Snow Tires in August/September

Here is the situation.
I have a few cords showing through my current tires, 05' LGT. I planned to buy snow tires this Winter and then get Summer tires next year. I can't afford two sets of tires before Winter.

How bad would it be to run the snows starting in a few weeks?

Part Two: Favorite snow tire?

Thanks for your input.

 

Very bad, you'd be running them in the hottest part of the year. Anything over 40F will cause most snow tires to ware at accellerated rates, and you could easily take a year or more off of the life of the tires running them through Aug, Sept and even in October it can still be too warm.

Best bang for the buck snow tire is the General Altimax Arctic. Best when cost is no object is the Nokian Hakkas, but pretty much all of them have gotten pretty good.

What size tires are you running? You might be able to find some cheap used but functional tires to see you though the next few months.

 

I would try to not use winter tires yet. They would be super soft, and possibly dangerous.

The Continental extreme winter contact has been solid for me. In the two winters I've had them, my abs has only come on once during braking because of ice. They are beasts in the snow!

 

Despite what people on the internet will tell you, snow tires in warm weather are not the end of the world.

They're a little soft, and they'll wear a little bit more, but it's not that bad. This article always gets brought up as a counterpoint to the internet discussions:

http://www.roadandtrack.com/new-cars/videos/a5604/winter-tires-track-tested/

I'll agree with the General Altimax Arctic being a good snow tire for the money. Most others are good as well, but typically cost more.

 

Agreed with Xluben. I know first hand because I've had two winter beaters that ran winter tires year round for years. Our Forester XT currently rolls on winter tires now and yeah they're marsh mellows but they're on winter beaters. Anyway back to wear: Yeah... it's not the best but they'll still last years like this. We just drove to KC and back on them even and you would hardly notice.

General Altimax Artcic's btw is what I run with for reference.

 

I ran GT Radial Champiro Ice Pro's for a while when I got home this summer, and in fact, did not die. My wife, because she is silly, has been running General Altimax Arctics all summer long, and in fact, is still among the living.

Another startling discovery is that the tires didn't melt away immediately.

Just don't hoon the car like a dork on winter tires when it's warm out, and you'll be fine running them for 3 months till the snow hits. People love to exaggerate what will happen.

The GTRadials have super deeeeeeep tread, and did fantastic in all sorts of weather (including 70 degree plus weather, AND super crazy snow storms), and were very very well priced.

 

Wear is a relative thing. On studdable snow tires like the Generals, they'll hold up pretty well. An all-out studless ice tire like a Blizzak is going to suffer badly. I've known people who used up a set of snow tires in one year by running them through the summer. That's not an "it might happen" but an "it did happen" thing. As far as safety goes, they're no worse than a set of cheap all-seasons would be.

As Sheen says, there are Nokians that are great snow tires and decent summer tires too. They are expensive, they will wear a little faster than a normal set of A/S, but they will give near snow-tire grip in the winter. I ran the LT version on my truck, and they were great year-round. I don't think I would have been as happy with them during the summer if they had been on a nimble car though.

If you are interested, I happen to have a set of General Altimax Arctics in 205/50R17 that I ran for only a few thousand miles last winter on my Sentra SE-R Spec-V that I'd be willing to sell for a good chunk less than the $477.96 Tire Rack would charge. (The Spec-V stock runs the same 215/45R17 as the LGT, I opted for a bit skinnier for a winter tire which can help bite down through deeper snow and slush). Tires are really like new. I split driving between the Spec and my truck during the winter, and then the Spec's oil consumption shot through the roof and it got parked in March. Only question would be if the wear is different enough between front and rear from being on a FWD car, the wear is so little overall that I'd expect not, but I'll measure if you're interested.

 

Blizzaks are ****ing garbage anyway, so no surprise there.

 

If budget becomes an issue and you end up springing for good all season tires (vs. having two sets), the Continental DWS all seasons do great in all seasons (although not particularly awesome at one thing) and will be cheaper than the Nokians.

The other budget friendly option (which you may already be shooting for) is to buy used tires in good condition. Resale value on used tires is very low, so you should be able to find what you're looking for for a relatively low price.

For new tires, others have already mentioned the low cost winter tire option (General's). For a low cost summer tire option, check out Federal tires from onlinetires.com . Their RSR's are awesome, low priced track tires, and I believe their regular 595 SS are a decent summer tire option (and not as aggressive as the RSR).

 

for the legacy gt, the continental DWS has a reputation for having a rather soft sidewall.

I also wasn't terribly impressed with them on my maxima, but FWD might have had something to do with that.

 

My LGT with snow tires is currently glued to my driveway...won't budge.


Another plus vote for the Generals...have them for my mother-in-law's Escape...very competent tire. They are currently in the freezer to help preserve them.

 

I've driven on the general altimax artic and the nitto ntsn2 and liked them both! my brother has been running his nittos on his prius this whole spring and summer now and they still have more than 3/4 of tread life left. he's been through 2 season and I've got 3 seasons on my set of nittos and have more than half. down by the southwest mn here road conditions are pretty harsh but i have not gotten stock yet. for the generals my other brother had them on his 97 outback and those wore down fast when riding them during all summer long but the grip for snow and ice were pretty damn good. I'm planning to get a set of blizzak ws80 just the fact that they resemble the suv blizzak dmv1 that I have on my armada which is a pretty damn good snow tire for the suv. but if you looking for good affordable snow tires I recommend either the general, nitto or firestone winterforce. best bang for the bucks!

 

Agreed, they do have very soft side walls which takes away feel and response. That was my biggest grip about the DWS. Nevertheless, a good all arounder.

 

Disagree.

I have a set of Revo1s (discontinued ~8 years ago) that would still be useable if I had been able to fix the blown bushing in my '92 Celica a couple years ago. 3 of them still have about 8/32s. And I have a set of WS70s on my wifes car that have held up excellently the 3 seasons we've been using them.

When I first met my wife, she had terrible tires on a Kia. I bought some winterforces for it, but had trouble finding an extra set of wheels for it, and we ended up running them all summer. They were useless by the time the snow fell the next fall. I bought another set, and only used them from November to February, and they still looked brand new when we sold the car 4 years later. (BTW, that thing did amazingly well in the deep snow with those winterforces on it!).


No, they won't melt immediately. But if you only run snow tires in the winter, they won't wear almost at all. If it were me, I'd try to find a set of crummy used tires to get through the next few months before getting the snow tires. I go so far to have 3 sets of wheels/tires for my car, summers, winters, and all-seasons for spring/fall.


Generals are great tires, they're almost a blatant ripoff of the tread design of the old Hakka RSis, with a slightly less-awesome tread compound, but a fraction of the price. Winterforces do surprisingly well in the snow for the cost, but fairly mediocre (for a winter tire) on ice. I've had a couple set of Blizzaks that I've been happy with. I replaced the weirdly worn blizzaks I mentioned above last winter with some Hakka Qs, and those are awesome, as expected.

Hankook iPikes are decent, too, if they still make them. If you're looking at the cheap snow tires, though, look past the Falken EuroWinters.....traction of an all-season, treadwear of a very soft snow.....

 

There are several models (from several manufacturers) that use the same mold as the General's. It's a common tread pattern for winter tires.

 

The generals are a straight up copy of the gislaved nordfrost 2. They did this for a reason, those scandahoovians know their **** with regards to winter.

 

Sure is:

Gislaved Nordfrost 3:


General Altimax Arctic:


Same company, by the way. Continental AG produces both General and Gislaved tires.

 

Buy some nice all-seasons. Run them until you feel that winter tires are needed... Haha.
Continental DSW series are really nice in the winter and they work with a budget since you only need 1 set of all-seasons.

 

Not trying to thread jack but what size would you guys go with for winter tires?

 

The correct size!?

 

Sorry. For 05 wrx stock 16" rims. I read somewhere that going thinner and taller tires would be better for snow?

Also my setup right now for summer is 17" with 235/40. Would it be better to get winter tires to match with my current setup's diameter so I won't have to keep doing alignment every time I swap them?

 

I was thinking of 195 but there aren't that much tire choice. But alright, just wanted some inputs before I make a purchase.

 

I have the General Altimax Artic, i love them in the winter, and have run them for a whole summer with no issues.

 

I run my winters


For my protection... During the summer it sounds like a tank is going down the freeway!!!

P.S. I have seen winters run during LaX

 

Thanks for all the feedback, I appreciate it.

 

To answer Andy's question a little more, the answer is that there is no one answer. Like anything else, it depends on a number of factors.

In deep snow or slush, a narrower tire will put the weight of the car on a smaller area and help dig down and give traction that way.

In light snow, winter tires work by trapping snow in the sipes, as snow actually sticks to snow really well. More surface area (wider tires is better there).

On dry pavement, the wider tire will be better.

On ice, it will actually depends a lot on the temperature. Warmer will mean more melting as slipperier with the narrower tire (ice is slippery not because it's ice, but because the pressure on it makes a thin layer of melterd water, which is why it's a lot slipperier at 25F than -0F).

So, in the end, if you're going to be driving though deep snow a lot, you don't gain much by going narrower. If you live in/around the metro, this is probably the case. If you live outstate where it may take more than a day for the plows to clear out most roads, you might want to step down a couple sizes.

I spend most of my time in the metro, but then I do things like drive to Michigan's Upper Peninsula in the middle of the winter. I go one or two steps narrower.


That's width. I always go for the smallest diameter wheel I can and then the tallest profile tire that sticks within a few % of the OEM tire circumference. Use a tire calculator like https://www.tacomaworld.com/tirecalc to compare tire sizes. The additional sidewall of the tire allows the tread to conform to a rough surface and do it's job. The super low-profile tires a lot of these cars come with might be great on a smooth surface, but lose a lot of contact area when it gets rough, and snow and ice are almost always uneven.

For my car, I'll go from the OEM 245/40R18 to a 235/45R17 for winter. I'd prefer to go to a 16", but I'm not aware of any 16" wheels that will clear the brakes on a 2016.

For your 2005, you're right, tires in 195/60R16 are going to be harder to come by. There are a couple of decent winter ice tires in that size like the Michelin XI3 or the Yoko IG52C. They're not going to be great deep snow tires, but again, if you live in the metro, ice is more the issue than snow, really. I think I'd opt to stick with the stock 205/55R16 in your case, because then you can pick the tire that's right for your situation.

 

Thanks Vector. I do most, if not all, my driving in the cities. I'll just stick to the oem size.

 

This may be redundant, but would you say the same for 18s on a Forester? I found the General Altimax Arctics for about $20 cheaper per wheel if I went from 225/55/r18 to 225/50/r18.

 

WTF was I even saying there?

What I was trying to say is that a narrower tire will put more pressure on a given point and cause more melt. A wider tire will exert less pressure and hence, less melt.

Overall, the fractions of a percent difference don't matter unless you're racing. Maybe not even much then.

 

Well, you're going to notice the lack of sidewall from the 55 to the 50 series tire more than you'd notice going from a 225 to a 205, for sure. But it's only a 3.3% difference in total circumference, so you're within reason.

They are. If you already have the wheels, then I guess you go with what you have, but if you can go down a size or two in rim you'll have a better setup and you may well be able to save money on the tires to offset the cost of the wheels. Looks like Tirerack.com sells Altimax Arctics in 215/65R17 for $98 and steel 17" wheels to fit a Foz for $67 ea.

 

Stock tire size is 225/55/18 (which in my searching, has seemed to be a little bit of an odd size). I have some mediocre all seasons on right now that were put on at the dealership by the previous owner. I did pick up a second set of wheels that are also 18s, that will need tires. Hindsight, I wish I hadn't gotten rid of the 17x8 Enkeis I had, and used those for winters, but that has passed. I am now looking for something for the second set of wheels, and am leaning towards a winter specific tire.

Josh, I'm not sure if a 16'' would fit or not on the new car. If it were the WRX I'd have no hesitation. I am trying to learn more about tires and fitment. I remember someone (maybe readymix?) a year or two back making a comment about how 'the tires are one of the most important investments that you can make, since they are the one thing separating you from the road,' and that has really stuck. Would you guys recommend going down to a 17 over these 18s? Would that make that much difference? Sorry if I thread jacked at all.

 

Where do you recommend getting used tired mounted and balanced in preferably the NW or West metro? I'm typically a Discount Tire guy, but if they weren't purchased there the mount/balance seemed high.

 

I would highly recommend Market Tire (763- 535-1716) in Crystal off of Broadway, near Target. Those guys have been in business forever, and are honest. I don't know what the prices are off hand, but they take good care of you and don't try to sell you on extra stuff just for going in there. They get to know you by name like an old school garage.

I would also vouch for the General Altimax Arctics. In winters we have run a set with steelies on my wife's Acura since 2011 and they have held up incredibly well. A lot times we don't get them off until mid-late April. I didn't know how many years to expect out of them initial, but my guess we have a few more years easy. Wouldn't go another winter with out them now that we have had them!

I am picking up a set of used Michelin X-Ices for my LGT now that my all seasons are on their last rotate. Will be interesting to see how they compare to the Generals.