Which winter tires do you have?

[LaPlanteys2010vibe]

Cannot suggest a better tire, been using these for the last 5 years, unbelievable, never gotten stuck!!!!http://www.conti-online.com/ge....html

[03VibeOttawa]

Quote, originally posted by Feelin’ The Vibe »I just put BF Goodrich Winter Slaloms on today. My gawd, they are by far the quietest winter tire I've ever rode on...almost completely silent. I drove home with the windows down, just listening to the unimpeded SRI and Magnaflow soundtrack.I hear + read they will be good in the snow, so so far I'm highly satisfied. Gotta add for anyone considering these tires in the future that the wet weather handling on the days it warms up is not really good at all..lots more slide around corners than I'm used to.

[keithvibe]

hard for me to even think about snow tires... I have them and they are ready to go on.. but when it's 65degress in November who is thinking about snow??

[star_deceiver]

Just installed 4 fully studded Firestone winterforce 205-55-16. $500 out the door (not bad considering the canadian overpricing of tires). Always pays to know someone who works at a tire shop.Better pics to come...Here's some better pics... http://forums.genvibe.com/zerothread?id=39772 and http://forums.genvibe.com/zerothread?id=39909

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[cq358]

500 OTD with environmental fees,balance and tax.. Badyear Nordic. This is my Second season. It work well on hard backed snow /glossy ice as long as you maintain your tire pressure 34psi front and 31 at the back.

[Camaro_Bill]

I agree with sagittarius 2009 Vibe 1.8Ls have 10.83" front disks and many 15"ers may fit with the required 1/8" clearance. 2009 Vibe AWDs & GTs have 11.65" front disks and 16"ers are required.My 2009 Vibe AWD has 195/60R16 Bridgestone Blizzak WS-60s (89R SL; D=25.2"; Wt=21 lbs) on 16x7" Enkei Racing RPF1 Silvers (Offset=35mm; Backspacing=5.35"; Bolt Pattern=5-114.3; Wt=13.7 lbs) with TPMS. Got them from Tire Rack last August. Not cheap, but awesome.

[LUVROK]

Had Dunlop Wintersport M3's for 3 seasons, loved them. They still have one season left on them but I ripped a sidewall on a high speed impact to a curb and bought a new full set of Dunlop Wintersport 3Ds (don't make M3s any more). They have been great so far. Haven't got stuck yet in New England snow this Winter.

[northvibe]

I have bought my last 3 sets of winter tires and 2 sets of summer tires based off what consumer reports has rated. They were spot on with their reviews. My snow tires, were excellent and their #1 choice/top pick is usually cheaper than most!

[newbluevibe]

Those are awesome, just looked at your other pics. Some folks have gone with narrower tires, 195/65 15's if i recall correctly.I live in Gunnison County Colorado. ~ 300 inches a year. I want to do what you are doing, and I don't have AWD (don't really need it with the right snow tires) Just wondering how you weigh in on a narrower tire. Obviously wasn't your choice would like to know why.Thank you!

[star_deceiver]

http://forums.genvibe.com/zerothread?id=39772 and http://forums.genvibe.com/zerothread?id=39909 Test your (and your tires) limits on the real thing!!!15's would involve getting new rims and I just didn't/don't have the $$$ for that. But to each his own!The way I see it, the more tire you have in contact with the road, the better. I don't see too much benifit in a slightly smaller tire with less of a contact patch giving me the same amount of grip that my winterforce give. The knobs cut through the snow and slush like butter and the studs and sipes grab the ice like a magnet! Are these the best winter tires? Probably not... but I'm not going to break the bank for a tire that might provide 3% better traction. Dry traction is a little sloppy but so what, I didn't buy these to get outstanding cornering in the dry. Snow and ice traction is top of the list!!! BTW, Traction and stability control just get in the way IMO.Besides, any winter tire, no matter what size, is better then the hockey pucks...... I mean RS-A's.

[specialbuddy]

I'm mad that I bought snow tires. The PNW hasn't had much snow at all this year. Kind of a let down since I love snow.

[slmclarengt]

SpecialBuddy, I'm with you. I got Winterforce's for Spokane winter. This year, the catchphrase has been "Snow... What snow?" - we got and are expecting NO snow practically. According to weather.com we've received ~.21" of precipitation in February when the average is 10 times that...Wasteful snow tires this season (brand new per Oct 09 so I'll be putting those "hockey puck" RSA's back on later this month or sometime next month once certain the snow has passed.Slm

[Capt.Vibe]

Time to revive this thread again, as it's that time of year. The garage queen will be no longer as she will be let loose this winter so I need to get a set of tires.Went to Costco yesterday to pick up a set of 16 inch steelies and the guy tells me they don't have/sell 16 inch for the 1.8's. They only have 16 inch steelies for the 2.4's bolt pattern. They only sell 15's for the 1.8 on a 195/65R15 tire. He tells me that's what they install on all 1.8 Matrix/Vibes no problems. Tire Rack also says the 1.8 can downsize to 15's but the 2.4 must stay at 16 inch.Anyone running 15's on a 2009/2010 1.8? Any difference in ride quality over stock size? I'm sitting on the fence here but the 15 inch option is substantially cheaper than stock. Wouldn't feel the need to totally cheap out on tire brand quality going with 15's not to mention tire selection is much better for that size.

[star_deceiver]

Putting it off..... putting it off.... putting it off.... the weather channel says no snow for the rest of the month! So the winter tires stay in their bags, at the front of the closet!This will be the 3rd winter on these tires... still have all the studs!!!

[Capt.Vibe]

What size tires are you using?

[KITT222]

Quote, originally posted by Capt.Vibe »What size tires are you using?Ryan has his snow tires on the factory 16s which came with his Vibe. I have an 04 but I'm going with 15s, if that matters. I'd say find a friend with 15 inch rims and the 5x100 bolt pattern and give it a shot. If a friend has a: Cavalier/Sunfire, neon, Caravan or Corolla than the bolt pattern is 5x100.

[star_deceiver]

Yup 205-55-16!

[jkm311]

Quote, originally posted by Capt.Vibe »Time to revive this thread again, as it's that time of year.And not a moment too soon! Up to a foot of the white stuff is expected along the East Coast of the U.S. Before Halloween?!?!

[keithvibe]

Quote, originally posted by jkm311 »And not a moment too soon! Up to a foot of the white stuff is expected along the East Coast of the U.S. Before Halloween?!?!I know it stinks.It is already snowing here, we are expecting 6-10inches of snow here.Only issue is I still have my summer tires on.But I do have a nice brand new snowblower just waiting to be used. I just picked it up last weekend.

[momsvibe]

Four Michelin X-Ice xi2s have been received by my local installer and will be mounted on some Sport Edition alloys that came off my wife's 03 Jetta. This set-up will go on my recently acquired 09 Vibe around Thanksgiving. Tire size is 195-65-15. We use Conti Extreme Winter Contacts in the same size on my daughters 03 Vibe. I like the Contis, and their price is good, but tirerack won't be getting any until December. We run the Michelins on our Honda Fit, and they've been great. Their clear road performance is the best of any winter tire I've used.

[09Vibe]

Yeah if you can run the 15's then you might as well save the $, the tires will compensate for the height by going with the 65 series. In addition to what your installer told you - I was told by my place that the 2.4's cannot accept a multi fit rim as they require hub centric or OEM rims, from the car itself or a Camry etc. I don't know if that is true on the 1.8 but the hubs are of course different... which pi$$ed me off because I had a friend willing to give me his old Corolla rims! Anyway - the package I price I found in Toronto was $750 for the proper rims and Pirelli SnowSport Tires. Although there has not been too much snow the last two winters in these parts, when there was - they worked very well! Good luck...

[Capt.Vibe]

Looks nice. I've heard good things about those SnowSports.I finally picked up a new set of reasonably priced 16 inch GM OEM steelies after getting too much conflicted and confusing advice on what would fit and what wouldn't. Paid $64.95/ea plus tax which is about $20 more per rim than the Costco ones, but I won't need a set of aftermarket wheel caps so I save some $$ on that.Now just to add to the confusion, I googled the part number 88974912, and all that comes up is a wheel for the 03-08, not 2010. Parts guy claims that's the number in his system for 09-10 as well. Can anyone confirm the OEM steelies for the 16' 1.8L is the same across both generations of Vibes?