MLRC Forum - Winter Tires?

KDeV Junior Member Offline Posts: 63 Trenton,ON	Winter Tires? 10/29/13 at 19:24:00 My car's (Nissan Sentra) winter tires need replacing so I thought I'd ask for opinions from folks on here. Pro's/Cons of tires you've used in the past? No particular brand that I love/hate, just looking for suggestions. Thanks
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Dave Cotie

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North Bay, Ontario

Re: Winter Tires?
Reply #1 - 11/01/13 at 22:11:59

Where you live and what you normally get for winter weather plays a huge role in this situation.

Ice - Blizzaks are quite popular, Michelin X-Ice

Snow - Personally I like the Firestone (Bridgestone) Winterforce

Both - Hakkas or General Altimax Arctic (Highest Rated Winter Tire on Tire Rack.com BTW)

I have personal experience with The Winterforce, Altimax, and Michelin X-Ice. Really like the Winterforce and Altimax. Hated the Michelin's - but I am in a snow area.

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Dave Cotie
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rosswood

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Re: Winter Tires?
Reply #2 - 11/02/13 at 06:13:54

Any tests I have seen in recent years on winter tires has concluded that the difference between brands is mere percentage points. Even the off brand tires are mostly quite good. Some are better in snow, some better in ice etc. So it depends mostly on where the majority of your driving will be done. The wear factor varies as well, but for most people that is irrelevant, as you should not be using them for more than five seasons.

You also have to consider dry and wet pavement use, which is the majority of your driving. I have found the Michelin X Ice to be especially stable, quiet and smooth. They are very good on ice and wet pavement. As Dave says, they are not quite so good in deep snow.

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RyanHuber

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Ontario

Re: Winter Tires?
Reply #3 - 11/02/13 at 08:18:34

Another thing to consider, if the tire is designed to be studded (like the Hankook W409s I have for my Hyundai) then it's likely to be useless on ice without the studs! I've not been very happy with them, other than in heavy snow, then they do alright.

Once you've found something you like, have a look on http://winter-tires.pmctire.com/enw before you shop locally. I got my IG20s for the rallycar there last year for a steal of a price.

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Ryan Huber
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KDeV Junior Member Offline Posts: 63 Trenton,ON	Re: Winter Tires? Reply #4 - 11/02/13 at 21:40:48 Dave, Being in Southern Ontario I get just about everything ice, slush, snow. Just maybe not the crazy snow depth that you might. I've found out I might be able to get a discount on the Toyo GSI-5's, anyone used them?
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madspeed er YaBB Newbies Offline Posts: 15	Re: Winter Tires? Reply #5 - 11/09/13 at 22:49:52 Nokian Hakkas are great tires.
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rosswood God Member Offline I love YaBB 1G - SP1! Posts: 697	Re: Winter Tires? Reply #6 - 11/10/13 at 07:49:19 I had a set of the Toyos - they were pretty good.
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Dave Cotie God Member Offline Posts: 838 North Bay, Ontario	Re: Winter Tires? Reply #7 - 11/10/13 at 08:50:51 . 205/55R16 Firestone Winterforce on steelies. Picked up off Kijiji. Need to get my flaps back on and mount the light bar before Pines.
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KDeV Junior Member Offline Posts: 63 Trenton,ON	Re: Winter Tires? Reply #8 - 11/13/13 at 10:09:51 Thanks for that link Ryan. The new IG52's came out to about 109 each before tax and there's a $70 rebate on purchases of 4. And free shipping. The IG20's are discontinued and were 116 a piece.
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RPRacing YaBB Newbies Offline Posts: 34	Re: Winter Tires? Reply #9 - 11/17/13 at 21:24:47 I'd go with either Yoko's or Toyo's. Both back Rallying locally.
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rosswood God Member Offline I love YaBB 1G - SP1! Posts: 697	Re: Winter Tires? Reply #10 - 11/18/13 at 07:14:45 Excellent point and they both make fine winter tires.
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KDeV Junior Member Offline Posts: 63 Trenton,ON	Re: Winter Tires? Reply #11 - 11/19/13 at 14:28:40 I was leaning towards the Yokohamas in part due to their backing of rally in Canada. As well if the top guys in the sport are using their street tires (albeit modified) to compete on the ice rink that is Perce Neige, I'm sure they'll be just fine for 401 driving and in town puttering.
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KDeV Junior Member Offline Posts: 63 Trenton,ON	Re: Winter Tires? Reply #12 - 12/05/13 at 11:03:26 Went with the Yoko I/G52c. Factor in a $70 rebate and it came out to $104.34 per tire taxes in and free shipping to my door. The girlfriend took the car to get an oil change and the tires installed earlier this week, so I haven't had a chance to take it for a drive. With the snow and ice that hit, I'm sure she isn't complaining
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Slowpoke

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Re: Winter Tires?
Reply #13 - 12/13/13 at 10:32:55

I was pleasantly surprised with my new 205-60/15 Toyo Observe GSi-5. I had a chance to drive them back to back against the Michelin Xi3 and the ice grip was almost equal. For snow, the GSI-5 beats any X-Ice I've driven.

They did very well on the Pines roads. Obviously we weren't driving 000 as fast as the competitors, but I thought for sure we'd cut two on an embedded rock I couldn't avoid but they survived it just fine. I'm considering running them as is for MLWR instead of changing to my Blizzak WS60's with cuts. Hrmmm.

Toyo is a sponsor of the KWRC SNATR series. Amazing prices available for their R-Compound tires (Shannonville Stages domination???) by joining the Toyo Racing Group and it can also benefit you on any Toyo tire if you chose the right vendor. 205/50-16 is around $152 a tire, all in, shipped to your door from a Canadian vendor (Talon Tire). 205/60-15 around $140.

If you're not able to find those prices locally, contact me and I'll introduce you to Talon.

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Stephen

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nhibbert Full Member Offline Posts: 189	Re: Winter Tires? Reply #14 - 01/05/14 at 10:35:41 For anyone who misses the Nokian Hakka 2 - there is a very similar (possibly manufactured from the same molds) tire available. There were available from Walmart. This is the Hakka2: and this is the Walmart Nexen Winguard 231:
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