winter tire recommendations

[waveresponder]

Hello all!It's that time of year again and I'm looking to finally replace my stock 2007 Vibe tires.Anyone have any recommendations for good winter tires?Thanks to all who respond Also I'm thinking about going with studdable ones...-WaveResponder

[star_deceiver]

Here's "Winter Freeway Driving 6"



Firestone Winterforce, fully studded.

[Bedlam]

205/55R16Q General ALTIMAX ARCTICQuantity Ordered: 4 Price Each: $88.25depending on rim size, these tires have been amazing. Siping goes all the way through and it is a copy of a proven Nokian tire. They are studdable, but you should consider where you live first if that is necessary. for most of us it is not.

[Notchy]

I run Blizzak Revo1's studless. Great tires

[waveresponder]

bad news...found the cause of my right front tire leakgood newswinter rubbers are on!Hankook I*Cept Evo W310 - based on dads recommendation and Consumer Reportsexpensive but Santa helped out a little

[star_deceiver]

Bump! That time of year is quickly approching!

Replaced the Winterforce. Very good tire but their life cycle, for me, is over. Only about 75% of studs left, 45%ish tread.

New tires are Nexen Winguard 231, w/ studs! $535 after taxes. I'll put them on in October most likely.

[vit]

Running snow tires last winter was a waste. I'm thinking first half of December for the switch here.

[cythraul]

Winter's coming soon. I'm starting to see ads for winter tires.

I'm thinking of getting 15 inches wheels (I have two set 16 inches) for 195/65R15 tires. I'm told that adherence should be better with 15 inches compared to 16 inches because of there's less tire surface touching the road, consequently there's more weight per square inch... That's from a few independent sources, including my brother that sells tires, owns a used car concession that doubles as a short term car rental. But he's been known, like all of us, to be wrong from time to time.

I'm hesitating between NOKIAN Hakkapeliitta 7 and TOYO Observe GSi-5. I'm pretty much sold to Toyo ever since I acquired G-02 Plus on my Altima 2000, years ago.

Any preference for Nokian here?

thanks!
cyth

[Rage4Order]

My wife and I have been using Bridgestone Blizzaks on both Vibes for about 6 years. I can't say enough about having a tire that has gone through anything and everything (we live in the snow belt) and never ever faltered. Just jump in and go with no worries. If there is a better snow tire, I'll never experience it.

[star_deceiver]

Snowbelt? Which one?

Here's the Icebelt/Skatingrink....

[cythraul]

My wife and I have been using Bridgestone Blizzaks on both Vibes for about 6 years. I can't say enough about having a tire that has gone through anything and everything (we live in the snow belt) and never ever faltered. Just jump in and go with no worries. If there is a better snow tire, I'll never experience it.

Interesting. I too live in the north (Montreal, QC, Canada

At the same time I found a report on winter tires by Protégez-Vous, the french-Canadian equivalent to Consumer Guide.

I found three Blizzaks models: WS70, LM-60 and DM-V1. They're rated 83%, 78%, 82% respectively. The Nokian Hakkapeliitta 7 rates at 86% and Toyo Observe GSi-5 at 80%.

[Sputnik]

Just got my brand spanking new winter tires and wheels installed on the Juke this week. I like getting them late October so I don't have to get into the mad rush of people getting them installed Nov/Dec. Anyway since I traded in the Rogue, I didn't have any snow tires for the Juke. I got Michelin XIce XI3s. from the dealer. Compared it to tirerack and it was only $100 more to get them here in town rather than shipped from tirerack so I went that way. On the Rogue I had Toyo Observe G-02s. They were good so I'm curious to see how the XIce compare.

[09SnowyVibe]

Hankook W409 Winter I'Pikes.



I have 20,000 kms on these, non studded, very grippy on ice and snow. Ride nice and are quiet. Still over 75 percent tread left.

[vibolista]

We haven't really had much snow this Winter so far, other than the "big" snow storm a couple of weeks back (see my Sig for results). We got about 20-22 inches here, and over 30 inches of snow closer to the coast of Maine. The snow was cleared from our roads the day after the storm. Last Winter, I put the snow tires on the Vibe in late December and took them off before the end of January. Drove on snow only one time. It turned out to be the wimpiest Winter that I've seen here in the last 17 years!

So far this year I have not driven on any significant snow cover. Still have the "Summer" all season tires on my aftermarket alloys installed on the Vibe. I cleaned and waxed the wheels thoroughly on one of the last warm days in mid December to help protect the finish and don't let them stay too messy.

If we were getting buried in snow, I would have to swap the "Summers" for the Winter Blizzaks on the steel wheels. It only takes about 45 minutes to do. So far, not really needed this Winter. I'll keep an eye on the weather, we could still get a lot of snow here in March. That hasn't happened in quite a while, but doesn't mean that it's out of the question.

[thebarber]

We haven't really had much snow this Winter so far, other than the "big" snow storm a couple of weeks back (see my Sig for results). We got about 20-22 inches here, and over 30 inches of snow closer to the coast of Maine. The snow was cleared from our roads the day after the storm. Last Winter, I put the snow tires on the Vibe in late December and took them off before the end of January. Drove on snow only one time. It turned out to be the wimpiest Winter that I've seen here in the last 17 years!

So far this year I have not driven on any significant snow cover. Still have the "Summer" all season tires on my aftermarket alloys installed on the Vibe. I cleaned and waxed the wheels thoroughly on one of the last warm days in mid December to help protect the finish and don't let them stay too messy.

If we were getting buried in snow, I would have to swap the "Summers" for the Winter Blizzaks on the steel wheels. It only takes about 45 minutes to do. So far, not really needed this Winter. I'll keep an eye on the weather, we could still get a lot of snow here in March. That hasn't happened in quite a while, but doesn't mean that it's out of the question.

You should switch from all (no) seasons to winter tires when the temperatures are staying below 8*C...winter tires have a softer compound that grips better in the cold...not just snow

I'm on Nexen winguard sports this winter...its a performance snow...great on cold pavement wet or dry. On snow, its not as good as winter tires that have a.more open tread...

[star_deceiver]

Audio sucks on this one... had the mic's on low-gain... gonna need a do-over!
I have too much fun doing this!

[robtco99]

I have been using the general altimax artics for several years and love them.

I'm running 15 inch celica wheels with 195/65/15 with the generals on the vibe.

[kowell]

My Pirelli Winter Carving Edge are on their 5th and last winter.
For the price paid they weren't bad but I have Toyo Observe GS-i5 on my Sienna and it'S easy to see they are a good notch avobe the Pirelli.

I already have a set of Nokian Akkapelitta 5 waiting in the garage for next year.

[vibolista]

I have been using the general altimax artics for several years and love them.

I'm running 15 inch celica wheels with 195/65/15 with the generals on the vibe.

My son runs General Altimax Arctics (without studs) on his Vibe's 16 inch steelies and he loves them. We also ran a set on my wife's 2005 Prius. They were excellent performers on both snow and dry road, without much of the extra noise that is common with snow tires... and price seemed to be reasonable.

We had to take an "emergency" family "crisis" trip to Florida (turned out to be a false alarm thankfully!) in the Winter of 2009, and we took the Prius with the Arctics mounted and figured that they would be pretty much trashed in the 80 plus degree heat that we encountered traipesing around the Sunshine State for a couple of weeks. Good thing I left them on, because on the way back we hit a good snow event from Connecticut to Maine. We added about 3,700 miles on the trip. Those snow tires were great in the heat and didn't wear much that we could notice. So can highly recommend them.

[star_deceiver]

Almost that time of year again...