Good tires for winter

So the dealer I got my xt from put some pos Goodyear tires on it. They have absolutely no grip in the winter. Looking for what does best in snow for all season tires?

 

"All seasons" aren't really great in snow and if anything are actually bad on ice - I've tried making due with them for decades on various vehicles and frankly they all kind of sucked. Plenty of times I had no grip when turning and slid off the road (even going granny speeds), couldn't stop, etc.

Jan 2025 I bought a WRX and the first thing the dealer said I really needed to do was buy a set of Blizzaks for it...and they were right, and I should have been buying dedicated winter tires for decades now. If you can swing it, buy sets of all-terrain and winter-specific tires. If you can't swing that, look for tires with the 3PMS (3 peak mountain with a snowflake in it) symbol on them; they're "close" to "ok" in the winter.

https://www.tirerack.com/upgrade-garage/what-is-the-threepeak-mountain-snowflake-symbol

They'll be better than nothing in winter but they're really not winter tires, either way.

 

I can't suggest an all-season tire because I'll never not advocate for dedicated snow tires. Even on an AWD Subaru it's an absolute game changer. Every vehicle we own (or drive regularly at least) has two sets of wheels now.

Love me a set of Hakkapeliittas.

 

I also don't run all seasons year round. My sister does and runs Michelin. I have had so many different snow tires over the years. I currently run X-ice on both Foresters. But I would say Generals, Blizzaks are both good. But probably the best I had were Nitto snow tires.

 

I'm another dedicated winter tire evangelist, but if you must go only one set, pick an all-weather tire Like Michelin CC2. Continental just released a new all-weather tire as well. The segment is growing.

 

All-weather ("Three peak" snow rated all season) tires are getting so much better. It sort of used to be Toyo Celsius and Nokian WRG, but almost every company makes them now.

As I get old, and am not driving sideways nearly as much as I used to, I'm less interested in dedicated snow tires. And now that I'm mostly just commuting in the cities, I really don't need them.

I put a set of General AW365s on my mom's Impreza last year, and they've been performing great. I've heard they can be loud as they wear, so we're being careful to rotate them. Hell, I got a set of Vredstein Quatracs for my inlaws Kia that they leave up here, and I'm really impressed with the grip (although that car gets almost no miles, so I can't speak to wear).


At work, we sell a ton of Michelin Cross Climates and Goodyear WeatherReadys, people seem to be very happy with those.

 

Yes, like Chux said, all weather are different from all season.

I have a friend who loves his Michelin Cross Climates.

 

The Cross Climates have changed a lot of peoples minds on what a good tire can do for you. Normally they are peoples first ever "all weather" or even remotely snow rated tire and it blows there mind. If they are in your budget they are worth it.

I sell tires as a side job- not that I am a pro or anything but I have sold and installed a few hundred sets of tires in the last few years. A lot of people are choosing All-weather tires now and they are a great choice. but like ALL things, you can't be GREAT at everything and all-weather tires are no different. They will have a slightly shorter tread life than an all-season, possibly a little more road noise and in a head to head vs a winter tire they are no match for snow and ice grip. They are 90% the way there though and most of the time youre on dry and wet roads and very littel actual SNOW and ice driving in the metro through the winter.

If you have the budget, time, tools and space, having two sets of wheels is always bets but for most people the Cross Climate ticks all the boxes.

I run Nokian WRG tires when I use all weathers, they are on my mom's GTI and my Wife's Q5, so i trust them in some pretty serious situations.

I would also strongly recommend the General Altimax 365, the Continental SecureContact AW and the Falken Aklimate if the Nokian WRG5 are not in your budget.

If you cant get behind an All-weather and just want some good All-Season the Michelin Defender is a real winner as well as the Conti LX25 and General Altimax RT.

If there are some that your wondering about let me know and I can take a look at them and some prices here in the cities. Im not doing much for Installs right now but can still order tires below MSRP.

 

I had blizzaks on my wrx and remember loving them. But ow I have blizzaks on my sti and this winter hasn’t been great. Lots of understeer and sliding into corners which isn’t fun. Tires were made in 2019 so I’m wondering if the rubber has just hardened and isn’t at its level of efficiency.

 

Same. My experience with Altimax Arctics was also that they wore like iron compared to Blizzaks.

 

7 years is pushing it for a lot of tires, and for winter tires...yeah, it's probably at end of life. How deep is the tread? They also wear quite a bit more, if they're 4/32 or less they're not going to be super effective regardless of how old they are..

 

Yeah, they're at 8/32" so the tread looks good, I think the tires are just dead sadly. Still probably ride them through next season.

 

Blizzaks have a spongy soft outer layer that wears off quickly, and the rubber underneath isn't nearly as grippy, even though the tread is still plenty deep.

 

What did you end up with?

 

Nothing yet haven't had money

 

Well hopefully whatever you have currently is better than this:



I saw this on the road today after work. And this is a stationary pic (meaning that's not motion blur you're seeing making it look smooth... Haha).

 

I saw a civic the other day with 4 spares on it

 

Pitstop at Kwik Trip?

 

So wasn't planning on getting them yet but ended up getting the nokian encompass AW02 tires today. Was helping a friend get there car to the shop and when we left my tpms light came on and my radio told me I had 9psi in the rear passenger tire. Something sliced into the sidewall of my tire at the shop so yay

 

Sounds more like "someone" not "something"... That's the shop trying to get some more work. Haha.

 

No I'm pretty sure there was something in the snow I was parked on, they weren't a tire shop they did transmission work only