Snow Handling with GT 17" Stock Tires

[johnnyz71]

I did a search but couldn't come up with a solid answer. How does the Vibe GT handle with the stock 17" tires and wheels in the snow? We are coming from a 4x4 Trailblazer (which in my opinion, wasn't that great). Any help is appreciated.

[savedbyzero]

there is none. period. it's an ice skate! buy some snows and throw them on.

[Mavrik]

If your into traction, 17" won't matter but the style of tire will. Go winters.

[AKLGT]

what tires do you have on the GT? dunlops? or goodyear?if it snows alot, then i'd say NO WAY!!!! if it doesn't and you have some all season tires, then you're prob ok. i know there are several threads about snow and winter tires...

[Jahntassa]

They're Dunlop something or others I think. And yeah, very sad traction in snow, or rain, for that matter. They're less troublesome than the Conti's on the regular wheels though, as far as daily driving goes. If you want something with better traction, I would definitely reccomend either try to get the dealership to "deal in" different tires, or change 'em altogether.

[millster]

To clear a few things up, there are actually two 17" tires out there. The '03 came with summer-only, z-rated Dunlop 9000SP's. The '04, on the other hand, comes with all-seasons (Bridgestone Potenza if memory serves). To be honest, neither will do wonderfully in the snow, but the all-seasons would be driveable if you absolutely did not want to change the tires out for winter. The Dunlops are NOT safe at all in any kind of winter weather. I made the mistake of driving one day with them when I knew it was going to snow. I was lucky to make it home.I would go with the recommendation above and buy a dedicated snow tire. You won't regret it.

[AKLGT]

exactly! i have the z rated dunlops... forget it in snow and ice! have winter studded rims on 15" celica alloys for snow and ice. saves my (removed) alot! but not the ditch dive i did last month.

[Keely]

Just switched my Blizzak 16" snow tires out yesterday for the Dunlop 17"ers (thank goodness, my car looks way sexy again) . I would have spent an awful lot of time this winter sitting around at home waiting to borrow my MM's Explorer had it not been for the Blizzaks.I look at it this way - if you're in a snowy clime and you're swapping your tires every 6 months, you've basically bought your next set of tires early. My 17" tires will last close to twice as long now. Most people like the "get now, pay later" philosophy of consumerism - I'm happy to have paid now for longer-lasting tires and greatly increased safety.

[Ding]

The Dunlop SP 9000 is an very good tire on wet or dry pavement. As others stated it is not good at all on any winter condition. I went with Bridgestone Blizzaks which are by far the best winter tire out there. I've tried most of them. This is my 9th or 10th set of Blizzaks. I also got 16" wheels from Tirerack in a package deal. The wheel design of the 16's I got actually look better on the car than the stock 17's. My Vibe GT is Shadow, and the wheels match the color. You pay a little extra for nice winter wheels, but I feel it is worth it. I've got about 40K miles on the Dunlops and they do have quite a bit of road noise. It is about time for new summer tires, but I am not sure what I am going to go with.

[Smokin' Rubber]

Yeah I kind of remember my Dunlop's they actually had pretty good anti hydroplaning design. Whenever it rains a alot there is a certain part on a road on my way to work that always floods because of a nearby creek and I never one felt like I was gonna hydroplane, always felt nice and firmly planted to the ground. Of course the dunlops pale in comparison to my Eagle GS-D3's damn they are sticky. I wish I'd gotten wider ones even tho maybe put my skid pad over 1.0g if it isn't already

[POLO]

Me i pass the winter with the stock(goodyear).Id depend how you drive,if the sleep's i change the shift(automatic) to L and the car have more traction.But,is no good to pass all the winter in the tire.Me i buy the car at end january,all the snow tire have on stock are already gone,was more expensive.So til i decide to buy the end's

[AKLGT]

actually i was impressed w/ the dunlops this weekend. it was raining pretty hard on monday and i did hydro plane in a few parts, but for the most part, those tires were stuck to the pavement!

[Smokin' Rubber]

Lol I was looking at old pictures of my car and I remembered something about the old 17" rims I was curious about. Mine were going different directions on the two sides of the car, as in on one side the curve side was leading when going forward and on the other the "sythe" side was leading. Was it like that for anyone else or did my dealer just screw up?

[Smokin' Rubber]

Thus proving once again the inferiority of rims which have spokes that are angled lol

[Evanshall]

there pretty good on dirt to, trust me on this one

[sloth]

Traction is terrible with the 17" Stock Tires. I'm suprised I didn't wreck the first time I drove it in snow. Ended up getting 17" Blizzaks from tirerack.com Couldn't be more happy with them. No problem driving through 7" or so of snow. Gets around better than our 91 chrysler in snow and it has studs on.After comparing prices with a local tire place I ended up getting the Blizzaks and rims from Tirerack.com for $200 less than I would of got rims alone. Which means I save $50 bucks a year on mounting as well since I can swap them out myself.

[AKLGT]

welcome to genvibe! how much did those 17's blizzaks set you back? when i looked into them up here, they were over $1000

[SWiRv]

I have an 04 GT and they come with the Bridgestone Potenzas RE092(?). I got the car last fall so the tires were still pretty new. Went thru a prairie winter alright, but I will be getting some winter tires this fall. I'll price out 15"and 16" steel take-offs and tires.Correct me if I am wrong, but I thought Blizzaks will become all-seasons after 2-3 seasons of use due to wear. Other tires like Michelin Arctic Alpins or Pirelli WinterSport(?) are more dedicated winter tires. I had 15" Pirelli's on my last car and was very impressed with its performance (even at higher speeds).

[AKLGT]

well blizzaks are generally winter snow tires. they are pretty expensive up here. so are tha hakapelitas (sp?).mine came w/ the dunlop z rated tires so they are certainly NO GOOD for the snow! most winter radials will usually become good all seasons after a few winters due to normal wear and tear... i have studs so i can get the studs taken out and use them for regular tires.

[sloth]

Happened to have my reciept by my computer still. $129.00 apiece. Also bought rims for $125 apiece and they sent them mount and balanced. Couldn't of been more happy with tirerack.com.

[AKLGT]

OUCH!i spent $450 for new studded 15" hancook wheels and used rims. rims are off an older celica that uses the wierd toyo lugs. i live in an area where there is snow and ice 7-9 mos out of the year.

[sloth]

Well it was pretty expensive, but the local tire shop quoted me about $1000 for tires alone. So I thought I was getting one heck of a deal. When he looked for smaller rims and bigger tires he wasn't cutting the price very much.