Nokians

[gmc72]

When I first got my Fit, I put Michelin XI3's on it for the first few years. Was very happy with them. Had 0 issues at all going anywhere. I put on Hakka's when those wore out, and really didn't notice a difference in performance between the 2. Had 0 issues with the Hakka's as well, but they were no different from the Michelin's in terms of grip.

[ercchry]

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I’m not arguing for or against Hakkas, I’ve been very clear I have never run them, if you find another set that are equivalent that last longer that’s fine. I just don’t consider tire longevity to be an important factor in buying tires.

The whole Alpin’s are better 85% of the time debate us a completely different can of worms.

If Hakkas were materially better than every other tire 100% of the time I would consider burning through a set every 3,000km or once a season or whatever you want to call it to be money well spent. That’s still less than I spend on fucking parking

There is too much effort spent on winters around here... how I actually do it is this... “hey, car parts friend... it’s snowing and I haven’t swapped tires yet, what you got in a :insert current tire size needs:. Great, they’re at a local warehouse? Perfect... tomorrow they will be mounted? Done!”

But I’m not inconveniencing myself, taking lesser service by going to “the only place in town”, waiting a month for an appointment or any other bullshit for a consumable car product... that I will destroy in half the time of a normal person

[killramos]

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There is too much effort spent on winters around here... how I actually do it is this... “hey, car parts friend... it’s snowing and I haven’t swapped tires yet, what you got in a :insert current tire size needs:. Great, they’re at a local warehouse? Perfect... tomorrow they will be mounted? Done!”

But I’m not inconveniencing myself, taking lesser service by going to “the only place in town”, waiting a month for an appointment or any other bullshit for a consumable car product... that I will destroy in half the time of a normal person

I think you have some very different problems you need to address rather than getting hung up on tire wear ratings

[ercchry]

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I think you have some very different problems you need to address rather than getting hung up on tire wear ratings

I LIKE WHAT I LIKE!!!

[Mitsu3000gt]

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For my personal use I don't drive enough for there to be much of a difference in longevity with looking at performance tires though. I'd be amazed if I put 15k a year on my Fiesta. With having two sets of tires thats around 7500 on summers and 7500 on winters. Most tires will easily last 3-5 years at that amount if not longer.

Oh ok so you aren't buying the really sticky/soft stuff then, right? 7500 summer KM is still about 2 new sets of tires per year/season if you're buying the crazy high performing stuff.

I'm a super low KM driver too (about 10-12k/yr max and a lot of that is highway) but I still want my tires to last a few seasons.

[ercchry]

Fiesta vs anything with power is a different story too

[Twin_Cam_Turbo]

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Oh ok so you aren't buying the really sticky/soft stuff then, right? 7500 summer KM is still about 2 new sets of tires per year/season if you're buying the crazy high performing stuff.

I'm a super low KM driver too (about 10-12k/yr max and a lot of that is highway) but I still want my tires to last a few seasons.

I got 9000km, 3 track days and 3 auto x days out of my last set of 140TW tires. It’s very tire dependant as there’s no standardized testing for wear ratings.

[pheoxs]

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Fiesta vs anything with power is a different story too

Ouch

But yeah, I'm not running anything more track orientated / super sticky I guess. Just something with a nice bit of grip.

[Mitsu3000gt]

Fair point, anything with lots of power is going to eat tires a lot quicker. If I can get 3-ish seasons out of each set of tires I'm happy.

[tirebob]

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Fair point, anything with lots of power is going to eat tires a lot quicker. If I can get 3-ish seasons out of each set of tires I'm happy.

I am pretty much a set a season just because of so many KM's driven (200 plus per day commuting plus any extra). Last year I ran the Duratracs through an entire year for a change which was nice. Now I am trying to work from home a lot so I can actually work on the business rather than just sales so my KM's have dropped a lot this summer coming into town once or twice a week at most so not sure yet what I will try this winter.

[Mitsu3000gt]

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I am pretty much a set a season just because of so many KM's driven (200 plus per day commuting plus any extra). Last year I ran the Duratracs through an entire year for a change which was nice. Now I am trying to work from home a lot so I can actually work on the business rather than just sales so my KM's have dropped a lot this summer coming into town once or twice a week at most so not sure yet what I will try this winter.

That's not bad for such high KM driving, or at least it doesn't seem like it.

Out of curiosity, what is your go-to for a higher performance winter tire? Nokians? I mean for a performance car, not necessarily the best possible tire for winter in general.

[tirebob]

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That's not bad for such high KM driving, or at least it doesn't seem like it.

Out of curiosity, what is your go-to for a higher performance winter tire? Nokians? I mean for a performance car, not necessarily the best possible tire for winter in general.

Again, I really have no specific go to. I talk with my clients and ask them questions and try and refine the subtitles down. It sounds really kind of shitty to say it like this but the truth is most people just want me to help them feel like their idea of what is best is what is best so for the most part, if they are not thinking out to lunch I just confirm they understand the positives and limitations and let them select what they like. As long as they are truly comparing apples to apples, they are getting apples. IDGAF if they want a Michelin or a Pirelli or a Conti etc... One might be slightly softer running while one is slightly crisper while one is slightly longer lasting while one is slightly stickier, but nobody agrees on any of it so whatever. My idea at that point in time is picking the one where I can provide you the best value within the range that suits your needs rather than saying this or that is "better" overall, but to you, if brand is important then cool... No problem. I know it is still a good tire so I am not fussed about it.

Where I start getting a bit more sticky about it is when someone comes in saying they want prices on 3 different tires because their buddies or neighbours or parents or whatever says they are all "the best", but they are all radically different products such as one being a deep off-road lug type snow type tire and the next one is a studded Hakka and the next one is a Pilot Alpin PA4. They don't know any better other than just thinking they heard they are all good. that is where you have to get into it.

Sorry I know that doesn't really help you pin down my personal thoughts on preferences but truthfully, these are pretty fluid and change with the situation.

edit - I have been on enough tire testing trips etc to know that there is no imperial evidence that dictates true superiority in any one product in all regards. It always seems that no matter who sets up the tests, their shit always finishes at the top. Even with "consumer testing" the problem is tire tests are done under a very fixed set of variables. Change the temperatures by 10 degrees, put the tires on heavier vehicles, have different drivers behind the wheels, test on different road surfaces materials, etc etc... The results change.

[Mitsu3000gt]

Seems reasonable, thanks Bob!

[The_Rural_Juror]

Are the sottozero 3 better than the last two gens? They were slick on ice.

[tirebob]

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Are the sottozero 3 better than the last two gens? They were slick on ice.

Out here I would go with the Michelin or Conti first in the sport winters personally just because I find they do more extreme cold weather a bit better but in environments like Vancouver or even Kelowna where it is closer to Zero more than super sub zero, the Pirelli is always quite well liked. Even here I have clients who swear by them but I think I get more clients likes with the other other two.

[Twin_Cam_Turbo]

My dad swears by Sottozero but I think he’s going to try PA5 for one of the cars this year.

[zechs]

Wanted to do a test, bought the cheapest studdable chinese winters from a shop in Calgary for the BMW last fall.

Were just as good as Hakkapeliitta's I've ran previously and have great wear characteristics. Loud as all hell due to the wide tread pattern, not very stable at speed, and don't ride the greatest. They were also $330 for a set, vs $800-$1200 for name brand tires. Haven't died yet in a rwd manual transmission car, which I was told would be a death sentence. Overall, I am satisfied. Better than any all season for sure.

Tirebob is right I think, 99% of people wouldn't be able to tell a difference between most tires.

The F150, the debate is between W965's or General Arctic Grabber LT's with studs. A friend with an older 2wd cummins with a locker surprised me with its winter traction on W965's. Ran studded Nokians on my duramax, wholly.unimpressed again.

[haggis88]

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The F150, the debate is between W965's or General Arctic Grabber LT's with studs. A friend with an older 2wd cummins with a locker surprised me with its winter traction on W965's. Ran studded Nokians on my duramax, wholly.unimpressed again.

I was using the Firestone Winterforce2 UV with studs on the 2WD F150 last winter, didn't have any issues with traction at all and they were still reasonably comfortable and quiet (as far as studded winters go)

[tirebob]

Apparently Continental has come out with a tire built and designed exclusively for the Canadian market called the IceContact XTRM. It will have the option to purchase with factory coated and molded in TriStar Tikka studs from Finland and apparently all reports suggest these will be a killer, ultra-premium tier product. It will be interesting to get some real world feedback on these.

[killramos]

Cool. I like tires.