The Winter's Coming Winter Tires Thread

[Bill Bumface]

Originally Posted by prarieboy

It's an A6. The Speedometer goes to 280kph. I haven't had it to that speed and I won't say here how fast I've driven it but it does go.

For me it's a family sedan for criusing around town and a great ride on the highway. Performance summer tires just don't make sense since I drive like a, well, the 46 year old guy I am.

Yeah, an A6 won't go near 280km/h, so you're safe Don't let the dealer tell you otherwise (and for the love of god don't buy tires from the dealer... massive ripoff). I haven't set foot in an Audi dealership since my warranty has been up. There are better places for lower prices.

[chalms04]

Anyone running studded tires?

Thinking they may be overkill... but I do commute on Stoney, which gets messy sometimes, and occasionally on the QE2. Most places won't stud if the tires have touched the ground, so now's my only chance.

Thoughts?

[BlackArcher101]

Originally Posted by chalms04

Anyone running studded tires?

Thinking they may be overkill... but I do commute on Stoney, which gets messy sometimes, and occasionally on the QE2. Most places won't stud if the tires have touched the ground, so now's my only chance.

Thoughts?

I run studs on my KW19's. The noise may get to you after a while, but it improves traction on sheer ice greatly. Can feel them dig in. With the KW19, it's the best of both worlds as the tire itself is great for deep snow, then the studs are a bonus if there is ice under that snow.

Would I recommend studs? Yes, if you have a dedicated set of winters. Personally, after this year I will be switching to non-studs probably as I sometimes use my winters in the summer as well (as gravel tires). Get a lot of strange looks when I use studs in the summer.

[psicodude]

I am looking for some opinions here on Pirelli winter 210 Sottozero Serie II vs. Michelin Pilot Alpin PA2's. Am I wrong in assuming the Pirelli's are a much better winter tire and worth the money?

In case you are curious as to why these 2 tires, they seem to be the only ones in my size and with run-flats.

[Bill Bumface]

Originally Posted by psicodude

I am looking for some opinions here on Pirelli winter 210 Sottozero Serie II vs. Michelin Pilot Alpin PA2's. Am I wrong in assuming the Pirelli's are a much better winter tire and worth the money?

In case you are curious as to why these 2 tires, they seem to be the only ones in my size and with run-flats.

From all the reviews I had read (comparing the Pirelli 240, not 210) to the Michelin Pilot Alpins (non-runflat), the Alpins were the best pick. So that might sort of help a little...

[Cowboy89]

Anyone have any positive / negative reviews for the Goodyear Ultra Grip Performance or WRT tires?

[STeeLy]

Originally Posted by psicodude

I am looking for some opinions here on Pirelli winter 210 Sottozero Serie II vs. Michelin Pilot Alpin PA2's. Am I wrong in assuming the Pirelli's are a much better winter tire and worth the money?

In case you are curious as to why these 2 tires, they seem to be the only ones in my size and with run-flats.

I just want to ask, what size is it exactly?

Also, this is just my opinion. While Pirelli makes some pretty amazing tires that is WELL worth the money, I wouldn't put too much thought into their winter tires. I think that Pirelli, being an Italian company, makes winter tires mostly for that climate. While Northern parts of Italy and up in the mountains gets snow, I don't think that would be anything like what we experience in Canada. For winter tires, I'd stick with either Nordic companies or North American companies for those. But that's just me.

[Bill Bumface]

Originally Posted by STeeLy

I just want to ask, what size is it exactly?

Also, this is just my opinion. While Pirelli makes some pretty amazing tires that is WELL worth the money, I wouldn't put too much thought into their winter tires. I think that Pirelli, being an Italian company, makes winter tires mostly for that climate. While Northern parts of Italy and up in the mountains gets snow, I don't think that would be anything like what we experience in Canada. For winter tires, I'd stick with either Nordic companies or North American companies for those. But that's just me.

My girlfriend's parents Just got back for a European motorbiking trip at the end of September. They got stuck in Italy because of 2 feet of snow. Just up from that spot is a year round skiing destination. I'd say if you're driving a performance vehicle, they are great compromise tires. Traditionally (not the last couple years) we have a lot of bare road days, and some deep snow days, pretty similar to what Northern Italy deals with. You definitely won't have the same pure snow ability as the Scandinavian tires though, those guys mean business.

[burn_this_city]

Originally Posted by psicodude

I am looking for some opinions here on Pirelli winter 210 Sottozero Serie II vs. Michelin Pilot Alpin PA2's. Am I wrong in assuming the Pirelli's are a much better winter tire and worth the money?

In case you are curious as to why these 2 tires, they seem to be the only ones in my size and with run-flats.

I'd skip the run-flats, substantial extra cost for little benefit.

[Bill Bumface]

Originally Posted by burn_this_city

I'd skip the run-flats, substantial extra cost for little benefit.

Cars often come with run-flats because they don't have a spare. Not getting stuck on the highway with a flat in the middle of winter is a substantial benefit if that's the case. Otherwise, agreed, they are not worth it.

[Jimmy Stang]

I did my winter changeover this weekend in the garage. Everything went well, with the exception of one of my alloy wheels not wanting to come off after all of the lug nuts were absent. I know that sometimes they stick, and a gentle kick will do the trick. But this one wasn't budging. I tried to get some WD-40 to run down through the fused connection, and after an hour of letting it stand, a couple big kicks finally got it off.

Obviously, I don't want to have to play kung fu each time, for my sake and possibly the car's sake. Does anyone have any tips to keep the wheels from fusing on? Is it safe to dab some grease in there before mounting (there's a joke in there somewhere)?

I'm not too concerned with the winter steel wheels, as there isn't as much surface-to-surface contact on those rims. But in the spring I'll need to put the alloys back on.

[STeeLy]

If all the lugs are off and the wheel doesn't come off, try slowly lowering the wheel back onto the ground, the pressure on that wheel should be enough to free it

[worth]

I know a couple guys who got a flat tire on the highway, went to change it and the wheel had fused to the hub. They put the truck down off the jack and nothing. They got in the truck and started to drive and it wouldn't budge. They had to put the nuts back on but not all the way tight and go off roading to get the wheel to come lose so they could change the tire. Lucky it was a rental truck.

[Bill Bumface]

^ Hahaha, that is a pretty awesome rental abuse story.

[burn_this_city]

Usually I'll hit the inside edge of the rim with a rubber mallet. If you wanted to get fancy, you could buy a tube of that blue brake grease and apply that to the contact area.

[psicodude]

Thanks for the replies. The size is 225/50r17 94h.

And yes, I don't have any room for a spare, so runflats it is. If my wife ever found out that we are stuck on a highway in the middle of nowhere waiting for roadside assistance because I wanted to save $100....well it would be bad for everyone.

I also wanted to mention that I have been dealing with Urban Expressions based on feedback from this forum, and they have been awesome.

[vtec260]

I am sure studded tires would be awesome on ice, but the noise drove me crazy when driving on dry clear roads. I sold my studded tires/rims and bought General tire Altimax winter tires. Not worth getting studded tires, IMHO, for city driving.

[I-Hate-Hulse]

I had Fleet put on a set of Goodyear Fortera Triple Tred on my Pontiac Torrent which are year round Winter rated tires (they have the snowflake rating from the RMA). These are the only "All weather Tires" GY has (the standard TripleTred is not rated as such). I'll contrast them to my X-Ice SI2's on my other car and report back when it snows.

[zamler]

Originally Posted by I-Hate-Hulse

I'll contrast them to my X-Ice SI2's on my other car and report back when it snows.

How do you find these tires in the dry? I'm seriously considering them, I don't want a tire that has the ultimate ice and snow traction necessarily, just want an all round balanced tire for winter. I have all season Michelin's (Primacy MXV4) on another car and find them excellent, especially for ride quality and quietness.

[T@T]

Anyone know what kind of winter tires ford is giving away as a promotion this month if you buy a new car/truck? they claim they are worth $1800.00

http://www.ford.ca/app/fo/en/special_offers.do