sunnytl

Since winter is coming....I am looking for wintertires for my TSX....any suggestions on sizes & brands? Thanks

LuvMyTSX

Check on tirerack.com.

I use Dunlop Winter Sport M3s on my 2004 and I really like them. Good in snow, rain, and ice, but not loud on dry pavement. This will be my 3rd season with them. I have them in OEM size.

I need to get them on soon. We had sleet here this morning, and 10 minutes away they had snow accumulation. It's starting early.

sunnytl

Yeah I heard good things about the M3s.......I also do alot of highway driving.

nycgay23

I don't drive that much in general, but with my '04 Civic (which had tires that I found horrible in the snow) I never had winter/snow tires. This is partly because I have no real place to store 4 tires when they're not being used.

For the others of you who live in NYC - do you reguarly use or plan to use snow tires? Are they necessary? I always felt that although my Civic's tires were terrible that I had some extra control through the 5spd manual. Now that I have an automatic, I'm more concerned (maybe with no good reason) that I'll need better tires to help me have better control.

Considering I drive weekends only, I'm guessing I'll be fine without. I'm just curious to see what other locals do? When I lived in Connecticut several years ago, snow tires were much more of a necessity.

09TSX

I have the Michelin X-ice and they are great. I will have to get back to you on the size as they are in storage and don't ave access to them. That being said, hopefully you will get steel rims as well. Its hard on rims to mount and remove tires off the rims every season, plus, not to mention what road salt does on the alloy wheels!

sunnytl

09TSX I guess 205/60/16 will be a good fit.....how about the TPMS....will it beep everytime????

09TSX

Sunnytl...I am not sure. The rims and tires I have are the one I used on my 2006 TSX and was told they would fit too. I know they are 16 inches rims for sure. As far as TPMS, I think there is a way to get around that and hopefully they'll make it work. I will discover very soon as I am hoping to bring mine in in the middle of Nov for the install. We get snow a bit later here on the coast of NS....Looks like portion of quebec and eastern on are in store for their first significant snow storm tonight and tomorrow...YIKES!

LuvMyTSX

It's snowing here in Jersey

Not accumulating yet, but still. I have a 2 hour drive for a work function, too.

LuvMyTSX

You'll be fine without....you only drive on weekends. Not worth getting snow tires.

nycgay23

Cool - thanks...I figure it's probably not worth the extra money and finding a place to store them...Where in Jersey are you? The weather's crappy here too, but not snowing (yet).

LuvMyTSX

Branchburg, Somerset County. We got about 2 inches here yesterday. High Point, way up at the top of NJ, got 14 inches!

hockeynut

Had Dunlop Wintersport M3's for 4 seasons - great tires! M3D is the newest version - will be ordering a set from Tirerack next week.

mdkxtreme

What's so special about winter tires and why do people change them for the winter? Is it a general thing or just for places that snows and rains a lot? As in, does it apply in SoCal?

hockeynut

Does not apply in SoCal
Does not apply for rain (quality all season or summer tires are designed to channel rain so not to induce hydroplaning)

Winter tires generally are made of softer compounds and have many more sipes (small cuts in tread) to allow grip on ice and packed snow. They also have larger channels for driving through snow. I am a believer in them even though many people in the snow (rust) belt think that all season are adequate. I always install 4 snows (a must for front wheel drive cars) late Nov/early Dec. I do a lot of driving in winter due to kids playing hockey and swear by these things. A good, quality set gives you amazing traction (I can actually blow by 4x4's in inclement weather) and in my mind is cheap insurance - especially given the fact that you easily get 3+ seasons out of them. The more recent breed of winter tires are designed for sports cars so you get similar handling and quietenss on dry pavemant as you would with all seasons. This is important as often times you are cruising interstates at high speeds and pavement is dry. Old school winter tires (some are still available) are much softer (i.e. squishy) when driving and do not inspire confidence in handling/cornering. They do grip a little better on glare ice but the new generation performance snows are definitly worth the tradeoff.

LuvMyTSX

^

Even here in Jersey we don't get crazy amounts of snow or ice like other parts of the country, but enough to make me feel safer with winter tires on. They provide way more traction and grip in bad conditions, and even when it's just cold out since they are made to stay soft in colder climates and not harden up like all seasons. I have a lot more confidence driving in snow and ice with them.

mdkxtreme

Oh Ok thanks for the response. I see a lot of thread about winter tires and I thought it was a general thing where everyone changes tires throughout the season. Now I know....