dropped suspension though. We really got dumped on this winter. 17"s are okay, but 16" seemed like a good way to go for winter. More sidewall to take up Michigan notorious potholes and frozen suspension in this weird below zero weather. Maybe I'll need adjustable coil overs for this summer

Hi, Jake! It's Li. Nice to see you here.

I am changing back to all season tires now!

[ichitaka05]

Before actual winter starts and members making dozens and dozens new threads bout winter tires, I'll just sticky this thread

[vertex]

would anybody recommend Continental ExtremeContact DWS' for chicago winters? don't really want to get dedicated snow tires but if i have to then i will. thanks!

[Figo]

I think the Winter Tire Review might be better to be related to different areas.

For example, a good winter wire in Canada or a mountain area that snow will not be cleaned really quick might not be great in NY area.

Iv heard that General Altimax Arctic is cheap and nice. A lot of people who live in Canada recommend this tire. However, I live in NJ, and the snow on local road are always been cleaned really quick. So I went to X-Ice, which might not be as good as Altimax Arctic in heavy snow but perform a lot better on highway and light snow/dry road.

.

[Chanpion]

Wanli Winter Challenger:
I got a full set off a friend of mine who's car was recently sold. Offered 100$ just for the kindness. Quite new tires with lots of thread depth and alloy included for me.

205/55/r16
Recommendation: Stay away from these tires if you can.
Tire composition/ formula: It has a more all season tire tire composition hardness. It's not soft like a IceX at all, a bit harder than a Goodyear Nordic tire.
Snow: Okay, but not as good as a brand name winter tire. Stopping distance is okay. Lateral grip isn't exactly great.
Slush: Okay. In this case, think that the amount of thread does help it in slush. Kind of digs for a bit then grips a bit better.
Black ice: Not great for forward or lateral grip. The lack of a softer compound may be affecting it here.
Noise: I can only compare it to the Primacy HPs right now, but they're louder, especially when you take a dry corner.
Durability: Unknown. Haven't driven it long enough.
Dry performance: Mostly unknown.

Overall: I always get the feeling that another tire could have better performance than these when driving. Try to stay away from these tires unless you're really broke or you're only using them as an occasional driver during winter months. But they're safer than all seasons for sure.

Currently not a very in depth review, as I drive it more, I may update this. Maybe update to a different tire.

Update: The tire really were not any good so I switched them out. I live in an area that has icy roads and the tire provided very little grip to get off the line. I guess it'd be marginal for a heavier FWD car though. Switched over to a set of 205/55/16 Hercules HSI-L. Harder than compound than your average XIce but also cheaper. Their durability so far seems to be better than XIces. They're not the best out there but let's say average and will help you get through the winter season.

[Elkton86er]

Just got a set of 4 Blizzak LM-32s mounted on a spare set of OEM rims for my BRZ. Haven't put them on the car yet, because it's been so warm lately in my area (Mid Atlantic).

Question: When do you switch over to your winter tires?

I'm thinking sometime Thanksgiving week, but I might do it next week since there will be a cold blast.

UPDATE: Went ahead and put them on today. Brand new, dry road, warm (55 deg F) day impression: steering feels a wee bit heavier than stock, minimal road noise, stability feels like A/S tires. All good! Now lets see about cold/wet...

[FRSBRZGT86FAN]

@Pat.Thornton

[PeterFRS]

Blizzak LM60 215/45R17
i picked these up as a used set on wheels,
i must admit reasonable grip on ice, slush, snow, dry
rear end does slip out once gas is generously given.
Stops good, corners good, get up and go is good.
Night and day difference for obvious reasons,
compared to stock michelins.
my first calgary winter and my first winter in RWD and still manages to give me confidence , so..I'd recommend!

[rlpaul]

Michelin X-Ice3 215/45R17

Had these on for a couple weeks now. Three inches of snow on the ground this morning. At reasonable speeds, didn't even see the traction control light up. Easily more grip than my old Sentra with 'all' seasons. Braking still had bite.

Ambient temp this morning was slightly above freezing, we're supposed to see single digits this week, so I'll update if performance changes at lower temps.

[iamkyle]

Originally Posted by rlpaul

Michelin X-Ice3 215/45R17

Had these on for a couple weeks now. Three inches of snow on the ground this morning. At reasonable speeds, didn't even see the traction control light up. Easily more grip than my old Sentra with 'all' seasons. Braking still had bite.

Ambient temp this morning was slightly above freezing, we're supposed to see single digits this week, so I'll update if performance changes at lower temps.

Getting mine installed next week on my stock 17's
I live in victoria BC so we may see 0 - 2 days of snow per year.
still see weather around -5 - +10 area throughout winter so i got them for safety

[Arcadien Angel]

I need some advice, for anyone feeling particularly helpful.

At the turn of the year, around December 30th - January 2nd, I'll be flying from Texas to Chicago, Illinois to pick up my FRS, and drive it back. The problem I'm having is that heavy duty snow/ice tires are an absolute necessity in Chicago, but in Texas, it's not nearly as critical. Maybe buy some cheap winter tires for the 3 times it snows all year, or tough it out.

I'll be spending a couple days tops in Illinois. And I'm dreading having to buy some snow tires that I'll never use again.

Are there any cheaper options for me? Or am I pretty much screwed?

Sent by my Artificial Intelligence.

[dradernh]

Here's the deal: Unless there's a snow issue while you're there, it's unlikely to be a concern. You can almost be certain that the interstates will be clear - again, unless it's snowing while you're traveling.

If you've got the flexibility, I'd wait until just before departing to figure out if you'll have to pull the trigger or not. If you do have to, buy the cheapest decent snow tires you can and sell them when you get home.

[FRSBRZGT86FAN]

Originally Posted by dradernh

Here's the deal: Unless there's a snow issue while you're there, it's unlikely to be a concern. You can almost be certain that the interstates will be clear - again, unless it's snowing while you're traveling.

If you've got the flexibility, I'd wait until just before departing to figure out if you'll have to pull the trigger or not. If you do have to, buy the cheapest decent snow tires you can and sell them when you get home.

Snow tires are a big advantage in lower temps though.....

[dp1]

Originally Posted by FRSBRZGT86FAN

Snow tires are a big advantage in lower temps though.....

^ that...better in dry, wet and snow below 45 F