Pirelli Winter 240 Sottozero vs Bridgestone Potenza RE050A

[joeyfitz]

Hey!

 

Brief introduction: my name is Joe, I'm an Aussie who moved to Denver a year ago and I've just bought a new '08 LGT Spec-B. This means I'm a little new around here - so feel free to tell me to shut up, or point me in the direction of the rule book when needed

 

So - back to the title for this thread - I'm a huge fan of skiing and so I've been heading up to the mountains every weekend since I bought the car. It didn't take me long to figure out that the combination of a nice turbo boxer engine, summer performance tires and ice is not a happy one - so I'm shopping around for some new 215/45 VR18 tires to hopefully tide me over until late april / may.

 

At the moment the Pirelli Winter 240 Sottozero tire is at the top of my list - but I was wondering what the collective experiences of other Denver / Colorado natives have been with this and other (perhaps all-season) tires?

 

Thanks for any help you can throw my way!!

 

Cheers,

Joe

[enthusiast]

Welcome to Colorado!

 

I went with the Dunlop Winter Sport 3Ds. They are a little pricey but are dedicated snow tires. I am really impressed with these tires and am very happy with them.

 

It is kinda late in the season for some dedicated snows but you will have a lot left over for next season.

[bsdzine]

hey welcome to the mountain west! good choice by moving to denver (i've been bouncing around the US for a good portion of my life, and I do have to admit denver is one CLEAN city for the USA!)

 

I *think* i'm one of the few at the moment not running dedicated winter tires, i ended up switching off my stock tires and have potenza re960as. i don't drive aggressive in bad conditions, and these tires have performed well for an all-season (a little expensive however), they've gotten to and from the mountains every weekend without problems as long as you don't slam on your brakes! and this gives me a summer to beat them up before using dedicated summer/winter

 

next year, i will (like ^enthusiast^) probably lean towards dunlop winter tires, everyone around here seems to enjoy them, and they have a decent speed rating! (hanhook makes a good studded tire for us, but i don't think you'll need that in denver) i think 2 dedicated sets (summer/winter) around here is the way to go.

 

it is fairly late in the season as well, but even if you do decide to go winter, you'll have more than enough tire for next year.

 

be careful driving in the snow colorado drivers are crazy!!!!!

 

and welcome aboard again!

[2furious]

Welcome to the Mile High... I have Hankook Ice Bear W300 and am happy with them. My Outback has Michelin all season and it is not fun when it is cold and snow. I got Hankook in descent price and maybe worth to search...

[joeyfitz]

Thanks for the replies guys - I really appreciate it!!

 

So - I probably should've mentioned that I have 18" rims (stock with the spec-b) - tire rack seems to suggest that my only winter tire choice is the Pirelli.

 

I suppose I could buy some different rims and then just swap the whole set of wheels over each time the seasons change. That option sounds pretty pricey though - I'd be up for the tires, rims and the TPMS sensors x 4.

 

enthusiast: I know what you mean about it being kinda late in the season to be thinking about this; I guess I'm just used to driving on all seasons on my old Legacy Outback. Still undecided about getting tires now or in Oct/Nov. Driving downtown Tuesday after the snow on Monday night was like being on a skating rink.

[plasticman]

Hey Joeyfitz-

 

I have a 2007 SpecB (similarly) and have been researching the same situation you have. I got through 1 winter with my summer tires (took me ditching the car into 2 snow banks to think to look at my tire ratings). After I noticed that this model ONLY came with 18" summer tires, I grew a little concerned also.

 

You CAN make it through the winter with the summer tires, but you'll have a heart attack driving to half the mountains. (I might have seen your car in the parking lot at Arapahoe Basin late last season- in May- I tried to open your car up thinking it was mine...tried the clicker for 2 minutes and then noticed it was an 08 SpecB- woops). Not many SpecB's cruising around- I only know of 1 other on this side of the city- he lives someplace near me.

 

So far I can only see 3 tires that fit our car-

Bridgestone Blizzak LM-22

Pirelli Winter 240 Sottozero, and

Michelin X-Ice

 

I agree with you- I am leaning towards the Pirelli's. I also thought about buying new rims etc, but that was just waaaay to pricey. And then to buy crummy rims to put on such a nice car...it just didn't seem right. I'd rather keep an extra set of rubbers in the garage and have them remounted in April than deal with 2 sets of rims (unless you have the space and tools to swap tires yourself).

 

Also, they don't really make the winter tires for this car out of season (you can't buy them in the summer- I have been looking all year long, and they finally came online sometime in late August/September).

 

Did you decide on a tire? Anything you found that you could share? Like I said, I'll probably go with the Pirelli's (brand/personal experience)- but haven't been able to find any reviews qualifying the other 2 choices. Hopefully we can get this figured out- I'm going to be purchasing mine this month, as I will be moving to Fairplay in January and HAVE to have new winter tires to live up there.

[chenc544]

I agree with you- I am leaning towards the Pirelli's. I also thought about buying new rims etc, but that was just waaaay to pricey. And then to buy crummy rims to put on such a nice car...it just didn't seem right. I'd rather keep an extra set of rubbers in the garage and have them remounted in April than deal with 2 sets of rims (unless you have the space and tools to swap tires yourself).

 

17" wheels will fit the Spec B, you don't need to get 18". The other thing to keep in mind is that you risk the tire shop damaging your Spec B wheels by swapping between 2 sets of tires every year. Anyway, FWIW the new Michelin Xice Xi2 is the leading candidate for me right now.

[joeyfitz]

You CAN make it through the winter with the summer tires, but you'll have a heart attack driving to half the mountains.

 

You're quite right - I decided that I no longer wanted to look like a rookie ice skater and that I should buy some winter tires. I ended up getting a set of Bridgestone Blizzak LM-22 215/50R-18 tires in late Feb.

 

I'd had them 3 weeks and I hit a pothole heading eastbound on 70 from Vail to Breck... the left front and rear tires got damaged - one sidewall blew out, the other sidewall had a huge tennis ball size bulge in it.

 

I had to drive back to Denver on the spacesaver spare (I hate those things) and the tire with the bulge - not fun, not fun at all.

 

When all was said and done, I ended up putting my summer tires back on, and I had two 2008 18" Spec-B rims that were out of round (and on the rear axle so that it wasn't much of an issue). Thankfully I had road hazard insurance for the tires but the wheels are ~$300+ each and not covered.

 

Did you decide on a tire? Anything you found that you could share? Like I said, I'll probably go with the Pirelli's (brand/personal experience)- but haven't been able to find any reviews qualifying the other 2 choices.

 

After that episode, I decided that this winter I would buy a set of 17" rims and some accompanying tires - the advantage of this being two fold:

 

1. I can switch between summer and winter tires whenever I have a spare hour or so to pull out the jack and the torque wrench.
   
2. By using 17" rims I would have a bit more sidewall that would hopefully insure me from more pothole-related misery.
   

 

The disadvantage is that I need to get the TPMS sensors reset every time I switch the tires or just do without the "feature". (I can't complain too much because the TPMS has saved me once before - somehow a screwdriver found its way into my right rear tire. I have had horrible luck with my tires/wheels this year. I also lost a summer tire to a nail picked up somewhere in Nebraska.)

 

So - with my decision made I decided to get some HyperGunMetallic 5zigen ZR+520 rims for $180 a corner + TPMS:

 

http://www.5zigenusa.com/products/wheel/image/proracer/ZR+520/color2_l.jpg

 

I then went out and bought some Dunlop SP Winter Sport M3 215/50R-17 tires. Here's the package (I put them on the car last weekend):

 

http://www.thehiddenlines.com/downloads/DunlopSPWinterSportM3.jpg

 

I'd rather keep an extra set of rubbers in the garage and have them remounted in April than deal with 2 sets of rims (unless you have the space and tools to swap tires yourself).

 

I bought a torque wrench and a socket set - total about $70. I use the jack in the trunk. Not a big deal. Also - it takes the same amount of space to store tires + rims as it takes to store tires on their own...

 

Also, they don't really make the winter tires for this car out of season (you can't buy them in the summer- I have been looking all year long, and they finally came online sometime in late August/September).

 

I've started to realize that any winter tire worth having typically has a limited production run.

 

I'm going to be purchasing mine this month, as I will be moving to Fairplay in January and HAVE to have new winter tires to live up there.

 

Unless you want to die j/k!

 

Good luck mate - I hope you find a set up that works for you, but as we've both discovered, RE050A in the winter can = big insurance / hospital / funeral bills.