Winter Tire Review Thread (Please contribute)

[churchx]

Even if you have +20% better grip, on cleaned up roads with little of snow/ice, you may still have unplown driveway, still some smaller backroad with ice/snow, and what good it will be if you get stuck or crashed there, even if that mileage will be just 5% of total driven? Or drive all the time on good clean roads, but that one time a month deciding to go to skiing trip or to visit old folks in more nothern state. And get that trip spoiled with getting stranded .

So not sure about "excellent option". Prefering to choose giving up some grip when plentiful, to get in return all possible grip when it's scarce.

[Chy]

Originally Posted by churchx

Even if you have +20% better grip, on cleaned up roads with little of snow/ice, you may still have unplown driveway, still some smaller backroad with ice/snow, and what good it will be if you get stuck or crashed there, even if that mileage will be just 5% of total driven? Or drive all the time on good clean roads, but that one time a month deciding to go to skiing trip or to visit old folks in more nothern state. And get that trip spoiled with getting stranded .

So not sure about "excellent option". Prefering to choose giving up some grip when plentiful, to get in return all possible grip when it's scarce.

Ok, but consumer reports is saying some all weather tires (for example Goodyear assurance weatherready) are superior to some winter tires. That seems pretty impressive to me. For me, I never deal with more than a few inches of snow on the road. Or some days with ice. They seem ideal in this situation and vastly better than all seasons.

[churchx]

Superrior what/where. On clean interstates simply in cold weather? Or on real snow/ice? And compared to which "some"? Vs some very cheapest from China? With good all-season from top manufacturers more then possible. Vs top three winter tires on snow/ice (from which i usually try to get)? Doubt it.

[Chy]

Originally Posted by churchx

Superrior what/where. On clean interstates simply in cold weather? Or on real snow/ice? And compared to which "some"? Vs some very cheapest from China? With good all-season from top manufacturers more then possible. Vs top three winter tires on snow/ice (from which i usually try to get)? Doubt it.

Did you even read the tirerack test reports? They test on ice and snow.

[WolfWings]

Originally Posted by Chy

Ok, so these "All Weather" Tires are very interesting.

Take a look at these TireRack results in the snow/ice:

...

It seems like the All Weather Tires could be an excellent option for year round use in places that get low amounts of snow and ice?

That's more or less my outlook; pack a set of chains if you're worried about heavier stuff, but after almost a full year on these I will say they drive and feel like studless winter tires, and handle dirt/gravel roads with aplomb whenever I've gone out into the wilderness.

I'd compare them most directly to General Altimax Arctic's, if you were going to get those (unstudded) instead of Blizzak's due to price differences I'd get the Vredestein's instead. Same performance to a T, but good to use year-round.

[Chy]

Originally Posted by WolfWings

That's more or less my outlook; pack a set of chains if you're worried about heavier stuff, but after almost a full year on these I will say they drive and feel like studless winter tires, and handle dirt/gravel roads with aplomb whenever I've gone out into the wilderness.

I'd compare them most directly to General Altimax Arctic's, if you were going to get those (unstudded) instead of Blizzak's due to price differences I'd get the Vredestein's instead. Same performance to a T, but good to use year-round.

Great info, thanks. I'm considering the Vredestein's or the Goodyear Assurance Weatherready. Weatherready looks like it may be better in the snow/ice. Consumer reports rated it as #2 all weather, only behind the CrossClimate+. Tirerack also rates the weatherready better it seems.

[8inchAzN]

Any reviews of the Bliazzak WS90 vs the 80's?

[arjunkc]

Consumer reports (CR) names this their best tire, and there are several ratings on tirerack that say that they're good. But CR tends to focus on things like fuel economy, so it's a bit hard to say if their ratings mean a lot to spirited drivers. Anyone here tried these tires?

[ciller]

Just got a used 2017 Toyota 86 in Edmonton. Came with the original Primacy's and thought I could squeeze through the last of the winter here since the roads were fairly clear.

Then a snowfall came and a cold snap and my car became instantly undriveable!!! I was not expecting to have as many issues as I did with acceleration at red lights or nearly spinning out on even the slightest of turns.

This made me decide to go get winters on the stock rims rather than wait till the fall. After reading through this forum and taking into account what winter end sales were available I ended up getting Michelin X-Ice Xi3 215/45 tires at a good price.

The difference was night and day, I could actually go down a back street that hasnt been plowed and could steer on ice and snow without issues. I haven't tested it on dry stuff doing hard cornering too much yet but they feel good so far (I've had them a few hours now, so not much testing time).

I just thought I'd relay what I found and check with you smart folks here to see if I made any dire mistakes on my first tire purchase.

[N_Raged]

Originally Posted by ciller

Just got a used 2017 Toyota 86 in Edmonton. Came with the original Primacy's and thought I could squeeze through the last of the winter here since the roads were fairly clear.

Then a snowfall came and a cold snap and my car became instantly undriveable!!! I was not expecting to have as many issues as I did with acceleration at red lights or nearly spinning out on even the slightest of turns.

This made me decide to go get winters on the stock rims rather than wait till the fall. After reading through this forum and taking into account what winter end sales were available I ended up getting Michelin X-Ice Xi3 215/45 tires at a good price.

The difference was night and day, I could actually go down a back street that hasnt been plowed and could steer on ice and snow without issues. I haven't tested it on dry stuff doing hard cornering too much yet but they feel good so far (I've had them a few hours now, so not much testing time).

Yea the Primacy HP is a summer touring tire, not an all-season like a lot of journalists mistakenly say. Meaning it should not be driven in the snow or below 7*C.

I have the Xi3 in the same size as you and they're good in the snow. Combined with stability control they keep me from crashing in the snow. Only times I've gotten "stuck" was when I was trying to take off from a stop in deep snow and did not turn off my traction control - which killed any wheelspin needed to build up momentum.

In the dry... the Xi3 are very squirmy like any non-performance winter tire would be. So don't expect to be taking any ramps in a spirited manner. However they are very quiet.

[ciller]

Originally Posted by N_Raged

Yea the Primacy HP is a summer touring tire, not an all-season like a lot of journalists mistakenly say. Meaning it should not be driven in the snow or below 7*C.

I have the Xi3 in the same size as you and they're good in the snow. Combined with stability control they keep me from crashing in the snow. Only times I've gotten "stuck" was when I was trying to take off from a stop in deep snow and did not turn off my traction control - which killed any wheelspin needed to build up momentum.

In the dry... the Xi3 are very squirmy like any non-performance winter tire would be. So don't expect to be taking any ramps in a spirited manner. However they are very quiet.

It's been really great! I may have drifted through a few damp intersections in a spirited manner and I could easily feel when they were about to lose traction and regrip, quite fun! Dry roads did make it fill at tad "squirmy" as you were saying, making me less confident.

Thanks for the feedback!

[WolfWings]

Originally Posted by Chy

Ok, so these "All Weather" Tires are very interesting.

Take a look at these TireRack results in the snow/ice:

All Weather Tires (such as Quatrac 5)
https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests...r.jsp?ttid=231

It seems like the All Weather Tires could be an excellent option for year round use in places that get low amounts of snow and ice?

Sorry for replying so much later, I wasn't active on the forums for a bit.

The test that includes the Quatrac 5 is particularly telling, as while yes, they're not as good as some others on the dry track test, look at their ratings on the wet track. Also look at their stopping distance and g-force limits.

Their winter snow/slush/mud handling is akin to wet performance, and yes, after 24k miles on them now I'd say these are excellent "I run into rain/snow/ice but don't live in it" options, so around I-80 in the US or below IMHO.

If these aren't enough honestly I'd recommend General Tire Altimax Arctic's, without studs, before bothering with Blizzaks. Those give up even more dry traction to improve the "bad weather" traction even further, while Blizzaks have a very noticable change in performance to me between dry and not-dry. The easiest way to improve safety is to reduce the sudden change in handling when you go between surfaces without warning.

[G-Snarls]

New BRZ owner. (Have had an STI, a Crosstrek and still have an Impreza)

Will be forced to drive the BRZ here in New Brunswick, Canada this winter, so needed to tire up for sure. Just ordered a set of Nokian Nordman 7 studded tires for the stock rims 215/45/17. Will have them installed in November and report back on how they do.

[RToyo86]

Originally Posted by Guru Woodman

I've had Hakkapaliita's on my car for a couple of years now and was blown away by the grip when they were new. Last winter not so much. They still look great and have visually enough thread but I will be replacing them coming winter for sure.

I suspect any winter tire on this platform is going to suffer the same fate as they wear and lose the deep groves. We need good tires to dig into snow since our cars are light.

I got a set of 16x7 wheels with already mounted 205/55r16 Pirelli ice zero FR at 85% tread. First winter the car was fantastic. Next winter they were at around 60-65% and noticed they were much worse. In snow the front end would understeer a lot more which I didn't like, and grip in the rear was noticeably worse.

I'm trying to find some discount Hakkapaliita R2 on clearance if possible since they were going real cheap.

I did however really like the Ice zero FRs. If I can't find a good deal on R2s I'll probably buy another set of the pirellis, and sell the old ones to somebody desperate to throw something on their car. They felt fantastic in the dry where most winters fall apart. The turn in was surprisingly good which is something I never thought I would say about a winter tire. Going from a PS4S to the winter wasn't drastic, minus having lower overall grip. The heavier construction 190kmh speed rating may have something to do with it.