Opinions on Snowtires

Hey hey people! Winter is a commin' and that time of the year when we change up our tires is drawing closer. Before I get out and pick up some winter tread I wanted to get some of your reviews. I'm currently looking at firestone winterforces, but it would be great to hear what ya'll think...

 

jump on the nokian group buy if its still going on. I've got hakkas and love them

 

OMG!!......I <3 you guys

 

i got the winter forces for my wheels.. they were super cheap and the reviews online were pretty good. i figure they cant really be beat for the price.

 

Dunlop SP Winter Sport 3D.. It's the highest rated tire on tirerack by a long shot. There's a 50 dollar rebate right now which makes them like 10 bucks more a set then the cheapo Winterforce. Nokian may be good but they're not worth twice the price even *if* they were better.

 

have you seen what people write when they rate tires on tire rack? I swear its like a team of monkeys is let loose on there. The re92 is a well rated tire there.

Hakkas or blizzaks. Everything else doesn't stack up on snow and ice, but some are better on the road.

 

Snow tires are a waste of money if you live in the metro area, imho. There's like 5 days at best when there's snow on the road.

 

i tend to both agree and disagree... i know it was nice last season having my winter tires on the wagon as the slacked on plowing, salt, and sanding sometimes. the winter before when they were on top of it i had my SVX with bald tires basically and it was fine.

 

Although I can understand your point of view, I strongly disagree. It's true that some years it snows more than others, but it can take days for the plows to make it out, and if it snows in the meantime, the roads can get significantly snow packed. You're going to use snow tires if you live in Minnesota - there's no way around that. Even if it's only one time that you really "need" them, it makes running them all season worth it.

After running just one winter on my first set of Hakkas, I vowed I would never drive another winter without them.
My .02

 

No thanks to Al Gore!!

 

I run winterforces, and so does just about everybody else up here (upper penninsula of MI). The only problem I had at all last year was when we got enough snow in one night to get a snow day for the fist time in like 20 years (Mich Tech), and I could get out of my parking spot and into the lane of traffic in the lot, but it was sheet ice under about 1.5 - 2 feet of snow. I still think that if the ice hadn't been there, I would've been fine. Personally, I love the winterforces. They're kinda loud on the road, but if you need some serious traction, i don't think they can beat.

Also, I helped push out and AWD Explorer and a 4WD Jeep on the way to my car, and they barely made it with a couple guys pushing, just to give you an idea of how the snow was.

 

Liar.

 

^ bah last year they closed the u of m for the first time in 16yrs for snow.i stayed through the storm (waiting for winter fun as usual) but they closed all the buildings on campus so i had to head home right after the thick of the storm. drove my car out of the massive snow bank it was under and home without 1 issue. hakkas FTMFW!

 

Hakka's were great for me last your. Although as Wall of TVs said... I only really needed them 4-5 times and even then only 1 of the times would I have been screwed in all-seasons. The winters just don't seem to be that bad anymore.

But this year I went with Michelin X-ice for the price. $130 per tire pwns me

 

i wouldnt drive in a winter without them to be honest with you. Those times that they are needed are worth the investment. I have had 2 sets of blizzaks and loved every min with them, and they do well at the ice raceors

 

its true that you might not need them every day of the winter. however if there is ever a time when the save you from crashing/accident its definately worth the price.

 

Ah, so you've had all those personally then (Hakkas, Dunlop, Bridgestone)? I've had Blizzaks WS-50s and LM-25s on previous cars. Neither stack up to the the M3/3D. Plenty of people out there that have had both say the same thing. Never had the Hakkas because they cost twice as much and I had a hard time believing they perform any better let alone enough to justify the cost difference.

Slush and ice... slush and ice. To try them is to love them. Huge difference.

 

honestly, why? i know i am not the only one who is more or less annoyed by your posts.

 

Wouldn't it be nice to be able to try tires before committing to them?

Say a tire set lasts maybee 20-30K miles, most cars owners give up on the car before 200K, so during the life of a car, you have maybee 10 sets of tires if you don't waste them.
For example, when I bought my car, it had 18k with the stockers on, put new michelin mxv4 (still all season) on at 30K, liked the difference, so I put another set of the same this year, but sometimes wonder if there is better?

Is there any such program anywhere?

 

I agree, which is why I bought another set this winter despite not really using them the last. Plus, my weaksauce FWD needs all the help it can get. Especially with all the MAD power being sent to 2 wheels!!:eek4::laugh:

 

don't get your underoos in a bunch...

it was a joke about global warming and the weak ass winters we've had as of late.

 

I get new tires every other year for summer tires, but then again, I drive all the time. I have Nokian RSi for my winter setup and they pretty much rule. I have had no problems in snow, ice, slush, or rain, whatsoever. Love em. I may need new ones next winter though. Been on them for 2 winters.

 

I've never driven on snows before. However, being able to stop on any surface is a good thing, in my opinion. This'll be the first year with them. I got some Blizzaks for free, so we'll see how much better this is.

 

I have a set of Perelli Winter Carving. They are very nice for snow tires and offer reasonable handling when its dry. They have a similar tread design to the hakkas. I'd definately buy them again.

 

I have driven on most of them. I do agree the LM and WS blizzaks were not as good as the Revo 1's, havent tried the Revo 2 yet. I should have said blizzak revos instead of just blizzaks.

I really dont like the hardness of the winter sport M3 on ice or snow but it is a good cold weather sleet/winter tire, jsut not the best snow and ice tire. I don't buy hakkas either because i can get pretty much the same grip on ice from blizzaks they just suck a little bit more on dry pavement.

 

I've been spoiled. The first winter tires I've ever owned were hakkas (on 13" steelies), so I've never even looked into other brands since then since I had such a great experience the first time around.

The more I read, the more it seems like anything that is winter specific is going to be really awesome in comparison to an all season. The only negative feedback I've read about a "crappy" snow tire so far is road noise. I have a really high tolerance to NVH in general so I don't really bat an eye at that.

Other than that, they all seem to come down to varying degrees of dry performance and varying degrees of logevity, after that, they all seem to perform pretty good in what they were designed for; snow, slush, and ice.

Edit:
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The only additional thing that I can say is that every |sanctioned| ice race I've ever been to, most people were either on hakkas, or studs. But for the mnsubaru ice race last year, I was able to get faster times in joels OBS with revo1's than I was able to get in my wrx with hakkas. The track was basically glare ice that day, although it started to warm up later in the day and turn to slush (allowing faster times). So it's hard to say if it was the revos or the improved course conditions from later in the day.

 

I've had Blizzaks (WS & LM, no Revos), Winterforce, Dunlops, and Hakkas. I hear good things about the Revos, but even my old beat-up Hakka 2s were magnitudes better than the older Blizzaks, my Hakka 4s are better yet, and the RSi on my wife's car are flat out amazing.

But any winter tire is better than none.

 

Blizzak LM-22s suck! (I am sure many of you have heard this rant from me before)

Hakka 1s ruled (those date to my first snow tires on the RS in '00)

I tried to 'cheap out' a bit with the Blizzaks, never again.

I'll keep it simple and to the point....

 

I've said it before, saying it again.

The revos are nothing like the crappy LM blizzaks. They're a decent snow tire

Are hakkas better? Sure. Better on dry pavement, almost as good on slippery stuff. Also way more expensive.

 

Yea there are only a few days out of the year that you will need the traction... however, snow tires are made up of a different rubber compound to help the tire stay plyable in sub-zero temps.... that being said... you will have better handling and a smoother ride in cold minnesota temps... your typical all season tire compound freezes up like a hockey puck at like 15 degrees ABOVE zero..... if your car sits over night and the temp drops below zero... your all seasons will have flat spots... where as you snows will stay nice a plyable.
In the same light... when the temps start rising in the spring, its time to get them off...

 

I just like snow tires for the following facts other than just my own safety and no excuse not making it work. For the sure pleasure of just having fun on all 4 sideways, backwards, up and down the hills, on the ice and thru the fields. There's a bunch of nice country roads in the backyard great for some fun. Oh yeah and also for leaving those expensive SUV's and H2+ behind. The point is not if you're going to need them, but when you're gonna need them. Every year we complain about how little snow we get, but everytime it comes down wheather its snow or sleet or rain/ice, we hear about all the pile up on the highway and it makes you wonder just how things could be different with less crash's if people actually prepared for winter with tires/training. Enjoy, I know I will. All 3 scooby's come equiped with Snow/Ice traction.

I also wanted to add my deductable is more than a set of snow tires.

 

^^^ well put.... This man is wise

 

Which is exactly why I noted the model. Far too many people use the generic "Blizzak" as the model and there are actually quite a few different "Blizzaks".

 

^^^ true... If you have never run snows before, you will notice a huge difference over any all season. If you must go cheap then go cheap... but like everyone has said spend a few more bucks and you will get better traction and longer life.... once the temp gets over 45-50 degrees... its time to get them off. No snow tire will last in warm temps except cooper weather masters...