Winter Tire Questions...looking for advice

[ken0042]

Right, so did I.

Just seems a little early for an alignment, no? Isn't that one of those 160k things; ealier if you notice tire wear issues.

[MattyK]

Originally Posted by Draug

Why should I choose Nokians over the Blizzaks?

Blizzaks perform great on ice. That said, the super-soft compound that gives them good performance on the ice is said to only exist in the top third of the tread (though I don't have an official source on this, just hearsay from dozens and dozens of messageboards and blog reviews). They are known for having short lifespans... dry roads in particular will eat away at them like nothing. After that compound is gone you're left with an average snow tire. They'll last 2-3 seasons, typically.

Hakkas by themselves are one of the top snow tires, with average performance on ice. There's also the option to have them studded, which gives them better performance on the ice than the Blizzaks (duh). Studded Hakkas are practically invincible. They also last much longer, 4 - 5 seasons. Just make sure that if you do get studs, that wherever you go studs are legal. Ontario bans them, other provinces have restrictions. They're OK in Alberta.

I live in Edmonton, a city that waits weeks and weeks to plow side streets. I also drive around in rural Alberta every weekend. All that equals soft or packed snow, in which case neither ice tires nor studs will help me that much. So I'm riding on un-studded Hakkas.

If you do a lot of driving where there's glare ice, go for the Blizzaks or another ice tire. Otherwise I'd suggest the Hakkas.

[BlackArcher101]

Originally Posted by MattyK

Blizzaks perform great on ice. That said, the super-soft compound that gives them good performance on the ice is said to only exist in the top third of the tread (though I don't have an official source on this, just hearsay from dozens and dozens of messageboards and blog reviews).

The a few years ago I knew that their siping only went down half the tread depth. So essentially when they were worn half way, you lost all your siping and it became an all-season tire with a softer compound. I'm not sure if this holds true still or if they improved their siping. Nokians have siping all the way to the bottom.

[Ironhorse]

Originally Posted by Draug

Another option is the Dunlop SP Wintersport 3; they are an even better V speed rated. A performance winter tire is a must (the Blizzaks are barely performance enough).

I have the Dunlop SP Wintersport 3s on my MINI. Awesome winter performance tire!

Like someone else mentioned, it's OK to run your winters on the dry tarmac, but it is the temperature that you need to keep in mind. The "optimum" temperature correlation is 7 degrees C. Below 7, summer tires will rapidly degrade in performance. Above 7, you'll lose performance with your winter tires. During an 18+C chinook, you can almost hear the dollar bills fluttering out your window during a spirited corner.

[megatron]

Just got my Nokians Hakka RSIs put on at Kal Tire. Can't really comment on them (because it's 10 degrees outside) but they produce a little more road noise than my all seasons - I guess that's to be expected.

I want to test the "grippage" (is that a word?) when it snows. I'll report back.

[Claeren]

Originally Posted by megatron

Just got my Nokians Hakka RSIs put on at Kal Tire. Can't really comment on them (because it's 10 degrees outside) but they produce a little more road noise than my all seasons - I guess that's to be expected.

I want to test the "grippage" (is that a word?) when it snows. I'll report back.

How much $$$!?!




Claeren.

[megatron]

Originally Posted by Claeren

How much $$$!?!




Claeren.

$962 w/ 4 steel rims.

[Ryan Coke]

Any suggestions on where is a good place to get used rims? This thread has me tempted to get winter's for the first time, but I will not put black steels on my car.

[ken0042]

I was lucky to get aluminum rims for my car at Pick a Part. With rubber on them it cost me around $180. Get them to mark the tires when you buy them and you would have a credit there of about $50.

[Ironhorse]

Originally Posted by Ryan Coke

Any suggestions on where is a good place to get used rims? This thread has me tempted to get winter's for the first time, but I will not put black steels on my car.

Thank you. It always amazes me how people will spend 30-40K on a car and then cheap out on the winter rims.

[Clarkey]

I didn't read all this stuff but if you buy them at Costco be prepared to be in there @ 5:30 am to get a number to get them put on. They don't schedule appointments. Add the value of your time into the price of the tires (factor in 3-4 hours).

[browna]

Originally Posted by Ironhorse

Thank you. It always amazes me how people will spend 30-40K on a car and then cheap out on the winter rims.

Depends on the car.

Running winters on our new car this year, going down 2" in the tire from summer stock, and to be honest, it looks better with steelies then any most any rim I've seen on tirerack or discount tire or 1010 tires.

Probably because steelies look good on the particular model, and the car is black, but most of the painted rims (no use doing chrome or even polished aluminum in the winter) at that size look like glorified hubcaps.

The kicker being that I get this craptacular selection for 4x the cost of my steel wheels (picked up used), its not worth it, for me.