Phil B

I live north of Chicago and am looking forward to a slick winter. I am looking for suggestions on snows all the way around the car. I have an extra set of OEM alloys 17" to put the tires on. What are your thoughts? Thanks. Satin Silver 5AT Navi.

sebounet2005

I live in Montreal, quebec

I tried last winter the YOKOHAMA AVS WINTER 901



Good on ice, silent, but not very good and almost bad in snow, 2 inches of snow and it's difficult to take off.
Good on wet condition and very good on dry pavement
I drove about 10 000 miles with it last winter and they are almost finished, i didn't reach the wear indicator but it won't be safe enough for the winter, so i think i'm going to try the TOYO SNOWPROX s952,

i always have been satisfied with toyo tires compare to YOKO or Michelin

iksenna

I've just got myself Dunlop M3's. I put a lot of research into this and this tire got the best reviews for ice, snow and in the dry. I've also driven these tires and I was pretty impressed. To save some cash I got them on 16's. If you are really expecting a blizzard get the Blizzak WS 50's, simply unbeatable in ice and deep packed snow. One tire I wouldnt recommend is Continental ContiWinterContact. That was last winters purchase, what a waste of money....

JDM5lugHatch

Nokian WR's these tires hands down are some of the best around!

gregory28_RENAMED

I agree; I love my Nokian WR's- true 4 season tires! Handle great in dry, wet, and snow.

sebounet2005

the NOKIAN WR is not a real winter tires

read this article, may be good for VA but not for CANADA or north America, it's a tire you could keep all year but it's a compromise, not so good in dry pavement.

And the look is not so good also, but a lot of people don't care about that


http://www.canadiandriver.com/articles/hl/nokian.htm

JDM5lugHatch

Well for a not so true winter tire it sure has been used to win a lot of SCCA Rally's in the snow. However, if you want a true winter tire from Nokian then go with Nokian Hakkapeliitta 2, Nokian Hakkapeliitta Q, Nokian RSI, or their studdable tires (illegal for use in the US I believe).

EnJ

Would it be ok to put snow tires up front and leave the Michelin Pilot sport A/S on the back? I had absolutely NO traction last winter on the Michelins, but I didn't want to but four new tires either. If I have to I will; I'm just wondering if equiping the front wheels with good snow tires is an alternative option.

frenchnew

Winter tires on the front only? You must hate your life and your car!!!

If you do not know, FWD cars needs 4 snow tires.

In slippery conditions, as soon as you will apply the brakes with only 2 snow tires, the rear of the car will come around as it will not have enough traction to maintain the stability. If you put the snow tire on the rear, curves will be hard to negotiate.

Do not go cheap, get 4 snow tires before you realize that you totalled your car because you wanted to save about $300 USD.

I am currently shopping for winter tires and my personnal choice is Nokian Hakkapeliitta2 (Without Studs as they are illegal in Ontario) or RSI along with 4 Acura 16" Steel Rims.


Best Regards from Montreal

frenchnew

joed40

Go to tire rack.com, best source for tire info, just purchased Dunlop M3s, on most tires you can get customer reviews, and on some they will do testing in snow/ice conditions, Dunlops seem to do pretty well in the testing.

pettydw

I used a set of Dunlop M3's last winter and am happy with them. It looks like they will last four seasons. The dry weather handling is okay. They are much better in the wet than stock EL42 Bridgestones. They mush around a bit in the snow (probably due to 235 width), but acceleration was never an issue.

sebounet2005

HAKKAPELLITA don't exist in 235 45 17
Only the RSI but the speed rating is only R, wich makes me think this tires is not strong enough if you want to have a good driving feeling, for exemple in cornering

PoochaKannInc

I have the Nokian WR's. Great tire IMO, and it will be sufficient for the snow in NY.

Pro Stock John

Let me know what you find Phil, I'm in Chicago and I'm gonna get some 17" snow tires too.

1FasTL

Dunlop Winter Sport M3 235/45R17 94V or Goodyear Ultra Grip GW3 235/45R17 94W would both be good choices. The Goodyear maintains the W rating but either should be fine unless you drive really fast in the snow!!!!

TL-Rocket

Has anyone heard of the Hankook W300, W400 or W440 tires? I'm thinking of getting a set of these on FLIK (LEX) wheels from Edge Racing.

Anyone know anything about FLIK wheels?

Also, since I have a 6MT I have to stick with a 17" snow tire, so the size I'm thinking of getting is 205-50-17 (load rating of 93) which will result in a narrower tire (better for snow) to go on the 17" x 7" FLIK wheels.

Fellow TLers let me know what you've heard and what you think.

Thank you,
TL-Rocket

2004 SSM/EBONY 6MT NAVI HPT

Phil B

I bought some Hankook Snows for my wife's Volvo S60 T2.5 last year. No complaints as far as traction and stopping, my main concern. I have been pretty much wedded to Blizzaks in the past. Looking for alternatives. I have noticed that the prices for the tires I would use on the TL have increased considerably over my old car and rim size. Ouch.

frenchnew

Do you plan on racing?

Nokian is the most recognized Winter Tire Manufacturer in Winter Proffessional Rallye Events!

As far as I am concerned, I am willing to sacrifice a little sporty driving to gain better traction during snow storm and icing rain storm.

Also, bear in mind that a winter tire with it's thread pattern has less rubber on the pavement and that rubber is more flexible which will results in more tire roll.

As far as the R rating, you have to take this with a little grain of salt.

They have the Hakkapeliitaa 2 in the following size
225/45R17 91T T443260
The Overall Diameter is 25.0" compared to 25.3" for the 235/45-17 and it's T Rated.

I have chosen to switch to 16" OEM Steel Rims for the winter (Mine is an A/T) that are wearing Hakkapeliitta RSI in the 205/60R16.

The reasons for this particular setup is as follows;

Save the Chromed Alloy Wheels from the Road Salts they are using up here in ridculous amounts.

A narrower thread on the pavement will have less tendencies to float on slushy roads, have more pound per inch on the contact surfaces then wider threads providing better bite.

On thing that I was not taking into account is the fact that the money save over buying a 235/45-17 Winter tires permitted me to purchase the steel rims ($55CDN each for OEM Rims) and I still had money left over as the RSI in that size were at $280 CDN per tire versus $159 CDN per Tire.


This is my personal choice based on over 29 years of driving in a snow bound area and I drive an average of over 50,000 miles per year for my work.

I have been using Nokian Winter Tires exclusively during the winter season since 1991 and have yet to be deceived and no I do not work for Nokian and have to pay my tires like most people.

@cUr@-TL

hey you TL folks in MTL shouldve showed up at the meet last sunday...


Nokian tires may be reputed or whatever... my dad had them on a car before and they sucked. When those were done, he tried Blizzak WS-50s and they were GREAT in snow and good on ice, on dry pavement they are just OK, though.

Michelin Ultra Grip (ICE) are also pretty good... and better on dry/wet pavement.

parabolica

I actually made it through the Toronto winter this year on Michelin Pilot Sport A/S tires. Of course I had to drive very carefully and I'd recommend getting proper snow tires.

sebounet2005

Didn't aware about a meeting, where is it announced

was it good ?

synoil

I have the German made Goodyear Ultra Grip GW3's, 17" on stock oem rims for winter.
Last year in the Detroit area they did great.
Craig

valentinegirl40

I live in NH and have the Michelin Sport A/S on my TL.... Cars drives very well with them.....

Valgirl

joed40

Hey, not for nothing but I Hakkapeliitaa once. Not only was it unrewarding, but, also quite painful. Had to wear a rib belt for two weeks afterward.

soljc

I agree. I also had the M3s on last winter, and would buy them again. Put about 15k on them, and I'm only expecting another winter.

van_man888

To all the MT owners out there, do you guys know if those black winter rims will fit over our calipers?

Pro Stock John

Any updates?

What is the narrowest size we can fit on the stock 17" rims?

frenchnew

If you mean the 16" Steel Rim from the local Acura Dealer, NO

frenchnew

If you are talking about the old Hakka 10 of several years back, then you are correct. The sidewal of those where built for light trucks with 8 plys belts which made for a very stiff sidewall. Have a look at their Hakka 10LT (same construction, just a slight rename)

As for gripping in bad weather, those tires were great. I had a set on a 1991 Lumina Euro 3.1 and it tracked like a snowmobile on snow.

van_man888

No. Im talking about those black steel wheels that I see everywhere. Now that I've seen one of those wheels up close im pretty sure they will not fit over my calipers. Guess I'll have to settle for a set of cheesy rims, and am thinking about the Hankook w300 or the Dunlop Graspic DS-2. If anyone has any experience with these tires please feel free to share them.

acura101west

whats snow!!!?????

lol i live in socal,we done know what snow is here? can you show me a pic of snow?
lmao

frenchnew

Come down to Montreal in Mid January and bring your Bathing Suit! errrr Sorry, I mean your Arctic Wear.

We will introduce you to snow and cold weather for the same price!

acura101west

thanks i do want to see canada some day,but not when its cold,60 is cold to me ,,,lol

Pro Stock John

Anyone running 225-17's on stock 17x8 rims?

sontipheap

i have a question, i just bought yokohama summer tires for my car. It looks like its not good for winter especially on snow but it good on wet surface. Can i take those tires off from the rims and store it somewhere without the rims? Could i install new tires to the existing rims or do i need to buy new rims to put the new tires on? Do you think all set of tires should be on different sets of rims instead put them aside in a storage area?

TL-Rocket

Watch out for the load rating: A 225-17 would have a load rating probably in the 80's and I believe we need a minimum of 94. I ended up having to put 235-45-17 Blizzaks on stock rims. However, a different tire manufacturer would have a different load rating for a given size. BTW, which tires are you thinking of.

TL-Rocket

'04 6MT

Pro Stock John

I'm open on brand, how do you like the Blizzaks?

Tecciztecatl

If you want to save money you can do that, no problemo ... you'd just end up paying for a mount/balance and the hassle of bringing the car in twice a year ... the shop might even let you store your tires there?!?

I personally would buy a cheap set of rims for winter, do a search, Adobeman (I think) had a nice pair for winter that didn't look bad at all. You can then just do a quick swap yourself ...

I have my winter tires, Dunlop M3, on the 17" OEM rims and my spring-fall on the aspec 18".

SSMTL04

Some places even mount and dismount the winter tires for free.. All you have to pay for is the balancing. I went to town fair tire and they have free mount and dismount, so the only thing I have to pay for is balancing.

MichaelBenz

iTrader: (2)

I prefer Michelin Pilot Alpin winter tires....always right on time for me! Available in both 17" and 18"sizes too!