Winter tire discussion for grown ups thread.

[Zedbra]

Mine go on at the start of October as I travel up and down the province a lot.

[Teriyaki]

Just put the set on the family car, it was up for an oil change anyways.

[dinfung]

i have mine on since late Oct.

[TopsyCrett]

Last winter I had a set of Yokohama Ice Guard IG20 in 185/70/14 on my 1993 Accord. Since they were narrow (better for snow) they did exceptionally well. In very heavy snow, if I made a quick maneuver (eg. Yanking the wheel) Purging the wheel was not necessary as the rear end trailed very well. There was a second of delay whenever I did make a maneuver however, in regards to understeer. The tires always bit though.

The accord does not have ABS, and I felt confident driving down icy / snowed out roads on Westwood plateau every day.

Excellent in rainy conditions, no road noise at all, and they were awesome in dry weather. I was able to drive around Belcarra loop road in a spirited matter no problem.

However, they will only last about 4 seasons before reaching 20%. Approx 35,000 KMS on them and they are at 30%.

[coneZONE]

I've got mine on already since the beginning of October, General Altimax Arctic, pretty good in the rain.

I used to have some Winterclaw Arctic Claw Winter Txi... those are the worst tires I've had. A little bit of rain and I would slide into the intersection if I braked just a little harder, so I could only imagine how they would hold up in actual winter weather LOL

[B!tch]

Hoping for some advice.....

looking to replace tires on my 4runner. Has original Bridgestone Dueler with 50% tread but I hate them in wet weather.

Previous trucks I ran all season and had winter on rims but this year not wanting/can't get winters on rims.

Thinking of getting all weather tires. Read all 11 pages and the thread turned into a sh!t show when talk of all weather came about.

Here are the details:
-P265/70R17 - yes I run passenger on my 4 runner my days of off roading are in the past
-99.9% lower mainland driving
-have access to another vehicle if we were to have a massive snow fall
-can work from home and am close to skytrain if necessary.

Recommendations?

[fliptuner]

Duratrac or All Terrain T/A

The former are on sale at CT right now (last day to order). I got quoted $225 (+$5 disposal) +tax, for cash and carry, for 285/75/16's, just to give an idea. Not 100% sure but there might also be a $50 mail-in rebate if you buy 4.

Just checked 1010 and they want $284.

[godwin]

At the Auto Bild TUV test this year, they ranked

1. Continental WinterContact
2. Michelin Alpin 5
3. Goodyear UltraGrip 9
4. Dunlop Winter Sport
5. Pirelli Cinturrato Winter
6. Semperit (we don't have it here)
7. Nokian WR D4
8. Hankook Winter i*cept RS2
9. Bridgestone Blizzak LM001

Auto Express picked Goodyear UltraGrip too (but no comparison).

[roastpuff]

Originally Posted by fliptuner

Duratrac or All Terrain T/A

The former are on sale at CT right now (last day to order). I got quoted $225 (+$5 disposal) +tax, for cash and carry, for 285/75/16's, just to give an idea. Not 100% sure but there might also be a $50 mail-in rebate if you buy 4.

Just checked 1010 and they want $284.

What fliptuner said. The K/O2 are more civilized on the road, but are more expensive I think. Been quite impressed by them on my Ram 1500.

They are $265 each at Costco in the size you mentioned with a $50 rebate when you buy 4.

If you don't off road much look at the Cooper Discoverer AT/W.

[SumAznGuy]

I love my Duratracs.
Last weekend, I parked in a grass field and when I came back, the field had turned to poo.
Wife wasn't impressed but I had a lot of fun pulling cars out of the field. I should have charged them for the recovery.
I bought my 265/65/17's last year from CT when they were on sale. Add in my CT dollars and it was a really good deal. Too bad I paid quite a bit to get them mounted.

[underscore]

You can't really go wrong with either Duratracs or KO2s, though Duratracs tend to be noisier. I had KOs prior to my current DTs and I've never been stuck with either.

[Gucci Mane]

^ this. You really can't go wrong with either. I've had my KO2's since they launched and they've been great. I honestly don't have a single complaint about them.

[EvoLove]

i just ordered a set of 235/45r18 and 245/45r18 nokian Hakkapeliitta 8 studded for m3, 1 week until they arrive in pg...
but i dont plan on driving till after new years so i should be fine. i wonder how they will do, in the weather up here. debating if i should buy cable chains also...

[dared3vil0]

Because i'm not going to have the WRX much longer, I ended up buying cheap ish snow tires- Firestone Winterforce. It might be the car, but they appear to be beasts in the snow. Literal blizzard out my window rn.

[Gucci Mane]

awesome pics taken from your potato!

[dared3vil0]

Originally Posted by Gucci Mane

awesome pics taken from your potato!

It's the blowing snow, it won't let the camera focus.

[underscore]

Originally Posted by dared3vil0

It might be the car, but they appear to be beasts in the snow.

Try some panic braking, the car won't have an impact on that.

[dared3vil0]

Originally Posted by underscore

Try some panic braking, the car won't have an impact on that.

Yeah I did, the tires are meh. Certainly better at accelerating than stopping. They're not bad, and are perfectly adequate, but aren't amazing. I think the car makes up for them though.

[mb_]

Just had my X-Ice3 installed, 2nd season with them! Just in time, Cypress just opened too.

[Noran]

Shoved the winter tires on to go have some fun up at Cypress. Pls note that winter tires only work when they're making contact with the ground. Thx to the random truck full of bros that were high asf that pulled me out of a snow bank

[mb_]

Tfti

[subordinate]

Originally Posted by SpuGen

Don't get Hankook Ipikes unless you're driving in actual snow.

I have them on my fall/winter Ho-Rolla beater, and they suck BBC in the rain/slush.

In the snow, they dig enough to get you going, and make sure you stop. But they're still extremely easy to get sliding during a snow-hoon. That being said, they're very composed in the snow, and I tried reaaaallly hard to spin out. I didn't.

For a bottom dollar snow tire... pretty good for a beater-spec car.

Thanks for that....I was seriously looking into Ipikes but since Vancouver often has slush, I'd avoid I guess.

[Zedbra]

Originally Posted by subordinate

Thanks for that....I was seriously looking into Ipikes but since Vancouver often has slush, I'd avoid I guess.

There are different models of iPikes; I have the iPikes RW11s - studded - on my truck and they have been nothing short of amazing in all weather conditions, especially snow and ice. Wet roads are no problem, either.

[immorality]

Originally Posted by SpuGen

Don't get Hankook Ipikes unless you're driving in actual snow.

I have them on my fall/winter Ho-Rolla beater, and they suck BBC in the rain/slush.

In the snow, they dig enough to get you going, and make sure you stop. But they're still extremely easy to get sliding during a snow-hoon. That being said, they're very composed in the snow, and I tried reaaaallly hard to spin out. I didn't.

For a bottom dollar snow tire... pretty good for a beater-spec car.

I can recently second this. I bought a set, used on CL with rims, cheap, for my fancy Civic, and the dry and wet weather traction is pretty weak, they were impressive in yesterday's snow. I had no problem getting around, and was able to go up the hills around Royal Columbian hospital, stop and continue without issue.

I don't think I would buy them again unless I knew that there would be significant snow for a significant period of time. The amount of time where I'm driving in dry, and mostly wet here in the lower mainland would lead me to something with better traction and road manners.

So far the best tire that I have had personal experience with was the Pirelli Sottozero's.

[Hondaracer]

second winter with my K02's, was driving all over east van side streets, icey main streets etc. with an empty truck, almost no sliding or slipping whatsoever, very happy with the winter performance of these tires