I run Bridgestone Blizzacks on my Volvo XC. Driving 3000 feet uphill / downhill to our local skate ski area 3x per week on what is generally acknowledged as the worst ski hill access road in the US, Bogus Basin road. Other than studded tires, they are the best I've found.

Timely question for me. I am looking for snow tires for our Jetta. I live in MN.

Do you guys have an extra set of wheels, or do you swap tires in the fall/spring?

I just swap the tires. $60 each spring / fall.

That's what I am thinking.

Thanks.

Haha come now, Bogus Basin Rd isn't that bad, especially with all the fresh pavement at the bottom!

We have Blizzaks for our BMW 330, they are awesome, coupled with the traction control it is our best winter car despite it being a convertible and thus the worst winter car.

I have separate wheels for the winter tires. If you are looking for a cheap solution try used on Craigslist. There are always sets of lightly used Blizzaks for sale on there for pretty cheap, many of them come with wheels as well. I had an extra set of wheels for our BMW, but I got the Blizzaks on CL for $200, they had been used for one season and were in like new condition.

Blizzak from Costco. costs me about 450 bucks then pay $40 a season to have them changed out.

I put them on both of my AWD vehicles, makes them beasts on the snowy/icy roads.

Blizzacks on my Volvo V50. What is great about them is how nice they roll when there isn’t snow. ...and in snow? I was passing all kinda vehicles last night here in Ann Arbor...they rock. I always loved this add. Volvos were conceived in winter weather.

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I have my snow tires on rims, to easy to change them myself and it saves trying book an appointment.

As for tire I have Michelin x-ice this year and they have been great, quiet and great grip on ice, I don't worry to much about getting through thick, deep snow and we haven't had any yet to test them out but the reviews say they should be good.

I have a separate set of wheels for both my vehicles for snow tires and just swap them in my garage. Only takes about 30 minutes, I don't have to make an appointment at the shop (at the same time as everyone else), and I can put them on/take them off the day before I want them.

+1 on Craigslist for used wheels and tires. But be careful buying Blizzaks - the tread compound changes about halfway through, thus the second half of the tread life is lower-performance than the first half. This is my beef with Blizzaks. The best winter tire I know of is the Nokian Hakkapelitta; but they are not cheap.

We run separate sets of summer and winter tires. You get much better tread life this way. I swap them myself, which is quicker and easier than making an appt. at the tire shop.

I have a separate set of rims for the winter tires. Bought through Tirerack they come UPS fully mounted. I have had Michelins, Blizzacks and Dunlop. The Dunlops have been the better tires for traction, ride comfort and especially wear.

Do you guys have an extra set of wheels, or do you swap tires in the fall/spring?


Best to have the winter tires mounted on separate rims from your summer/3-season tires.

The change-over is quicker easier and less costly, if you are getting your local garage to do it. Also, if you know what you are doing and have a decent jack - you can do it at home.

I'm told this also saves wear and tear on the beads of both your summer and winter tires. Ounce mounted on their rims they are on there for life.

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Steve Fleck @stevefleck | Blog

Sorry to hijack, but on my Honda minivan, I run the Michelin x-ice. By the end of last winter the front tires tread was very worn, but the rear were pristine.

Should I replace the "front tires", or just run them on the back this winter and use the good ones upfront (front wheel drive car).

Thanks.

well, if the Swede's can't engineer a car that's great in snow, we're fucked.

I'm on my 2nd V70XC wagon. Volvo for life. This time I went all out, T6 engine, heated rear leather seats, the whole enchilada. I have never loved a car this much.

Do you have TPMS sensors in both sets of rims or just go without for the winter? I read somewhere that going without the sensors can cause issues with traction control, but haven't investigated further as I am not convinced I need winter wheels/tires.

Sorry to hijack, but on my Honda minivan, I run the Michelin x-ice. By the end of last winter the front tires tread was very worn, but the rear were pristine.


I've heard elsewhere that the Michelin X-ice does wear quicker than other winter tires. It's a trade off for the softer/tackier rubber compounds which make this the #1 tire I've read on ice.

We've normally had 4+ winters out of our General Altimax Arctics. The garage rotates front to back etc . .

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Steve Fleck @stevefleck | Blog

I have a set of X-Ice3 on my vehicle now and noticed no significant wear on them. This the 2nd winter I've ran them. I also rotate my tires pretty regularly every oil change (5k miles).

To the person with the Honda you can get by with 2 new tires only since your vehicle is FWD and remember to rotate your tires. You might want to have your alignment checked too as that wear sound odd. Also, if you drive them in temps warmer than 45 degrees consistently, any winter tire will wear significantly faster than what their designed temp ranges were.

Best tires for winter (non-studded) I've been told is Nokian Hakka R2's for best performance. But they come at a premium but are loved by the tire snobs I know of. The only reason I am running X-Ice's is because of a promotion where I got a couple hundred back in rebates....if it wasn't for that the R2's were on sale for the same overall price when I was tire shopping and I would've went with those instead.

Also, I do have a 2nd set of wheels for these tires and just deal with a TPMS light. It doesn't affect handling in anyway on my Subaru....but I also prefer to turn off the traction control (aka "ESP" on my Subaru) when driving in snow. I learned to how to drive in bad conditions without that stuff and the traction control is counterintuitive to the way I drive in bad weather. Been running 2 set of wheels with a winter tire setup for a long time.

I just put Toyo GSi5's (the ones with nuts) on both my vehicles (front drive Grand Caravan and rear drive CTS) and am pretty happy with them. My brother just changed his out on his 4Runner after getting 7 winters from them through all kinds of conditions, from the black ice of the mountains of BC to the -40 of a Saskatchewan winter.

I was always pretty happy with the Nokians I had previously. I only switched brands because I changed tire shops and this is what my new tire guy recommended.

And to the other question I saw later in the thread, I run a second set of rims. I have my own floor jack and impact wrench, I can change out a set of wheels / tires in under twenty minutes.

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Starting from scratch...

No experience with the tires you mentioned, but I have used 6 different brands of snow tires on several different vehicles. From here on out I plan to only use Blizzaks or X-Ice. YMMV but those have worked the best for me over the past 20+ years.

drn92

Mich. X-ice. On the lease car have the tires switched. Just bought a wheel / tire set for the Cruze with TPMS, payback is about 4 yrs. Probably could find used wheels cheaper but wasn't worth the time.

With wheels and a jack I can swap all 4 in about 40 min. a swap at a tire shop takes at least an hour. Plus I can do mine in the evening the local tire shops close at 6

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Just Triing
Triathlete since 9:56:39 AM EST Aug 20, 2006.
Be kind English is my 2nd language. My primary language is Dave it's a unique evolution of English.

I have run Continental Sure Contact on my Subaru Impreza AWD during winters going up Bogus Basin & up & down Parleys Canyon from Park City to Salt Lake City.

These tires are the best that I have run on. Wear is minimal & they really grip the roads even with snow up to 18 inches.

From what i understand ..no one has ever died in an xc90...true?
we have 3 volvos all v50s..its what works for us ,,,we live a ways out and like the mpg.
but i do own an F150 Lightning and a Mustang GT....both awesome.I work for the Fords.My Volvos have FOMOCO stamped all over them.I hope the Chinese don’t fuck em up'
The drummer in the Seatbelts has a XCwagon, his second..he tried a new Subaru, but went back to Volvo...because he claimed ” the seats are like lazyboys’ "

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Tire manufacturers say to run the best set in the rear no matter front or rear wheel drive.

For me, nothing beats the Hakkapeliitta r2.

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Pain or damage don't end the world, or despair, or beatings. The world ends when you're dead, until then you're due for more punishment. Stand it like a man. And give some back.

I haven't heard that before. I run steelies with winter tires on both my cars and just put up with the light. I haven't noticed an issue with traction control in either car with the winter tires on. The sensors were too expensive to get another set just for the winter tires (ignoring the warning light, on the other hand, is free!)

+1 on that! Sounds counter-intuitive at first, but the rear wheels are what keeps your car in line (there are some videos on youtube demonstrating that). When they lose contact, you're screwed.


Cheers,
malte

http://www.tirerack.com/...chpage.jsp?techid=52

Since everybody seems to be recommending their favorite winter tire rather than answering your question, I'll help you out with this.

Winter Tires 2016: Best Car Winter Tires in Canada - Review - RateLab.ca

Granted it is just one and it is a website related to the insurance industry but the tire you mention is up there on the list with other favorites mentioned in the thread.


Edit: found this from a owner on another forum:

"Well, we've gotten plenty of snow around here the last few days, so I've had a chance to see how these do.
In my non-professional opinion, they're just as good as the General Altimax Arctics I've used in the past, and maybe a little bit better. No problem plowing through 3-4 inches of powder. They go good, stop good, and turn good!"

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A false humanity is used to impose its opposite, by people whose cruelty is equalled only by their arrogance

In my non-professional opinion, they're just as good as the General Altimax Arctics I've used in the past, and maybe a little bit better. No problem plowing through 3-4 inches of powder. They go good, stop good, and turn good!"

Perfect! That's exactly what I was looking for.

Very helpful. My wife's car is in getting a set of four of the Kumho's installed as I write this. The place where we get our tires, gave the same rating - if you liked the Altimax Arctics, then the new I'zen KW31's will more than meet your expectations and possibly surpass them.


I should get another winter out of the set of Altimax Arctics that are on my car, and next year, I'll go for a set of the Kumho's.

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Steve Fleck @stevefleck | Blog

If you're interested in buying a US/Canada product go with goodyear. We buy the Ultra Grip Ice wrt for our ford escapes, on a rim, installed for $1000. I change them out each year for the summer tires to save the $50. All you need is a torque wrench and jack, and we all have one of those. 4years on our first pair and still the same tread depth, accident free and we have some difficult winter conditions up here (northern Ontario).

Tire prices range from $800-1500 up here, on a rim, and it seems that depending on which shop/garage you go to, they have they're favourite brands.

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Team Off Constantly

Hmm ... The Goodyear UltraGrip were at the bottom of my list. Probably very application dependent, but on a mid-sized SUV they didn't perform near as well as Blizzaks or X-Ice.

drn92

Do you race on tubulars or clinchers? What psi do you run them at? Just having fun bro:)

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Team Off Constantly

You are way past my bike tire knowledge base!!!

drn92

Seriously I'm just having fun with the whole what is the best tire theme. When I was choosing bicycle race tires I went through lists, read the slowtwitch suggestions and went from there. Ordered some online and bought some locally. I was never disappointed.

With snow tires I looked at some of the Best Of lists and it seemed like the differences depended on who did the testing, what tires were actually tested and of course under what conditions. The top tens differ by quite a lot, again I think it depends on who does the testing, or what tire do they really want to sell and make the most mark-up on. All I can really say is we've been happy with our tires, and we live in a northern climate. But I haven't personally used any other tires than goodyear.

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Team Off Constantly

Ditto the Hakka's. I've got a set on a RWD M5 and it is better than 4x4 on ice & snow so far. Really soft compound--night & day difference in ride quality on bare streets too.

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"There are two novels that can change a bookish fourteen-year old's life: The Lord of the Rings and Atlas Shrugged. One is a childish fantasy that often engenders a lifelong obsession with its unbelievable heroes, leading to an emotionally stunted, socially crippled adulthood, unable to deal with the real world. The other, of course, involves orcs." John Rogers

Same here. Plus our winters aren't so severe normally to warrant leaving them on all season and chewing up our bare driveway most of the time, so I can just swap them on/off as the forecast/conditions call for it. They'll also last for pretty much the life of the vehicle at this rate. The savings from not paying a shop to do it will pay for a nice floor jack in about 2 changeovers. The first time was a bit of a grunt, but since I've done it a few times now and added an impact driver to my tool arsenal, it's down to only a 2-beer job (or just 1 if I'm in a hurry, but I prefer to enjoy the 2nd beer while I'm at it because I don't want to make it look too easy and thus not win as many pts w/ the wife ~ this is one of those scenarios where the 2nd beer is actually to my advantage...).

Ditto the Hakka's. I've got a set on a RWD M5 and it is better than 4x4 on ice & snow so far. Really soft compound--night & day difference in ride quality on bare streets too.


No question the Hakka's are the gold-standard.

If I lived in an area where there was a really serious long winter and I had to drive everyday in it, I would consider the Hakka's.

The reality is in the Toronto area. Winter driving is probably 75% on snow-free roads. But then when you need the snow/winter tires you really need them!

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Steve Fleck @stevefleck | Blog

Had the new Kumho I'Zen KW31's installed on my wife's car (Honda Fit). For a snow/winter tire they are VERY quiet and smooth on dry pavement. That was my one complaint about the General Altimax Arctic's - when new on dry pavement they were a bit squirrely and somewhat noisy.

In snow they perform I would say the same as the Altimax Arctics. Very good grip and stability.

Our local tire shop seemed to be pushing them ( The Kumhos). I trust these guys and they gave us an awesome price on them. Happy.

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Steve Fleck @stevefleck | Blog