GenVibe - Community for Pontiac Vibe Enthusiasts

Hi there everyone,I just recently had some experience driving my car in heavy winter snow conditions. My hubby was driving may car and commented on how bad my tires are. So being that I'm sorta a newbie winter driver we're thinking of getting a good set of winter tires. I thought it would be cool to get a poll of which winter tires everyone has and what do you think of them. I have read a great deal on the Blizzaks and am leaning towards them but would like to know if there are others that I should think about as well.BTW when you get winter tires can you still put your rims back on...I got the 16" aluminum ones and don't know how that works in terms of tires. As you might guess I know very little about cars.Thank you in advance for voting.

Go with 15in. steel rims and 195/65/15 tires, they're better in the snow and cheaper than 16in. This size is equal in diameter to 205/55/16.

I have Bridgestone Blizzaks for winter.Same size as stock 16" all season.I am very happy with it.

For sure, 15" are the way to go.I bought GoodYear Ultra Grip and they are nice...But I still consider Blizzak better then Ultra Grip

I have 17" inch Blizzaks on the same alloy wheels that came with the car.....I'll just swap them with the Potenzas in the spring.....I've had Blizzak tires in the past with other cars and highly recommend them.....also be careful as there are various types of Blizzaks...the WS-50 ones are not high speed rated but are the superior ones for the snow/ice....the tire dealer will probably try to sell you up to the more expensive high speed tires but then you get the less grippy rubber...and at least for me this is a waste...99 percent of my driving is below 70 miles and hour and I'm not going to see 100 mph in this car....good luck...

I guess it's late in the season now that it's February, so I had trouble finding good winter tires locally. One place offered to get me the Nokians...which sounded great but I know so little about. Finally, I was able to find some Blizzaks at a local Firestone. I hopefully got a good deal...tirerack.com was selling each tire for $103...I got the guy at Firestone to sell me each for about $109 plus installation and all that mumbo jumbo and road hazard warranty for $571. I think if I had ordered them through tirerack.com and taken them in it would run about $560...does this sound right. I'm looking forward to getting these...I'll definitely feel much more secure. After reading everyone saying how subpar the stock Goodyear Eagles are, I guess for piece of mind sake the Blizzaks will be great.Thank you for everyones input.BTW for those that have the Nokians how do you like them??

nokians and blizzaks are about the best winter tire out there. you really can't go wrong w/ either. so the blizzaks will be good ones for you too. i ended up w/ hancook winter radials studded. on my celica rims for about $450 total. but that's from a client of mine that gave me a little over his cost. would have been about $700 otherwise.

For the Winter I went with cheap tires (which I normally do not recomend, Tires keep ya on the road) I have 15" steel wheels and Rocky Mountain tires- They are siped to improve traction and I did not have a problem with them all winter!

I will shortly be purchasing a set of Green Diamond's Icelander tires...they're supposed to be approved for Swedish winters...and about $120 a tire...not bad! 40k treadwear too...

Finally took off my summer wheels/tires and just picked up a complete set of Kelly Tires Magna Grip winter tires. Put these on my stock 16's (replacing the worn out factory Continentals).For this area, these should work pretty well. I'll try to post some pics this week.http://www.kelly-springfield.c....html

Quote, originally posted by silverawd26 »What store? Local. http://www.flynnstire.com/

I bought 15" steelie rims for a 2003 Matrix... This way I can keep my stock 16" aluminums untouched by the snow! I got Uniroyal Tiger Paw Snow & Ice's sized 195/65 R15. They were cheaper than 16" tires, plus skinnier tires are better in the winter.

I just put on Pirelli's 210 snowsport. I had these tires on my old car and lucked out they were the same size as the ones on the vibe so got rims and can't wait for the first real snow to test out AWD system.Cheers2004 Lava red AWD

I put 4 Nokian Hakkapalitas on my Vibe, the treads are awesome, but man they were pricey, almost 750.00 with balancing. OUCH

I've just finished installing my 195/65x15 Dunlop M3s; bring on the snow! (Compared to my 275/40x17 Firehawks, they look so...inadequate. Big Boots has been transformed into Twinkletoes...)

Quote, originally posted by MadBill »I've just finished installing my 195/65x15 Dunlop M3s; bring on the snow! (Compared to my 275/40x17 Firehawks, they look so...inadequate. Big Boots has been transformed into Twinkletoes...) LOL.... funny

Yeah.....I'm running the stock almost worn down Goodyears. Funny thing is that everyone here has been complaining about the Conti's. From what I saw on Tirerack, the Goodyears are rated worse in the snow. Good news for me Inder

I went into Costco and inquired about buying a set of Michelin winter tires. I asked for 15" tires and get this, they would NOT sell them too me. They said the book calls for 16" tires, so they would not sell me 15's. Business must be very good at Costco these days.

Go back wearing a fake nose and mustache and tell them you want to buy four 15" wheels and snows for your '03 Corolla, which is marooned in the snow at your cottage...

id just go back, tell them to shut the hell up and sell me what i want, and get my 15's!who are they to refuse you tires?

Go to Walmart.Thats were I bought my snows 195/65/15 Dunlop Graspics

I find myself trying to figure out what set of winter tires I need... Historically, with the relatively small amount of snow I see in this part of the state, all-seasons have done fine for me... But after this recent winter storm, I really think a good set of winter tires is in order. The all-seasons I have on there now seem to be great for everything *except* snow. Money is an issue here... I'd prefer getting a new set of 15" wheels and some tires to go on 'em, but not sure I can swing that. Any guestimate on how much that would cost for everything, vs. just mounting some 16" winter tires to the original alloys? The latter is going to be far from convenient, that'sfor sure.I'm probably limited on where I can go to get the tires - more than likely I'll have to go to a place that offers 6-mos. same as cash financing, since I can't really afford several hundred dollars right now for a new set of tires. But I have to do it, I'm afraid...

I ended up buying a set of 16" Hercules Polar Trax (made by Cooper). They're really good in snow, ok on ice, but not as tacky as Blizzaks or Michelins.

I hit up some local tire shops today to inquire about some winter tires for the Vibe... Ahh, I was greeted with nothing but blank stares... Apparently straying from an all-season tire around here during the winter has never been done before! The first shop I visited is where I normally go to buy tires... They didn't have any sort of winter tire for passenger cars in stock... They did offer to help me track down a set and order them, at least they offered. I told them to hold off on it, and drove over to a Bridgestone dealer... Surely they would have Blizzaks or something..."Why do you want a winter tire? We never sell any winter tires for cars. We have some for trucks, but nobody makes a winter tire for a passenger car, especially for that car you have!!! What are you looking for again?" So, I had to spell it out for the guy... "I want a WINTER tire - Something not as extreme as a studded tire, but something that will deliver more grip than an all-season. Something in between. Kinda like a Blizzak or something" I told the guy. The look I got from him was essientially "a Blizz-what?" Thanks for nothing, you moron... (removed)! Tried Mal*Wart too, although I didn't speak with a human. I didn't see anything winter-ish on their price list, so I didn't even bother.Sheesh. So much for trying to shop around for the best price! I'll either have to order a set online or go to my tire shop and see if they can order something for me... Nobody around here uses 'em, and that's obvious when 1" of snow falls and you see 10 cars slid off the road on a 1-mile stretch of interstate. I'm not asking for much - just want the Vibe to have a bit more confidence in winter weather driving. I guess that's too much to ask for around here. It isn't that bad around here in the winter, but I'd still like to have a set just in case. We've had more snow here in the last week than I think we had all last winter. And I'd like to avoid having to leave my car at work again because I can't get out of the parking lot if at all possible. Looking for something around $100 or less per tire... Any suggestions? tirerack.com has a few decent ones, not sure if I should just order from them or try the local guys again... Any advice? And is it this friggin' hard for anyone to find winter tires elsewhere?

Winter tires are a huge business opportunity around here. All tire shops and large stores actively market winter tires. The tires i bought for the Vibe would be less than a hundred bucks each in America.

Got a set of 15" wheels and Blizzak's on the way from Tire Rack... $491 with shipping....

Viking SnowTech By Continental Tire.Any experience with them would be appreciated.Ride quality, Noise, Tread wear, Traction (snow ice)They rated # 2 with Consumer Report Mag.Have Konig wheels and Goodyear Assurance Comfort Tread on now.Would put the Viking SnowTech on the oem alloy wheels 16"Sorry for thinking about Winter Now.Hope we can squeeze the H out of Summer and Fall.Thanks Everybody

I HAVE Viking snow techs. on 16" steel rims. They are an excellent tire overall. Such as wet and dry along with being good in the snow. They ride, handle and are quieter then the crap RS-A's on my alloys. I am almost temped to get another set for the alloys and run them in the summer. That's how much I like them. I only put 4000 on them last year. The wear is nothing on the rear. Just slight wear on the outside edges up front....cornering you know. I paid less than $75/tire mounted and balanced. Another shop across the street wanted $100 for the same. These are not expensive tires. So $75 was what I was expecting. They are made in Portugal. A wonderful country.

Thanks for the detailed report. It seems like a great tire for the money from your description.

i use nokian hakkapeliitta Q's thier great and best off all they were free lol..

I just ordered a set of 205/55/R16 Dunlop Wintersport 3D's. Too many snow tires on the market with good reviews, tough decision. Anything is beeter than Goodyear RS-A's.

I've always just used the all seasons that came with the Vibe. But, I was thinking of putting the old Blizzak's on the Vibe that I use to use for the Grand Am, since the GA will never see snow, for obvious reasons (Snow plow LOL). They both have the same bolt pattern, which is weird.

I tried making it through last winter with the stock Continental tires - no way do I want to go through that again. There are a lot of hills around here but it was nothing short of pathetic even on gentile inclines. So this year it's 15" steels with Hankook tires. Come to think of it, I hate these Continentals for summer driving too, can't wait for them to wear out....which won't be long!

I cancelled the order on the Dunlop Wintersport 3D's as they weren't actually in stock. Since I'm headed up to Niagagra Falls and Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal for Thanksgiving I decided to go for a set of Dunlop Wintersport M3's at the local Tire Warehouse. $99 / tire in 205/55/R16 H91 size, cheaper than TireRack. Total price mounted and balanced and installed in 30 minutes with road hazard warranty was cheaper too.These things put the R-SA's to shame in dry and wet weather...it's been a mix of dry and rainy in New England for the last 24 hours. Should be able to try them out in a little snow Saturday night or Sunday.

I've got "Wintermasters" on my Subaru, but being AWD, any decent winter tire will work on it.... I've owned Blizzaks and they are a GREAT tire, till you get on dry pavement, then they get SHREDDED real quick... It's the cell foam technoligy they use.... ANY DECENT SNOW TIRE WILL BE BETTER THAN A "NO-SEASION" TIRE IN THE SNOW...Heck, the WORST snow tire will be better that a no-seasion tire in the snow Please note, i call "all-seasion" tires "NO-seasion" tires because they are a compromise between decent summer traction and margionaly decent traction in snow, BUT, they do NEITHER very well.... If you REALLY want the benifit of traction, get summer tires and a set of steel "take-offs" with winter tires.... It's CHEAP insurance...

Quote, originally posted by Sublimewind »If you REALLY want the benifit of traction, get summer tires and a set of steel "take-offs" with winter tires.... It's CHEAP insurance... I have a set of BF Goodrich Winter Slaloms and soon a set or Kumho 712's

Quote, originally posted by bull77 » I have a set of BF Goodrich Winter Slaloms and soon a set or Kumho 712'sGood show mang...!!

Quote, originally posted by Raven »Go with 15in. steel rims and 195/65/15 tires, they're better in the snow and cheaper than 16in. This size is equal in diameter to 205/55/16.Since it's going to be 90 degrees tomorrow I thought this was a cool idea to bring up this thread again. Michelin X-Ice all around.

i ran the euro conti winter force tires, ran great! CR highly recommended them.

someone has to be reading my mind, I was looking up snow tires today at work. But TireRack was out of 15" steelies. It will be the first time without 4x4 in 5 yrs, but we'll give AWD a try

I had Hancook icebears for the last 3 winters,but Iam going with the Goodyear Nordic's from Canadian Tire this year.very good price for them.So have to see how good they are.

grumble...

I am thinking about putting either the Nokian Hakkapeliitta 5's on my stock 16" alloys, then getting wheels when summer hits again. Or, the inexpensive way to go, mount the Nokian WR G2 on my stocks and run them year round. In Michigan we get extreme snow on more than a couple of occasions.

Same as my summer tire, Goodyear Tripletrack all-season. Good dry condition & snow traction, excellent wet weather traction. And lasting a heck of a lot longer than my Conti Extreme Contacts (worn to tread wear line in just 20,000)

I'm using hankook 404 winter tires. studded. I'm about to use them for their third season and 90% of all the studs are still there. They work really well. Wouldn't have as much winter fun without them.

Pirelli Winter Carving Edge 205/55R16 on 4 Camry steel wheels.

Quote, originally posted by kowell »Pirelli Winter Carving Edge 205/55R16 on 4 Camry steel wheels.Kowell, it looks like you found Phil's (your avatar), Simpson's character... lol..

Quote, originally posted by kowell »Pirelli Winter Carving Edge 205/55R16 on 4 Camry steel wheels.You already bought your winter tires? How much did you pay for the rims and tires? Cause I plan to buy 15'' rims to save some bucks...

The Pirelli Winter Carving is a great winter tire that will give you many winters and won't feel like a winter tire on bare pavement. Had them since 2002 on a 1999 Saturn SW2 ski wagon. This is the car that the 08 Vibe is replacing. Have a set of 205/55 16 Blizzaks in the basement... ready to go on the OEM steelies.

Quote, originally posted by Eloi »You already bought your winter tires? How much did you pay for the rims and tires? Cause I plan to buy 15'' rims to save some bucks...I paid 54$ for each 16 inches Camry Wheels and about 1.5$ for each wheel nuts at the local Toyota dealer. 205/55R16 Pirelli Winter Carving Edge are usually 179$ plus tax but I had a friend working a small garage that got them for me at 133$. Add to this the cost of mounting them on the steel wheels and taxes and overall it cost me 950$