Winter Tire Review Thread (Please contribute)

[brkdncr]

I bought some 16” wheels off a 2006 outback and they came with 225x60 16” tires. Will these fit? I also have a 1” spacer lift kit to install.

[Inferno5]

Hey Sasquatchulator; I came up with this using the calculator you posted, before I order I just wanted to run by some of you much more experienced 86 owners to see if these will work? I'm learning a lot from you guys...so glad I found this forum!

https://www.tirerack.com/cart/HoldingArea.jsp

[venturaII]

Originally Posted by Veypor

I switched from a 17" OEM wheel Michelin X-Ice set up to a proper 15" Pirelli Ice Zero studded setup and never looked back.
Link to wheel directory post

+1
THIS is going to be my next winter setup after my current studded 16s are worn out. I assumed 15s wouldn't clear our brakes..

[RickyRacer]

just mounted some new Hakka R3 215/45/17 on my OEM wheels


can't wait for first snowfall!!

[bucketfoot]

We finally got our first real snow here in the Denver area yesterday, so I was able to try out my Vredstein Wintrac Pros for the first time.

There was a nice icy layer at the bottom, so I was able to have some fun.

Overall I have to say that so far I am happy with them. Although if I wasn't permanently working from home and still had a daily commute I probably would have opted for something like Blizzaks instead.

[brkdncr]

Originally Posted by venturaII

+1
THIS is going to be my next winter setup after my current studded 16s are worn out. I assumed 15s wouldn't clear our brakes..

I think that car has different brakes on it? AR-Racing and RR-racing BBK are brakes.

[Sasquachulator]

been driving on the iceguards for a few months now.
My feeling is still the same with these tires.
they seem meh, not great on slippery/icey roads, but it feels like they've got some bite in the snow when i do get a chance to be on the packed snow.
Tirerack ratings for these seem to indicate they're quite good but not great. I feel like they're not as good as the ratings indicate though.

I also think some of it is getting used to a 50/50 weight balanced RWD car vs usually driving a FWD econobox with with a 60/40 F/R weight split. (drive wheels feel a bit lighter with less weight over them).

So far they do the job mostly fine. I wasnt wowed by these tires like i was when i first experienced the Continental DWS in the snow.

[Swift]

Just wanted to let people know if you didn't already that they make what are called "all weather" tires now. Not so much for your BRZ etc, but for your wife's car where you get snow from NOV-March but don't want to mount/dismount snow tires and rims.


I just ordered up a set of Michelin ClimateCross 2 for my Mazda 6. Expensive but by far the best reviews out there. Found out I have blackmarket tires on my car...IE: super old yet brand new tread. So I feel the rubber is super hard now and they are just General tires. In MN here I can stop worth a shit or start. I have a 6spd by the way.

[matchaFRS]

205/55/16 on 2003 forester oem wheels.

Drove these nearly everyday during in Winnipeg, MB where winters are known to be terrible. Plenty of grip when you want it. Plenty of slide when you want it. These tires are studdable but I did not have them studded. Never really got stuck in deep snow.

These tires I know are on the cheaper side but worked great for me. (the worst winter tire is better than nothing). This was my first ever RWD winter experience.

[Pat]

Does anyone have any information on 2023 snow tires? I'm in the market for some and wonder if there is any new tech in the world of snow tires I should aware of.

[jbug187]

Hi guys. I live in the New York City area and need some advice about getting winter tires that I can use on the stock wheels of my 2022 BRZ from November to March. The streets I drive on get plowed pretty well and I only anticipate driving on snow / ice a few times per season at most. After looking through some forum posts I see that folks generally recommend staying away from 'all season' tires and going with a full on 'winter tire', but I'm not sure if they might live in areas with harsher winters. Should I be looking at winter tires like Blizzak or Michelin X-Ice? I can only find them in a 225/40R/18 size - and am not sure if they would be too wide for the stock wheels since the stock tires are 215/40R/18? Any advice is appreciated. Thanks.

[churchx]

Originally Posted by jbug187

Hi guys. I live in the New York City area and need some advice about getting winter tires that I can use on the stock wheels of my 2022 BRZ from November to March. The streets I drive on get plowed pretty well and I only anticipate driving on snow / ice a few times per season at most. After looking through some forum posts I see that folks generally recommend staying away from 'all season' tires and going with a full on 'winter tire', but I'm not sure if they might live in areas with harsher winters. Should I be looking at winter tires like Blizzak or Michelin X-Ice? I can only find them in a 225/40R/18 size - and am not sure if they would be too wide for the stock wheels since the stock tires are 215/40R/18? Any advice is appreciated. Thanks.

If, where you live, there is rarely any snow/ice and temps most of a time are non-freezing, even more so, with very few expected drives, then all seasons might be better choice. Then again, some (me included) prefer to "err on safe side", i'm willing to give up some grip where it's plentiful (like ice/snow-less clean tarmac roads) for sake of any extra grip available, when it's scarce, as i may push less on clean roads, but never be stuck in those rare times when they were not yet after heavy snowfall.
You should know better, what average temps and road state in winter, where you live, are, and if you do (don't do) driving from time to time to more nothern-ish states (for eg. skiing resort and/or visit friends or old folks). From your description/post it seems that all seasons might be better .. i'd get good/premium vendor ones though (conti/goodyear/michelin).
Very weird to hear sizing (non)availability for you of winter tires (which usually are available at even smaller and narrower widths then summer tires). For example i'm running studded X-Ice North 4 195/60r16. Only 18? Hard to believe.

[bucketfoot]

I would definitely go with a winter tire, but I would stick with the stock size or even go down in width a size. I would not go up in size on a winter tire. A narrower tire will cut through the snow much better.

While I am a huge fan of both Blizzaks and Michelin, if you are going to do limited driving I would look for a less expensive tire. Bottom line is that the cheapest winter tire will be far better than even the best all-season tire in the cold/ice/snow.

[bucketfoot]

Originally Posted by Pat

Does anyone have any information on 2023 snow tires? I'm in the market for some and wonder if there is any new tech in the world of snow tires I should aware of.

Pat I don't think there is anything new on the technology front, as I suspect the next gen of many tire designs was delayed by COVID.

My two cents would be if snow/ice performance is the top priority it is hard to beat the Blizzak, X-Ice or Nokian.

When I went through this a year ago I wanted the best for a "sports car". The best of these do not come in sizes for our cars, so for me the top two options ended up being the Vredestein Wintrac Pro and the Pirelli Sottozero 3 (which I had on my BMW). I ended up with the Vredestein and have been very happy with them (granted it has only been one winter with them!)