GenVibe - Community for Pontiac Vibe Enthusiasts

Hello everyone,Looking to get new winter tires for the car:I am looking at these models and wanted to know your thoughts on them (especially if you own them)Tire size 205-55-16's1) General Altimax2) Firestone Winterforce3) Sava Eskimo 34) Dunlop Winter Sport M20r your recommedation for a decent winter touring tire. Thanks everyone! I appreciate your comments!

I am in the same boat as you Mon Ami. Not sure to go with the Winterforce or Dunlop.

I hear that the Firestone Winterforce is a good bang for the buck tire This is what the APA states about some winter tires they tested:http://www.apa.ca/template.asp?DocID=297

yikes -- my winter slaloms only got 2 stars. My next set of summers or winters will be generals...

I own the winterforce, if you can stud them, do it, otherwise they are about the cheapest snow you can get.. lol... I got stuck twice last year running them... both times in my driveway... other than that.. pretty good tire , nothing special though and they don't get destroyed by pavement so much... A lot of the Subie guys use them for rally-x.. lol..

2 tires that are not a houshold name that are really worth considering are the Nankang Winter SV-1 or the Roadstone Eurowinters (by Nexen) winter tires. Both are very reasonably priced (especially in the Mtl area) and offer the similar perfomance as the name brand tires. In Quebec the SQ and many of the other police forces are on Toyo G-02+ or KX tires after they testing all the available tires over several winters before making their final selection for a tire to meet local winter driving conditions.

Hi Dragon! Thanks for the suggestions. The Nankings are great summer tires but for winters I am not sure. They are very soft tires. The Nexen are sold at Walmart, right?Just to let you all know I have decided to retire the Khumo KW11's after 5 years (!) and go with the General Altimax.

The General Altimax Arctic tires were rated #2 by Consumer Reports, FWIW. I bought a set of 205/55/16's for a 2009 2.4L. They ran $130 each total at the local tire guys I use.

Quote, originally posted by ArcsVibe »Hi Dragon! Thanks for the suggestions. The Nankings are great summer tires but for winters I am not sure. They are very soft tires. The Nexen are sold at Walmart, right?Just to let you all know I have decided to retire the Khumo KW11's after 5 years (!) and go with the General Altimax.Post some pictures of your set-up once it is all finalized. I purchased some Hankook i*Pike W409's today.

I never knew that Fred Flintstone needed winter tires in Bedrock. Are they Arctic allsplinters?

Quote, originally posted by ou.grizzly »Post some pictures of your set-up once it is all finalized. I purchased some Hankook i*Pike W409's today. I will once I get the car cleaned and waxed this weekend for winter and will share. I have to say they look awesome

Quote, originally posted by bull77 »yikes -- my winter slaloms only got 2 stars. Woo hoo, mine got 5 stars.

Quote, originally posted by TONY TAT2 »Be easy to stud, just a box of wood screws and you'd be golden... lol..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nTDNLUzjkpg

Quote, originally posted by Entelodont » I bought a set of 205/55/16's for a 2009 2.4L. They ran $130 each total at the local tire guys I use.YIKESi paid 89.oo all in.I hope you got steelies included in that price.

Quote, originally posted by Entelodont » I bought a set of 205/55/16's for a 2009 2.4L. They ran $130 each total at the local tire guys I use.Someone charged you the Canadian price!Quote, originally posted by keithvibe »i paid 89.oo all in.You have to ask for the American price like Keithvibe did!

Quote, originally posted by keithvibe »YIKESi paid 89.oo all in.I hope you got steelies included in that price.It included mounting, balancing, valve stems and swapping out whenever it's necessary.If one of the tires needs rebalancing, it's done for "free". They are the only guys I'd let touch an alloy wheel around here. BTW, the steelies ran $160 for a set, the local Toyota dealer had take offs from an 09 Camry.

Quote, originally posted by Entelodont »It included mounting, balancing, valve stems and swapping out whenever it's necessary.If one of the tires needs rebalancing, it's done for "free". They are the only guys I'd let touch an alloy wheel around here. BTW, the steelies ran $160 for a set, the local Toyota dealer had take offs from an 09 Camry.Just to clarify, there are lower prices on the Altimax Arctic out there. You just paid for the premium support which is cool. Hope they threw in road hazard. In your size, I just paid $103 a wheel to my local shop, M+B, no rotation package. They list on Discount Tire Direct for $88 in the 91Q flavor, free shipping; if I had been buying new rims too, would have got them there. I'll tell you how they do after this winter

Tony, I really don't want to be the one to tell you, but I think your tires are down to the wear indicators. Are they shimmying??

A couple of pics to share

Quote, originally posted by TONY TAT2 »http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nTDNLUzjkpg I was going to post a link to that too! That would be fun to drive.

I vote for the Winterforce with studs. I have them on my current vehicle and they are great. Those Altimax artic look good too, especially if you studded them.

Here's one more pic to share of the General Altimax Arctic, one which has been studded.

Attached files

That's so "studly"...!!