Let's talk..... Snow Tires

[kai-wun]

My favourites are as follows:

 

budget: Hankook Winter iPike w409 - my dad has it on his benz, my buddy has it on his Impreza, another has it on his IS250; they all sing high praises and are surprised at their price/performance ratio. Only complaint is a bit noisy, but amazing grip in deep snow, packed snow, and ice. I don't think they've ever been stuck once, even with TCS turned off on my buddy's RWD IS250.

 

mid-range: Gislaved NordFrost5 - my mom's lexus RX350's winter shoes. everything the w409 does but better. maybe not worth the premium, but it's an amazing deal nonetheless.

 

if you have money to throw away: Nokian Hakkapeliitta 5 - king of snow tires. best of the best, hands down. worth the $? your choice.

 

I try to avoid Blizzaks (due to their compound turning into an "all-season" one as tread wears down) and Michelins (too pricey in general).

[98LGTLover]

Loved my studded iPike W409's last year. First set of snows I've ever had, all the other years I used all seasons on the Sube. Even the siped Toyo's I had on my car were good in the winter. But for the sake of driving back and forth 100 miles a day I got snows. I decided on the Hankooks becaues they seems to last a while and are good. Blizzaks seem to be good but expensive and they don't seem to last very long.

[krzyss]

How good were they on dry or wet roads?

What about noise?

 

Krzys

[kai-wun]

How good were they on dry or wet roads?

What about noise?

 

Krzys

 

The three I listed above (w409, NF5, hakkas) are designed for deep snow. They will be good on dry/wet roads that are clear, but they really shine in snow/slush/ice.

 

If you live in an urban area that is frequently cleared, you may take a look at a Performance Winter tire like the Dunlop Winter Sport 3D or Yokohama W.Drive. Those will shine on cleared dry/wet asphalt/concrete but might suffer in the snow/slush.

 

I went with a performance winter, but kinda regret it .. next time I'm going NordFrost5

[bluecoupe]

I had hankook ipike 409's on my Impreza too. they were great for the price and with snow tires they are expected to make a bit more noise and it didn't bother me much. they were also faily decent on dry roads as well.

 

i think i will get these again for my legacy this winter.

 

Cheapest snows i had that were pretty good were the Kumho Kw11's that i had for my accord but they dont make them anymore.

[09DgmLGT]

I've had LM25s 2 seasons (~12-14K miles) and I think they're alright. I liked the WS50s on my wife’s old Integra GSR much better, the X-Ices I had on my Prelude were good too.

VT forgets to plow sometimes and they only sand/salt the driver side of the road so we get pretty crappy conditions. I was able to pass through our big storm last year with about 8'' powder on the road and get to work but there was a ton of wheel spin. But that's a pretty extreme condition. I've not had any problems with them on my way to the mountains (Jay Peak, Sugarbush, Smuggs) so I can't say much negative I just think there might be better products out there.

I think I'll get one more season from the LM25s - then I think I'll go with LM60, WS70, Conti Winter Extreme, Dunlop D3s. I'd like something asymmetric for rotation purposes but we'll see what comes up.

Has anyone used the Conti Winters? Not to hijack the thread but I'm curious.

[SurlyOldManMN]

I went with a performance winter, but kinda regret it .. next time I'm going NordFrost5

 

I don't. Very happy with the switch from WS60's to Michelin PA3's. They're still competent in deep snow, managing to get around in some 12"+ snowfalls. Dry/wet clear cold road performance is a dramatic improvement over WS60's. They ace 90% of usual winter conditions and managed to get through the remaining 10% with minimal drama. Also a fair bit quieter than the Blizzaks.

 

If you're asking specifically about dry/wet conditions as a priority, you're talking performance winter tires.

[vduber]

This year I ran blizzaks(forgot the model) did nothing short of stellar. Ive run other serious snow tires and these are up there. Only time I gotten stuck which was once was by getting high centered in which tires mean nothing lol. Just get noisy when the weather warms up and when it does its time to throw the summers on

-Chris

[dave g]

I vote for the General Altimax Arctic. In February 2010 when it snowed 22 inches overnight, I left a friend's house with 11" of fresh snow on the ground. After climbing the first set of hills and passing a few stuck and sliding cars, my girl friend, who's been through 6 winters with me (not sure who she spends the summers with), had been expecting the worst and said "your car is going like there is no snow on the ground". One of the reasons I have snow tires is predictability. The other is that I don't like waiting for the tires to get a grip. All seasons will get you there eventually, most of the time. And if you move over a bit too far to yield to an oncoming snow plow, the snows may make the difference in getting you back on the road without a tow. I don't like surprises, especially in snowy, icy, or wet road conditions. The Generals give me no surprises, especially when conditions are changing, and I can't always tell what condition the road is in under the snow, or whether that shiny road is icy or wet. The price was certainly right. I figure they're free anyway, since when they're on, I don't wear out my summer tires.

[98LGTLover]

My W409's are good on wet roads, they shead away the water very nicely. Dry roads.. they definitely get noisy since they are studded.

[BigTDogg MA]

I had the WS-50 on my old Corolla, and they were great. They were about 1/2 worn and still pulled through stuff I would have been stranded in with all seasons.

 

I recently snagged a set of Toyo Observe Garit KX snows from this guy: http://legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php/fs-monroe-ct-toyo-snow-tires-163390.html and I'm curious if anyone else has used them. Read some online reviews and they looked pretty good.

[rustyracer]

Hey guys, for anybody that wants a great driving winter tire that is quiet, handles well on cold dry roads and still has the ability to pull though 8-10 inches of snow without a problem look at the michelin X-ice Xi2 snows. Great tire, reasonable price and handles everything, including ice with inspiring confidence and a smooth quiet ride.

[MikeNH]

I used the Generals on my Legacy last winter and was extremely impressed with how secure the car was. I don't think I ever found 12"+ to play in but in the storms I was home for (I travel most weeks for work) they did great.

[Mr. Sinister]

Hey guys, for anybody that wants a great driving winter tire that is quiet, handles well on cold dry roads and still has the ability to pull though 8-10 inches of snow without a problem look at the michelin X-ice Xi2 snows. Great tire, reasonable price and handles everything, including ice with inspiring confidence and a smooth quiet ride.

 

Just bought a set of these. I'll find out how they compare to the Blizzak WS60s this winter.

[98LGTLover]

I recently snagged a set of Toyo Observe Garit KX snows from this guy: http://legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php/fs-monroe-ct-toyo-snow-tires-163390.html and I'm curious if anyone else has used them. Read some online reviews and they looked pretty good.

 

Can't tell you how well they will do from my experience but a lot of people from my town use those tires in the winter. I'm guessing the must do ok because I live right next to Schweitzer Mountain and people are always driving up and down the mountain.

[Ryan24]

Hands down Nokian Hakkapeliitta!

I've done many TSD's up in the mountains in British Columbia and they by far outshined anything I have driven on in Snow/Slush/Ice.

They are pricey but will be going on the Legacy when I get the chance.

[VermontGT]

My wife's 02 WRX has a set of Altimax Arctics (unstudded) and I run studded Hakka 5's on the LGT. The studded beasters definitely clear out the snow better than the Altimax set, but it's hard to compare since one set is studded and one is not.

 

FWIW I have "plowed" my parents' driveway in snow almost halfway up the driver's door without any problems in both cars, so <shrug>

 

I bought the Hakka's at cost while working at a shop, and the price worked out to be only slightly higher than my insurance deductible, so it made sense for me. I was fortunate though; without the discount I would have probably ended up with studded Altimax sneaks.

[Max Capacity]

Loved the Pilot Apline PA2's on dry pavement they fell like a summer only tire. In snow they were awesome. Just couldn't justify the price after using them for 4 winters.

 

Have LM25's on the car and they are fine. I go to VT every winter weekend to ski. Before the PA2's in 04 I never had snow tires on the cars I drove to VT. Never had a problem getting anywhere I wanted to go skiing. Even my 92 Civic Si only had good all seasons on it.

 

It's more about knowing how to drive in snow. As I taught my son when he 9y/o, it's about getting there safe, not getting there first.

[SurlyOldManMN]

We all know you won't spontaneously burst in to fire because you choose to drive on snow with all-seasons.

 

Some of us want more.

[sjwelna]

Hey guys, for anybody that wants a great driving winter tire that is quiet, handles well on cold dry roads and still has the ability to pull though 8-10 inches of snow without a problem look at the michelin X-ice Xi2 snows. Great tire, reasonable price and handles everything, including ice with inspiring confidence and a smooth quiet ride.

 

I had been debating between the wintersport 3D's and the x-ice xi2's when I bought my tires. I went with the wintersports because I didn't REALLY need the deep snow traction. If I lived further north like in Fargo I would have gone with the x-ice's but being in southern MN we don't get it nearly as bad.

 

-Steve

[tailgatewagon]

i will list the ones ive used from best to well less then best

when i say good or great its relative to the other tires listed..

 

Nokian RSI, had these on a 94 SVX, awesome in deep snow 6in to 12 in, slush 5in, and gravel. good on ice and hard snow pack, i got almost 38k out of them and ran them in the summer one summer, fastest speed driven on was 135 on hard pack snow during some ice racing, this set cost me 675.00

 

mich x-ice on my 05LGT these were good at eveything but not great at anything and was not so great deep snow(10+ in)

 

Bridge stone blizzak ws60 on 06 tribeca, worked great on ice but were worse then the nokians and xice in eveyrthing else. these were on the car when i got it

 

nitto terra grappler these went on my wife's B9 they are used year around and were only on for 2 mouths this last winter, awesome in deep snow, ok on ice(sipped) awesome in mud and good on snow pack

 

 

my fav tire and the one i would normaly put on all my rigs is NOKIAN

[BigTDogg MA]

Never had a problem getting anywhere I wanted to go skiing. Even my 92 Civic Si only had good all seasons on it.

 

I had Kumho Touring A/S 795 on my old Geo Prizm and shredded 6" of fresh snow on the Mass pike back in '05. A really good all season will be great for most conditions, but what I've found is the closer you get to a UHPAS, the less snow performance you get. Supposedly according to the TR tests, the DWS is amazing in the snow. I didn't need a UHPAS on the Prizm, so the block tread worked amazing in the snow. Those were the best AS tires I ever owned.

[2005leggygt]

Can u run a 205/50/17 on a 05 lgt?

[thefultonhow]

Can u run a 205/50/17 on a 05 lgt?

 

Yes. My Altimax Arctics are that size.

[nsrt4me]

Im looking to get some all season or snow tires for my car this season, but im not trying to break the bank. I live in philly where we get alot of light coatings with the occasional 6-10 inches of snow. Im looking for a tire i can drive with safely, but also go out and have some fun late at night in a "designated area" when the snow falls. What are your opinions on using all seasons vs. snow tires and cost?!