Winter Tire for New England weather?? Help please

[bitz]

Hey everybody,

I need some advice on winter tires for the New England winter specifically in Central Mass. I drive a 06 Legacy 2.5i and currently have summer tires (Pirelli P6000) on a set of aftermarket rims (Prodrive P1s), but I now need to get some winter or all-season rubber. Do New England winters really require a 'performance winter' tire or should I get a winter oriented AS? I would be putting the winter rubber on the stock wheels so 205/50/17 if I am not mistaken. I have a long commute each day for work about 80miles total. So I would need something with pretty good tread life and good dry pavement performance since a lot of days during the winter we don't have any snow/rain.

What tires would you guys recommend? I have heard a lot of good things about the Dunlop 3Ds or M3s, but am not sure if they would be overkill for NE winter and get destroyed prematurely by the heavy mileage.

Also, I plan on getting a GT in about a year, so would I be able to use this winter rubber (205/50/17) on the GT rim or the prodrive P1s?

The prodrive rim is 17x7, offset=52mm, center bore=64mm.

Thanks in advance for everyone’s opinion,

Adam

[nm]

If you're going to buy a tire for winter, make it a winter tire.

"Winter" doesn't just mean snow, it means "cold-weather." Winter tires have a compound designed for winter temps. Wear at temps below ~60F will be minimally different than you'd expect from a higher performance A/S. My winters last, much, much longer than my summers, even if you don't factor in auto-x and track days.

Michelin X-Ice is well regarded, drives well in the dry, and is pretty cheap.

I have nokian RSIs, which are the best snow tire i've ever owned, but way, way too expensive.

I've never understoon performance winter tires. I've never had a real issue with an "real" traction winter tire even in somewhat aggressive driving. Get a real snow tire and be rediculiously mobile.

[rjundi]

If you purchase 17" winter tires they will work on the Legacy GT.

 

As far as winter tire, I would buy the least expensive tire which means Dunlop or Hancook tires typically. My discovery on winter conditions is NONE excel at all conditions. They compromise one thing in order to be better at another. Given winter conditions are always different you may excel or it will be okay in the condition. I have owned lots of brands (Bridgestone Blizzack, Nokian WR, Michelin X??, Hancook ...) and have to say cheapest and least noisy is best. The truth is 90% of your winter will be spent on dry or wet pavement where an all-season is perfect for the conditions. Remember all this money spent is for about 10% of driving time.

 

Winter tires (performance) or pure blown winter tires are plain superior to any run of the mill all-season in pure winter conditions. I will say though my Bridgestone RE960's are superior to any winter tire (except maybe Nokian WR) in rain which seems to be most of the winter weather.

[Underdog]

I live in Fitchburg, MA and I use the Wintersport M3's (215/45-17). They are fantastic in the cold (<50F) weather when the roads are wet or dry. They will still slide through snow and ice if you push the car hard enough, but chances are you aren't driving in the storms the same way you would if it was nice out. When driven reasonably they are more than adequate for our winter conditions. The benefit is that when it is nice out and the roads are dry, you still have a great performing tire that will work well into the spring.

 

One of my coworkers with a previous gen BMW M3 ran Wintersport M3's all through the summer and he says they never even felt mushy! Obviously I wouldn't recommend that, but you will feel confident on these tires well into 70 degree territory.

 

Regarding tire wear, I have used the tires for two six-month seasons and have only used 3/32 of the 10/32 they came with.

[kenzo]

I bought a set of Blizzak WS-60 215/45R17 and cheap winter wheels before last winter. They are very good on snow and ice; also much less squirrely on dry pavement than other winter tires I've had.

 

EDIT: Check Tire Rack's online reviews and comparisons for this tire - it's rated best in the studless snow and ice category.

[bitz]

Thanks for your advice everybody. I def think I'm leaning towards the Dunlops. So a 205/50/17 will fit on the stock wheels of a GT? Just want to make sure if I buy tires for my stock 2.5i wheels that I will be able to use them when I get a GT since if they won't then I'll put them on my prodrive rims I guess so they will fit.

 

Again thanks fellows for your help,

Adam

[ilh]

I run Nokian RSi in 205/50R17 on my LGT. I would say they have been overkill for the past two winters, but I think that is an excellent size for winter. My next winter tires will likely be Dunlop 3D in the same size. I'd get the 3D over the M3 since they are the newer model.

 

I think I will get four winters on my RSi, about 5-6k miles per winter.

 

--Lee

[dave g]

I used Nitto SN1 winters on 16" wheels last winter on my SE. I was happy with them dry/wet/snow/highway here in PA. Treadware is hard to gauge, I only put maybe 5000 miles on them, half city. I have 8/32" tread left, not sure what they started at. Tire rack or DTD has some pretty extensive customer input on tire experience.

[robinlsb]

One other you might like to look into is the Toyo Garrit kx. Nice tire, excellent in ice and snow and performs better than the old RE92's in the dry. H rated, quiet and they have worn better that previous blizzacks.(cheaper too)

[Siper2]

Anything in the Nokian Hakkapeliitta line, without studs.

 

www.nokiantires.com