What kind of winter tires are you using?

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Swedishchef

Swedishchef

Minister of Fire
Jan 17, 2010
3,275
Inuvik, Northwest Territories
Hey guys

Just checking out what people are running on their cars as winter tires (for those of you who are using them...for those who aren't, you should be! :) )

On my 2 Subarus I have nokian hakkapeliitta 5s installed. A subaru becomes a snowmobile when you put on the Hakkas!

Andrew
 
General altimax arctic, on the forester.... Its a tank.
 
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Hercules (rebranded Cooper weather masters) on the commuter car.

Studded Master Craft (rebranded Cooper weather masters) on the truck.
 
dougstove said:
Michelin X-Ice.
The Quebec mandatory snow tire requirement had a big effect on accidents there.
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That's right Doug, they do!

Bioman, where do you live if you have not had snow yet? Bermuda? lol.

Subarus with winter tires become tanks indeed..my 2005 impreza and 2010 forester are like an A1!!!!

A
 
Nothing right now . . . but on my wife's old Subaru I was running General Altimax Arctics . . . I need to figure out what to do with the winter tires since her new Legacy is running 17 inch wheels and those were 16 inch tires/rims.
 
Swedishchef said:
That's right Doug, they do!

Bioman, where do you live if you have not had snow yet? Bermuda? lol.

Subarus with winter tires become tanks indeed..my 2005 impreza and 2010 forester are like an A1!!!!

A
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Central missouri, This has been my kind of winter so far. & it could all change in the morning. I'm already planing my garden.
 
I like Bridgestone Blizzaks. but I'm sure there are many good ones on the market. Better traction then studs, no road damage. Oregon and Washington are seriously looking at either prohibiting studded tires or charging an extra road maintenance/repair fee if you want to run them. The damage they do is significant. Rick
 
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When our driveway was covered in ice for weeks this winter, the only way we got in or out was on studded tires. They work.
 
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Winterforces on the Outback, Blizzaks on the Acura TL, and whatever cheap used snows I can get for the 2.5RS (pretty sure its got a beat up set of $40 Hankooks on it now) since I run them for the winter races...
 
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fossil said:
Better traction then studs, no road damage
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Stud technology is light years from what it was. Nokian studs run flat on the surface of the road therefore not tearing it up. They are also square and not pointy as they used to be.

I understand that some people feel studs destroy roads. but I am quite certain that a 100 000 lb pulp truck driving over frost heaves in the spring does more damage than my 3100 lb car with studs. ;)

Andrew
 
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Swedishchef said:
Stud technology is light years from what it was. Nokian studs run flat on the surface of the road therefore not tearing it up. They are also square and not pointy as they used to be.

I understand that some people feel studs destroy roads. but I am quite certain that a 100 000 lb pulp truck driving over frost heaves in the spring does more damage than my 3100 lb car with studs. ;)

Andrew
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Have to agree on the trucks but the studs are HELL on roads. Look into the studies. They are available through tire rack.
 
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I use Nokian R2 on the Hyundai Tucson all wheel drive
best snow tires I've ever used they even out perform the Michelin Snows
on my 4X4 GMC
 
LOL. try again, I edited. My 4 year old is climbing on me as I try to type.

I found an interesting article that stated " Studded tires were originally banned in Ontario in 1972 after a technical review established that the studs then in use were causing extensive damage to roads. Several other North American jurisdictions also banned them at that time. However in 2005, Ontario introduced legislation permitting them in the north and synchronizing with Manitoba and Quebec the period (October 1 to April 30) when studs were permitted. MTO also prescribed the use of Scandinavian standard lightweight studs, which are lighter than those used in the tires banned in the 1970s, resulting in only one-third as much damage to the pavement".

I doubt my next set of tires will have studs. They are just too noisy for me.

Andrew
 
What type of gas mileage decrease are you guys seeing when you start running your winter tires?
 
I'm running X-Ice 3's on my car and my wife's van has several year old X-ice 2's. There is a very noticeable difference between the all-season tire and the X-ice tire on snowy or Icy conditions. The vehicles handle much better in wintery conditions and I've even passed people in 4WD vehicles in my car during icy conditions because of the sure footing.

I dropped from about 31.9 MPG average down to about 31.1 MPG on the dry freeway when I switched tires.
 
We have seasonal restrictions here. I live in Amish country, the places where the horse hooves and steel wheels from the buggies run are FAR more worn than the rest of the road surface. Hard metal is bad for the paving. It works and when used responsibly it shouldn't be a problem. In our region studs are really not warranted unless you have a bad driveway etc.
 
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