Snow/Winter tires?
 

I did search but it does not seem like there is a thread specifically on winter/snow tires.

I did the tirerack etc hunt but I trust your opinions on here more anyways.

What are you guys using for snow tires? Do I need all 4 or should I just do the fronts?

I'm in NY so we can get quite a bit of snow up here.

Absolutely do all 4. IMO you need snow tires more for braking and handling than acceleration. :2cents:

Check with your insurance company, too. Some might give you slight discounts if they know you put on snow tires every winter.

Thanks buddy. What are you rocking on yours? I see you are in CA so I assume you got some snowies ;)

Currently, i'm rockin the Blizzak LM-60, but they haven't really gotten a good workout yet in the snow. Previously i had altimax arctics and wow, those were amazing!

https://img41.imageshack.us/img41/28...9414883926.jpg

You guys are great.

Is this what you got? If you dont mind me asking how much did you pay, did you get all 4, and where did you purchase them?

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....13674x012-tire

Your going to get 7000 answers ,, mine are better ,, mine are better ... etc. etc.. Any true winter tire will be better than an all seasons due to the tread design and the rubber compound. All seasons rubber gets substantially harder under 7C (44F) and loose flexibillity and the ability to self clean the treads thus becoming a slick.

I have driven over 50 years on all kinds of winters and not all boutique fancy named tires are always the best ... but thier marketing is.

I am currently running Nokian Hakkapeliitta which are great ... never bought them .. they came on another car I bought but I would buy them again.

The biggest suprise I got was the performance of a cheap set of Nexen tires I bought for my Cobalt when I had it .. that were amazing and would definatly buy them again. They are currently on my sons Cavallier and going on the 3rd winter.


To answer your other question .. buy 4 ... 2 only on the front may get you moving but your going to find that the rear end will be all over the place on the first bit of braking and you'll be in the ditch ass first soon as your not paying attention.

I was going to get Continental Extreme Winter Contacts as Tirerack tested them against Michelin Xicei2, Dunlop Graspic DS-3 and Bridgestone Blizzak WS70 and they came in first and have very good reviews. The Continental were lower price than the others so that was going to be my choice and Volco where I go had them all.

He did suggest another tire, Hankook Winter W409 ipike and said it was one of their most popular snow tires. I did some searching on the net and found a lot of good comments on these snow tires especially back east.

The tread design is very similar to the Nokian Hakeplita 5 and can be studded. The kicker was he had done a bulk buy on these in a 205/50/17 which is an alternate size for my ILX so I got them and saved $280.00 installed over the Continental Extreme Winter Contacts, $412.00 less than Michelin and $380.00 less than Bridgestones. Of course we have not had any snow yet so we will see how they perform when we get some.

Only time will tell, just another one you might want to research and yes get winter tires on all 4 wheels.

Everyone is consistently saying 4 tires. I really appreciate the info guys. I was only going to get 2, I have changed my mind now.

I run Nokian WR all year round. They are not as soft as dedicated snows, but do not wear as fast. THey have great snow traction, and do fine in the summer too. They are a good choice if you do not want to have two sets of tires and/or wheels.

I run the Hankook iPikes. They are a great tire for the $$$. I would not recommend getting only two tires. Accidents are way more expensive than tires.

If you only get two where are you going to put them? On the front so the back loses control and you spin out and smash into stuff, or the back so the fronts will spin when you take off and slide when you hit the brakes and you smash into stuff. See what I mean? Get 4.

When I lived in Toronto, I just kept the all-seasons. The city would unleash its army of salt trucks at the slightest hint of snow so I saw no real reason for them. :2cents:

I was lucky enough to get a set of winters when I bought my current car. Haven't looked at them since the sale, though. No idea what they are. :tomato:

Any opinions on Altimax Arctics ?

In the same boat OP, looking for some dedicated winter tires. Discount Tire Direct is running a $100 rebate right now on the purchase of 4 tires, might want to check them out. You can stack that discount with other manufacturer rebates as well, so you can end up with close to $200 off.

Here is a link to the discount: http://slickdeals.net/f/5386352-Disc...ires-Or-wheels

http://stores.ebay.com/Discount-Tire...from=R10&_ipg=

Anyone heard anything about the Hankook icept Evos?

can vouch for altimax arctics..amazing tires.. nearly unstoppable..but always remember...dont be stupid in the snow/ice.

they seem to be highly rated by Consumer Reports (overall right behind XIce2/3), but not many people seem to use them, as i tried Google but reviews on them are rare.

Snows
 

I used a set of Blizzak WS70 but down sized to 16" full set with steel wheels, TPMS, and wheel covers. Cost from TR was nearly $1000 with shipping. I still have them FOR SALE if interested. I used them only one season but they were unstoppable. You MUST use a set up with TPMS if you want to be able to turn off traction control. Seems counterintuitive, but if you get stuck or are trying to climb a slippery slope you may want to defeat TC and rock the car or aloof some wheel slip while maintaining full power. The car will lock on TC if it detects no TPMS. Size is 215/55/16 and I'm asking $400 for all four plus shipping from NE OH

Isn't that year dependent? My 06 didn't do that with no tpms.