The Winter's Coming Winter Tires Thread

[Huntingwhale]

Got my very first set of winter tires last friday. Mazda had a deal going on. Looking forward for the first snow fall. The best part is that now I can drive deep in the mountains to go skiing, without fear of those icy highways.

[Jimmy Stang]

So it looks like changeover time is upon us. I'm not not convinced that we'll get 5-10 centimetres like the forecast is suggesting for Sunday, but I think that I'll try and swap them tomorrow, just in case. At least on one car. I have to do it eventually anyway.

[Bertuzzied]

I changed to winters about 3 weeks ago. How damaging is it to winter tires in 20c weather? it's the first time i ever bought true winter tires. I always used the Nokians WRs in the winters before.

[worth]

I'm out of town this weekend and cannot change out my Hankook summers. Gonna be a slick one on Monday. At least I have Subaru Symmertrical AWD.

[undercoverbrother]

Originally Posted by Bertuzzied

I changed to winters about 3 weeks ago. How damaging is it to winter tires in 20c weather? it's the first time i ever bought true winter tires. I always used the Nokians WRs in the winters before.

Run them all summer bad, one or two days like we have had, not too big a deal.

[The Yen Man]

Originally Posted by Bertuzzied

I changed to winters about 3 weeks ago. How damaging is it to winter tires in 20c weather? it's the first time i ever bought true winter tires. I always used the Nokians WRs in the winters before.

I guess it may wear the tread out a little, but honestly, in the grand scheme of things, I don't think it matters that much. Winter tires are supposed to last 4-5 seasons before the rubber hardens anways. I have them on until first week of May, and I run them while doing my annual Easter weekend drive to and back from Medicine Hat. During April, the weather is a crapshoot. It fluctuates between minus temperatures up to plus 20 in some years. My tread wear lasted 5 years as well, and I do about 20 thousand kms a year (so probably about 12 thousand kms roughly on the winters)

[darklord700]

Anyone knows what's the minimum thread depth for winter tires to be effective? I have a set of 6 year old X ice 1 with about 5/32" left and I'm wondering if I should bother putting them on this year. Thanks.

[Ironhorse]

Originally Posted by Bertuzzied

I changed to winters about 3 weeks ago. How damaging is it to winter tires in 20c weather? it's the first time i ever bought true winter tires. I always used the Nokians WRs in the winters before.

Originally Posted by undercoverbrother

Run them all summer bad, one or two days like we have had, not too big a deal.

We've had 3 weeks of pretty much great weather. The thing to remember is that the rubber compound is quite soft on winter tires, and when you drive on it in 20C+ days every day, they will wear quite a bit faster. You won't necessarily "wreck" or "damage" your winter tires, but the amount of wear will increase greatly, and they won't last as long. Even on 15C chinook days, I can almost see the dollar bills fluttering out the window.

The ideal switchover point to winter tires is when the majority of temps are 7C or lower. I realize that not everyone changes their rims over themselves or even has their winters on a second set of rims (even though they really should), but that is the measuring point I use.

[Ironhorse]

Interesting tidbit on tire pricing.

I priced out new winter rubber for the car this year, and ended up comparing 1010Tires (Canadian) and TireRack. Sadly, even though 1010Tires was offering nearly free shipping, I ended up ordering through TireRack. Why? Even though their shipping was more expensive (distance, $30 brokerage) and I had to account for exchange rate, I still ended up saving over $70 on the bottom line. If I was an American resident, I would have saved another $60 with a mail-in rebate. It seems that, depending on the tire, Canadians get gouged on tire prices also.

[HockeyIlliterate]

Originally Posted by darklord700

Anyone knows what's the minimum thread depth for winter tires to be effective? I have a set of 6 year old X ice 1 with about 5/32" left and I'm wondering if I should bother putting them on this year. Thanks.

Bear in mind that at 2/32", your tires are legally bald, so you are getting close the edge anyway.

That being said, this article (http://www.apa.ca/tire_wintertireratings.asp) states that:

A new winter tire is delivered with between 10/32 and 13/32 tread depth. The wear bars moulded into the voids in the tire tread indicate the absolute wear limit of 2/32 of an inch tread depth. That's not considered safe for winter conditions. At the start of winter, experts recommend a minimum of 5-6/32 of an inch. Before installing your winter tires for another season, you can take a few minutes to measure the remaining treadlife by using a Canadian quarter with a caribou on it. Place the quarter, muzzle first, into the gap between the tire treads. If the muzzle is entirely buried, the tread measures at least 6/32nds of an inch, and is safe enough for another 10,000 kilometers. If the caribou's muzzle is entirely visible, or the edge of the coin ahead of the muzzle is visible when inserted between the treads, the tire is likely getting close to its legal minimum tread depth of 2/32nds of an inch, and should be replaced. An expert can confirm the reading for you using a tread depth gauge, or you can purchase one yourself; they're not expensive.

So maybe you should consider getting new tires.

Originally Posted by Bertuzzied

I changed to winters about 3 weeks ago. How damaging is it to winter tires in 20c weather? it's the first time i ever bought true winter tires. I always used the Nokians WRs in the winters before.

Neither here nor there really, but I ran Nokian WRG2 SUV tires on my CR-V (claimed, by Nokian at the time (although their website doesn't appear to still so state) that it is an all-weather/all-season tire that doesn't need to be removed in the summer).

I was shocked at how quickly the tread wore down--in 3 years (driving no more than 21,500 miles in that period) the tires were pretty much toast. Plus, one of the tires had some sort of deformity in it that caused the car to vibrate at speeds over 70 mph---Kal-Tire could never figure out the problem and wasn't interested in fixing it.

So I'm not a big fan of Nokians (or Kal-Tire, for that matter).

[Old Yeller]

Originally Posted by Bertuzzied

I changed to winters about 3 weeks ago. How damaging is it to winter tires in 20c weather? it's the first time i ever bought true winter tires. I always used the Nokians WRs in the winters before.

How come you changed to straight winters from the Nokian WRs?

I have Nokian WR's on my SUV and I loved 'em, but I'm struggling with the internal debate of just getting them again or going full winters and then cheap all seasons.

[Old Yeller]

Originally Posted by HockeyIlliterate

I was shocked at how quickly the tread wore down--in 3 years (driving no more than 21,500 miles in that period) the tires were pretty much toast. Plus, one of the tires had some sort of deformity in it that caused the car to vibrate at speeds over 70 mph---Kal-Tire could never figure out the problem and wasn't interested in fixing it.

So I'm not a big fan of Nokians (or Kal-Tire, for that matter).

Crazy, don't they have a tread warranty of 80,000kms?

I have a CRV and have over 80,000kms on my Nokians and I had no issues, they were decent enough in the summer and great in the winter.

[HockeyIlliterate]

Originally Posted by Old Yeller

Crazy, don't they have a tread warranty of 80,000kms?

I have a CRV and have over 80,000kms on my Nokians and I had no issues, they were decent enough in the summer and great in the winter.

Yeah, they are supposed to---80K kms or 50K kms or whatever. But the tires just didn't last for me (and I'm not a hard or aggressive driver), and I tried to rotate the tires regularly (although that became impossible to do so when the vibration issue appeared, which only became apparent when one of the tires was on the front axle).

Plenty of people seem to have a good experience with Nokians. For whatever reason, I didn't. <Shrug>

[Nufy]

http://forum.calgarypuck.com/showthread.php?t=130218

[Vulcan]

After reading this thread when it started, one of the reasons I bought my new to me Escape was that it had a set of Nokians on it. They weren't the WRG2s, they are a discontinued Vatiiva M&S labeled and they have been great even in our rare snow conditions. Anyways after a few years they are close to be due for replacement.

I've been looking at the Nokian WRG2 SUVs and the newer Rotiiva ATs. Both are about the same price but the WRG2s are $15 off each right now. Both have the snow symbol and I'm wondering which is the better tire for me? Anybody had the Rotiiva ATs?

[AMG_G]

If prices are that close stick with the tried and tested Nokians.

[shane_c]

I'm running Dunlop Graspic DS3's on my 07 Forester. No issues with them.

[calgarywinning]

Nokians used to be my favourite tire, but a lot of them are out of round these days.

Be careful when you get them installed and drive them and listen for thud thud thud. If they do, don't let the seller off the hook.

[Vulcan]

Originally Posted by calgarywinning

Nokians used to be my favourite tire, but a lot of them are out of round these days.

Be careful when you get them installed and drive them and listen for thud thud thud. If they do, don't let the seller off the hook.

Speaking of balancing out of round tires, Dyna Beads have been recommended to me for my next set of motorcycle tires. They should work in a car also.

[Shawnski]

Ran the Nokian WRs and WR2 for years. Great snow tire. Loved them.

Made a call a few years back to try the Michelin X-Ice2 and am quite happy. Most times the roads are icy, not snow bound, so the X-Ice2s are better. Also noticed they wear much better.

Snowy roads, Nokians WR2s. Cold/icey roads, Michelin X-Ice2s.