The Winter's Coming Winter Tires Thread

[The Yen Man]

Originally Posted by CarlLester

Was this after shipping? What broke the deal for me was the approx $500 for shipping, fees, and taxes which made the Tire Rack price the same as what I got here. Thanks for your reply.

Yup, this is the price after everything. I agree, shipping / brokerage is a bit steep (about $480), but it still came out cheaper than if I got them from Kal Tire. Plus, I like the rims from Tire Rack better. The cheap ones from Kal Tire were real ugly.

[CarlLester]

Originally Posted by The Yen Man

Yup, this is the price after everything. I agree, shipping / brokerage is a bit steep (about $480), but it still came out cheaper than if I got them from Kal Tire. Plus, I like the rims from Tire Rack better. The cheap ones from Kal Tire were real ugly.

Well done then! I hope you enjoy them...but not for a few weeks yet.

[The Yen Man]

Originally Posted by Calgary14

The difference is night and day. Once you go one season on a quality set of winter tires you'll never go back

Oh, totally agree. I first put on winter tires about 10 years ago, and I've never looked back. I just like the peace of mind of having proper tires to help me stop. I mean, I still drive carefully in the winter, it does make me feel a lot more comfortable knowing I have the proper tires to tackle icy roads in the winter.

[-TC-]

Originally Posted by puckedoff

AWD with great winter tires (like Blizzak/Nokian) is like driving with cheat codes on.

Can get frustrating waiting for other cars to spin out and resisting the urge to blow past them in the oncoming lane tho...

I run my IS250AWD on full on winter tires (nokians) and it's awesome.

Pickups and SUV's don't stand a chance...

[pylon]

I am getting all these quotes handled right now.

I had to take an afternoon and a day off to deal with treemageddon at our condo building. It is a frikkin disaster.

Anyway, check your PM's in the next couple hours.

Trevor

[Nufy]

Any opinions on Cooper Discovery AT3 tires ?

[Robo]

Anyone know anything about altimax general tire from canadian tire they gave me a quote of 676$ installed and balanced for 4 also have a quote for firestone winter tires (mid grade)from ok tire for 726 installed size is 225 60 r17 and fountain tire said there best goodyear winter tire is on the 4 for 3 deal for 776$ installed plus 15$ mail in rebate per tire im so confused

[Bill Bumface]

Originally Posted by Robo

im so confused

And now so are we.

[Sliver]

Hey I have some Blizzaks I bought for my 2009 Pathfinder in January last year and put them on some sick black rims. They were used four months, so are essentially brand new. I sold the Pathfinder in June and have been waiting for winter to list the wheel/tire combo. Paid $2K. If anybody is interested in these let me know before I put them on Kijiji. Once winter arrives they'll be gone no problem.

[rd_aaron]

Originally Posted by Robo

Anyone know anything about altimax general tire from canadian tire they gave me a quote of 676$ installed and balanced for 4 also have a quote for firestone winter tires (mid grade)from ok tire for 726 installed size is 225 60 r17 and fountain tire said there best goodyear winter tire is on the 4 for 3 deal for 776$ installed plus 15$ mail in rebate per tire im so confused

I have Altimax Arctics. They are amazing in the snow, and okay on ice. If you stud them, they'd be unstoppable. I've chosen not to since studs add to road noise and tire wear, but I'm going to be doing very little highway driving since we bought a new vehicle, so I might reconsider.

[OldDutch]

I am wondering how everyone came to a decision on model tire for their cars? I looked at Tire Rack who was very pro Blizzak, but I ended up going with a deal I got on Yokohama Iceguard ig51v

I looked on Consumer Reports and the 18" got a good review. I see however brands like Nokian, Toyo, Cooper, etc. These are brands I am not familiar with. Are they discount brand, or a smaller brand that has less name recognition but same traction?

Just curious, as I would be fine with a cheaper tire that performs as well or better in future, I just don't know how you guys come to rate and choose them?

[flamefan74]

Originally Posted by OldDutch

I am wondering how everyone came to a decision on model tire for their cars? I looked at Tire Rack who was very pro Blizzak, but I ended up going with a deal I got on Yokohama Iceguard ig51v

I looked on Consumer Reports and the 18" got a good review. I see however brands like Nokian, Toyo, Cooper, etc. These are brands I am not familiar with. Are they discount brand, or a smaller brand that has less name recognition but same traction?

Just curious, as I would be fine with a cheaper tire that performs as well or better in future, I just don't know how you guys come to rate and choose them?

I have a set of Toyo winter tires and I like them. A lot. Toyo is a smaller Japanese company but the reviews for their tires have been very good. Sounds like they prefer more word of mouth as when I emailed them they said they would rather spend millions making a better tire than on advertising. Nokian's I've had in the past and were good as well. Finnish company I believe and have had good reviews.

I tend to think the domestic manufacturers offer better kickbacks for selling their tires compared to the imports and thats why you don't hear as much in NA about them.

[I-Hate-Hulse]

Originally Posted by OldDutch

I am wondering how everyone came to a decision on model tire for their cars? I looked at Tire Rack who was very pro Blizzak, but I ended up going with a deal I got on Yokohama Iceguard ig51v

You have to be careful with some of the Blizzaks and Toyos. Some of them have special rubber compound (ie microcell or walnut shells) that is only for the 1st 75% of tread depth (or less). After that it's regular compound and the tire is really just an all season at that point.

As such I avoid those tires.

[Calgary14]

Originally Posted by OldDutch

I am wondering how everyone came to a decision on model tire for their cars? I looked at Tire Rack who was very pro Blizzak, but I ended up going with a deal I got on Yokohama Iceguard ig51v

I looked on Consumer Reports and the 18" got a good review. I see however brands like Nokian, Toyo, Cooper, etc. These are brands I am not familiar with. Are they discount brand, or a smaller brand that has less name recognition but same traction?

Just curious, as I would be fine with a cheaper tire that performs as well or better in future, I just don't know how you guys come to rate and choose them?

Ive only ever bought Michelin x-ice as they always are ranked at/near the top but Ive found them to be great. I check out consumer reports once and a while as they have good info if you're in the market for tires

[lazy_programmer]

Originally Posted by OldDutch

I am wondering how everyone came to a decision on model tire for their cars? I looked at Tire Rack who was very pro Blizzak, but I ended up going with a deal I got on Yokohama Iceguard ig51v

I looked on Consumer Reports and the 18" got a good review. I see however brands like Nokian, Toyo, Cooper, etc. These are brands I am not familiar with. Are they discount brand, or a smaller brand that has less name recognition but same traction?

Just curious, as I would be fine with a cheaper tire that performs as well or better in future, I just don't know how you guys come to rate and choose them?

I think most of the major manufactures make tires that are very competitive and all are solid winter tires. Because winter conditions can differ quite a bit (snow, ice, slush, dry payment) there are trade offs for tires. As a generalization, Blizzaks have great traction because of their softer compound design, but of course they wear faster as a result. Where as X ice is a harder compound, better on dry payment, longer tread life, but a bit less traction. And so there are various tires in between. At the end of the day, if you find any tire that is consistently in most 'top 10' tire reviews, and it's a good price, I don't think you can go wrong.

[ken0042]

Has anybody used the Nokian All Weather tires?
http://www.nokiantires.com/winter-tires/nokian-wrg3/

Sounds like a good idea, I'd just be concerned how they hold up over the long term.

[-TC-]

Originally Posted by ken0042

Has anybody used the Nokian All Weather tires?
http://www.nokiantires.com/winter-tires/nokian-wrg3/

Sounds like a good idea, I'd just be concerned how they hold up over the long term.

I have them on my GX470. They're pretty quiet and they seem to wear well.

My only concern is that once the temp gets below -20, how is the rubber going to behave. If it gets too hard and slippery, I'll be buying some Nokian winters for it.

[vtec260]

Originally Posted by Robo

Anyone know anything about altimax general tire from canadian tire they gave me a quote of 676$ installed and balanced for 4 also have a quote for firestone winter tires (mid grade)from ok tire for 726 installed size is 225 60 r17 and fountain tire said there best goodyear winter tire is on the 4 for 3 deal for 776$ installed plus 15$ mail in rebate per tire im so confused

I have Altimax on wife's SUV and Firestone Winterforce on my car (none studded). Firestone is definitely louder on dry pavement as my main complaint. If I had to choose between the two, I'd go with Altimax. Both have very good snow traction, wear incredibly well, so-so ice traction, a bit mushy handling (likely softer compound and minus one sizing), and definitely better than all seasons. Once you've tried winter tires, you become a believer living in most part of Canada.

[ken0042]

Originally Posted by -TC-

I have them on my GX470. They're pretty quiet and they seem to wear well.

My only concern is that once the temp gets below -20, how is the rubber going to behave. If it gets too hard and slippery, I'll be buying some Nokian winters for it.

So how long have you had them on your vehicle? I'm thinking if I can find a tire that avoids me having to buy rims, TPMS, and doing the swapping, I'd go for it. (just bought a new car.)

I would expect any winter tire to do wee the first year; I was hoping to get some long term info.

[-TC-]

Originally Posted by ken0042

So how long have you had them on your vehicle? I'm thinking if I can find a tire that avoids me having to buy rims, TPMS, and doing the swapping, I'd go for it. (just bought a new car.)

I would expect any winter tire to do wee the first year; I was hoping to get some long term info.

I've only had the vehicle since April so my data set is admittedly small. But, through the hottest months of the year I didn't see an appreciable degradation in tread...and my tire guys thinks very highly of them.