Snow Tires

[smbrm]

Yes, I think we have quite a few folks who drive with little appropriate consideration for the conditions. Too many big honking pickup trucks who think their size and 4wd makes them invincible to the laws of physics!

[dj petey]

Thanks to the snowfall last night i can finally give a review of the Evergreen W66. For the money ($85/tire), these tires were worth every penny. Let's get down to the details.

Cold weather dry traction: As an H-rated tire the tread pattern was optimized for higher speed driving than a typical S or T rated tire. This reduced the road noise under 120 km/h. above 120 and the winter tread starts becoming audible. Nothing i can't live with but it's there so i wanted to report it.

Cold weather wet traction: The silica compound does a decent job on cold wet conditions. I kept the traction control on and only experienced wheel slip twice on slightly inclined driveways getting into my condo. Keep in mind this is under normal daily driving conditions. I drove on these the way you are supposed to drive a winter tire. Do not drive these hard, expecting summer tire performance. It ain't gonna happen.

Slush: no problems whatsoever. Full confidence, and predictability.

Snow: Last night's snow fall was a good one. On my way to work the roads had not yet seen the snow plows so there was a base layer of packed snow from previous cars with lots of the loose stuff being kicked around from lane changes and wheel spin. About as dangerous as any commute is gonna get. the Evergreens performed as good as any other snow tire i've tried before. they're no hakkapalita but they aren't supposed to be. Taking corners was done at the proper speed for a fresh snow fall and the tail only kicked out when i gave it some gas. Coming off the line is no problem and so is stopping. A bit of slip when i hit some really deep snow in the curb lane but that's to be expected. Overall i felt confident and safe on these tires. There are more aggressive tires on the market but not at this price.

Ice: TBD as i haven't gotten any real ice conditions yet.

[wparsons]

I had a good test this morning too. My tires worked great in all situations except where there was more snow than ground clearance. A few places I was driving through about 8-10" of snow for a while and it was spinning lots. Still had enough grip to move, but definitely not anywhere fast.

To be fair, I don't think any tires would've helped so it's more relative to the lightish weight and lack of ground clearance.

[f0rge]

have some hankook i-pike W409 205/50 on my car since i got it on the 22nd, seems like a good tire so far we got quite a bit of snow the other day and i only almost got stuck once going up hill on an unplowed side street.

[LXXXVI]

[QUOTE=Enemies;514680]Thanks for the info guys. Looks like I'm going to be going for 205/55/16 tires.]

I went with a TireRack kit; 205/55/16 and Borbet rims = $1263
Looks okay but I regret my choice of Xi3 tires.

The Trac/VSC system is always cutting in when driving at about 80% of my stardard Primacy HP driving style where the Trac/VSC never cuts in. Even in the dry I can feel the backend moving around in light cornering.

These tires have about 50% of the wet/dry traction of the standard Primacy HPs at the magic 7C where we are told to switch to winter tires.

I have not had a chance to try these tires in the snow or ice.

[Enemies]

Originally Posted by wparsons

I had a good test this morning too. My tires worked great in all situations except where there was more snow than ground clearance. A few places I was driving through about 8-10" of snow for a while and it was spinning lots. Still had enough grip to move, but definitely not anywhere fast.

To be fair, I don't think any tires would've helped so it's more relative to the lightish weight and lack of ground clearance.

Which tires?

Also, I've found my Xi3's have been quite a bit better as they are broken in. Thankfully.

[8987846]

i got Evergreen EW66 215/45/17 (OEM SPEC) for $410 today. i can say it is way more better than stock summer tire in snow.....

[wparsons]

Originally Posted by Enemies

Which tires?

Also, I've found my Xi3's have been quite a bit better as they are broken in. Thankfully.

Barum Polaris 3's. The tire shop I went to said they drive every bit as good as the iPike's, but last a bit better and were about $20/tire cheaper.

[chanomatik]

Sorry, I haven't looked through this entire thread yet. I'm looking for feedback on using Blizzak tires with the FT86. I had them on my WRX and they were good. I liked them a lot. On my BRZ this past winter I used General Altimax studded tires and they were excellent. I've owned Nokian Hakka's and Hankook i-Pikes before and those, too, were excellent. I'm not 100% about studless on a RWD coupe, but now that I have over 26k miles on the car, I'm fairly confident that I can handle it without studs. We do get deep snow and some glare ice in Anchorage, Alaska, but this car is mostly for commuting on the main roads anyways.

Thanks!

[Burrcold]

Originally Posted by chanomatik

Sorry, I haven't looked through this entire thread yet. I'm looking for feedback on using Blizzak tires with the FT86. I had them on my WRX and they were good. I liked them a lot. On my BRZ this past winter I used General Altimax studded tires and they were excellent. I've owned Nokian Hakka's and Hankook i-Pikes before and those, too, were excellent. I'm not 100% about studless on a RWD coupe, but now that I have over 26k miles on the car, I'm fairly confident that I can handle it without studs. We do get deep snow and some glare ice in Anchorage, Alaska, but this car is mostly for commuting on the main roads anyways.

Thanks!

Which Blizzak's are you looking at? I bought the WS-70 series last year and they were great. Good balance between snow/ice and dry performance. However, on my old G35 Coupe I had the LM-22's and they were EXCELLENT dry road performance winter tires...not so great, but not horrible in lighter snow/ice.

[chanomatik]

Originally Posted by Burrcold

Which Blizzak's are you looking at? I bought the WS-70 series last year and they were great. Good balance between snow/ice and dry performance. However, on my old G35 Coupe I had the LM-22's and they were EXCELLENT dry road performance winter tires...not so great, but not horrible in lighter snow/ice.

They're having a sale for WS60's for $500 (closeout) in 225/40R18. That's what I had on my 2011 WRX and they were good. Only tried them the one winter. Back in 2008/2009 I had the Blizzak LM-22's, too, I think, for my 2005 STI and they sucked when we got our first glare ice.

Studded tires are allowed only between October 15th and April 15th in Alaska (I believe), so everyone rushes to get the changed out last minute. Blizzaks rock because you're not having to switch out at the same time as everyone else. You can ride on them for a week or so later. This past year we were still getting snow until the 3rd week of May, well after studded tires are allowed. It's just nice to not have to hassle.

Thanks for the feedback!

[Jidonsu]

Originally Posted by chanomatik

They're having a sale for WS60's for $500 (closeout) in 225/40R18. That's what I had on my 2011 WRX and they were good. Only tried them the one winter. Back in 2008/2009 I had the Blizzak LM-22's, too, I think, for my 2005 STI and they sucked when we got our first glare ice.

Studded tires are allowed only between October 15th and April 15th in Alaska (I believe), so everyone rushes to get the changed out last minute. Blizzaks rock because you're not having to switch out at the same time as everyone else. You can ride on them for a week or so later. This past year we were still getting snow until the 3rd week of May, well after studded tires are allowed. It's just nice to not have to hassle.

Thanks for the feedback!

Why not just go studless on the General Altimax Arctics? I have them on another car (Accord) and they seem to go through just about anything. My only complaint was that they're soft and floaty at highway speeds when it's dry.

[chanomatik]

Originally Posted by Jidonsu

Why not just go studless on the General Altimax Arctics? I have them on another car (Accord) and they seem to go through just about anything. My only complaint was that they're soft and floaty at highway speeds when it's dry.

Because I'm giving them to my buddy that just bought his BRZ almost two weeks ago and they're 17" tires for the stock wheels. I'm on 2013 STI BBS wheels right now, plus going BBK soon and stock wheels won't clear. So either $500 on closeout wheels and $500 on closeout winter tires or just $500 for winter tires for my 18" STI wheels.

[Suberman]

Pirelli Sottozeros going on mine: 225/45x17. I'm looking for bare road winter performance. With that Torsen any winter tire will be enough for traction. I want good braking and cornering on bare road.

Put them on today so as to scuff them in before the end of the month.

As expected they are amazing in warm weather, for a snow tire.

I'm switching my summers to 225/45x17. That 215/45x17 tire just looks too skinny for this car. Never thought I'd buy a tire for looks but really, 215?