The '17/'18 Winterpocalypse Tire Thread!!!

[Shark_Bait88]

Seeing how things are starting to cool down a little and Winter is Coming (Damn, what a great episode this past weekend ) I figured I'd start a new winter tire thread, so we've got a place to answer questions, help noobs, and discuss various topics related to winter tires.

For those new to the platform, or those veterans who are still ignorant, I will state that:
If you live somewhere that sees any measurable amount of snow, you should absolutely have winter tires!

Beyond that, it doesn't even need to snow where you live. The biggest factor that affects tires in the winter is temperature. If you are consistently seeing temperatures below 40° F (that's 5° C for you freedom hating non-'Muricans) in the winter, it's wise to have winter tires as well. Below those temps, the rubber compound in summer tires will get very hard and lose grip. It's kinda like driving around on hockey pucks, which is a bad idea.

Now that that's out of the way, I've got something a bit more fun to talk about. Up to this point, I've been using Blizzak WS-80s every winter. Living in the Chicagoland area and traveling quite a bit around the Great Lakes region in the winter my tires tend to get quite a workout, and not just in the normal commuting kinda way...



Winter rallycross is easily some of the most fun I've ever had in a car.

My current WS-80s are down to ~50% tread, making them effectively all-seasons. So I'll be selling those and getting a new set of tires. After hearing lots of great reviews and riding along in a few cars on General Altimax Arctics, I've decided to switch to those. The $100 difference in price to the WS-80s makes the performance-to-cost benefit is just too good to pass up.

However, in perusing the Tire Rack website today I discovered that General has a new winter tire out, the Altimax Arctic 12.



Anyone have experience with these yet? Based on some limited research it sounds like they were released in February to select Canadian tire distributors. I'd be interested in hearing feedback on them, as they've piqued my interest. If nobody has tried them yet, perhaps I'll be the guinea pig.

[jlimNW]

Not really commenting on the Altimax Arctic 12 but had some questions regarding winter tires. I live in the Northwest which hardly sees any snow. Our winters are fairly mild with rain and temps ranging from 20*F to 50*F. Should I just get all-seasons or would it be worth investing in winter tires? Snow is almost a non-factor. We see snow only once or twice a year.

[venturaII]

I'd like to get a new set of diggers to replace my current Conti Winter ExtremeContacts, as they're 4 seasons old now and starting to get a bit more worn than ideal for a winter tire, but I might have to go one more season on them. I'll be interested to see how the new Altimax fares..

[venturaII]

Originally Posted by jlimNW

Not really commenting on the Altimax Arctic 12 but had some questions regarding winter tires. I live in the Northwest which hardly sees any snow. Our winters are fairly mild with rain and temps ranging from 20*F to 50*F. Should I just get all-seasons or would it be worth investing in winter tires? Snow is almost a non-factor. We see snow only once or twice a year.

All seasons do everything, but just mediocre. If you have the space to store them, get a dedicated winter wheel/tire package because of your temp range, and then run a more dedicated performance tire in the summer. For just a little extra work of swapping wheels/tires around twice a year, you'll have better performance in all conditions.

[jubella2]

Honestly I would get all seasons with that temp range and no snow. I have owned Blizzak WS50,70 and 80s and they all handle like garbage at 50*

[JazzleSAURUS]

Well this is really interesting! I was planning on a fresh set of Arctics for my BRZ this year as well. I ran my old Forester size Arctics on 16" RS wheels the first year, and it was fantastic. Sadly, they were leftovers and didn't have a ton of tread. I was not impressed by the leftover tread taken from my wifes Impreza sized continental extreme winter contacts, so those got roasted as dorifto tires.

Time for a fresh set this year, I'll be looking into the Arctic 12 as well as the old school arctic for a suitable replacement! I'd like to go with the Forester size if they are available as well, I like the tall sidewalls and dash of clearance!

[Shark_Bait88]

Originally Posted by jlimNW

Not really commenting on the Altimax Arctic 12 but had some questions regarding winter tires. I live in the Northwest which hardly sees any snow. Our winters are fairly mild with rain and temps ranging from 20*F to 50*F. Should I just get all-seasons or would it be worth investing in winter tires? Snow is almost a non-factor. We see snow only once or twice a year.

Are the more consistently near the lower or higher end of that range?

IMO it's always best to do two sets of wheels/tires if you have a winter that isn't suited to summer tires. You'll get to enjoy your car much more in both seasons with properly suited tires. "No-seasons" leave you feeling pretty "meh" all the time. But if it's more often in the 40-50 range, all-seasons might be suited to your use.

[Icecreamtruk]

I have ran the General Altimax Arctics for two winters now, they are glorious on deep and/or fresh snow, decent on ice. They seem durable for a winter tire, considering I spend most of my time sideways during winter. Tires are at around 70% thread now, non studded:

[venturaII]

Originally Posted by jubella2

Honestly I would get all seasons with that temp range and no snow. I have owned Blizzak WS50,70 and 80s and they all handle like garbage at 50*

By 50 deg you should already be swapping over to the performance tires. At 20 deg, the performance tires will equally handle like garbage, so to make having two sets of tires be useful means you need to actually do the work and swap them when you're supposed to.

Edit: and even if the majority of your winter precipitation is rain and not snow, just look at that tread design and the generous siping...all that means great wet weather management.

[churchx]

Hmm. Nokians?

[Shark_Bait88]

Originally Posted by churchx

Hmm. Nokians?

If I could get them for a lot less than ~$900 a set I'd definitely buy some Hakkapeliitta R2s lol

[churchx]

R2? Studded hakkas 8! (if for anything like in your 1st pic)

[Shark_Bait88]

Originally Posted by churchx

R2? Studded hakkas 8! (if for anything like in your 1st pic)

Can't run studs on the roads in Chicago, and if I was gonna use studded tires for ice racing I'd build a set like the guy with S2K I race with has.

[jlimNW]

Originally Posted by Shark_Bait88

Are the more consistently near the lower or higher end of that range?

IMO it's always best to do two sets of wheels/tires if you have a winter that isn't suited to summer tires. You'll get to enjoy your car much more in both seasons with properly suited tires. "No-seasons" leave you feeling pretty "meh" all the time. But if it's more often in the 40-50 range, all-seasons might be suited to your use.

I would say its closer to the higher end. 40 is probably a good average. It only gets towards the low end on mornings so only a brief cause for concern on my drive to work.