Official 17/18 Winter Tire Thread

[tirebob]

I am living in Water Valley now and coming on on backroads that for the most part do not see a plow. I am trying some studded Federal Himalaya Inverno's on my F150 (275/55R20) this year. The traction level for the Federals is fantastic! They are very stable feeling in the dry as well. Obviously the studs generate a bit of road noise but definitely nothing intolerable. I am blasting down 8 inches of snow covered roads with ice underneath in 2wd without any issues.

[mzdspd]

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The problem I've seen with cheap studded tires, is that a they will still become a hockey puck at -15 like all-seasons do, so now you're just floating on studs when driving on dry pavement, which is almost as shitty as all-seasons on ice.

I do agree with you on this.. They do not have the same temp range as a quality tire. I find on the Saliun, the do turn into pucks below -20. I dont think I would buy them unless I had a very low budget.

[tirebob]

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I do agree with you on this.. They do not have the same temp range as a quality tire. I find on the Saliun, the do turn into pucks below -20. I dont think I would buy them unless I had a very low budget.

This is absolutely true. It is a question I get often whether or not it matters the quality of a tire if you are studding it anyways...

So for the record... Not all compounding is created equally. Absolutely a cheap studded tire is going to still provide a much higher level of traction compared to not being studded, but the better tires with complex rubber compounds that stay softer in the extreme cold will be better studded than the less complex compounds studded. Think of studding as adding a layer of traction rather than as being equivalent no matter the tire. This wasn't as true even not that long ago but over the last few years, compounding has really advanced a lot creating a much higher variance between the cheap stuff and better stuff.

That said, I still very much believe that any modern winter tire is an improvement over all seasons! By no means does that mean one absolutely needs winter tires, but pretending that it isn't offering a real improvement having them is a complete falsehood.

[diamondedge]

I've had the opportunity to drive my WRX on both Hakka8 and now Hakka9 studded. Comparing between the two is hard - they feel very similar on the streets. When the lake freezes I'll be able to judge the ice performance better.

The stud noise is present at low speeds for sure; 20km/h clickty-clack. Last night, driving on Deerfoot in the freezing rain, I felt no real perceptible loss of grip. This morning on the way to work, the combination of slush over top of partially melted ice did trigger ABS; but that was a full panic stop test. I think most tires would fail this scenario, when the sipes are full of slurpee and the studs can't bite down through it.

Nothing beats low speed parking lot traction at JOEY Barlow

[Strider]

Question for anyone in Edmonton - Studded or non-studded for commuting between Edmonton and the Shell Scotford refinery?

We're bare pavement here in Calgary for the majority of the winter, but how is it in Edmonton and the surrounding secondary highways?

[vengie]

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Question for anyone in Edmonton - Studded or non-studded for commuting between Edmonton and the Shell Scotford refinery?

We're bare pavement here in Calgary for the majority of the winter, but how is it in Edmonton and the surrounding secondary highways?

Studded Always. The SLIGHT decline in dry pavement performance vs incredible improvement on icey conditions is worth it.

"I'd rather have them and not need them. than need them and not have them"

[mzdspd]

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Question for anyone in Edmonton - Studded or non-studded for commuting between Edmonton and the Shell Scotford refinery?

We're bare pavement here in Calgary for the majority of the winter, but how is it in Edmonton and the surrounding secondary highways?

Edmonton just started using a new de icer blend and the roads so far have stayed mostly wet/slush, even in temps near the -20 range.

I work with a couple guys that live in Fort sask and commute to edmonton and they have never had an issue with just studless. They said the highway is always fairly clear and plowed.

I would go studless and go for a high end tire like Blizzak/Xice or Nokian. You will also get more mileage out of these tires.

[dj_rice]

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Edmonton just started using a new de icer blend and the roads so far have stayed mostly wet/slush, even in temps near the -20 range.

I work with a couple guys that live in Fort sask and commute to edmonton and they have never had an issue with just studless. They said the highway is always fairly clear and plowed.

I would go studless and go for a high end tire like Blizzak/Xice or Nokian. You will also get more mileage out of these tires.

Werd, they started using this Calcium Chloride solution with rust inhibitor in it. Same stuff used in Ontario? Not sure, but its apparantly worst corrosion on vehicles than the salt solution before. But yes, the roads this year are better than the previous years. No more black ice issues. The roads always look wet/icy now because of this solution. And you can clearly tell which roads have the solution applied, and which don't.

[suntan]

I was up in Edmonton last week and the roads were way better plowed than anything I've seen done by Calgary crews.

They have to be really serious though about clearing roads, they don't get nearly as many chinooks (if any) in winter.

[03ozwhip]

With all the snow that has been around since October, we haven't seen our roads cleared once. I'm pissed about it.

[flipstah]

I've been washing the undercarriage on a weekly basis haha yay!

The ExtremeContact DWS is doing alright in this type of weather.

[HiSpec]

Got myself a set of Hakka 9s. They are squishier than I expected. But I think it's because studs don't provide a lot of grip on dry pavement.

[dj_rice]

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I've been washing the undercarriage on a weekly basis haha yay!

The ExtremeContact DWS is doing alright in this type of weather.

Is there a car wash with lifts?

[Tik-Tok]

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Got myself a set of Hakka 9s. They are squishier than I expected. But I think it's because studs don't provide a lot of grip on dry pavement.

It's also because it's been +10 all week. They'll feel better at -10

[bigbadboss101]

For my car we have XIce 3. It's not the best traction but it is good in the dry, not too loud, and has decent wear rating. Now with the baby hauler we are going to get a mini van. Tirebob and others do you think it is better to get something like Hakka or DM-V2 versus a studded tire? I wonder about studded tires on bare roads and if it's detrimental to the gas mileage or if the tick tick sound becomes a nuisance.

[Hallowed_point]

Gf has studded Hakka 9's on her civic. Fantastic tires with unbelievable grip. A little noisy at low speed but pretty quiet on the highway.
Studded tires have come a long way. Still happy with my non studded Toyo observe g3 ice's from last year. Quiet, grippy and pretty decent
in the dry.

[r3ccOs]

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Gf has studded Hakka 9's on her civic. Fantastic tires with unbelievable grip. A little noisy at low speed but pretty quiet on the highway.
Studded tires have come a long way. Still happy with my non studded Toyo observe g3 ice's from last year. Quiet, grippy and pretty decent
in the dry.

is there any tire with enough grip to handle the power of the 6x6??

now that said, I drove one not so long ago and actually think that the Honda 3.5 J35YXX is underrated.... it is one of the strongest 3.5's I've used

porsche killer... no

[max_boost]

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For my car we have XIce 3. It's not the best traction but it is good in the dry, not too loud, and has decent wear rating. Now with the baby hauler we are going to get a mini van. Tirebob and others do you think it is better to get something like Hakka or DM-V2 versus a studded tire? I wonder about studded tires on bare roads and if it's detrimental to the gas mileage or if the tick tick sound becomes a nuisance.

I love my Blizzak WS80 (Golf) and DMV2 (GLK) and a lot of other friends are running similar setups.

[flipstah]

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Is there a car wash with lifts?

ServPro does it when you enter the wash bay.

[Hallowed_point]

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is there any tire with enough grip to handle the power of the 6x6??

now that said, I drove one not so long ago and actually think that the Honda 3.5 J35YXX is underrated.... it is one of the strongest 3.5's I've used

porsche killer... no

Haha..they handle the power just fine as long as traction control is left on.

Agree..I think the 3.5 is much closer to 300 hp vs 278 as rated. I have no complaints.