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Snow/Ice winter tires

784 messages,  Last post on Dec 17, 2011 at 12:41 PM

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What is this discussion about? Tires, Wheels

For the general tire discussion topic, have a look at the Tires, tires, tires topic.

Messages Page 76 of 79

#745 of 784 Tire Pressure by guitarzan

Dec 19, 2010 (8:34 am)

The rating on the door represents what the MFR thinks is the best blend of comfort and performance. Adding a couple pounds improves stiffness a bit while comfort may suffer. I do this just like you do. I add two pounds to just the front tires, both in winter & summer, to stiffen them up and compensate for the 60% of the weight that is up front in my Celica. To me this helps the overall balance.
 
Just an aside: My snow tires are higher profile and dramatically more comfortable than the summer performance tires. Part of that is due to going with 15" wheels in the winter, one size down. The other part is the makeup of the tire material. My back actually feels bad when I put the summer tires back on.
 
Winter tires tend to have a much lower maximum pressure rating. You can find this on the tire itself. However, the tire can probably take another 10 psi more.

#746 of 784 Re: Dunlop SP WinterSport 3D Tire Pressures [lilengineerboy] by mz6greyghost

Dec 19, 2010 (10:06 am)

Replying to: lilengineerboy (Dec 18, 2010 5:47 pm)
I run the Dunlop M3s for my winter setup on my Mazda6, and I've run the same tire pressure on them as I do my summer wheels/tires (2-3 psi above recommendation), and I haven't had any issues in terms or traction or ride comfort.

#747 of 784 Re: Time for tires! [shipo] by chilli1327

Jan 05, 2011 (7:18 am)

Replying to: shipo (Sep 06, 2010 1:06 pm)
All tires will wear evenly if you follow a few steps. And yes I know some tires are better than others, but make sure you maximize the pressure in the tires. I mean maximize for your vehicle, not the maximum pressure.
So, slow down in curves, do all your braking before you enter a curve, and wait until you completely exit a curve before accelerating.
I have always bought the cheapest tires available, but I always do my home work first. I search on different brands to find out any information that I can find. Hancooks are one of the best values out there, but it depends where you live etc. A tires price can vary by as much as 50% depending on where you live. Go figure. In Canada, we pay much more for shoes than our friends in the states.

#748 of 784 Re: Time for tires! [chilli1327] by shipo

Jan 05, 2011 (7:52 am)

Replying to: chilli1327 (Jan 05, 2011 7:18 am)
You completely missed the point of my post; it isn't that Bridgestone winter tires wear unevenly, it's that they use a different rubber compound on the outer layer of tread, and once it wears away, their tires lose much of their winter time grip.
 
As for all tires wearing evenly if you follow your steps, nope, fail. Try following your advice on a late model BMW, some Mazdas, and some Hondas and you'll be proven completely wrong. Instead, the only way to ensure relatively even tire wear on these cars is to drive the willies out of them when carving through the turns; drive them like a geriatric case and you'll find one shoulder of the tires gets worn out well before the middle or the outer edge.
 
As for buying the cheapest tires available, that's a fail as well. True, not all expensive tires are great and not all cheap tires are bad; but there is a rough correlation between the two metrics.

#749 of 784 Winters by paisan

Jan 05, 2011 (12:54 pm)

So far I've found the asolute best tires for winter are Nokian Hakkapolita R. I've used them in 70* weather down to -10* and they work just as well across the whole range. For my new STi I just picked up a set of Michelin Alpine 3 tires, they are not as good in the snow but I suspect they may do better in the wet due to the deep grooves in the center.
 
-mike

#750 of 784 Re: Time for tires! [shipo] by lilengineerboy

Jan 05, 2011 (4:13 pm)

Replying to: shipo (Jan 05, 2011 7:52 am)
As for buying the cheapest tires available, that's a fail as well. True, not all expensive tires are great and not all cheap tires are bad; but there is a rough correlation between the two metrics.
 
I concur. The scariest tires I've had were Cooper Sport 1000s (the ones they advertise in the paper 4/$100 or whatever) and they were mediocre in every aspect. That said, my Kumho Ectasas on the '93 Accord were much more fun than the $$$ Michelin MXV4s that were on there before.
 
I have been very happy with the Bridgestone stuff I've had recently, and Dunlop has been good to me as well. I haven't had a "modern" Yokahama but the AVS Intermediates were great at the time.

#752 of 784 Re: Winter Tires? [tiresbyweb] by xwesx

Aug 16, 2011 (9:27 am)

If you plan to use the tires strictly for winter driving, I would recommend the Hakkapeliitta between the two. If I recall correctly, the WR can be used as an all-season, but the result of that is you give up a little winter traction and it wears fairly fast during the summer.
 
Everyone around here (Fairbanks, AK) who has used the Hakkapeliitta has nothing but praise for them, aside from the (local) price. If you can get them for the prices listed on that site, I doubt you'll come away disappointed with their performance!
 
It's not too early... we have more than a few yellow leaves on the trees!

#753 of 784 Re: Winter Tires? [tiresbyweb] by shipo

Aug 16, 2011 (11:42 am)

Hmmm, a user name of tiresbyweb posting a link to www.tiresbyweb.com; seems awfully spammish if you ask me.

#754 of 784 Re: Winter Tires? [shipo] by xwesx

Aug 16, 2011 (1:57 pm)

Replying to: shipo (Aug 16, 2011 11:42 am)
Didn't notice that little "coincidence."

Messages Page 76 of 79

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