Good set of winter tires?

[rayman913]

Hey everyone,

In the market for a good set of winter tires. Any suggestions??

Is it cheaper to get them locally or order them off tirerack?

Thanks,
Ray

[Deetz]

There are many good ones out there, but i have two personal favorites...

Toyo G02+

Nokian Hakkapeliitta

[SCHIDER23]

:werd:

The Nokian are the ones I run on both my cars, most of my family, and friends as well, excellent tires:thumbsup:

[dj_rice]

Hankook I*Pikes, good bang for buck

[tirebob]

This subject comes up every year as it should...

The truth is that just with summer tires, there is no one winter tire that is better than every other winter tire for every set of circumstances. What is best for you depends on a lot of factors. The best ice tires tend to wear out the quickest and have the poorest handling properties on bare pavement. The best deep snow tires tend to be the loudest to drive on and also handle poorly on bare pavement as well as having reduced ice traction. Studded tires give absolutely the best ice traction but are even noisier and more costly. The best wearing winter tires provide less pure ice traction and deep snow traction than their counterparts. A tire that claims to do everything will not do it all the best but only medicore across the board. Some tires work very well in conditons up to minus 10 degrees but suck at minus 30. Budget is always an issue as not everyone can afford the very best of the best etc...

The list of these differences can go on and on...

The key, as always, is to assess you budget and find someone who can help you wade through all the propaganda the tire companies (and friend of uncles wifes father-in-laws who worked at a service station 35 years ago for a summer while in school) throw at you, and buy the best tire that has the most properties associated with the majority of you driving needs and is within your budget.

If you live 20 miles up a gravel farm road that never sees a plow, or if you are a traveling salesman who drives non-stop over mountain passes, or if you are a volunteer fireman who has to get anywhere at any time no matter the conditions, or a starving student who drive 2kms a day back and forth to school only, or if you are terrified of black ice, or if you are on a limited budget, or if etc, etc, etc... The tire I would recommend for each of these people will probably be a lot different than the other.

Finding out what people use is fine, but simply buying it because someone says the like this brand or that is not going to help you pick a tire that suits your needs. It just isn't as simple as that. Just like vehicles, tires are built for a variety of purposes. Finding the one that suits your purposes is the goal.

Bob

[SilverGS]

Good points.

So given that is there a tire you would recommend for normal daily driving in Calgary's winter?

[tirebob]

Originally posted by SilverGS
Good points.

So given that is there a tire you would recommend for normal daily driving in Calgary's winter?

There are lots of tires good for simple city driving, but again, what is it you want from a tire? Do you want better ice traction, giving up on wear or maybe road noise with a studded tire? Do you want something that will handle better on the days there is no snow and ice knowing that the severe traction won't be quite as good as the more hardcore snow tires? Do you want something as cost effective as possible or is there no budget and you just want the best money can buy?

I don't have a specific brand I recommend over another. I use Blizzaks on my wifes MDX because she is a California girl who is not very confident on ice but hates excessive road noise (so studs are not really an option) and I find they do an exceptional job for a studless winter tire, but on my 2wd pickup I will run a cheaper more aggressive snow tire that I will stud this year because the 2wd truck is balls on ice and deep snow and since I am going to be running in from Airdrie every day I want a tire that will do both even though they will be as noisy as hell...

[SilverGS]

Hmm I never really considered all of those things. Going to have to reevaluate which winter tire maybe be best for me. Thanks Bob :thumbsup:

[JZS_147]

The best winter tire i've found were Nokian Hakkapelitas. I drove my JZA80 turbo Supra all winter with those, they work great!

I've driven on Blizzaks, and Pilot Alpins as well... the Nokians had far better grip and were a much better handling tire.

[GTS4tw]

Nokian Hakkapeliitta ftw, best all around tire. I have used them for daily driving, driving through mountain passes, and rallying in the dirt and mud. They are long lasting, even wearing, quiet, good on any surface. I have recommended them to friends and have never heard even one complaint, they are on another level as far as winters go.

I should also say I have tried many other winter tires, there are a couple out there that are better in some situations, like rallying, or pure ice driving, but as an all around they are by far the best.

As for purchasing them, get a spare set of wheels with some crappy rubber, go to the states and buy them and get them installed there, it will be considerably cheaper. Tirerack is good if you have a US address, otherwise customs will take a big bite of the savings.

[gpomp]

the newest tire is usually the best. so for this year, the blizzak ws70

[nickyh]

any reviews on the Blizzaks DM-V1's?

I'm torn between the WS-70's and those and I've googled both, but I'm looking for a CDN (moreso Calgary) perspective.

(For a RAV4)

[sillysod]

I've run a lot of winter tires as I run back and fourth between customers in Vancouver and Calgary all winter in my Audi.

I have had 2 sets Nokians and although they seem to last a little longer, the performance wasn't stellar.

I have used Michelin Alpen's and they were nothing special, similar to the Cooper Weather Masters.

I have been running Blizzaks too, and Tire Bob is right, you do not want to run them in warm weather as the handling is absolutely horrible and they wear incredibly fast. With that being said.... they are the absolute best winter snow and ice tire I have ever used on my car.

I have gotten in the habit of putting them on late in the fall and taking them off as soon as it starts to warm up. My wife is on the same set for 4 years now and they are still over 50%.

In the city almost any winter tire will do, they plow the streets and if they get so bad you can't drive with even shitty winter tires you shouldn't be on the road because someone with 1,000,000 mile plastic all seasons will slide into you anyways.

[kevie88]

Bob has it correct. What do YOU want from a tire? Buy what YOU need.

Get the second set of rims as stated above. Swap them over when it gets warm and you won't have excessive wear.

[alloroc]

Better yet drop into one of Bob's shops ..
or one of our other fine sponsors ie. tunerworks and have a sit down.

These are great companies who care more about the customer than the bottom line.

When I got some tires for my wife's car a few years back There was some serious miscommunication between Lorne and Bob - and thus a misquote. They covered it without any delay, hassle, or grumbling and yet I am 'fairly' sure they lost money on the deal.

I have KW-17's on our cars as Calgary is mostly dry or hard packed and I like the quiet ride and appreciate the long wear.

[MilanoRedTeg]

Looked into the KW-17's but apparently they are discontinued now, so now i'm thinking about the KW-19's


Originally posted by alloroc
Better yet drop into one of Bob's shops ..
or one of our other fine sponsors ie. tunerworks and have a sit down.

These are great companies who care more about the customer than the bottom line.

When I got some tires for my wife's car a few years back There was some serious miscommunication between Lorne and Bob - and thus a misquote. They covered it without any delay, hassle, or grumbling and yet I am 'fairly' sure they lost money on the deal.

I have KW-17's on our cars as Calgary is mostly dry or hard packed and I like the quiet ride and appreciate the long wear.