Winter tire discussion for grown ups thread.

[roastpuff]

Originally Posted by dyan

Has anyone run nokian before?

I've run Hakka 7 studded and Hakka R2 tires from Nokian. Absolutely monstrous grip on snow/ice. Okay on dry roads, not incredible.

[sonick]

Getting a set of General Altimax Arctic ordered in from OKTire. Will have to wait a bit than if I went with the Blizzaks or the more expensive XI3 from Costco, but I had them on my BMW E30 and they were awesome on there, so should be a good balance of value and durability.

[CL typeS]

Can you guys help me out? I currently run 225/50/18 stock on my car, all 4 corners. I know that generally for winter driving the skinnier and taller is better.

Would it be ok to run 225/60/18? or even 225/55/18?

[godwin]

Talk to MG1 refer to this post https://www.revscene.net/forums/6306...ml#post8814658

The problem I have with Nokian is it is a Kal Tire exclusive in BC.

Originally Posted by dyan

Has anyone run nokian before?

[godwin]

It is hard to know unless we know your suspension setup.. but it is rather simple. Go to your car, measure the side all, hub to sidewall distance etc. Then look up the height of the tire height you desire, if it fits then it will work.

Just not availability of different sizes tires are different.. so you might not get what you want AT the price you want.

Originally Posted by CL typeS

Can you guys help me out? I currently run 225/50/18 stock on my car, all 4 corners. I know that generally for winter driving the skinnier and taller is better.

Would it be ok to run 225/60/18? or even 225/55/18?

[whitev70r]

Originally Posted by CL typeS

Can you guys help me out? I currently run 225/50/18 stock on my car, all 4 corners. I know that generally for winter driving the skinnier and taller is better.

Would it be ok to run 225/60/18? or even 225/55/18?

Not quite understanding ... a 225 is a 225 ... skinnier would be 215 or 205. Then most people would go down to a 17" wheel. Here is a tire size calculator, you can punch in a variety of sizes. The trick is to get it as close to factory as possible. No more than 5% difference.
Tire Size Calculator - Tire & Wheel Plus Sizing
Based on your stock tire ... something like this would work - 205/60/17

[LuHua]

Originally Posted by CL typeS

Can you guys help me out? I currently run 225/50/18 stock on my car, all 4 corners. I know that generally for winter driving the skinnier and taller is better.

Would it be ok to run 225/60/18? or even 225/55/18?

It's skinnier, and taller profile, as in bigger sidewall. The idea's to go from say, 225/50/18 to something like 205/60/17, so you go on 17" rims. The taller sidewall is more forgiving on bumps and potholes, and the thinner tire helps to cut through snow. (205/60/17 keeps your tire diameter within about a 1% difference so your speedo stays accurate)

[Shorn]

So, I know this goes against what the popular opinion in this thread is, but honestly this year I've ran all season Continental DWS 06s, and they're definitely very driveable this winter (all Lower Mainland). I had no problems whatsoever, uphills, unplowed. Also this tire DESTROYS wet/heavy rain conditions. However, on pure ice it definitely slides a bit more than I would like, and also this is a FWD car. Can't speak about treadwear yet but from what I've heard this tire also lasts for an exceptionally long time as well.

So in conclusion I would recommend this tire to anyone who wants to drive on one set of tires all year exclusively in the lower mainland in a FWD/AWD vehicle.. if RWD i would definitely get a dedicated set of winter tires (or if you're gonna go up mountains of course).

[pb.kidz]

If anyone is looking to get their tire mounted and balanced, I got a guy named Greg off Craigslist who does it in his garage at your convenience for cheap. Did a good job mounting my 15" steelies at 8pm at night, he's located in surrey by patullo bridge. $60 cash... I called around and everyshop was booked till next week and was getting quoted $120+

https://vancouver.craigslist.ca/rds/aos/5907283070.html

[PJ]

Running Michelin X Ice xi3 on my Forester. Feels like there's no snow at all

But honestly, winter tires should be a no-brainer.

When I was driving with my all seasons it felt fine. Never got stuck, never spun out, maybe it's Subaru's superior awd system, but I'm pretty sure I would've done fine without the winter tires. Having said that, ~$1000 is a small price to pay for that extra amount of safety, whether you think it's redundant or not. You only use them a few months out of the year, so they'll last quite some time. Even if you put safety aside, just a little slip on a side street and scraping a car is gonna cost you a deductible that you could've used towards your winter tires.

[kiwee]

Can anyone recommend me some winter tires for Mitsubishi Lancer GTS 2010 - front wheel drive (215/45R18). I haven't driven it since it snowed (have all season tires from Michelin - pilot). If I was to order now...I don't think I'll be able to drive to a shop and get it changed. A friend of mine suggested that I should buy snow tires with metal wheel, not really a car savvy person haha. Any suggestions and options would be nice.

Thank you!

[R. Mutt]

Just purchased some 255/35/18 Blizzaks for the evo online through Costco....the reviews seem to be good, especially on mixed snow and ice. I'll report back soon if the crap weather holds out.

[jcmaz]

Originally Posted by kiwee

Can anyone recommend me some winter tires for Mitsubishi Lancer GTS 2010 - front wheel drive (215/45R18). I haven't driven it since it snowed (have all season tires from Michelin - pilot). If I was to order now...I don't think I'll be able to drive to a shop and get it changed. A friend of mine suggested that I should buy snow tires with metal wheel, not really a car savvy person haha. Any suggestions and options would be nice.

Thank you!

You can use 205/60/16 winter tires. Base model Lancers use that size of tire with 16 inch rims. I suggest you to browse Craigslist to see if there are any alloy wheels from other base model Lancers. Unfortunately you can't use other 5x114.3 wheels from other OEM manufacturers except Mazda and Hyundai (to my knowledge) since they have smaller centerbore than Mitsubishi's (67.1mm fyi).

[PJ]

^ If you're going to minus size (go a size down for winter rims/tires), just make sure it fits over the brakes. A quick call to Kal Tire will let you know if your car is able to minus size. My car wasn't, so I had to go with the original stock size.

[EndLeSS8]

Put the Michelin X-Ice on the IS350 today

First time ever used snow tires, amazing. Worth every dollar

[IMASA]

Yup, guys who say all seasons are good enough...wait til you try good winter tires. Makes driving in a the snow almost a non-event.

I have winters on both my speed3 and CRV. Blizzak WS80's on the speed3 and Blizzak DM-V1's on the CRV.

4WD, winter tires and ground clearance make driving the CRV so easy in conditions like the last few days.
The speed3 still slips side to side when accelerating, with traction control kicking in. When turning left at an intersection, you can't just punch it and expect to pull out quickly, unlike the CRV.

I can't imagine how it would feel to drive something like a WRX/STi with winter tires out in weather like this. Must be awesome.

[320icar]

Yeah dude. My foST is fairly unruly on snows compared to my fiancé' focus wagon on those hakkapalita's. On the entire drive to work my underbody/chassis was scraping on the snow. It hurts me more than it hurts the car I'm sure.. But still..

[yray]

I have sottozeros on my roadster and they aren't that great when it comes to accelerating but make all the difference in stopping. Once I am up to speed, the traction is awesome. Traction control works hard to get the car off the line.

I expect blizzaks or xice to be even better on the car.

[Klondike]

Originally Posted by IMASA

Yup, guys who say all seasons are good enough...wait til you try good winter tires. Makes driving in a the snow almost a non-event.

I have the Cooper Weather-Master ST/2. Driving in the snow is so much fun! I feel like I'm unstoppable when I drive through unplowed side streets and alleys.

[Oshiguru]

Just installed Michelin Xi3 on the speed3. Neighbours porsche suv and x5 stuck going up our hill, my car made it up. Anyone have long-term experience with these tires? It says winter traction compound or something up to 60k kms.
I have about 200km on my speed3 set and ~20,000km on my cx-5 set. CX-5 drives as good as new but I'm curious if anyone with 50k+ kms on it can chime in.

[AstulzerRZD]

Originally Posted by Oshiguru

Just installed Michelin Xi3 on the speed3. Neighbours porsche suv and x5 stuck going up our hill, my car made it up. Anyone have long-term experience with these tires? It says winter traction compound or something up to 60k kms.
I have about 200km on my speed3 set and ~20,000km on my cx-5 set. CX-5 drives as good as new but I'm curious if anyone with 50k+ kms on it can chime in.

What you actually have with the XIce 3 is a 60k kms treadlife warranty if you only run it between certain months of the year - exact months escape my mind but they're on Michelin's site.
The first something like 55% of the thread is softer. Even when they're worn, still better than all seasons is my experience.

[bcrdukes]

Also note that the Porsche SUV (assuming it's a Cayenne) and the BMW X5 chew through tires a lot faster, especially if they haven't kept up with routine maintenance

[Oshiguru]

Originally Posted by AstulzerRZD

What you actually have with the XIce 3 is a 60k kms treadlife warranty if you only run it between certain months of the year - exact months escape my mind but they're on Michelin's site.
The first something like 55% of the thread is softer. Even when they're worn, still better than all seasons is my experience.

Found it at the very end of the fine print. In case anyone else is wondering they classify winter as Sept 1 - April 30 and require proof of documentation to maintain warranty.

[SkunkWorks]

Hmm, proof of documentation? I presume that would mean shop invoices @ Sept and April for tire mounting/dismounting?

Not sure how else to prove it if they're your second set of wheels and you swap them on and off in your own garage.

[ilvtofu]

Originally Posted by yray

I have sottozeros on my roadster and they aren't that great when it comes to accelerating but make all the difference in stopping. Once I am up to speed, the traction is awesome. Traction control works hard to get the car off the line.

I expect blizzaks or xice to be even better on the car.

I have a similar experience with the Sottozeros, getting going can be tough (open diff/fwd) but cornering/braking are excellent. What really impresses me is the dry and wet grip since I throw these on in October, there's not really any performance loss IMO compared to your average UHPAS or factory summer tire. I have autocrossed on them as well in both wet/dry and I'm pretty certain they perform as well as the stock Bridgestone RE050A summers for street and autox.