I was driving on a sidestreet today that was icey. I have winter tires, but I couldn't brake at all. Are winter tires (I have Mich Pilot Alpins) supposed to be bad on ice?

Yes, apparently the Pilot Alpins were crappy, according to several sites (Snowtire.info, Tire Rack tests).

Dunlop Wintersport M3 for the past 2 years
Nokian Hakkapeliitta R this year

Hankook iPike w409's work wonders..

damn, I wanna go RALLY FAST in the snow. :P
kind of silly, but yeah gotta quench my thirst for speed haha.

Screw that, litterally. Be like the ice racers and put in huge nuts and bolts into the tires to use as studded tires. ;)

Yokohama Winter AVS v901

works well in snow, but still have minor difficulty on ice and slush (have to go slow to start)

I have no problem with them on ice / snow. no abs act up like how I had all-seasons on. feel much better & safer driving with them than all-seasons.

Someone help out please. =] If I shop online at www.tirerack.com and I get quoted:

Excise Tax: $0.00
GST: $26.82
PST: $44.74
Duty: $32.48
Provincial Tire Fee: $20.00
Brokerage Fee: $20.00
Grand Total (USD): $710.78

Is this everything that I'd have to pay, including brokerage ( I know it says $20 there. )

I'm wondering if I should borrow my friend's US PO box, ship it straight to my house, or just buy locally.

Thanks!

Ship it straight. That's all you'll get hit - TireRack has an agreement with UPS where UPS only charges you $20 and TireRack collects it, not UPS themselves.

EDIT: That's not including shipping, is it?

Pirelli Winter Carving 205/45/16's on my 96 4 door integra. This is the second season I've been running them and they're awesome. Very good in snow and on ice, plus also good just in wet. I would highly recommend them.

hankook icebear w300's 185/65/15's on 15x6.5 +38 rims on my 4wd jdm pulsar gti-r. 5000rpm clutch dumps in the snow = off the line traction as if its wet out. great tire for non full icey conditions.

I've bought from TireRack 3 times and really, what they quote you is what you pay, in USD of course. Your credit card is probably gonna give you a shitty rate anyways. Determine if the shipping cost is worth your time. I rather get it delivered to my door. If it's coming from Nevada, it only takes like 2 business days if they have it in stock.

Yeah it's including shipping, that was for Michelin Ice-X I2's but I'm leaning towards Dunlop SP Wintersport 3D's now. ( Total comes to $605.33 ) But sounds good :) I hate dealing with brokerage fees and stuff -.-


Thanks!!

Nokian Hakkapeliitta RSI
Can't be happier with these tires!!
BEST!

Bridgestone Blizzak WS-50

Great reviews on this tire and the price was cheap when i bought them at G5 last year.

Wear a bit quick, but the grip is amazing in snow. does well on ice compared to other snow tires i've tried (kumho KW17, Michelin Arctic Alpin) and much better than any all-season tire.

tires i've run and the cars i've run them on

1990 4runner V6
bfg allterrain TA KO - pretty good

1995 corolla
nokian hakkapeliita RSI - VERY VERY good

1985 corolla GTS
hankook ipike W409 studded - absolutely amazing traction on ice

2001 GS430 and 1995 SC400
michelin pilot alpin 2 - pretty damn good

1990 corolla GTS
michelin x-ice - gushy, but sticks fairly well

1990 jetta, 1990 volvo 740
michelin arctic alpin - discontinued tire... noisy, but decent traction

what exactly are the rules surrounding using studded tires in the lower mainland?

tires can only be studded when NEW... they cannot be studded after they are used...

justin, you wanna run those snow tires at 32/30psi front and rear... that'll optimize your contact patch and give you maximum traction...

Don't.

Why is that?

Legally, you can run studded tires from Nov 1 to April 1.

On dry pavement, they make no sense; you'll just destroy your tires. And we don't get the weather that requires studded tires. Winter tires are fine, and if you're really worried, carry chains.

On another note; people are getting a little paranoid. Yes, it's cold. And yes, we'll get more snow. But a decent all-season tire and a lot of attentiveness and caution while driving WILL get you around. Winter tires are better, and chains are evevn better still, as with AWD and 4WD etc etc... but it's only -4 outside, and even the "shitloads" of snow we're supposed to get has only been quntified as around 15 cm. That's 6". That's not very much. My Land Rover has an archaic 4WD system, drum brakes with no ABS, no traction control, and almost-dead all-terrain tires on it, and yet I was pulling cars equipped with brand-new all-season tires, traction control, stability control, and ABS brakes out of ditches this week. Don't drive like a douchebag (and I'm not saying any of you are), and you'll be fine. That means leave giant gaps, slow down BEFORE THE CORNER, and check intersections for people trying to stop before you proceed through them. Don't pass people dangerously, don't be agressive, and don't drift around city streets.

It may be illegal, but I say you all should find an empty parking lot and practice driving for hours and hours; it ay come in handy on the road.

And i know some of you will say "no, you should be as safe as possible on the road and that means winter tires, etc etc" but the reality is that not everyone will get them. I won't (although the AWD LS460 Lexus gave me yesterday has them fitted ;)) get them for the Land Rover, as my tire fund is going to new all-terrains in the spring. And with a little careful driving, I'll get through the winter. Hell, I can get through unploughed, unpaved, muddy trails covered in a few feet of snow; relatively clear roads shouldn't be a hazard.

PS: If I ever see someone from Revscene tailgate my Land Rover while I'm doing 70 kph in the snow, I'll kill you. That's 40 litres of gasoline strapped to my back door, and that WILL be the first thing your front end hits, and that gasoline WILL splash onto your exhaust manifold, and I WILL douse you in flaming gasoline for hurting my truck.

Woww watch out for the guy in the old suv, if you bang it up he WILL splash you with the gas and the exhaust manifold :mamoru: hahaha

And yes! Everyone should make it out to an empty snowy parking lot at least once, and practice staying in control in the snow, and sliding around. It could save you a lot of money, maybe even your life....plus it's fun lol

If you're worried about getting in trouble with po-po, just go by yourself, and honestly try and practice....don't bring 5 of your most riced out friends and try to play dori-dori drift king in the snow lol

p.s.

The highest rated traction based winter tires can outperform studded tires on ice...not to mention while maintaining higher speed rating, and better dry handling, less noise....bottom line, why bother?

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a2...1/P7151420.jpg

Do you see any form of rear bumper? No. If someone rear ends me, the first thing they'll hit will be a pair of 20 litre NATO-standard jerry cans filled with 91 octane fuel; and although I don't have much experience with exploding jerry cans, I'm going to guess they'll rupture... and dump fuel all over whatever just smashed into them. And it will suck.

So if you rear-end me because my car has abs and snow tires and can stop a lot faster than your drum brake non-abs shitty all season tires, can I douse you in gasoline and set you on fire for hurting my rice rocket? ;)