Winter Tires Discussion

[jampack]

Hey guys. I can't seem to find a good forum that we've discussed anything about recommendations for winter tires (or if someone can direct me to it, please do so and delete this thread).

Anyway, we are looking to get winter tires for our Pathfinder. What do you guys have on your vehicles? It appears the Bridgestone Blizzak DM V2 Winter Tire has the best review that I've read so far. How about the Michelins?

Any deals going on? (I know Fountain Tire has one for their Goodyear Wintercommand (their other tire has sold out) which is 10% off with mail-in-rebate until tomorrow.

Thanks everyone!

[pheoxs]

Canadian tire has a 25% off sale atm although its only certain winter tires. Might be worth a check

[G-ZUS]

You mean my all-seasons aren't good in the winter?

[Tik-Tok]

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Hey guys. I can't seem to find a good forum that we've discussed anything about recommendations for winter tires (or if someone can direct me to it, please do so and delete this thread).

Anyway, we are looking to get winter tires for our Pathfinder. What do you guys have on your vehicles? It appears the Bridgestone Blizzak DM V2 Winter Tire has the best review that I've read so far. How about the Michelins?

Any deals going on? (I know Fountain Tire has one for their Goodyear Wintercommand (their other tire has sold out) which is 10% off with mail-in-rebate until tomorrow.

Thanks everyone!

Studded, or unstudded?

I'll always recommend Studded Toyo G3-Ice. My favorite winter tire, and I was unstoppable in my 4runner with those.

Edit: Hmm, poor phrasing. I was VERY stoppable with those.

[rage2]

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Studded, or unstudded?

I'll always recommend Studded Toyo G3-Ice. My favorite winter tire, and I was unstoppable in my 4runner with those.

Edit: Hmm, poor phrasing. I was VERY stoppable with those.

I had Nokian Hakka's on the SO's car. When she got the wagon, was asked to give the G3-Ice studded a try. Sucked. Went back to Nokians after 2 weeks. Not even close.

Once you've had Hakka's, everything else sucks in comparison. G3-Ice weren't bad, but when you compare to Hakkas which felt like driving in the rain in the worst conditions, you can't go back to anything else.

[Tik-Tok]

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I had Nokian Hakka's on the SO's car. When she got the wagon, was asked to give the G3-Ice studded a try. Sucked. Went back to Nokians after 2 weeks. Not even close.

Once you've had Hakka's, everything else sucks in comparison. G3-Ice weren't bad, but when you compare to Hakkas which felt like driving in the rain in the worst conditions, you can't go back to anything else.

Wagon VS SUV isn't a very fair comparison though.

[tonytiger55]

Im running a old set of those Himalayan on the Zonda. I got them from Urban Expressions. Its a excellent tire if your on a budget.

I got my gf a set of studded Nokians hakkas.

[Mitsu3000gt]

We don't get nearly enough days with ice-covered roads for it to outweigh the negatives, in my opinion. You will be glad you have them a few days of the year while leaving your unplowed neighborhood, and the rest of the time you're driving on dry or mostly dry pavement having to listen to the noise of the studs and dealing with squrilley handling. If we lived further north I would probably get them, but not in Calgary.

[The_Rural_Juror]

Switched over to Hakkas a long time ago. No issues with handling on dry roads. Rolling resistance is actually decent.

[revelations]

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I had Nokian Hakka's on the SO's car. When she got the wagon, was asked to give the G3-Ice studded a try. Sucked. Went back to Nokians after 2 weeks. Not even close.

Once you've had Hakka's, everything else sucks in comparison. G3-Ice weren't bad, but when you compare to Hakkas which felt like driving in the rain in the worst conditions, you can't go back to anything else.

Did you try the tires in the worst winter conditions we get?

Compacted snow and skating rink, intersections? This is where studs should outbrake studless tires - and why I went to studded from studless.

I dont buy winter tires for the good clear roads here - I buy winter tires because we get about 2-3 weeks where the roads are deplorable - esp after a Chinook and everything refreezes.

Same if I am going through the mountains in mid Jan. - I want the best tires for the worst winter conditions, because its not a 1 day thing here (unlike say, Vancouver).

[tirebob]

Fact of the matter is nobody will agree ever on what is best, and that is because none are the best or the worst in every aspect, and what is most important to one person is different than what is most important to another. Some guys prefer the stickiest rubber but those tend to wear out the fastest. Others live in an area where deep snow is an issue and a really aggressive luggy type pattern makes the most sense, but they are usually the noisier tires. Some people like their winter tires to handle the better on dry days and don't mind they are not the most aggressive when it is severe conditions out. For some people like me, because I live in Water Valley and commute 200KM's each and every day it is important to have a longer wearing tire, and because I also need severe traction because of the back roads not getting plowed and having much more snow and ice than in the city, I use a studded winter tire to acheive both of these things, but if you are sensitive to road noise you might not like that.

Opinions are like belly buttons... Everyone has one. The question you really need to ask is what are the specific properties of the tires you are considering and how does that apply to your needs. Reviews for tires are some of the most useless tools out there. So much of what you read online is not a genuine review and are actually written by marketers or by people who were sold the wrong product for there needs and not actually because a tire was a poor quality product. Giving people tons of info but no idea how to interpret that info is a recipe for disappointment.

[rage2]

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Wagon VS SUV isn't a very fair comparison though.

I installed the G3-Ice studded on the wagon. Then I returned the tires and put Hakkas on. Literally same car same day comparison here.

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We don't get nearly enough days with ice-covered roads for it to outweigh the negatives, in my opinion. You will be glad you have them a few days of the year while leaving your unplowed neighborhood, and the rest of the time you're driving on dry or mostly dry pavement having to listen to the noise of the studs and dealing with squrilley handling. If we lived further north I would probably get them, but not in Calgary.

Good thing the wagon has the quiet package. Can't hear shit. Thicc glass and shit to keep outside noise out.

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Did you try the tires in the worst winter conditions we get?

Compacted snow and skating rink, intersections? This is where studs should outbrake studless tires - and why I went to studded from studless.

Yes. Was a skating rink day where people couldn't get up the hill by my house.

I didn't want to get the G3-Ice but was offered to try them and a return policy if I didn't like them. I used the return policy haha.

Don't get me wrong, G3-Ice wasn't bad. Wouldn't have been stuck anywhere, could stop everywhere. It's just the Hakkas were in a different league. Like I said, the worst of conditions, it's like driving in rain to me. Only exception is slush, that shit sucks regardless of tire.

[ThePenIsMightier]

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... Reviews for tires are some of the most useless tools out there. So much of what you read online is not a genuine review and are actually written by marketers or by people who were sold the wrong product for there needs and not actually because a tire was a poor quality product. Giving people tons of info but no idea how to interpret that info is a recipe for disappointment.

This^.
I love how many tire reviewers consider themselves "aggressive or spirited" drivers. WtF is that really supposed to mean??! It's a public road - you can't exactly drive like AutoX where every corner is to the limit and there is chirping and squirming along with maximum repeated braking. So dumb.
Do people think because they speed away from 1 out of every 20th traffic light that they're lucky enough to be at the front of the line for suddenly makes them Schumacher?
I think it really means they are on an 84 month payment plan in a 3-Series BMW.


Now here's my belly button opinions!
I love Blizzak and I'll blindly continue buying them until they let me down. DM-V_for SUV and the WS-__ for the car. Never ever "performance" snow tires. I hated Pirelli SnoRacers and I found the LS Blizzaks to be expensive all-seasons.
I also had terrible iPike tires once on a used car I bought.
I won't buy Hakka because they're way too much money thanks to Kal-Tire locking up their market.
My 2¢

[rage2]

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This^.
I love how many tire reviewers consider themselves "aggressive or spirited" drivers. WtF is that really supposed to mean??! It's a public road - you can't exactly drive like AutoX where every corner is to the limit and there is chirping and squirming along with maximum repeated braking. So dumb.
Do people think because they speed away from 1 out of every 20th traffic light that they're lucky enough to be at the front of the line for suddenly makes them Schumacher?
I think it really means they are on an 84 month payment plan in a 3-Series BMW.


Now here's my belly button opinions!
I love Blizzak and I'll blindly continue buying them until they let me down. DM-V_for SUV and the WS-__ for the car. Never ever "performance" snow tires. I hated Pirelli SnoRacers and I found the LS Blizzaks to be expensive all-seasons.
I also had terrible iPike tires once on a used car I bought.
I won't buy Hakka because they're way too much money thanks to Kal-Tire locking up their market.
My 2¢

I love my performance winters. The Pilot Akpin 5's are the best performance winters I've owned. tirebob is right though, everyone has specific needs. I wouldn't put PA5's on the SO's car, she needs safety in the worst of conditions, and a huge margin of error, where money is no object, and tire wear isn't a big deal. Hakkas right there.

Me, I need my performance winters, because 90% of our days are cold and dry, so I can drive at the absolute limit, chirping and squirming, so I can maximize my 96 month lease. I'll sacrifice a bit of grip on snow and ice because I don't need that big of a margin, since I'm Schumacher without the head injury.

[killramos]

lol this thread.

[Tik-Tok]

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I installed the G3-Ice studded on the wagon. Then I returned the tires and put Hakkas on. Literally same car same day comparison here.

What I meant was tire profiles, and vehicle characteristics.

[ThePenIsMightier]

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I love my performance winters. The Pilot Akpin 5's are the best performance winters I've owned. tirebob is right though, everyone has specific needs. I wouldn't put PA5's on the SO's car, she needs safety in the worst of conditions, and a huge margin of error, where money is no object, and tire wear isn't a big deal. Hakkas right there.

Me, I need my performance winters, because 90% of our days are cold and dry, so I can drive at the absolute limit, chirping and squirming, so I can maximize my 96 month lease. I'll sacrifice a bit of grip on snow and ice because I don't need that big of a margin, since I'm Schumacher without the head injury.

I feel you. It's the H rating that was holding me back. When I bought my absolute powerhouse 350z the previous owner knew that a max speed of only 210 was NOT going to cut it. Sustaining 240km/h is a strict requirement in winter.

You said Pilot Alpin? Aren't those all-season? I thought Michelin was all called X-ice for their winters.

[Twin_Cam_Turbo]

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I feel you. It's the H rating that was holding me back. When I bought my absolute powerhouse 350z the previous owner knew that a max speed of only 210 was NOT going to cut it. Sustaining 240km/h is a strict requirement in winter.

You said Pilot Alpin? Aren't those all-season? I thought Michelin was all called X-ice for their winters.

PAs are performance winters.