Opinion on Winter Tires

[Hallowed_point]

I'm running the Toyo Observe GS Ice. I ran Blizzac WS80's last season and I prefer the Toyo's. I don't think I'd run another set of Blizzac's. Over priced and over hyped imo. Quite liking the Toyo's in fresh/hard packed snow. Decent on ice for a non studded tire.

[artieg30]

Thanks for all the feedback guys, I really appreciate it. I'm planning on going with the Toyo's with the slight price difference and the fact that wear is similar to that of the XI3's.

[CLiVE]

Opposite opinion here. I'm running the Toyos this season, and ran Blizzaks last season on my F150.

Much preferred the Blizzaks, vehicle is a lot more tail happy with the Toyos which never happened with the Blizzaks.

With that being said. Either one will be good enough, choose the cheaper option. The biggest performance gain in winter is just switching to ANY winter tire. The difference between brands is marginal.

[black300]

I am also currently in the market for some new winters for the wife 2013 Bmw X3. It currently as near new run flat OEM tires and the traction is terrible. It spins on corners and has wheel spin.

I think Winter Tires will fix the problem, I have been looking at the Blizzak WS80's.

Anyone have experience with these?

[roll_over]

How about gislaved they are the recommended winter tire for Volvo

[GTR_Auto]

Originally posted by black300
I am also currently in the market for some new winters for the wife 2013 Bmw X3. It currently as near new run flat OEM tires and the traction is terrible. It spins on corners and has wheel spin.

I think Winter Tires will fix the problem, I have been looking at the Blizzak WS80's.

Anyone have experience with these?

Pretty well the next best tire. Can look at the Toyo as well

[AE92_TreunoSC]

I dont know many that recommend the Toyo GSI3's they are meant to be studded and don't perform that close to a XI3. Nor will it last as long.

The GSI5 is closer to the XI3 in performance.

I put Xice3's on all my family and friends cars, I recommend GSI5 or WS80's for best performance and ended up with Hankooks on my truck

Also be mindful of rebates!

[bigbadboss101]

I have Latitude XIce on my MDX now, and had Hakka 7 on my previous MDX.
Had both Hakka and XIce on my old Legacy GT. I have to say I feel more sure footed with the Hakka. The other day around the corners I didn't feel too assuring whereas in my Hakka it was good in deeper snow and most of the time on Ice. With that said the XIce is pretty firm and handles better and is quiet.
My wife has Hankook and it's noisy. Years ago I had WinterSport on my CTS-V and had trouble with slight uphills, with sandbags in trunk.

[Mitsu3000gt]

I went with the XI3's. They seemed to have unmatched longevity, and have been independently tested maintain the vast majority of their performance even with the tread shaved right down (unlike others that are useless below 50% tread).

I've found them to be noticeably better on 2 different vehicles now compared to Blizzaks as well. Cornering and stopping is where you really notice it, and what's most important IMHO.

Mine are a few years old now and they are as good as the day I bought them still. I don't think I'll even bother looking at anything else next time I buy. Prices varied wildly, even between two of the Urban X shops in town, so get lots of quotes.

[Xtrema]

Originally posted by rage2
On snow and ice, studded > winters > performance winters.

On plowed roads, performance winters > winters > studded. Same order for wear rates here.

I have to say, Blizzak LM60 is a better snow/ice tire than Pirelli Winter Zottozero 3.

But on dry road, Pirelli rules.

[tirebob]

I always have to laugh a little because it is always interesting to see the differences of opinions between even the exact same tires, and it is no different even for me.

If I put 10 people, all with exactly the same car, and put half of them on (for arguments sake) Blizzak WS80's and Michelin XI3's, and let them all run for a month and then they switch to the other, and guaranteed half of them will say one was dramatically better and the other half will completely disagree and have the opposite opinion. It is just human nature. Brand preferences, momentary experiences stay with you, and heck... Even cosmetic appeal will all influence your final decision.

In the end, if you are comparing apples to apples, you are getting virtually the same abilities, but if you are comparing apples to oranges, it is no longer a direct comparison. If you are looking at 3 of the top ice tires, they are all decent at that. If you are looking at 3 top handling oriented winter tires, they will all be decent at that.

Personally, on my 2wd pickup, I use studded Firestone Winterforce tires. I have found nothing else that plants it in the majority of shitty weather situations as well as this set up, but it is not awesome for dry weather handling or quietness. On my wife's pathfinder, she loves the Blizzak DMV2's. Great on ice and in the normal snow levels we see around here. We have used the Michelin too in the past but find the Blizzak to be a bit better traction wise when it is severely cold, while the Michelin a bit more stable when it was warmer.

[HiTempguy1]

Originally posted by tirebob
I always have to laugh a little because it is always interesting to see the differences of opinions between even the exact same tires, and it is no different even for me.

If I put 10 people, all with exactly the same car, and put half of them on (for arguments sake) Blizzak WS80's and Michelin XI3's, and let them all run for a month and then they switch to the other, and guaranteed half of them will say one was dramatically better and the other half will completely disagree and have the opposite opinion. It is just human nature. Brand preferences, momentary experiences stay with you, and heck... Even cosmetic appeal will all influence your final decision.

In the end, if you are comparing apples to apples, you are getting virtually the same abilities, but if you are comparing apples to oranges, it is no longer a direct comparison. If you are looking at 3 of the top ice tires, they are all decent at that. If you are looking at 3 top handling oriented winter tires, they will all be decent at that.

Personally, on my 2wd pickup, I use studded Firestone Winterforce tires. I have found nothing else that plants it in the majority of shitty weather situations as well as this set up, but it is not awesome for dry weather handling or quietness. On my wife's pathfinder, she loves the Blizzak DMV2's. Great on ice and in the normal snow levels we see around here. We have used the Michelin too in the past but find the Blizzak to be a bit better traction wise when it is severely cold, while the Michelin a bit more stable when it was warmer.

For once, a very reasonable post on this subject that I can actually agree with and have zero nit picks for

As the saying goes, the worst winter tire is better than the best all-season in the winter time.

[HiSpec]

Originally posted by roll_over
How about gislaved they are the recommended winter tire for Volvo

I had the studded Gislaved 100 before I sold my subaru. Nothing got in my way! Really impressed! They were cheap too!

[r3ccOs]

Originally posted by HiSpec


I had the studded Gislaved 100 before I sold my subaru. Nothing got in my way! Really impressed! They were cheap too!

What's amusing is that on the Volvo forms, people complain that Volvos are so bad in the winter as compared to say their Audi or BMWs but I think most of it is attributed to the fact that the Gislaved are not anywhere near a performance winter tire.

My Gislaveds and even my old Nokians had a TON of sidewall flex and made my steering vague, however that said... also the studded Gislaveds (which my dad has had since our 240s, 760, 850, S70, etc..) are really solid performers.

However the prices at valentine will shock you, and at their pricing I would sooner go to a set of Michelin XIce3, Hankook, Generals (the same), or Contis

[s2k_boi]

Originally posted by black300
I am also currently in the market for some new winters for the wife 2013 Bmw X3. It currently as near new run flat OEM tires and the traction is terrible. It spins on corners and has wheel spin.

I think Winter Tires will fix the problem, I have been looking at the Blizzak WS80's.

Anyone have experience with these?

I have the blizzak ws80's on my car right now and no complaints here. Wife is running the dm-v2's on a front wheel drive and seems to be holding up nicely too.

But I don't think you can go wrong with the ws80 or x ice. My brother in law ended up with the x ice on his A4 and he seems fine with it too.

I've ran dunlops, continentals, hankooks, toyos, winterclaws (think that's the name...) & good years before. Any winter tires will out perform all seasons any day.

[rage2]

Last couple of days have been amazing on the Hakka 8's. Need more snow haha.

[That.Guy.S30]

Originally posted by rage2
Last couple of days have been amazing on the Hakka 8's. Need more snow haha.

Yup. Super cold and icy is a breeze with the hakka 8.

[Hallowed_point]

My toyo observe g3-ices's have been nothing short of amazing. Best winter tires that I've ever ran. Only had issues of shear ice.

[rage2]

The studs on my Hakka 8's are pretty much worn down to the last 10%, but it's still gripping pretty awesome. Huge difference compared to my performance winters on the GLA (Dunlop Winter Sport 3D), pretty much has just enough grip to not get stuck and that's it haha.

[ExtraSlow]

My studs must be quite worn down, but I'm doing well, even had a bit of panic stop today for a ninja pedestrian and did not mow him down, so I'll call that a win.