# winter tires



## SKIQUATTRO (Nov 23, 2005)

Looking to replace my 265/70/18 Continentals with a either the BFGoodrich AT KO or the Michelin Cross Terrain.  Both are highly rated all seasons.  My other option is to buy a 17" rim and tire (Blizzak) package and keep my current stock rims and Continetals for summer/spring/fall

Any suggestions or real reviews of the above?


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## JimG. (Nov 23, 2005)

Moving to Miscellaneous.


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## noski (Nov 23, 2005)

SKIQUATTRO said:
			
		

> Looking to replace my 265/70/18 Continentals with a either the BFGoodrich AT KO or the Michelin Cross Terrain.  Both are highly rated all seasons.  My other option is to buy a 17" rim and tire (Blizzak) package and keep my current stock rims and Continetals for summer/spring/fall
> 
> Any suggestions or real reviews of the above?


I am a proponant of winter tires/steel rims. I found TireRack.com had the best prices. I left them mounted and just switched out each fall/spring. I used the Blizzaks and got 6 winters out of them on my Ford sedan. They were great. I have a steep climb to 1800', and they were outstanding.


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## SKIQUATTRO (Nov 23, 2005)

Cost will be about $800 for just tires vs. $1300 for rims and tires (Blizzaks)

Also have to consider storage..


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## noski (Nov 23, 2005)

SKIQUATTRO said:
			
		

> Cost will be about $800 for just tires vs. $1300 for rims and tires (Blizzaks)
> 
> Also have to consider storage..


 Wow, is that thru tirerack.com? You may want to reconsider the wheels- get basic no frills steel wheels. You will look like you are driving a cop car.


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## SKIQUATTRO (Nov 23, 2005)

Tires alone are $180 ea then rims and shipping...


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## bill9009 (Nov 24, 2005)

well i just put BFG all-terrain ko's (325/60/20) on my dodge, cost an arm and a leg, but they're worth it, i got to try em out leaving VT the other day when the snow started rolling in, and they worked great!

By the way the difference is pretty extreme between the BFG's and the Mich cross terrains, the bfgs are much more aggressive, my parents have the cross terrain's on their seqouia and tundra , which is good for them because the dont need or want something that looks as agressive as the bfgs, but they are still good in the snow, i think if you wanted something for alot of offroad and alot of snow driving go with the BFG's but for an occasional snow tire that will wear better go with the cross terrains


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## catskills (Nov 24, 2005)

Nokian Hakkapeliitta 2 Snow Tires are awesome.  The Nokian all season is a great tire as well. 

Check out the Nokian Intro


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## SKIQUATTRO (Nov 25, 2005)

thanks for all the advice...I would keeping these all season on, well, all seasons..the BFG might be overkill in the summer months (dont really off road). The Nokians are nice but dont make the size I need.  The Michelins are still good tires.  I live on Long Island and take alot of day trips to MA and weekends to VT,,still toying with the rim and Blizzak's...arghhh, hate these decsions!!


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## tirolerpeter (Nov 25, 2005)

*Tires*



			
				SKIQUATTRO said:
			
		

> thanks for all the advice...I would keeping these all season on, well, all seasons..the BFG might be overkill in the summer months (dont really off road). The Nokians are nice but dont make the size I need.  The Michelins are still good tires.  I live on Long Island and take alot of day trips to MA and weekends to VT,,still toying with the rim and Blizzak's...arghhh, hate these decsions!!



Keep in mind the adage: "All Season Tires are really NO Season Tires."  I can't advise you on the size you mentioned (I'm guessing you are driving an SUV) but I am a strong advocate of dedicated winter rubber.  I use "high performance summer" rubber from Spring through Fall.  Then (as I did this afternoon) I switch over to my "H" rated Pirelli Snowsport 210's for the snow months.  "H" rated winter tires are good in snow and ice, but they are also excellent on wet or dry high speed interstates for us poor skiers that have to drive hundreds of miles to get to the hill.


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## riverc0il (Nov 25, 2005)

fwiw, i did the weekend warrior commute to the mountains for a number of years driving 2-3 hours each way on all season tires in a light weight saturn.  if you are careful and drive well and don't go out when it's still puking you almost never have any issues.  i am getting my first set of winter tires put on this coming monday out of need living up here.  but generally once the roads are plowed there is no need for snows.  it is only a need if you are doing a lot of driving when the roads aren't plowed and need to get around on dirt roads and what not.

think of it this way: if you don't 'NEED' snows, you could sink that money into a season pass instead.


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## tirolerpeter (Nov 26, 2005)

*Tires vs. Ski Passes*

If I may paraphrase the current MasterCard advertising slogan:  "$349 Ski passes; wonderful!  Safe tires for you and yours: Priceless"  Beyond that, I have no opinion.  Lots of Luck


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## smitty77 (Nov 30, 2005)

uphillklimber said:
			
		

> When I first got my 4X4 it had Michelin LTX AT's mounted all around.... That is, like 89,000 verifiable miles on those tires.... I would definately get another set of these.... I want some opinions, please, on the tires.


I'm very fond of the Michelin LTX M/S.  Best all season tires for mid- and heavy-duty trucks and SUVs, IMHO.  And they do wear like iron, and have some good winter grip.  I got over 75,000 miles on my last set on the work truck, and would have gone a lot further but for the fact that I wanted some fresh tread for an upoming snow season.  We used Michelin LTX load rated tires on the town ambulances because they wear and drive so well.  Never needed snow tires on the rigs, just chains if it was really bad out.

If you plan on keeping the truck until it's dead, I would go with the Michelins.  They really seem to hold up.


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## SKIQUATTRO (Nov 30, 2005)

just ordered the 285/65/18 BG Goodrich tires...will be mounted early next week, pray for snow.  They were pricy, but needed $235 ea


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## bill9009 (Dec 1, 2005)

Mine ended up being $400 a piece, $1700 altogether installed, so consider yourself lucky. But mine were 325/65/20's, but it was worth it, they make the truck look so much better than the stockers


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## SKIQUATTRO (Dec 2, 2005)

did you get rims too?? what truck did you put these on?


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## skijay (Dec 2, 2005)

Snow tires are not cheap.  I paid more for my Cooper Discoverer snow tires than I did for my summer Bridgestone Dueler Alenza  H/L.  

I purchased 4 snow tires, some only purchase 2 for the drive wheels.  It makes sense to use 4, what do all of you do?


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## madman (Dec 2, 2005)

I have Cooper snows on my old Cherokie the rears are studded.If you havent tried studded tires you should its not so much about taking off as being able to stop. On front drive you need to use 4 because the front wheels do most of the braking the ass end will slide. Dont belive what you hear about studs screwing up the handeling on dry pavement you wont even  notice them unless you are a totaly agressive driver. Also have them on the wifes Volvo I let a friend drive it and he went out the next day and bought some. My next move is to buy some for the new Jeep


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## bill9009 (Dec 4, 2005)

skiquattro, i put the tires on my 04 dodge ram 1500, it came with the 20" rims, so that price was for tires only, glad i had them today and 4 wheel drive, otherwise i wasnt going anywhere, they didnt plow my road and there is a steep hill and i couldnt get up it without using 4x4, i assume the tires helped as well caue i dont think my old bald wranglers would have made it


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## LVNLARG (Dec 4, 2005)

I keep putting Goodyear Forterras on my Suburban. The ones they just put on have a crazy new tread unlike anything I've ever seen. They are an "all season" but have the Rain/snow and ice symbols on the tire and are rated a 10 (out of 10) for snow! It finally snowed here this weekend and I gave them a quick trial in the mall parking lot on the snow and ice that stuck and they seem pretty good. They don't have much of a road hum to them either. The absolute BEST thing about Goodyears is the tire warranty though. I drive my truck like a cop truck . My last set of Forterra's I got 15 k miles out of. The set before 10.5 K miles. The things are WARRANTED for 60 K miles. That meant I paid 25% of the cost for new tires to get my current set put on that arn't even the same as the original...AND the warrantee just keeps going and going...it's not a 1 time thing. Brand new tires every fall for $250 USD works for me !   8)


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## Marc (Dec 7, 2005)

Wellll... I guess I'm to late to offer any advice to the OP, but I'll share my winter tire experience so far for comparison.

My '01 S4 came with Hankook summer tires.  I was told with the awd I'd accelerate fine in the snow, but in the interest of braking and turning, I investigated winter tires.

I went with an winter tire, the Dunlop Wintersport M3, rather than a true snow tire to preserve some dry road handling which is still the majority of winter driving I do.  I bought them for $140 a piece (ouch) on TireRack in the stock 225/45-17 size.  I had them mounted and balanced at a Goodyear shop for $20 a wheel, cheapest I could find in the area, the Friday before Thanksgiving.

Good thing too, the snow I woke up to on Thanksgiving gave me a chance to test them out.  The results?  Fantastic.  After learning their limits, I found I actually had to work fairly hard and put a concerted effort in to skid and make donuts (not that I do those things....        much).

They had another test going up to Mount Snow on Sunday.  Flawless and tons of grip abounds.  I'd highly recommend them to anyone with a sports sedan.  Great grip, beefy tread.

There is a noticeable handling difference, obviously from my summers, with a little corner creep and a bit more understeer than normal, but overall not bad.  Nothing like dealing with the Blizzak's my father had last year.

I'd highly recommend them.


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## tjd (Dec 7, 2005)

*Winter Tyres*

My XC70 cane with Pirellis which I quickly realized didn't cut it for me.

I've since switched over to Nokian WRs for year round use.  Snow and speed rated.  Great handling in all conditions.  

http://www.nokiantyres.com/passengercars_product_en?product=610503&name=NOKIAN+WR


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## Marc (Dec 7, 2005)

A visual comparison of my summer and winter tires:

The Hankook Ventus HRII H405







The Dunlop SP Winter Sport M3






Bit of a difference...


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## Catul (Dec 8, 2005)

Marc said:
			
		

> I went with an winter tire, the Dunlop Wintersport M3, rather than a true snow tire to preserve some dry road handling which is still the majority of winter driving I do.
> 
> I'd highly recommend them.



I concur on the recommendation of the WinterSport M3's!  I drive a 2005 BMW 545i which came with high performance summer tires - I've always put snow tires on my cars (which tend to be performance-oriented RWD ones so they're not that great in snow no matter what :-?).

These Dunlops are great for the typical winters here in CT and the like, where there's not that much snow on the main roads at all; they actually do pretty well in the snow and ice, within reason, and are fine in the dry.  Got 'em from Tire Rack as well.


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## LVNLARG (Dec 8, 2005)

There's a link to the crazy new tires I got > http://www.goodyearfortera.com/tripletred/index.html

I'm kinda excited to see what they will do too. Havn't had much for weather since I got them a week ago..lol


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## Greg (Dec 8, 2005)

I've got *Bridgestone Dueller A/T* tires on my Cherokee. I'm very happy with them.


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## Marc (Dec 9, 2005)

Catul said:
			
		

> Marc said:
> 
> 
> 
> ...



I feel your pain man, I was very close to an M3 but the AWD pushed me over the edge to go for the S4.  I test drove a few 330xi's but they felt a bit sluggish compared with the S.  Just couldn't resist the pull of the turbo's.  Even though RWD cars aren't the best in low traction issues, they are still lots of fun in the snow.

Mmmm..... oversteer........   :beer:


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## Catul (Dec 13, 2005)

Marc said:
			
		

> I feel your pain man, I was very close to an M3 but the AWD pushed me over the edge to go for the S4.  I test drove a few 330xi's but they felt a bit sluggish compared with the S.  Just couldn't resist the pull of the turbo's.  Even though RWD cars aren't the best in low traction issues, they are still lots of fun in the snow.
> 
> Mmmm..... oversteer........   :beer:



The E46 M3 is great, but I'm sure you're having a blast in the S4 - must be a heck of a ride no matter what the conditions, and a veritable tank with snow tires and AWD.

I do love controlled oversteer though - always looking for a little slick patch to play in.  Even yesterday while driving home, I spotted a nice slick mushy part with no one around, so I turned into it and goosed the gas, the back end started to twitch just a little and I counter-steered, but didn't have to do much as the car's electronics intervened to stabilize things.   I know some people would switch all that off, but I don't pretend to be the world's best driver, I'd rather have that stuff helping me out even when I'm playing.  :roll:


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## Marc (Dec 13, 2005)

Yeah, I won't ever not have fun driving the S.  And I can go through just about anything that's less than 4" deeper than my ground clearance for a sustained time (about a foot).  So yeah, that's plenty for the driving I do!


I love the E46 though.  That six is one of the sweetest, smoothest, easy going and powerful engine every designed.  The V8 is nice, but it's heavier and sacrifices just a bit of balance, not that you'd ever know in a car with the Bimmer badge on it though.

The V8 they stuffed in the newer S4's is actually lighter than the biturbo V6, since it's all aluminum (V6 was an iron block) and no turbos or plumbing or intercoolers.  Gas mileage suffers but that maybe a sacrifice I'll have to make in another few years to have a V8 that tach's out at 8 grand


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## Catul (Dec 13, 2005)

I like turbos too, had a Mitsubishi 3000GT VR4 with some basic boost mods, lotsa fun!  But even better is a high-revving engine, like my NSX that liked to live up in the 6-8k rpm range.  I've only had the 545i for a few months, haven't really pushed it yet - I do like the torque of the V8.  Can just imagine what the new M3's V8 will be like!


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