03TLSinCO

Considering what to do for tires next winter. Winters here are generally mild. We get a few weeks each winter where the temps are consistently below 40, but most weeks temps rise above 40 each day. We also get snow a few times, but not really anything significant except for the few occasions that I drive into the mountains to go skiing.

I'm considering a hybrid tire (Nokian WR G3) which is an all season tire that is rated for hazzardous winter conditions (mountain/snowflake insignia on the sidewall). Other options would be a performance winter tire like the Dunlop SP Wintersport D4 (I think) or the Michelin Pilot Alpin.

Anyone have any experience with any of these tires? I espcially interested in experiences with the Nokians. Thanks in advance for your opinions of these tires.

TLer trash

If you are going to run the tires year-round, the nokians are a good choice. The trade-offs are that they can get a little noisy as they wear, and they don't have a great tread wear rating. You'll give up a small amount of dry pavement grip as well. You could run the dunlops year round, but I don't think that's a great idea either; same problems with wear, noise, and traction. I would not run the michelins all year as they are a studless tire with really soft rubber. The tire companies will tell you that you'll experience accelerated wear in warm weather. They don't tell you that the tread will come off in large chunks, which I have personally witnessed. If you are only going to run them in the winter, I like blizzaks better than anything else.

03TLSinCO

I don't have to run the tires year round, and wouldn't with a dedicate winter tire such as the Dunlop SP WinterSport.

I heard very good things about the Nokian WRG2s in winter conditions, not so much with the WRG3s. If they're not a good summer tire, then I'd probably steer clear of them. Most of the time our roads are clear here and the sun is quite strong, so they'd probably take a beating during the hot summer months.

That said, I guess I'm trying to determine a good winter tire for primarily dry/wet roads that is more confidence inspiring on snow/ice than an all season tire. I have Hankook Ventus V2 H437s on my car now. They're fine in the dry and wet, but terrible on snow/ice.

TLer trash

A little clarification. I think the nokians are better in snow than anything except a dedicated snow tire. They only give up a little in summer compared to a summer or all season tire. They are good enough that the Mi. state police use them year-round on most of their fleet.

fsttyms1

I would never run a all season, no matter how good it is. I will always use a dedicated summer and winter tire. But that is my

I have run just about every snow tire out there or driven a car with. Personally i would buy the General Altimax Arctic. It is hands down the best snow tire available. Its what the majority of our auto-x members run on our cars when ice racing. They arent a performance snow tire, but they will hold their own and have a good tread life. If you are dead set on a performance snow tire you will be hard pressed to find one that is better than the Dunlop wintersport 3/4D.

03TLSinCO

I appreciate your opinion and insight. However, I'm not looking for an all-out snow/ice tire. We have relatively mild winters with a few snow days. Due to the altitude and dry weather here on the east side of the Rockies, the snow disappears quite quickly and the mild, dry weather returns. So I'm looking for a winter tire that will do well in the dry weather but will also handle the snow falls when they occur, as well as the occational trip into the mountains when I go skiing (probably not more than 5 trips/season). For reference, this week has been typical of the type of winters I'm trying to deal with; Tuesday and Wednesday didn't get above freezing and we had 1-3 inches of snow overnight (We had similar weather the 5 preceding days). Secondary roads became snow-packed but primary roads were clear. Yesterday things began to melt off (10 degress when I left my house, 35 on my way home). Today, 20 degrees when I left my house, 45 - 50 when I head home with dry road conditions. The weekend should be in the 40s and next week we'll touch 60. Beyond that, we're likely to get another few days of snow before the end of April.

Clearly a hard-core snow tire isn't necessary, but I need something better then the all-season tires I'm running.

TLer trash

Fsttyms, I'm with you on dedicated snows. Ive got 2 sets of tires and wheels for my pick-up, the wife's avalon, my daughters acura, our shop loaner buick, and even the shop japanese mini dump truck. Are the ice racers running the generals studded? The reason I ask is we had them on the shop loaner, and I thought they were better in snow than a blizzak, but not as good on ice.

fsttyms1

Snow tires arent about being able to drive through the deepest snow possible. Its their ability to out brake and corner on snow and ice. There is no comparison between a snow tire and all season. Even though its an (as you put it all out snow/ice tire) i would still recommend them (the general) . Also to clarify, you either have a Snow tire or an all season not something inbetween. If like i said above really want something that drives like a regular or performance all season but wont sacrifice snow and ice (wont be as good in deep snow, but still better that the best all season could even come close to) I would without a doubt recommend the Dunlop wintersport 3d or 4d over any other. Both are exceptional tires in snow and ice and you wont know they are snow tires on dry pavement (vs a all season)

fsttyms1

Nice. All of my vehicles have snow tires (minus my expedition, though Some day id like to put a set on my expedition just for grins and see what 3 tons of weight and 4wd can manage to go thru ) and i equip my parents and sisters car with snow tires as well. For the simple fact of the amount of safety they add over any all season.

Some of us run non studded some run studded (and not the studs designed for the tires, we make our own)

Not the general, but an idea of what we use for studded

TLer trash

^^You know, for a normal person, that looks like a lot of work!

03TLSinCO

Thanks for that. Do you have any experience with Pirelli Winter Sotozero tires? Tire Rack has a special on them. If they perform reasonably, I'm not opposed to saving some bucks. :-)


Oh, and those studs look awesome! (And kinda scary at the same time.)

fsttyms1

It is, even for a not so normal person too Its about 2-3 hours per tire with a friend helping and a bottle of liquor. Its also a mess. You need to apply a small bead of 3m window weld to the washer before pushing the bolt thru the tire and tightening it. Then comes the fun part of sharpening them

fsttyms1

Brief. My friend has them on his A5, they were good tires, but having had very limited time driving them and AWD its hard to get how good they really were vs fwd. having said that, He prefered the Dunlop wintersports he had for 3 seasons before them.

TLer trash

I figured they were hand sharpened. Or should I say "artisan hand crafted"? Couldn't you use a tube instead of sealer? How well do they hold up? Considering all the labor would it be worth trying something like a grade 10.8 metric or stainless?

fsttyms1

sharpening is pretty easy. We use a stud sharpener for snowmobile studs. doesnt take too long.

Tube, no. wouldnt last 1 min. the method described above is simply the best. I have a set that i first made 4 years ago that still are holding air. They are grade 8 SS. its around 75-130 $ a tire depending on the size tire and the amount of studs you put in. Grip is mind blowing. This subi was lifting the front inside tire




And a fellow Zine member out having fun