# Snow Tires



## ZYDECORICH (Nov 19, 2010)

Lookin to get some for the Subaru  this year, I heard Blizzak WS70 and Goodyear Ultra Grip Ice are good for about $85 each. any recommendations?


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## maineskier69 (Nov 20, 2010)

We had the Blizzaks for winter tires on the Mrs' car and LOVED them.  They gripped in the snow and the tread life was great.  We got talked into some Generals once the Blizzaks wore out and they were not nearly as good and after 2 seasons are starting to look like summer tires.


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## tmcc71 (Nov 20, 2010)

*firestone winterforce*

I have a pair of firestone winterforce that are excellent.  I am putting them on for their third season today.  They are excellent in snow and durability is excellent.  They are also relatively cheap.  I price matched and got them for 69 each in a 16 inch.   They won't disappoint.  I have them  on  a front wheel drive Mazda 3 and it feels like I have all wheel drive when they are installed.


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## Sky (Nov 20, 2010)

3rd hand story...so de-rate the credibility....but I heard of a guy who put Blizzaks on a Firebird (V8, RWD etc) and loved them.  I saw Tirerack's rating of them.  Blizzaks came in third....but a very close competition with the top two.  WHen reading the individual ratings...I liked where the Blizzacks scored higher.  EX:  Road noise?  I'll forgo quiet for better grip thank you!  :>

I'm scoring Blizzaks for Mrs Sky very soon.

Possibly a better tire....for about twice the price....VRedistein (sp?) (a Dutch tire I think) is amazing.  Had those for Mrs Sky for the past few years.  Long story...those tires are for higher performance cars and were over-rated for her Sebring...but it was all I cold find back when we bought them.  She hated taking them off in the Spring.


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## riverc0il (Nov 20, 2010)

I have run Cooper Weathermasters, Michelin X Ice 2s, Dunlops top winter tire, and the Blizzaks and the Blizzaks perform significantly better, IMO.


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## billski (Nov 20, 2010)

We have used WS60's on a minivan for four seasons and a Camry for one season.  Very pleased.


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## soulseller (Nov 20, 2010)

I loved my Bridgestone Wintersport M3's (since renamed WR). I ran a used set of Blizzaks last year and they were equivalent to all seasons, not a fair review though because I am not sure how many miles were on them.


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## WWF-VT (Nov 20, 2010)

Our Outback has Firestone Winterforce tires.  Relatively inexpensive and a good winter tire.


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## mlctvt (Nov 20, 2010)

What model Subaru do you have? This will give me a better idea of the type of performance you would be looking for. 

I've run 2 types of Blizzaks and Dunlop Wintersport M3. Currently running the Wintersports on our Subaru WRX and Legacy. These tires are awesome. 

I hated the Blizzak WS50 , the snipes were so large the car handled like crap on dry roads,  the Blizzak LM-22 was better but nowhere near as good as the Dunlop Wintersport.


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## wa-loaf (Nov 20, 2010)

I went with the General Altimax Arctic last year and they've been great. I also spend a lot of time on the highway with them and they handle about as good as my all seasons.

http://forums.alpinezone.com/showthread.php?t=68744


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## drjeff (Nov 20, 2010)

Just (as in less than 2 hours ago) had a set of Nokian Hakkapeliitta LT's put on my Rav 4 that the lady who picks my kids up from their school everyday drives (basically 30 highway miles each way).  Their 1st 5 or so miles on the dry highway from the tire shop back to my house were quiet, and the under 5 mph trek across my back yard to my basement bulkhead so I could put the all-seasons in the basement yielded impressive performance on the grass and leaves in my backyard  :lol: 

Can't wait to get them into some real winter conditions  to try out what review after review seems to be a great snowtire!


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## Geoff (Nov 20, 2010)

Sky said:


> 3rd hand story...so de-rate the credibility....but I heard of a guy who put Blizzaks on a Firebird (V8, RWD etc) and loved them.  I saw Tirerack's rating of them.  Blizzaks came in third....but a very close competition with the top two.  WHen reading the individual ratings...I liked where the Blizzacks scored higher.  EX:  Road noise?  I'll forgo quiet for better grip thank you!  :>



I don't pay much attention to snow tire reviews at Tire Rack.   They're based in totally flat Indiana.   They are not skiers so they don't use their cars like we do.   They're not going to mention any tires they don't carry.

I had Blizzak WS-60's on my VW GTI.   They were great for the first 10,000 miles but the grip vanished shortly afterwards even though the tire still had plenty of tread.   My last GTI ran Nokian Hakka Q's.   I'm now running Hakka R's but they aren't on the car yet so I don't have anything intelligent to say about them.  The Q's held up for 25,000+ miles.  I'm expecting the same out of my new Nokians


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## SKIQUATTRO (Nov 20, 2010)

I had the general artics on the volvo xc70 and the were great.... Just put 17" rims and firestone winterforce on the suburban , we'll see how she handles.... Got to be bettter than running the stock 20" all seasons


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## deadheadskier (Nov 20, 2010)

Another vote for Firestone Winterforce.  Worked great for about 25K miles for me.


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## darent (Nov 20, 2010)

I run theToyo observe winter tire on my 2000 outback,I drove it through the december winter storm coming home from stowe last year. great traction in snow and ice. I am impressed with the dry pavement handling as well, not mushy like a lot of dedicated snow tires


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## andrec10 (Nov 20, 2010)

Michelin X-ice were great on our CRV. Just put them (X-Ice 2)on my Son's WRX and it still handles well. Putting the X-Ice 2's on the Wifes awd Acura on Tuesday. The old X-ice's were awesone in snow and ice and wore well, so I have high hopes for the 2's. Got them from Tirerack for decent prices.


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## smitty77 (Nov 21, 2010)

Another vote for Blizzaks.  I had a set of the old REVO-1s on my wife's PT Cruiser and they handled better on dry and wet pavement than the crappy Goodyear all-seasons from the factory.  Snow handling was good, and fantastic on ice.  Much quieter than Cooper or Winterforce tires, IMO.  I was very skeptical at first because the tread design did not look much like a winter tire - I've seen all-seasons with a more aggressive tread.  But I've never had a better snow-handling tire which is proof that a lot of traction is due to the rubber compound.  And I got great mileage out of them but that may have been because they _didn't_ have a blocky tread pattern.

I know Sky questioned noise ratings vs. handling, but I look at it this way:  If the tires handle the same, I'll spend a few extra bucks so that I don't have to hear that whine/droan for the weekly 82-mile round trip to Grandma's house.


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## NYDrew (Nov 21, 2010)

I just got studded general altimax arctics.  only got to play once in icy conditions and they did very well, handle nice dry also.  Gas mileage however has taken a very significant 25% drop.


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## from_the_NEK (Nov 22, 2010)

deadheadskier said:


> Another vote for Firestone Winterforce.  Worked great for about 25K miles for me.



+2
I have these on both my wife's Forester and my Tacoma. Wear well and fairly quiet. A couple of years ago I made it from my house in Lyndonville to Cannon to meet up with Riverc0il in 36 minutes in a driving snowstorm without a single handling issue.
These made a huge difference (over all seasons) on the Forester last year as well.


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## jaja111 (Nov 22, 2010)

tmcc71 said:


> I have a pair of firestone winterforce that are excellent.  I am putting them on for their third season today.  They are excellent in snow and durability is excellent.  They are also relatively cheap.  I price matched and got them for 69 each in a 16 inch.   They won't disappoint.  I have them  on  a front wheel drive Mazda 3 and it feels like I have all wheel drive when they are installed.



I don't think they're the best out there, but they're a true value. I have a set on my Honda and another on my Outback. No complaints here and I drive 100-300 miles per day for work. I was especially surprised at the tread wear, or rather lack there of.


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## bvibert (Nov 23, 2010)

I'm happy to hear all the good reviews for the Fireston Winterforce.  I just mounted some up for my car, haven't actually put them on yet though.


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## SKIQUATTRO (Nov 23, 2010)

an Audi R8 just pulled up next to me....Blizzaks mounted on it...he's ready for the snow...


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## Glenn (Nov 24, 2010)

SKIQUATTRO said:


> an Audi R8 just pulled up next to me....Blizzaks mounted on it...he's ready for the snow...



An odd choice for a winter car...but hey, if ya got the money.


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## SKIQUATTRO (Nov 24, 2010)

i'm sure its not his only ride.....


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## Glenn (Nov 24, 2010)

SKIQUATTRO said:


> i'm sure its not his only ride.....



That's what I thought. And if he's got another car...why even take the R8 out in the snow? I'd park it for the winter if I had that much coin.


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## drjeff (Nov 24, 2010)

Glenn said:


> That's what I thought. And if he's got another car...why even take the R8 out in the snow? I'd park it for the winter if I had that much coin.



Because it can!


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## Geoff (Nov 24, 2010)

Glenn said:


> That's what I thought. And if he's got another car...why even take the R8 out in the snow? I'd park it for the winter if I had that much coin.



Maybe his other car is a Lamborghini and the R8 is his winter beater?


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## Glenn (Nov 24, 2010)

LMAO! 

Imagine having an R8 as your "crappy weather" car |?


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## 〽❄❅ (Nov 25, 2010)

Glenn said:


> That's what I thought. And if he's got another car...why even take the R8 out in the snow? I'd park it for the winter if I had that much coin.


...attempt at recreating the "Down Hill Racer" fantasy being Robbert Redford over steering into snow banks zipping around alpine switchbacks with his schmoi riding shotgun in her Porsche!


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## Geoff (Nov 26, 2010)

I'm at the tire dealer in Rutland having my Nokians put on the VW.  They have the Firestone Winterforce here.  It has some siping but nothing like the Bridgestone Blizzak WS-70 sitting next to it or the Nokian Hakka R.  I'm sure it performs well in most conditions but it is unlikely to be as good on black ice where siping is so important.  You can put studs on them which would make them superb but most flatlanders wouldn't want the road noise.


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## bigbog (Nov 27, 2010)

〽❄❅;576081 said:
			
		

> ...attempt at recreating the "Down Hill Racer" fantasy being Robbert Redford over steering into snow banks zipping around alpine switchbacks with his schmoi riding shotgun in her Porsche!



An R8, with sized-down wheels? for Blizzaks.  That's some winter car....yeah, that's the car brought to mind....


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## billski (Dec 11, 2010)

*Last Word*

The last word on snow tires:



The last word on winter driving:


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## riverc0il (Dec 11, 2010)

I know that last video was a comedy clip but for real! Get some winter tires if you drive in snow country, already! Great stuff. Wish I knew about the differences and that they are worth the expense when I first started driving.


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## billski (Dec 11, 2010)

riverc0il said:


> I know that last video was a comedy clip but for real! Get some winter tires if you drive in snow country, already! Great stuff. Wish I knew about the differences and that they are worth the expense when I first started driving.


Done.  For all three family cars.


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## riverc0il (Dec 11, 2010)

billski said:


> Done.  For all three family cars.


Just to clarify, I meant everyone in general, didn't mean you in particular since I was replying to your post. 

:beer:


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## andrec10 (Dec 11, 2010)

billski said:


> Done.  For all three family cars.



Snows done for both Family Cars. Company car = NO. So when it snows, I work from home!


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## roark (Dec 11, 2010)

2 sets of wheels w/ snows for both cars. No brainier.


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## skijay (Dec 11, 2010)

I like the second video, but the "beater" is a Subaru Legacy.  He says at one part of the video, " the difference between the 2009 car and this 15 year old car is that it has snow tires." (around the 2:39 mark)

 It also looks like it was equipped with the optional at the time, AWD.  So we have a 2009 Corolla with crappy OEM tires and presumably a 1994 or 1995 Legacy with snow tires and possibly AWD.  Not the best comparison.  Watch the rear tires of the blue car around the 5:15 mark and forward, to me it looks like it does have AWD.


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## Geoff (Dec 12, 2010)

The first video has the one I hear all the time.   An Audi is wrapped around a phone pole and the driver still thinks he's invincible because he has AWD to go with his stock all-season radials.

The stock tires on my SUV are pretty agressive but they have no siping.  A 6,000 pound car on black ice will go straight no matter what you do with the brakes and steering wheel.


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