Which snow tire???

[2BLUE]

Im looking at 1010tires.com and there's alot of winter tires.

Im looking for the best snow tires out there.

Where can i see reviews on snow tires in real conditions?

[alloroc]

The 'best' is subjective.

The best in snow won't be the best on ice
The best on Ice won't be the best compromise between th snow/ice an dry roads we have in Calgary.
The best handling will not be the best in snow.

Well you get the idea.

My opinion - the 'best' for the money in calgary ...
kw-11 studded for a small car
KW-17 for an AWD or those who will still push the winters on pavement
KW-19-for everything else.

[icecreamvan]

I'm on tirerack right now trying to decide between these four.

Dunlop Wintersport 3d (1st on their survey)
Mich PA2
Mich X-Ice
Bridgestone REVO

Tough tough decision.

[BokCh0y]

The SEARCH button is your friend.

Toyo Garit H/T's or the newer one Toyo Garit KX - These are H rater tires for performance.

Toyo Snoproxes are really good too but rated higher than H. Ultra highperformance for these ones.

Toyo Observes G02's for regular performance S rated tire.

I've had experience with all three and the Garit HT's and KX are the best imo.

Blizzak's in general do an amazing job, but i found the treads wore off on mine really quick. I use the Toyo's on my RWD cars and haven't had any issues in winter whatsoever.

[TE4MFaint]

Blizzaks are AWESOME winter tires..HOWEVER...if they ever meet a day with dry pavement, they will literally *melt* when heated. The tread wont just wear fast, they will actually melt leaving a bald spot.

[Revhard]

The Dunlops that Wal-mart sells are actually quite good.
They are an ice tire, and work great.
My car makes good power for a little 4cyl, and it was fine last winter. Quite happy for the money.
They were just over 1/2 the price of Blizzaks locally.

[TeamBestBud]

Originally posted by alloroc
KW-19-for everything else.

I agree.

http://forums.beyond.ca/st/196210/fs-185-65-15-kumho-kw19s-winter/

[teggypimp95]

mich tires are my fav for just regular cars. I have alseasons on my ride and they are fantastic in all conditions. So i can picture there snow tires being quite great!

[Destinova403]

i got mich X-ice... they seemed very good and the price was very reasonable. so far (yes im aware there hasnt been any snow really on the roads) they have been fantastic.

[The Cosworth]

we run nokian's at work and they seem pretty good

[SCHIDER23]

Nokian Hakkapeliita are good for winter, that's what we have on all of the family vehicles for winter:thumbsup:

[teggypimp95]

Toyo winter tires i have heard are also top notch.

Make sure u dont put them on till it snows. Winter tires melt and wear like crazy on dry or warm pavement.

[Tuner1]

Let me take a crack at this :D

To begin with I need to have some info from you.

-What model/year of car?
-What size are the tires?
-What type of winter driving do you do? I.e. first to the ski hill in a storm or just in-town commuting?
-Are you budget-conscious?

Let me know and I will offer some suggestions.

Rob

[bspot]

Nokkian Haks by far.

I have Blizzaks and they get destroyed in comparisson to Haks.

[Bimmer88]

I just got BLizzaks this winter

but.... I dunno how its going to be! It'll be awesome though.

[DeeK]

I have been running mich X-Ice for the past 4 years. I absolutely love em. Only bad side is that you have to watch for people rear ending you because you can stop SOOO much faster than them.

[HiSpec]

I've had Blizzaks before, and they will wear out quite fast if your winter dry. Currently I am running Goodyear Ultra Grip Ice, and this winter will be the second winter they see ice/snow.

[ercchry]

Originally posted by TE4MFaint
Blizzaks are AWESOME winter tires..HOWEVER...if they ever meet a day with dry pavement, they will literally *melt* when heated. The tread wont just wear fast, they will actually melt leaving a bald spot.

i think you lie, i have them and i had them on for a whole summer and yeah they lasted fine, still half tread

and then the next year i got another set and had them on for a while and the fronts were are still perfect and the rears are about 80%

[aypi]

try nokian RSi's. they are one of the best winter tires in the market today. they are pricey but well worth it.

[Mazstyle]

Originally posted by bspot
Nokkian Haks by far.

I have Blizzaks and they get destroyed in comparisson to Haks.

I've had X-ice, Canadian Tire winters, but the Haks are king.

and the crazy part is.....

You can run them all year....

[jaylo]

I ran the Goodyear Nordics from CDN tire $70 per tire for 195/60/r14 with absolutely no problem.

The design of the tire works awesome on snow and ice. They just came out last winter for CDN Tire and they are rebadged Goodyear Ultragrips.

I also ran Michelin X-Ice and they were absolutely amazing on dry, snow, and iced pavement.

I'd recommend X-Ice ($140 for 195/60/r14) or if you can get the Goodyear Nordics ($70 for 195/60/r14)

As for longevity, I only ran them one winter each so I cannot really tell you how effective they would be a year after.

Tires tend to lose their effectiveness as the rubber loses oil compound used for elasticity.

[icecreamvan]

Can anyone in town come close to tirerack prices? I need tires and would rather buy locally.

[Tuner1]

Originally posted by icecreamvan
Can anyone in town come close to tirerack prices? I need tires and would rather buy locally.



:D Give us a try. We will be very close to their prices and we also offer local service and installation.

Rob

[gpomp]

Originally posted by icecreamvan
Can anyone in town come close to tirerack prices? I need tires and would rather buy locally. how "close" are we talking about? shipping, duties, brokerage add up to $200 for a set of four tires from tirerack.

[icecreamvan]

4 x 205/55/16 Michelin PA2 = $566 USD duty/tiretax/gst/delivery all in on tirerack. At 1.06 exchange rate, it's CDN$533ish. That's tough to beat. :D

[240SX17]

i dunno why but i really like how the goodyear nordics handle

[Hash_man]

Depending on what youre using them for I find my Kumho KW19s awesome. Paid $400 mounted and everything last year for them and have been very pleased. Went to put them on yesterday and they still have tons of tread left on them, and feel very good on dry pavement too.

[icecreamvan]

A friend's looking for Nokians for when he takes delivery of his 335 next month. Is KalTire the only one who carries those?

[alloroc]

Originally posted by icecreamvan
4 x 205/55/16 Michelin PA2 = $566 USD duty/tiretax/gst/delivery all in on tirerack. At 1.06 exchange rate, it's CDN$533ish. That's tough to beat. :D

Not when you consider you still have to get them mounted and balanced.

I just got 4 tires of a *very* similar size for 750 cdn - with steelies - mounted and balanced gst included.

There are a few places in town that come very close or beat tirerack, you dont' think those guys compare the tirerack prices when you ask them for a quote? Of course they do. My bet is in most cases you will save at least $50-$100 and have local warranty support.


urban expressions
tunerworks

[Tuner1]

Originally posted by icecreamvan
A friend's looking for Nokians for when he takes delivery of his 335 next month. Is KalTire the only one who carries those?

I would not run Nokians on my 335i. I had them on my 350hp Subaru for three weeks last season and then took them off because they were outright dangerous on dry pavement! They did work well in the ice and snow but not much better than a number of other tires that are far better on dry roads. Afterall this is Calgary, not the North Pole!

There is no "best" winter tire, period! It all comes down to what kind of car, what size the tire is and what you expect the tire to do. I have driven on all the top current snow tires (a couple at Race City) and all of them are quite different.

Here is a short list of my top winter tires for '07/'08.

-Goodyear UltraGrip Performance (on my 335i)
-Michelin X-Ice (on three family cars)
-Dunlop Winter Sport M3 (better in snow than the 3D)
-Bridgestone Blizzak LM-25
-Kumho KW19 (lots of snow/ice grip at a low price. Poor in the dry)

Rob

[icecreamvan]

Originally posted by alloroc


mytires
urban expressions
tunerworks

mytires doesn't belong on that list.:thumbsdow The other two offer outstanding service however.

Thanks for the info Rob! I'll forward that info on. :thumbsup:

[bspot]

Originally posted by Mazstyle


I've had X-ice, Canadian Tire winters, but the Haks are king.

and the crazy part is.....

You can run them all year....

Those are WR's that you can run year round. I definitely wouldn't leave Haks on in the summer.

[Speed_69]

Originally posted by icecreamvan


mytires doesn't belong on that list.:thumbsdow The other two offer outstanding service however.


Agreed! My tires has had horrible service the past couple times i called them. They say they're going to call me back, nobody ever does :thumbsdow

[avow]

i picked up these 'ice picks' from wal-mart for my accord. they were $89 each installed. i noted though that they are super soft and have a ton of meat on them. cant wait for the snow to come down to try them out.

[alloroc]

I did email them with an RFQ but the also didn't get back but I chalked it up to 'the busy season.'


Originally posted by Speed_69
[B]

Agreed! My tires has had horrible service the past couple times i called them. They say they're going to call me back, nobody ever does B]
Thanks for the heads up.

Post edited.



]Originally posted by Tuner1There is no "best" winter tire, period! It all comes down to what kind of car, what size the tire is and what you expect the tire to do. I have driven on all the top current snow tires (a couple at Race City) and all of them are quite different.
That was my point exactly.

[Team_Mclaren]

If anyone is driving to Washington/Orgen for the weekend, go to Discount Tire to get some winters install. Im getting a set of Yokohama Ice Guard IG20 and its less than 400CAD INSTALLED. no Tax, $60 off ftw

[A2VR6]

I've used Toyo Garit HT's and Kumho KW-19's so far and personally i think the KW-19's are better despite the Toyo's being H rated. Im trying out the Michelin PA2s on my car and my dad is trying out the Dunlop Wintersport M3's this year but so far I like the KW-19's the most.

[rusich]

Has anyone had any experience with Pirelli Scorpions Ice and Snow? Some sites rate then as their TOP winter tire.

[eur0]

Any opinions about Nexen?

[grandmasterYYC]

I'll go with Rob from Tunerworks and recommend the Dunlop Winter Sport M3.

One mistake I made was slightly upsizing the sidewall and it made the handling a bit soft.

[ScottysZ]

Originally posted by icecreamvan
Can anyone in town come close to tirerack prices? I need tires and would rather buy locally.

Try costco. They usually dont have many tires around but they can order in just about anything at no cost and ive yet to see a local shop that is as cheap across the board as they are. That being said, im not sure if id take a high end car there, (never heard of anything bad, but just to be cautious) but itd be fine for what most people are driving. Especially if youre just running steelies for the winter tires.

[The Cosworth]

These are the four I am looking at, for a FWD passenger car.

NOKIAN Hakkapeliitta 2
NOKIAN Hakkapeliitta 4
NOKIAN Hakkapeliitta Q
NOKIAN Hakkapeliitta RSi

differences?

Opinions?

and are studs illegal?

[badatusrnames]

^^Studs are only fully illegal in Ontario, legal all year round in Alberta (and I think SK as well), and they are allowed seasonally in other provinces

[bituerbo]

Originally posted by ScottysZ


Try costco. They usually dont have many tires around but they can order in just about anything at no cost and ive yet to see a local shop that is as cheap across the board as they are. That being said, im not sure if id take a high end car there, (never heard of anything bad, but just to be cautious) but itd be fine for what most people are driving. Especially if youre just running steelies for the winter tires.

Costco won't install a tire which is more than 5% off the stock tire size. They denied me some taller profile tires becasue they weren't OEM sized or within 5%. I had to take them somewhere else to get installed...

[autosm]

Save your money and look at Kuhmo/Hankook

FYI Worn KW19's RWD were better than X ice@ 60% on FWD

Try Urban expressions/ Tire BOB 769 1772

[SuperG3]

Goodyear Ultragrip by far the best i've used

[Thehonger8]

I think Costco only sells Michelin tires.


Yeah go to tirebob from Urban Expressions. Great service and better prices than 1010tires.

[bennyhanna]

Originally posted by eur0
Any opinions about Nexen?

Wife has them on the Mazda3
good dry performance,
quiet riding tire,
good snow performance,
good ice performance.
Had them on for 5000-6000 kms and they barely took a hit
For the price tuff to beat


My Car (A4 Quattro), has a set of Yokohama AVS winters.
Great dry performance.
Quiet tire
No exp with snow or ice

http://www.yokohama.ca/en/tires/images/tires/AVS_Winter.jpg
Got them from BOB. at better than US pricing!

[ScottysZ]

Originally posted by Thehonger8
I think Costco only sells Michelin tires.


No. I know for a fact theyve at least got BFG's as i got them to order some for me a few months ago. Not sure what else theyve got. A buddy of mine just got a set of Michelin x-ices from there for $384 istalled with taxes. I think 205-70/14 or something. Theyve got a sale right now for $100 off if you buy four. Sounded pretty cheap to me.:dunno:

[The Cosworth]

Got a quote this morning for these

$850.00 installed for Nokian RSI's

$600.00 installed for Maxxis Winter MAW1




which should I go with, I really want to get the Nokians but am not sure if they are worth the extra $250.00

[Supa Dexta]

michelin owns BFG and uniroyal...

[frozenrice]

Uhh, how about Hankook 404s? I've been happy with mine. No problems so far. They were abou $400 out the door last year (mounted on stock rims).

[ScottysZ]

Originally posted by Supa Dexta
michelin owns BFG and uniroyal...

O, good to know.