The Winter's Coming Winter Tires Thread

[puffnstuff]

5 isnt great, 4 is done

[BigNumbers]

Anyone used the Michelin cross climate 2 all weather triers through a Calgary winter? Any good vs Blizzaks?

[DoubleK]

Originally Posted by BigNumbers

Anyone used the Michelin cross climate 2 all weather triers through a Calgary winter? Any good vs Blizzaks?

I had them on my fwd Lexus. They were ok, but not as good as my Continentals I have on the wife's car. I thought they were good in slippery conditions, but didn't handle snow very well. Felt like they floated more. (Not sure if thar makes any sense.)

[Shazam]

Originally Posted by BigNumbers

Anyone used the Michelin cross climate 2 all weather triers through a Calgary winter? Any good vs Blizzaks?

I have them on my Kona. They work well. Much better than any all-season, not as good as winter tires. I thought they did well on snow, it's sheer ice that's the problem.

Consider the Bridgestone WeatherPeak, they were better than the CCs in snow and ice. They don't handle as well though (the CCs are very agile).

[TorqueDog]

I feel like the Cross Climate series are a good tire for precisely the sort of winters Calgary experiences. We regularly get snow -> thaw -> bare roads -> repeat over the course of the winter.

Ice and deeper snow are likely going to be a challenge for them versus a winter tire, but they're a good compromise between a full-fat winter tire that handles like mush when the roads are bare, and an all-season tire that handles like it's drunk when there's snow and/or ice on the roads.

[photon]

My wife needs new winters for her new vehicle (225/55R18) and eBay has a 20% off coupon: https://www.ebay.ca/e/motors/wintersafe

Was just going to get Nokian Hakkapeliittas but is there anything worth considering there?

Bridgestone Blizzak LM005 for $276 a tire seems like a decent deal.

Continental VikingContact 7 for $211?? These have been around forever haven't they?

Compared to $300 for the Nokian R5's.

[RichieRich]

Originally Posted by photon

My wife needs new winters for her new vehicle (225/55R18) and eBay has a 20% off coupon: https://www.ebay.ca/e/motors/wintersafe

Was just going to get Nokian Hakkapeliittas but is there anything worth considering there?

Bridgestone Blizzak LM005 for $276 a tire seems like a decent deal.

Continental VikingContact 7 for $211?? These have been around forever haven't they?

Compared to $300 for the Nokian R5's.

I've had the Hakka's both as vehicle and bike tires. They were crazy good. Can't go wrong. Also had a few sets of Blizzaks and also awesome. So consider this an endorsement for those.

[Shazam]

Originally Posted by photon

My wife needs new winters for her new vehicle (225/55R18) and eBay has a 20% off coupon: https://www.ebay.ca/e/motors/wintersafe

Was just going to get Nokian Hakkapeliittas but is there anything worth considering there?

Bridgestone Blizzak LM005 for $276 a tire seems like a decent deal.

Continental VikingContact 7 for $211?? These have been around forever haven't they?

Compared to $300 for the Nokian R5's.

Blizzaks. I've had the Contis, they work poorly on ice. I once slid right through an intersection with them.

[Hemi-Cuda]

I've used Nokian, Blizzak, and Michelin X-Ice and they're generally considered to be the top-3 winter tires. I'd go with the Hakkas if the prices are comparable, but when it came to winter tires for my wife's Highlander I went with Blizzaks because Costco had a great deal on them and don't regret it at all

[Raekwon]

I got winter tires on my vehicle for the first time a few years ago and my wife wrote the vehicle off (In spring clear roads) and I have never felt the need to get them again even though I do agree they are better. Well this year my All-Season aren't great so I'm thinking of winter tires and then getting another year on the all seasons next summer as I still have the rims but my wife just got a new vehicle and her winters went with the old vehicle and so its going to be 8 tires and a set of rims . . . It hurts just to think of. I will be following this thread for deals so don't let me down.

[undercoverbrother]

Can we not with this thread already.......

[photon]

Aaand my wife just changed her mind about steel wheels after seeing a better picture of steel wheels, I guess I'm getting rims now too lol.

[DoubleF]

Originally Posted by photon

Aaand my wife just changed her mind about steel wheels after seeing a better picture of steel wheels, I guess I'm getting rims now too lol.

How big are the tires? If 17" or over, get alloys for a second set. Steelies are too damn heavy from that size onwards. It's like a strongman competition doing the Atlas stone every time you have to lift and stack them.

[PepsiFree]

Originally Posted by DoubleF

How big are the tires? If 17" or over, get alloys for a second set. Steelies are too damn heavy from that size onwards. It's like a strongman competition doing the Atlas stone every time you have to lift and stack them.

I have 17” steelies and don’t find them troublesome. Get built, son.

[nik-]

Originally Posted by photon

Aaand my wife just changed her mind about steel wheels after seeing a better picture of steel wheels, I guess I'm getting rims now too lol.

https://brixtonforged.com/

allow me to help

[DoubleF]

Originally Posted by PepsiFree

I have 17” steelies and don’t find them troublesome. Get built, son.

17" was OK for me, but I had 18" steelies on my previous vehicle and it was borderline for me. My current vehicle wants 19", screw that. The 19" alloys are lighter than the 18" steelies and look better.

[photon]

Originally Posted by DoubleF

How big are the tires? If 17" or over, get alloys for a second set. Steelies are too damn heavy from that size onwards. It's like a strongman competition doing the Atlas stone every time you have to lift and stack them.

Good point, they're 18".

She does like to be able to do things herself too, so she may end up deciding just to get a 2nd set of tires and keep the same rims if only because she can lift the tires herself.

EDIT: Also the Michelin Cross Climate 2 tread is the weirdest looking I've ever seen.

[DoubleF]

Originally Posted by photon

Good point, they're 18".

She does like to be able to do things herself too, so she may end up deciding just to get a 2nd set of tires and keep the same rims if only because she can lift the tires herself.

I think 18" steelie + tire combined are around 45-55 pounds (30+ pound steelie + 20+ pound tire).
18" alloy + tire combined is around 40-50 pounds (20+ pound alloy + 20 pound tire).

It doesn't sound like much at a 5-10 pound difference, but it's awkward weight and you're required to lift it and support the weight in awkward positions while pulling off, putting on and storing. Then you have to do the lifting 4-8x depending on DIY or booking an appointment.

If your wife wants to do DIY swaps, then I'm not sure what getting tires only will do. Or do you mean she wants to load the tires into the car herself to bring to an appointment to swap tires?

[photon]

Yeah just be able to load the tires herself to go to an appointment. If we did DIY it would be me doing it but I haven't even done my own yet since I get free swaps from the place I got my rims at.

[Ryan Coke]

I just don’t understand having steelies and making your car look awful for half the year, for a pretty small difference in cost. The cost for alloys vs steelies is so small compared to the cost of almost any car, and then it actually looks decent for the 6 months of the year when you have winters on.

I mean, when I was broke and drove a beater car, then the cost mattered way more than the looks. But most people care a little bit about how their car looks.