• Winter tires
    59 replies, posted
Hey all. I recently got my first car (used Focus) and Im fairly happy with it. However, winter is coming up and since I live in Scandinavia there is a high chance of snow/ice on the roads within the next few months. I was wondering if anyone got suggestions for what brand/type of winter tires I should get? I was told discount tires gets eaten up in no time, and that the wrong tire can really make a dent in fuel economy. Also it seems the average price for non-discount tires are around 150-170 $US a piece here, so I wanna make a good choice. My region is fairly flat, so Im not particularly nervous about steep climbs and hills. The wheels I got now is 14'' with worn 185/65 tires. I hope you guys got some suggestions.
blizzak ws60 is what i've used this past winter, with it my rwd car was much easier to drive in the snow than my parents' awd hyundai with all-seasons
Ive heard Blizzaks are good. I just used Kumho KR21 all seasons when i dealt with snow. Had no issues driving 25-30 miles every morning in anywhere from 4-6" of snow. Kept up to the 55mph speed limit, would pass Jeeps and other cars that actually had snow tires. Right now i have Mastercraft GlacierGrip's. Never used them in snow, but theyve done great in dirt, mud, grass, and tar. Theyre also lasting pretty good, im using them year round and havent noticed much wear
I used Blizzaks on my old car, been good for the 3 winters I've had them, the problem with blizzak is they melt like crazy on dry pavement, even more when the pavement is even just slightly warm. Good tires overall, good on ice, good on a lot of snow, could let me keep 120kph even in 2-3" of fresh snow. I've been using Michelin X-Ice since last year on my newer car, they're really good, and they don't melt like mad on dry pavement. Absolutely no issue against them. Last winter they've been good on ice and snow too. And this year they've been good on ice and snow so far! I had Goodyear Nordics at some point too, hated the tires, felt like they were 4 seasons even if they were winter tires. I'd recommend either Blizzaks or X-Ice, but I've heard good things about Nokian tires too! Just get REAL winter tires and no 4-season bullshit if you live anywhere you get real winters. And I personally don't like Studded tires, too noisy on dry pavement plus, they turn dry pavement into ice if you have to brake hard. Studless all the way for me.
4 season tires can work pretty good in the snow. I used mine for several years in Maine winters. Even at half tread, i was doing 100+ mile rally meets through snow and ice, keeping up with WRX's with snow tires. I felt no need for buying snow tires. The reason i have snows now is because i needed tires and they were the only set availible locally
[url]http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=General&tireModel=Altimax+Arctic[/url] Used these last winter on my car and they worked great!
psh who needs tires I go straight rims brah 420 smoke blunts #yolo
a FWD car and any all season tires would probably hold its own in the snow.
[QUOTE=Serj22;42728762]a FWD car and any all season tires would probably hold its own in the snow.[/QUOTE] He lives in scandinavia, I'm sure winters are far worse for him than they are for you. Here in Québec by law you are obligated to have tires with the snow mountain logo on it. And this law must be the most important one during winter, specially up north like in my city, there's ice and snow from November up to late April. To give an example, I'm on snow tires from end of October up the end of April/beginning of may. My summer tires are all seasons, but I wouldn't trust my luck up to the legal limit (15th of December.), it would be stupid. Point is (Or TL;DR) buy REAL winter tires when you face REAL winters.
[QUOTE=WolvesSoulZ;42729113] Point is (Or TL;DR) buy REAL winter tires when you face REAL winters.[/QUOTE] Aha, i had real winters and never had a need for 'real' snow tires. If you buy crappy all seasons, they wont do good in snow. Buy a decent all season and itll do good year round. The Kumho KR21's are good in snow. I used to drive through 1' of crusted powdery snow in every drive way i went in. I also used to play around on the snow mobile trails when theyre season was ending, that was hard packed snow several feet deep with mud and slush mixed in. Just buy a good all season and you wont need snow tires
[QUOTE=FordLord;42729212]Aha, i had real winters and never had a need for 'real' snow tires. If you buy crappy all seasons, they wont do good in snow. Buy a decent all season and itll do good year round. The Kumho KR21's are good in snow. I used to drive through 1' of crusted powdery snow in every drive way i went in. I also used to play around on the snow mobile trails when theyre season was ending, that was hard packed snow several feet deep with mud and slush mixed in. Just buy a good all season and you wont need snow tires[/QUOTE] No, all seasons are stupid for snow, spend the few dollars more and get real tires. As said, them being mandatory by law here is one of those laws I find incredibly right. And that is a point on the line. When you'll live somewhere where winters are roughly 5 months of snow and cold and ice, you may see an use in snow tires.
An STI/WRX Forester would be p cool
[QUOTE=WolvesSoulZ;42729247]No, all seasons are stupid for snow, spend the few dollars more and get real tires. As said, them being mandatory by law here is one of those laws I find incredibly right. And that is a point on the line. When you'll live somewhere where winters are roughly 5 months of snow and cold and ice, you may see an use in snow tires.[/QUOTE] I spent 18 years of my life living where it snowed for 5 months of the year. Minimum snowfall was 7ft a year, up to about 9ft. My car never had snow tires on it until just now, always Kumho KR21's. Never had an issue with any amount of snow, never had to shovel my car out, etc. The Kumho's are M+S rated. If youre a horrible driver and require snow tires, you might as well stay home. I enjoyed driving on my all season Kumho's, year round, while passing people who managed to run their car into ditches even with snow tires. Ive pushed my all seasons as far as a 100 mile snow rally, threw dirt logging roads covered in nothing but ice. I kept up with WRX's running studded snows. Snow tires are a big waste of money. I spent $300 on my Kumho's. They kick ass in snow, handle amazing on every surface, and are rated as an 85k mile tire. Its a huge waste to spend $300+ on snow tires that only get used half the year
All I can say is that with your all seasons, try and come to my city, chances are you'll end up in a ditch with the highway that links my city to the next big city. Snow tires aren't a big waste of money. My summer tires are M+S rated too, doesn't mean I would run them in winter either, in fact they've been in the shed since last Monday. We get around 10-12 feet of snow on average each year and temperatures as low as -40. All seasons are SHIT in that, again, there's a reason as to why they're illegal past 15th of December. You're not worth to hassle with, if you like your all seasons, so be it. I wouldn't trust them.
[QUOTE=WolvesSoulZ;42730085]All I can say is that with your all seasons, try and come to my city, chances are you'll end up in a ditch with the highway that links my city to the next big city. Snow tires aren't a big waste of money. My summer tires are M+S rated too, doesn't mean I would run them in winter either, in fact they've been in the shed since last Monday. We get around 10-12 feet of snow on average each year and temperatures as low as -40. All seasons are SHIT in that, again, there's a reason as to why they're illegal past 15th of December. You're not worth to hassle with, if you like your all seasons, so be it. I wouldn't trust them.[/QUOTE] Id gladly go to your city, given the chance. I know for a fact i wouldnt end up in a ditch. I often went out in -20f temps, no problem there with my all seasons. I trust my all seasons. You sound like one of those people that move from the far south to the north. They buy expensive snow tires, and freak out even at the slightest dusting. When they do go out, they drive way under the speed limit and still end up in the ditch
Meanwhile, in the PNW. [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YCoxOReXlHI[/media]
[QUOTE=FordLord;42730122]Id gladly go to your city, given the chance. I know for a fact i wouldnt end up in a ditch. I often went out in -20f temps, no problem there with my all seasons. I trust my all seasons. You sound like one of those people that move from the far south to the north. They buy expensive snow tires, and freak out even at the slightest dusting. When they do go out, they drive way under the speed limit and still end up in the ditch[/QUOTE] I always lived in the far north. I'm perfectly certain that you wouldn't make it to my city with your all seasons, the only chance you'd have to get here in one piece is to drive slower and pick a day where it's only -20C and sunny. It's the kind of road where even 4x4 / AWD cars with studded winter tires or great tires end up in ditches (Or in mooses.) I never had issues speeding in the winter with my trusty snow tires, I ain't a women. I lived all my life in northen Canada and I can for one thing say, that all seasons are BAD and worthless here, all they allow you to do is to manage outside the legal winter tires season. Which is why a lot of people use all seasons as summer tires and winter tires as winter tires(That and it's mandatory.)
[QUOTE=WolvesSoulZ;42730177]I always lived in the far north. I'm perfectly certain that you wouldn't make it to my city with your all seasons, the only chance you'd have to get here in one piece is to drive slower and pick a day where it's only -20C and sunny. It's the kind of road where even 4x4 / AWD cars with studded winter tires or great tires end up in ditches (Or in mooses.) I never had issues speeding in the winter with my trusty snow tires, I ain't a women. I lived all my life in northen Canada and I can for one thing say, that all seasons are BAD and worthless here, all they allow you to do is to manage outside the legal winter tires season. Which is why a lot of people use all seasons as summer tires and winter tires as winter tires(That and it's mandatory.)[/QUOTE] I know for a fact that id make it there. I actually know how to drive, unlike quite a bit of people apparently. Ive never had issues speeding with my all seasons either. If you dont know how to drive, any tire is bad. Id make it just fine there with Kumho's, as i actually know how to drive. -20c is only -4f, really not that cold. -20f is -29c, which is what i often drove in with my all seasons. Your weather really isnt bad, id have no issues with all seasons there
I hope you aren't saying that I'm a bad driver. And yes you'd have issue, I'm sure of that, the only thing helping you is being AWD, otherwise, as all people who are on all season (Illegally) usually do bad. They're not made to excel in snow, not at all. You aren't a godlike driver, no ideas as to how old you are, but you seem to have the young adult mindset that you are invincible behind your steering wheel. Quit defending all seasons, they're just Jack of all trades, master of none. It's simple Summer = All seasons or summer tires, winter = winter. You can't even compare, you live in the us, you've never lived in northern Canada. You can't even compare both kind of winters, it ain't the same AND don't say you know what it is, you've never been here. I can state for a fact, that even just 200km down south, and winters are less bad, and 500km down south they're pretty tolerable, all seasons could pass in a city like Montreal, but even then, statistically, since winter tires have been mandatory, accidents have gone a LONG shot down, even in a city like Montreal. In a city like mine, nothing changed much, since everyone was bright enough to understand that winter equaled to winter tires. To say, I've been in a snowstorm in May and September this year with my all seasons(Used as summer tires), they did okay at best but it wasn't safe at all in long curves, with all the iced up slush(235-55r17 tires on a FWD car). Have I mentioned snow in June? That too. That and those khumo's SCREAMS all seasons, cops would be on your ass in no time and you'd get a hefty fine. With all that being said, you can use all seasons where you live, they are legal for winter for you and weather speaking, your winters aren't comparable to a northern Canadian winter. FFS Just be careful. Is it that hard to get? Here to be safe, you need winter tires, it is apparently not the case for you, but in all cases, drive responsibly and safely during snow/ice/cold situations.
I know im not invincible, but apparently im a lot better than others. My Kumho's do excel in snow, its been proven to me many times. Ive never lived in CA, but i do live in the snowiest parts of the US. After research, average snowfall for where i live is actually 9-11ft per year. Without even going there, data shows that my winters arent much different from yours. I defend all seasons because they actually work good all year. It sounds like youve only used poor quality all seasons. According to all the data i found, the winter in my town vs northern Canada is the same. Your winters arent that bad, you really do make it sound like youre from a warm climate and just moved there.
I lived there all my 19 years of existence. Weather statistic =/= actual things by the way. They aren't that bad, but winters are pretty horrible at times. And it sounds like you don't get it, all seasons are illegal for winter here and it's for a good reason. You can defend em all you want, but I'm sure that if you tested em the right way, you'd see that winter tires makes a big difference. I will keep up saying winter tires are the right thing to do. And may I ask why would I get great quality all seasons, when either ways, they'd only be used from May to October? I use all seasons as summer tires. They're illegal for winter. To me all seasons are jack of all trades, they don't excel in any situation, they are just good in some more than others depending on the model. They're my first pick as summer tires, but they aren't even a second choice as winter tires. I run Kelly Touring Navigator Gold for summer, M+S Rated all seasons tires and I run Michelin X-Ice xi2 in winter. Both great sets of tires for their purpose. Understood?
Ive tested all seasons the right way in snow. Weather statistics may not be the real thing, but they do give a good general idea. Its pretty dumb to make all seasons illegal for part of the year, just wastes money when some people dont even need them.
It's not dumb, it's one of the best law outta the road code. And let's put an end to this.
To me, its pretty dumb. Some people can drive good in every condition with all seasons, others cant and have to use snows. I personally like how my all seasons did in snow. They gripped like crazy and gave me great control when i wanted to drift. A law like that is enough for me to avoid going there
Buy whatever you see fit to put on your car, if you think you need winter tires, get em. Just don't expect to drive like there's no snow or ice, unless you know what you're doing(don't lie to yourself). Not pointed at anyone in particular.
I cant see vids, youtube is being dumb again. If anything, they should make people take a winter driving class. If they pass, they are allowed to use either tire. Fail, and they have to use snows
I did not know this about Subarus. [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xlVPiWsrzLA#t=71[/media] The fuse thing.
[QUOTE=FordLord;42730507]I cant see vids, youtube is being dumb again. If anything, they should make people take a winter driving class. If they pass, they are allowed to use either tire. Fail, and they have to use snows[/QUOTE] Everyone in Québec has a mandatory 1 year driving course, 6 months and half of the driving course are taken during winter. I'd say that everyone here is more qualified out of the bat to drive during winter than you were.
[QUOTE=WolvesSoulZ;42730518]Everyone in Québec has a mandatory 1 year driving course, 6 months and half of the driving course are taken during winter. I'd say that everyone here is more qualified out of the bat to drive during winter than you were.[/QUOTE] I cant quite remember what i had to do. I think it was about 6 months of driving. Ever since i was about 10, i started learning to drive on dirt roads. That was year round, from mud season, snow season, through dry season, etc. By 14, i started getting up to 50-60mph on the dirt, mud, and snow covered roads. I dont think everyone there was more qualified then me at the start
To get my license I literally read a book, took my test, failed because I went 40 in a 35(god damn it)waited a week, took the test again and got my license. [editline]1st November 2013[/editline] I had to buy a car to take the test too. Neither of my parents cars were considered legal for the test.
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