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Winter/Snow Tires

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Fishbulb Apprentice

Fishbulb

Posted
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I've never been impressed with anything from the Extreme series of tires from conti.

 

My least favorite tire is the Conti Extreme, which is extreme garbage!

We have the Extremecontacts on my wife's OB. Not the best tire but they do well in the snow for an A/S and the OB is no performance car so the soft sidewall isn't a big deal to me.

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1-3-2-4 Grand Master

1-3-2-4

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Heard good things about Hankook iPike. Just ordered some for the wife's car for this winter.

 

Where? I was just at the Hankook site last night to registered my tires but where did you find the ipike at? and I wonder why tirerack does not carry them.

 

Not so much a tire rack then, eh?

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TSiWRX Grand Master

TSiWRX

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I'm eager to see what the Canadian enthusiast and popular press, as well as the various European testing sessions have to say about this year's crop.

 

Since I'm not actively looking for winter tires this season (I have only two seasons on my 3Ds, and my wife's Xi2s have only one season), I've been kinda out of the loop, and haven't kept-up with what's new. :redface:

 

+1 for Xi2. I ran them last year and they did great. Although, they did also repel any good snow storms for the first 2 months after I put them on. The only time I really slid out of control with them was when I encounter ice that was better then most ice rinks. The ice was 4 inches thick, clear blue and perfectly flat that ice skates would have loved. Every other condition was great for these tires.

jarrod, did you run yours all through the summer?

 

Cheers,

Mike

 

Although I can't answer for jarrod, I'll also step in to vouch for the Xi2 (sizing 215/50/17 on stock LGT rims, pressures 37/35 F/R, cold), which were fitted to my wife's '05 4EAT WRX sedan, last winter.

 

I've got a set of Dunlop WinterSport 3Ds on my Legacy (225/45/17 on 17x7.5 rims, 39F/37R, cold), and compared to the 3Ds, these "studless ice & snow" Xi2s have much more capability in deeper snow as well as on icier surfaces than the "performance winter" 3Ds.

 

However, at the same time, the Xi2s are noticeably more squirmy at highway speeds in the clear, and also when pushed in milder temperatures, either in the wet or dry. They definitely offer less confidence than the 3Ds under such conditions, which was what I'd expected: I traded-off specifically for more foul-weather capability, as the tires were for my wife's daily-driver, considering that she rarely does any highway commuting, and also given that she's not the type to "push," clear conditions or not.

 

Even before the Xi2s have shed their mold-release fully early last December, I decided to take advantage of local weather conditions, then, and gave them a quick run through some "preview" acceleration, braking, and panic braking tests in a local parking lot. In all cases, it was clear that these tires were going to be a drastic improvement over my 3Ds on icier surfaces once "broken in," particularly as they were already better than the 3Ds even at that early time.

 

With about 400-500 miles on the tires, we had a rather nasty ice-storm, and I got in some seat time during the worst of it. Once I cleared traffic (left them at the light), I tested these Xi2 a bit more, and they were noticeably better on the icy stuff than the 3Ds.

 

I was very happy with the Xi2s. My goal was to get tires for her that would expand her safety-envelope in icier precip, as well as to allow for her to have more "self-extraction" capability in deep snow. These tires, so far, have not disappointed me in either of those two areas.

 

We'll see what this season has to bring, as I'm cross-mounting these on her '09 FXT (it'll lose about an inch of ground-clearance, but the Forester will *stiil* have nearly 8 inches, so I'm not worried, considering that she got around in the WRX just fine :lol:).

<-- I love Winky, my "periwinkle" (ABP) LGT! - Allen / Usual Suspect "DumboRAT" / One of the Three Stooges

'16 Outback, '16 WRX, 7th Subaru Family

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outahere Veteran

outahere

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I'm eager to see what the Canadian enthusiast and popular press, as well as the various European testing sessions have to say about this year's crop...........I've been kinda out of the loop, and haven't kept-up with what's new. ...........

 

Nokian has the new Hakkapeliitta 7 with "air claw" technology (air damped studs), new cryo-silane compound, and slush edges.

 

Photos can be found here:

http://media.digtator.fi/digtator/public/f77c3eb27149e93c4c9fe15e6a2d5f6f/view?folder_id=9576

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outahere Veteran

outahere

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And Bridgestone has their new performance winter, the LM-60.

 

From Tirerack:

 

"The Blizzak LM-60 is designed to combine the basic tread design of the Blizzak WS60 with a high-silica tread compound to blend high-speed durability and dry-road cold weather handling with snow traction."

 

Looks like it will have the snow traction of the WS-60, but not the ice traction.

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outahere Veteran

outahere

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Dunlop has the new Graspic DS-3, to compete against the WS-60 and Xi2.

 

"The first 55% of the Graspic DS-3's tread depth features Dunlop's high-grip silica-enhanced compound while the remaining 45% features an all-season tread compound. "

 

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Dunlop&tireModel=Graspic+DS-3

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TSiWRX Grand Master

TSiWRX

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^ See, this is what I love - the yearly winter-tire update from outahere. :D

 

Let the games begin!!!!

 

Oh, BTW, you'd better still be here two years from now.

 

That's my next shopping point for winters, and I expect you to be my foil!

<-- I love Winky, my "periwinkle" (ABP) LGT! - Allen / Usual Suspect "DumboRAT" / One of the Three Stooges

'16 Outback, '16 WRX, 7th Subaru Family

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outahere Veteran

outahere

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^ See, this is what I love - the yearly winter-tire update from outahere. :D

 

Let the games begin!!!!

 

Oh, BTW, you'd better still be here two years from now.

 

That's my next shopping point for winters, and I expect you to be my foil!

 

We need "ehsnils", our moderator from Sweden, to buy a set of the Hakka 7s and report on them. :)

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Legend Veteran

Legend

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I've been watching this thread, guys... thanks for the info. I googled and found the following info. and find it a little helpful. Maybe you will too. I'm leaning towards the WS-60 myself right now... The guy posting is from tirerack.

-The basics :

 

Get snow tires appropriate to your climate and driving style. If you don't see much snow during the winter, and you like to drive/corner fast on cold, dry roads then look into the H-rated or V-rated high performance snow tires like the Bridgestone Blizzak LM25/LM60 or the Dunlop Winter Sport 3D.

 

If your area gets heavier snow, you are often driving on packed snow and ice, or if you are just willing to give up some dry grip and steering response for maximum safe winter traction then look into a more aggressive snow tire like the Blizzak WS-60 or Michelin XIce XI2. Winter tires like these will offer the best in snow and ice traction, but will give up some dry road responsiveness over an H/V rated snow tires to get it.

 

Choosing between these two categories may be difficult and is mostly a personal preference choice for the tradeoff between snow traction versus dry road handling.

 

--New/Updated this season and reminders from last season :

 

The Blizzak WS-60 which is the 3rd generation of the original Blizzak tire for maximum winter traction continues on and has replaced the WS-50. Compared to the old WS-50, the new WS-60 is a marginal improvement in snow traction, a more noticeable step up in ice traction, and is also more stable in dry handling than the WS-50. The dry handling and cornering stability has been improved to the point that even the speed rating has been upgraded from a Q to an R. Wear should be slightly improved by the more stable tread blocks on the tread. They will still feel pretty soft/spongy compared to higher performance H and V rated snows (especially at full tread depth!) but are among the best for maximum ice and snow traction of any winter tire we carry.

 

Dunlop has replaced their old DS-2 winter tires with the DS-3 for improved and replaced by the DS3 for better dry road handling (a common complaint on the old DS2 version). It looks to be a good entry-level option for those wanting good snow traction on a tight budget.

 

The big news this season for those on this forum is the replacement of the Blizzak LM25 with the new Blizzak LM60. In the past the LM25 and Dunlop 3D tires were considered very equal to each other in snow traction and in dry road handling/cornering and were the tires of choice in this category. The redesigned LM60 is moving the balance closer to the snow traction side of the equation by using the more aggressive tread pattern of the WS60 but with a compound and construction of a high performance snow tire like the LM25/3D. The end result will be much improved snow and ice traction over the LM25/3D with only a small sacrifice in steering response and dry cornering. This tire will be an ideal choice for someone having trouble deciding between the high performance snow tires that sacrifice a lot of snow traction and the Q/R rated snow tires that trade off too much in handling and dry grip. I feel the LM60 ideally suits many drivers needs in this forum well for an ideal balance of snow/ice traction while still keeping acceptable dry handling and grip for the non-snowy days.

 

We do now have 16" alloy wheels that clear the brakes on the 330 cars. A redesigned version of the Sport Edition A7 fits over the 330 brakes allowing you to minus size to 205/55R16 for maximum snow capability.

 

--A final word of advice : Don't wait too long. Ordering early when most products are still available lets you choose what you want to buy rather than being forced to settle for what is left over. Best to be ready with products in hand before it snows so that you can put them on when you are ready rather than waiting for a shipment to arrive after the first snow. We should have most inventory available in early October. Tires and wheels purchased together are mounted and balanced at no charge to make changeover easy.

My '05 LGT

My '07 Supercharged Shelby

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TSiWRX Grand Master

TSiWRX

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^ I thought the WS-60s were new two seasons ago? did they reformulate?

<-- I love Winky, my "periwinkle" (ABP) LGT! - Allen / Usual Suspect "DumboRAT" / One of the Three Stooges

'16 Outback, '16 WRX, 7th Subaru Family

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LIMITED Contributor

LIMITED

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Need advice on tires.

i drive '01 legacy GT, my d.d. in GTA.

I drove with all season (FUZION HRI) last year and was not bad. i go to work really early before the plows are out.

 

I am considering 2 tire brands (205/55/16")

1.Firestone Winterforce?

2.Viking Snowtech?

These are budget tires about $100 each.

 

Any feedback is welcome.

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__raj Proficient

__raj

Posted
Posted
Need advice on tires.

i drive '01 legacy GT, my d.d. in GTA.

I drove with all season (FUZION HRI) last year and was not bad. i go to work really early before the plows are out.

 

I am considering 2 tire brands (205/55/16")

1.Firestone Winterforce?

2.Viking Snowtech?

These are budget tires about $100 each.

 

Any feedback is welcome.

 

I have driven on both and found the Firestone great on snow however mediocre on everything else including ice, dry and wet roads. The Vikings were average on ice/snow but in majority of dry/wet roads very good. I think the Vikings are the better choice given you have AWD too.

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TSiWRX Grand Master

TSiWRX

Posted
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Need advice on tires.

i drive '01 legacy GT, my d.d. in GTA.

I drove with all season (FUZION HRI) last year and was not bad. i go to work really early before the plows are out.

 

I am considering 2 tire brands (205/55/16")

1.Firestone Winterforce?

2.Viking Snowtech?

These are budget tires about $100 each.

 

Any feedback is welcome.

 

 

^ If you've made it with the HRIs OK, you'll be fine with the Winterforce, for sure, in terms of winter-precip. Quite a number of budget-minded NE-Ohio drivers use these as their winter setup.

 

I honestly don't know anything about the Snowtech.

 

 

---

 

 

For similar money you can get Dunlop SP Winter Sport 3D.

Even if you buy locally you can use tirerack for bargaining.

 

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/TireSearchResults.jsp?width=205%2F&ratio=55&diameter=16&x=28&y=10

 

Krzys

 

^ Good call!

 

I didn't even notice the sizing!!!!

 

Using TireRack's pricing for bargaining is definitely the way to go. :)

<-- I love Winky, my "periwinkle" (ABP) LGT! - Allen / Usual Suspect "DumboRAT" / One of the Three Stooges

'16 Outback, '16 WRX, 7th Subaru Family

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