Official 2016/17 winter tire thread

[max_boost]

Originally posted by G



Fuck it I'm going to give it a try. If I don't like them I'll just replace them.

[bulaian]

Originally posted by n1zm0
One year old Hankook iPikes(that I wish I studded) ready to go on the winter beater.

(If anyone need some 205/65/15 X-ices for one or 2 more seasons, lmk, they're just sitting in storage. super cheap Beyond price!)

Can't you still get them studded?

[n1zm0]

Originally posted by bulaian
Can't you still get them studded?

AFAIK the statement for places that do studding is that tires must be brand new, well that I've noticed.

[A2VR6]

Originally posted by killramos


edit:
Also does anyone have any info on Lexus TPMS, is it easily programmed these days and do they allow aftermarket sensors? Heard horror stories about toyota only sensors and needing the serial numbers off the sensors in advance of programming by the deal ( leading to costly dismounting charges to get things working ). Might consider going through winter without TPMS but i don't know how much the car will like that ( sirens / warnings etc ). I never used them on the toyota as the reset button was hidden somewhere in the dash.

As far as I know for Toyota you can either run 2 sets of TPMS (get them reprogrammed every time you swap sets of wheels) or do what I did... I bought a set of 4 TPMS sensors and placed them in the spare tire and programmed them to the truck. After doing that I could swap wheels/tires as I chose.

[killramos]

Originally posted by A2VR6

As far as I know for Toyota you can either run 2 sets of TPMS (get them reprogrammed every time you swap sets of wheels) or do what I did... I bought a set of 4 TPMS sensors and placed them in the spare tire and programmed them to the truck. After doing that I could swap wheels/tires as I chose.

Took me a second to get your meaning there but...

I love it

[G]

Originally posted by max_boost

Changed my mind and went with x-ice instead. I've been told that they may work well year 1 but subsequent years it's no better than an all season. This coming from the regional manager of Kal tire.

[s2k_boi]

Any opinions on Blizzak WS80 vs. Michelin X-ice vs. Nokian Happelita R2?

[mikey008]

Originally posted by s2k_boi
Any opinions on Blizzak WS80 vs. Michelin X-ice vs. Nokian Happelita R2?

Blizzak WS80 = good on snow (roads less likely plowed)

Michelin X-ice = good on ice (plowed roads...deerfoot w/ black ice)

Nokian Happelita = good on slushly wet roads

[whatthe]

Originally posted by s2k_boi
Any opinions on Blizzak WS80 vs. Michelin X-ice vs. Nokian Happelita R2?

I had a few Blizzak sets, ubt only loved them for the first season. The compound got more like an all-season towards the last half of the tread.

Michelin X-Ice - ended up with these on 3 different cars and they don't deserve the name x-ice IMO. They were 'ok' for the most part until it turned really cold. -15 and below days I couldn't stop worth beans.

Nokian - Good all around tire - no complaints. Price is the only drawback

Pirelli - wonderful on summery type roads for performance vehicle. horrendous on any amount or temperature of snow or ice...

General Altimax Artic - is what I use now and have used on my last several vehicles. They are studdable (only advantage is ice), and seem to work as good or better than the nokians. Canadian Tire has had a sale on them near the start of the season every single year for about 30% off. I would be surprised if they stopped now and for the price haven't found anything I've liked better. The sidewalls are a bit soft though, so don't expect it to handle awesome and sizes can be a bit limited. I ended up going down to 17s and larger sidewall to put them on my 335

[tha_bandit]

Anybody have experiences with Hankook iPikes (RSV/RC01)? The Gislaved Nordfrost 5's that I ran for the last 2 winters were pretty good. Let them go with the car when it sold though.

[rollinv4l]

Has anyone use the brand zeta Antarctica winter tires if so how are they.

[A2VR6]

Originally posted by tha_bandit
Anybody have experiences with Hankook iPikes (RSV/RC01)? The Gislaved Nordfrost 5's that I ran for the last 2 winters were pretty good. Let them go with the car when it sold though.

Pretty good if studded, if not they are just ok... Not the best I've used for sure.

[Sorath]

Blizzaks DMV-1 on the MDVan
Studded Hakka 8 on VanR

[JohnnyHockey]

Curious on your guys' opinions...how much tread left before winters lose their effectiveness?

I went and looked at our tires last night. Apparently my Hakka R2s aren't actually brand new, there's about 8mm left and my wife's iPikes have about 7mm left...not looking forward to paying $$ to replace these any time soon, I've been reading in the UK, it's the law to replace with 4mm left, so based on that I should get another 1-2 winters? I asked my wife and she said her commute to work does not include and hills, mine doesn't either, we'll be commuting from Airdrie, just worried about the days where the DF is covered in fresh ice/snow...I've also read that certain tires like the Blizzaks use up the winter tire compound after a certain tread depth..

[JohnnyHockey]

Originally posted by tha_bandit
Anybody have experiences with Hankook iPikes (RSV/RC01)? The Gislaved Nordfrost 5's that I ran for the last 2 winters were pretty good. Let them go with the car when it sold though.

My wife had these iPikes on her Beetle for the last 2 winters, they seem fine but she says she has problems going up hills (probably because she's trying to floor it) she has about 7mm left on them and last winter she had a dicy time coming down a hill but so was every else, it was pure ice, other than that, it seemed fine when I drove it.

[a social dsease]

Hakka R (no studs) on my WRX, Hakka 8 (studded) on the wife's Honda Fit. Bring on the snow!

[tha_bandit]

Originally posted by A2VR6


Pretty good if studded, if not they are just ok... Not the best I've used for sure.

Yea i didnt think so, as long as they are somewhat ok.

Originally posted by JohnnyHockey


My wife had these iPikes on her Beetle for the last 2 winters, they seem fine but she says she has problems going up hills (probably because she's trying to floor it) she has about 7mm left on them and last winter she had a dicy time coming down a hill but so was every else, it was pure ice, other than that, it seemed fine when I drove it.

Good to hear, mine are about 8-9mm left, should be ok for this season anyway. WS80's on the wife's car, ready to go.

[sxtasy]

I'll be running studded hankook Ipikes on the Sierra and awd Terrain. Great set of tires

[saiyajin]

Originally posted by rollinv4l
Has anyone use the brand zeta Antarctica winter tires if so how are they.

any feedback on this? UrbanX doesn't carry the Himalayas anymore and these are their replacement so curious if anyone had experience with them

[Twin_Cam_Turbo]

If anyone has some brand new 16" studdable winter tires they want to offload, I need some ice racing tires to shove cheater studs into.