Snow/Ice winter tires

708 messages, Last post on Nov 10, 2009 at 12:57 PM

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#62 of 708 RE: # 58 by pulgo Oct 15, 2001 (1:18 pm)
I would strogly suggest you obtain 4 tires. When driving in ice and snow you won't be able to handle your car if you only get 2 tires for the front! What about your car's behaviour when you have to avoid an obstacle or turn? You would loose control quickly. If you are concerned about cost, buy snow tires at Walmart (inexpensive) and obtain take off wheels from a business that deals in wheels. This would be much cheaper than your regular dealer. An example: For my Toyota Echo I bought 4 wheels that way (NOT from Toyota). Toyota charges CAD$ 110 per wheel, I bought them at CECO Distributors in Vancouver for CAD$ 38 each (brand new).
#63 of 708 by dudleyr Oct 15, 2001 (7:50 pm)
If you only have 2 snows they must go on the rear tires otherwise the car will not be stable when you brake, and if they are on the rear they won't help you start - so you had better buy 4-tires. You will be happy you did. Remember you are saving your summer tires so really your only cost is the rims. I bought take off rims for my Integra at the Acura dealer for $25 each. The dealer has no use for them and may give you a good deal. Tire rack also has good package deals. you can get 4 snows mounted and balanced on wheels for just over $300 for small tires (civic or corolla) to $400 for larger (Accord etc). I did have two snows on front for a short while thinking I could handle it. Blizzaks in front and Pirelli P600's in back (not the all weather version you get at Sams, but the European ones that are summer only) There can hardly be any greater difference in snow traction than there was between these two tires. The Pirelli's were helpless in the snow even with front wheel drive. When I placed the Blizzaks on front the car would go like crazy, but when I had to stop suddenly the front would grip and the back would keep going and I would swing right around. I can assure you that this manuever will cause a major decuction in style points!
#64 of 708 OK, 4 it is by hpulley4 Oct 16, 2001 (4:35 am)
Don't want to lose any style points, that's for sure. I'm convinced! I was considering going to a wrecker for used rims but Canadian tire has fairly cheap winter rims ('starting' at $38 or so) so I guess I'll go there and get some Arctic Alpins as their house brand snow tires are only a few bucks cheaper per tire. Around here most roads are usually plowed well eventually so I think I'd wear Blizzaks in no time so it sounds like the Alpins would be better for my conditions.
#65 of 708 Robynk and studs by heng Oct 16, 2001 (7:14 pm)
Studded tires are horrible on paved roads. Not only for the noise but your wet and dry road handling is severely compromised. You will have to weigh the pros and cons.
#66 of 708 steel rims & winter tire decisions by r_scott_g Oct 17, 2001 (1:34 pm)
Last year, I bought 4 steel rims from Walmart. To amuse myself, I first called the dealership and they quoted a price of over $100. I then called the provincial insurance company's salvage yard and they quoted $75 a wheel for used. Walmart's price was $40 dollars, which was the best I found. They put them on sale for $35 after I bought them, so I took back my receipt and they credited me the difference. This year I'm trying to decide if I'll mount winter tires on a seperate set of rims for our second car, mount them on the stock rims, or go with Nokian NRW's. If I go with winter tires, I'll have to decide how much I'm willing to spend. I could go with a cheaper studded tire (Canadian Tire, Bridgestone Wintertrax, Walmart), or a non-studded tire. Alpins tend to go on sale at Canadian tire, while Blizzaks, Oberves, Q's tend to be more.
#67 of 708 Robynk... by calg Oct 17, 2001 (6:11 pm)
We also live in Vermont and are driving in the same conditions you are... part dirt, hills, etc. We have always used studded Nokian Haka's on our sedans/wagons and had great luck with them. Unfortunately, we were told that we could not get studded tires for our Odyssey except for the Cooper tires. I am not familiar with the Cooper brand and am wondering if it is just better off to go with the Nokia Hakkapalita's without the studs than the brand we are not familiar with. I saw one post for an Odyssey owner in the Boston area who used a Michelin Artic Alpin so we will look into that one as well. Does anyone else out there own an Odyssey and use either the Michelin, Nokian, or Cooper tires for their winter driving?
#68 of 708 Goodyear Ultra Grip - Wal-mart Magna Grip by r_scott_g Oct 18, 2001 (6:56 am)
Does anyone know if the Magna Grip(studdable) tire that Wal-mart(at least in Canada) sells, is the same as the Goodyear Ultra Grip N. At Wal-mart, they said the Magna Grip was made by Goodyear, and the Ultra Grip (studdable), is the only tire that could be similiar. I haven't been to Walmart to look at the tread. Thanks
#69 of 708 best SUV tires by cheech004 Oct 18, 2001 (7:39 am)
I think the best SUV tire for the money are the pirelli scorpion A/T's great on snow great in the rain, and excellent in dry, prices range from 69$ to 89$ depending were you buy them, check them out.
#70 of 708 calg by robr2 Oct 18, 2001 (8:06 am)
I'm the one with the Arctic Alpins on my Ody in Boston. Since the snow removal here is pretty good once commuting is over, the biggest issue was the need for snows for before the plows get out there. The Aplins worked well on snow covered roads last year every time I had to go out and get a snowblower part in the middle of a storm!! The deepest I've gone is about 8" but the Ody has traction control so that helps. On cleared roads they handled very well and were fairly quiet. Someone else noted here that the design of the Alpins lend themselves to good dry road manners. Studs are a no no here in MA so I can't offer help. I got mine at tirerack.com and they offer plenty of different options. I stuck with the 16" size for the Ody but I bet if you looked at 15" you'll find a better selection. Good Luck