Winter tire suggestions...

[[ChaosweaveR]]

Alright, you see the topic.

I'm in need of a set of tires and steel wheels for winter use, but I figured I'll ask for some opinions here. First off, I'm looking for decent A/S tires, winter isn't extreme enough on LI for an all out snow tire. Second, I'm torn between getting a 15" or a 16" steel wheel.

Tire sizes:

225/50 R16

215/60 R15

So far, the tires I have in mind:

Falken Zeix ZE512

Continental DWS

Khumo Exctsa ASX

The prices on these tires are great, around the $350-$390 mark for a set of four.

[01GPGT]

i have noticed skinnier tires seem to do better. at least on the truck at work (2wd i6 f150)

[danmccormick87]

Your best bet would be to hit up online reviews to see what others who have used these tires say bout them...

[[ChaosweaveR]]

Well, I'd go skinnier if I was using 15"s. Since I'm sticking with the stock 16" size,

225/50 R16 will do.

I'm surprised nobody has given any recommendations on an all season tire they've used and liked.

[FASTMOFO]

go with the Falkens, i had them on my Z28 through Chicago winters

it made it through

[emily.todd]

go with the kind thats made out of rubber and has good tred

[01GPGT]

i use the cheapest tires i can buy at wall-mart lol

[Professur]

Well ... I'm a few miles north of you, and we're obliged under law to have full on winter rubber. Many the year before they passed it, tho .. I rode a/s all year round and thought nothing of it. Went with Sears Silverguard tires (great price for a short trip south of the border). Then the missus started driving and I felt I needed to give her every possible safety precaution ... so her car got full winters. Well ... it didn't take long for my car to be upgraded too. I'd thought I was 100% when I had a/s in winter so long as I had decent tread depth left. It's a lot like when someone gets their first pair of glasses and suddenly realizes just how bad their vision really was.

If you're going to go to the expense and effort of a second set of tires and rims ... go full winter. IMHO Toyo Observe is the best all around winter tire on the market ... the last time I researched it was 5 years back so they may have been surpassed since then. Dad swore by Blizzaks ... but they run a foamed rubber compound. Scary awesome traction, but they wear much faster than the Toyos. Toyos run a more traditional rubber weight, but embed fibres and crushed walnut shell into the mix ... essentially giving you a light grade sandpaper to run on.

give your insurance company a call and see how much of a discount they'll give you for having full winters. You may find it pays the difference.

[[ChaosweaveR]]

Well ... I'm a few miles north of you, and we're obliged under law to have full on winter rubber. Many the year before they passed it, tho .. I rode a/s all year round and thought nothing of it. Went with Sears Silverguard tires (great price for a short trip south of the border). Then the missus started driving and I felt I needed to give her every possible safety precaution ... so her car got full winters. Well ... it didn't take long for my car to be upgraded too. I'd thought I was 100% when I had a/s in winter so long as I had decent tread depth left. It's a lot like when someone gets their first pair of glasses and suddenly realizes just how bad their vision really was.

If you're going to go to the expense and effort of a second set of tires and rims ... go full winter. IMHO Toyo Observe is the best all around winter tire on the market ... the last time I researched it was 5 years back so they may have been surpassed since then. Dad swore by Blizzaks ... but they run a foamed rubber compound. Scary awesome traction, but they wear much faster than the Toyos. Toyos run a more traditional rubber weight, but embed fibres and crushed walnut shell into the mix ... essentially giving you a light grade sandpaper to run on.

give your insurance company a call and see how much of a discount they'll give you for having full winters. You may find it pays the difference.

Hrmmm...

I know Canada has a law for snow tires on cars for certain times of the year, but the snow on the forsaken Island I live on, it never gets bad. I've been through three winters with a set of Goodyear Eagle F1 All Season rubber on the car, even with 3/32nds of tred left, the tires still had good bite in the mushy/snowy stuff. Granted, I'd love to get them again, but I don't want to pay almost $750 for another set.

The bleak winters we get here, I'll wear away most of the tire compound before any real snow hits.

[Professur]

I dunno if all of Canuckistan has it, but k-bec put that law in a couple of winters back. Now all the dealerships are looking at including a set of winters in the sale.

With winter tires ... it's not just the bite from the tread, but the flex of the softer rubber compound. Even on clear pavement, when the temp gets down a/s tires stiffen up enough to make a big difference. I don't know what the mid-winter temps are like there. Ocean currents may keep it warm enough to keep a/s flexible enough.

[notallthere]

As far as I know Quebec is the only one who has the snow tire law right now. There are regions where it is a local ordinance in Ontario and other provinces but as far as I know nothing province wide.

Both of our cars have snow tires and one are the Bidgestone Blizzaks and the other Toyo snowproxs. As far as I am concerned they are good but the Blizzaks are much better than that of the Toyos.

I have had one set of Continentals on my car and my parents have had them on their truck. Both of us were not happy with them. My car lasted 18,000 miles on the tire and wore them out. My parents did 24,000 miles and had the same results. Fortunately, we both have a good shop to go to for tires and they warrantied both sets.

[star_deceiver]

Get the winter tires!!! They're worth every penny spent... even if you get the cheapest, chinese copied tire, they'll still be so much better then any all-season!!!

My vibe runs Firestone Winterforce, fully studded!!!

[Jakeman17]

I hear DWS is the way to go

I work at discount tire and thats what most people were happy with

[[ChaosweaveR]]

That's just the thing, LI winters aren't that bad. To boot, the GA is very balanced in the snow. Never have I gotten stuck.

Snow tires here would see more pavement and slush than actual snow and ice.

[notallthere]

They call them snow tires but even during cold days of less than minus 4 celcius they will perform better than that of all seasons.

[Twenty]

All seasons are rubbish.

[[ChaosweaveR]]

I had Goodyear Eagle F1 All Seasons before, and they were fantastic, even in the snow. I just don't want to pay +$700 for a set.

I'm well aware of the temp changes on the rubber compound, but LI's winters are nothing compared to what you other guys deal with. It's mild, and snow tends to come in spurts. I understand the benefits of the rubber compound of a wintertire, but they'll be halfway worn by March. If I still lived in MA, I'd see better use for them.

[Professur]

I've spent the last couple of days hunting up tires for the missus' Malibu. Best deal I've found so far is Sears for Continental Extreme Contact (205/65r15) for $79 a corner. Tirerack.com ranks it above Blizzak.

[[ChaosweaveR]]

I've spent the last couple of days hunting up tires for the missus' Malibu. Best deal I've found so far is Sears for Continental Extreme Contact (205/65r15) for $79 a corner. Tirerack.com ranks it above Blizzak.

Hmmm...a bit too narrow, what is the speed rating? I don't want anything below H. 215/60 R15 is what I'm after.

[Professur]

RATED t ... whatever that means.

[Jordan5150]

I had Bridgestone Potenza G019 Grids on my old GP in 15's and they were the SHIT! We had a really nasty ice storm and everyone was going 20 mph and I had absolutly no issues all the way up to 40 mph. And we are talking 3" of snow with 1/2 of ice on that. Those tires were great wet/dry/snow, anything. They ate snow for breakfast.

[Grims01gt]

I have blizzaks and love them in the snow..But since your looking for an all season, I'd also recommend the G019's..they use them up here, and were popular when I worked at Firestone..I would also strongly avoid Triple Tred Assurance..while the 80k warranty is appealing, I ABSOLUTELY hate that tire with a dusting of snow on the ground, that's what I have on my 16" wheels, for summer only... Good luck Chris!

[[ChaosweaveR]]

Whelp, the steelies are on, and I settled on a set of Khumo Expert KH20s. They're 93 load rated, H speed rating, and have a 50,000 mile tread life. Driving home on them, they're very quiet, I never realized how noisy the Generals were. Then again, all the tires I've used prior were V, W and Y speed rated, so I was used to a stiffer ride. And yes, it is more cushy with a 215/60 tire. Kind of nice really, so used to the 235/45.

Here's a pic I snagged while on break. I cleaned up the wheels more and glossed the tires, I'll get a better pic tomorrow.