When to change winter tires

[girlRACER]

Just wondering when is a good time to change winter tires/rims. Has anybody changed them yet? If not, when do you plan on doing it?

The snow is so unpredictable and I'm not sure if I should change it early :confused:

[Ben]

Originally posted by girlRACER
Just wondering when is a good time to change winter tires/rims. Has anybody changed them yet? If not, when do you plan on doing it?

The snow is so unpredictable and I'm not sure if I should change it early :confused:


I'm going to MyTires to get mine done :) Heading there the day my tires come in...10-14 days...RIGHT ROB?!?! ;) :tongue:

[sml]

I changed mine last year around mid Oct right after the first snow fall. Then after that, we got like a 2 month dry spell and I noticed that my winter tires were burning up. So my advice would be change them only when you NEED to... Especially if they're on separate rims, that makes it a lot easier to do it yourself!

[Boostn]

I usually wait til mid-late October as well. I don't think this snowfall will stay on the ground... hopefully not anyway.

[ryder_23]

If you have an alternate form of transportation, i'd say middle of november, but if you dont, i'd go with around the end of oct, just to be safe, but knowing calgary, no one can predict this damn changing weather so i dunno, but snow doesnt stick to the ground much before november.

[kenny]

Since I have different wheels for my winter tires I just get Tirecraft to unmount my R compounds and mount my winter tires sometime in late September and switch them myself at home whenever the snow hits. If theres an expected week or so without snow, I put the summers back on :) Only takes 15 mins or so to change wheels.

[Ben]

Originally posted by kenny
Since I have different wheels for my winter tires I just get Tirecraft to unmount my R compounds and mount my winter tires sometime in late September and switch them myself at home whenever the snow hits. If theres an expected week or so without snow, I put the summers back on :) Only takes 15 mins or so to change wheels.

Exactly, I have winter alloys and summer alloys, swap and unswap pending on weather.

[max_boost]

What type of tires are you guys going with? I'm thinking Dunlop Winter M2's or Bridgestone Blizzak LM22 or Michelin Pilot Alpins. A harder compound that is more suitable for Calgary's constant changing climate. I'm debating if I should go with steelies and OEM Honda wheel covers hehe

[Ben]

Originally posted by max_boost
What type of tires are you guys going with? I'm thinking Dunlop Winter M2's or Bridgestone Blizzak LM22 or Michelin Pilot Alpins. A harder compound that is more suitable for Calgary's constant changing climate. I'm debating if I should go with steelies and OEM Honda wheel covers hehe

I cant fit $600 for winter rubber into my budget right now, so Rob at Tunerworks hooked me up with a great deal on some Kumhos (KW-11) that are new for this year...apparantly a great tire, and cheeeeep. Comparable to Arctic Alpins. Hell, hes putting them on his car...cant suck that bad hey? haha

[max_boost]

Originally posted by Ben


I cant fit $600 for winter rubber into my budget right now, so Rob at Tunerworks hooked me up with a great deal on some Kumhos that are new for this year...apparantly a great tire, and cheeeeep. Comparable to Arctic Alpins. Hell, hes putting them on his car...cant suck that bad hey? haha What size are you getting? Cause mine are going to cost close to $800 I think for a set of four regardless of brand. I have to swing by Tunerworks to talk to Zeuge to see if he still has his used winter Dunlops from his S2K. But I have to wait for the next pay cheque, sucks being broke!!!

[Ben]

Originally posted by max_boost
... sucks being broke!!!

Word to that! Femmes are $$$ :rofl: :banghead:

I'm just using my spare factory VW Teardrop Rims so they are small, 185/60 14's $65 each :)

[girlRACER]

Originally posted by max_boost
What type of tires are you guys going with? I'm thinking Dunlop Winter M2's or Bridgestone Blizzak LM22 or Michelin Pilot Alpins. A harder compound that is more suitable for Calgary's constant changing climate. I'm debating if I should go with steelies and OEM Honda wheel covers hehe

The Bridgestone Blizzak LM22's are good tires but expensive. You should try the new Yokohama high performance winter tires (forgot the name) but they're $100-150 cheaper. Those tires were sold out by the time I tried to get them.

I'm using Michelin Pilot Sports. You should check out SpeedyAuto cause they were one of the cheaper places.

[max_boost]

Originally posted by girlRACER


The Bridgestone Blizzak LM22's are good tires but expensive. You should try the new Yokohama high performance winter tires (forgot the name) but they're $100-150 cheaper. Those tires were sold out by the time I tried to get them.

I'm using Michelin Pilot Sports. You should check out SpeedyAuto cause they were one of the cheaper places. Thanks for the advice! And support our sponsors! :D

[4wheeldrift]

I've still got my set of Nokian Hakka 1s, though I think this is probably the last year I'm going to be able to use them. Mine are just mounted on steelies, so once it starts to snow I'm outside with the jack and the impact gun and switching tires. 15 minutes later I'm good to go. Was going to switch last night, but felt like absolute drek so didn't end up doing it. Sometime in the next couple weeks likely.

[xkon]

i got mine on sale at walmart last year, like $200 with steelies... cant beat that!

ill probably slap them on mid-october, i have them at work so i just pull the ol girl in here and hoist her up!

[rage2]

I'm extremely happy with Michellin Alpins. They provide awesome snow traction (2nd only to Blizzaks), great price, and when the roads are dry, they have awesome straight line grip :). I can launch pretty good with little wheelspin in 1st.

Cornering sucks in the dry tho haha, but I guess all winter tires do!

[Altezza]

I was planning on getting the LM22s last year, but they were sold out in my size across Canada. The LM22s are a great tire...definitely worth it. They came out to be roughly the same price as the Nokians I picked up instead.

I'll do the swap in late October to early November.

[max_boost]

Is it ok to mix and match winter tires? I don't think it should be an issue?

[CRXguy]

Originally posted by max_boost
Is it ok to mix and match winter tires? I don't think it should be an issue?

That's a big no-no. Don't be so cheap, high rolla! :D

[finboy]

i might look into some winter tires this year, bald canadian tires was interesting last year.

[92 Teg-B18A]

What about going with the Nokian WR Passenger (All Weather in Nokian's terms) instead on a "Winter" tire?
http://www.nokiantires.com/newsite/_cache/bf0c84189f0ab598f1421ab874e9566e.jpg (http://www.nokiantires.com/newsite/tires_popup.cfm?id=6&size=205/55R16)

[bart]

Originally posted by kenny
Since I have different wheels for my winter tires I just get Tirecraft to unmount my R compounds and mount my winter tires sometime in late September and switch them myself at home whenever the snow hits. If theres an expected week or so without snow, I put the summers back on :) Only takes 15 mins or so to change wheels.

ya, i've been doing that too. i noticed that the security nut for my bolt is starting to deteriorate, so i'll have to buy a new set, and my hub centering rings are going too, they're aluminum, and i heard it doesnt go to good with steel when heated up, so its a pain to pry them off when i want to put my steelies on.

i run blizzaks, ws15 i think, they're reallllly soft, like a sponge, but driving on them in the winter time i have more confidence, people wonder how i dont slide around, well i do, but only on purpose. ahah. and yes, hard cornering isnt recommended, as the car sways mad on dry.

[max_boost]

Originally posted by CRXguy


That's a big no-no. Don't be so cheap, high rolla! :D I was thinking about buying a cheaper winter tire for the fronts and a more expensive winter tire for the rears.......

If I was a high roller, I wouldn't be so concerned with cost!:rofl: What a common misconception! haha

[rice_eater]

Originally posted by girlRACER
Just wondering when is a good time to change winter tires/rims. Has anybody changed them yet? If not, when do you plan on doing it?

The snow is so unpredictable and I'm not sure if I should change it early :confused:

when winter comes :eek: like actual winter...not this two day thing...we're supposed to be back up in the twenties by friday so i'd think it's still too early

[kenny]

Originally posted by max_boost
I was thinking about buying a cheaper winter tire for the fronts and a more expensive winter tire for the rears.......

If I was a high roller, I wouldn't be so concerned with cost!:rofl: What a common misconception! haha

While that may be good for acceleration, you'll have crappy winters up front for braking, so you'll have trouble stopping if you do that combo. However, if you put the good tires in the front for better stopping, your rear end may want to start swinging out since the front has better grip than the rear... wow the tradeoffs! haha

[bart]

also another misconception you people might have, is that a wider winter tire will have more grip. NO. the narrower the winter tire the better the grip.

[max]

Originally posted by bart
also another misconception you people might have, is that a wider winter tire will have more grip. NO. the narrower the winter tire the better the grip.

can somebody explain why?

[max_boost]

Originally posted by bart
also another misconception you people might have, is that a wider winter tire will have more grip. NO. the narrower the winter tire the better the grip. Actually, I think a softer compound, perhaps studded will have more grip:rolleyes:

[kenny]

Originally posted by bart
also another misconception you people might have, is that a wider winter tire will have more grip. NO. the narrower the winter tire the better the grip.



Originally posted by max
can somebody explain why?

A narrower tire will allow your cars weight to be concentrated on a smaller contact area, allowing it to dig into snow/ice better. A wider tire will "float" on top of the slush/snow mixture.

[whatthe]

Sort of like a fat guy with little feet stepping on your hand. Good pounds per square inch and... ow.

[max]

so what's a decently priced winter tire that has good grip and a hard compound so that it will last through our chinooks?

[4wheeldrift]

Originally posted by max
so what's a decently priced winter tire that has good grip and a hard compound so that it will last through our chinooks? Any of Nokians lineup is pretty good for that. Hakka 1's are snow tires, Hakka Q's are more for ice. Most of the blizzaks should be avoided in those conditions, the high amount of silicon in the tread makes them great on snow and ice, but dry pavement will eat them quickly. The new compounds are supposed to be better, but I still wouldn't take my chances. I've heard good things about Toyo, Michelin and Yokohamas snow tires as well. Lots of great winter tires out there, just a matter of picking one you like at a price you can afford.

[bart]

surprisingly my blizzaks havent worn down any noticeable amount through the first winter, and i did do lots of driving on pavement too, but also switched them during extended periods of time. i you were to have them on non-stop every winter, you will get 3 winters out of them for sure before they start getting sloppy. i have had experience with the older generation, WS15's, they lasted 5 winters, but those might have been a little harder. these WS50's are really soft. who knows, i might use them for solo2 in the winter, lol.

[gcycheun]

Bridgestone Blizzak LM22's were great for me last yr, they do cost a bit more than other tires out there but they were highly recommended by a lot of ppl

[googe]

I just went and picked some up for the STi, those of you thinking about it should head down to "My Tires" asap, helpful guys and the best prices I have seen, but I guess today is their last day of grand opening prices, so dont wait :)

They have the barbecue going too, so you can grab a few burgers while you wait for them to get to you:thumbsup: