So ... how are those snow tires working out?

[J999w]

All summer and fall there were people asking about snow tires.

So, how are they working? (some of you are lucky enough to be up to your hubs
in snow).

jw
milwaukee

 

[Diva]

Well, I have my new Arctic Alpins on the car, and I was all ready for a snowfall to drive through this morning. No snow here, though. That's a good thing.

June

All summer and fall there were people asking about snow tires.

So, how are they working? (some of you are lucky enough to be up to your hubs
in snow).

jw
milwaukee

 

[Tom Forsha]

My new snow tires are still propped up against the garage wall.
If it warms up a bit and stops snowing maybe I'll get them on this weekend.
D'oh

Tom

 

[s]

My new snow tires are still propped up against the garage wall.
If it warms up a bit and stops snowing maybe I'll get them on this weekend.
D'oh

Tom

I know that feeling, mine are in the basement......

 

[CW]

It snowed a good deal yesterday in the Cleveland, OH area.
Thankfully, I got a set of snow tires from the fedex man from
Tirerack.com. Blizzak LM22. I had initially wanted Dunlop
Wintersport M2 which are similar (and cheaper) but they are apparently
sold out for the season (at Tirerack).

Anyways, had the LM22's mounted and balanced and they proved to be
excellent! What a huge difference in stability and traction on both
snow covered and plowed roads, both city and highway driving! And
this is in comparison to almost brand new RE92's. On my other car
(fwd) I have Michelin Arctic Alpin's and am not satisfied with the
non-aggressive tread that is really poor when snow is on the ground.
However, the AA's do get the thumbs up for durability: after 3 winter
season, the two of the tires look brand new and the other two look
only very mildly worn!

CW

 

[Tom Forsha]

I got my Winterforce snow tires put on.
Un fortunately all the snow from yesterday (Cleveland area) had melted off
the roads.
So I couldn't give them a good test.
They did feel really grippy on the asphalt when I took the car out on some
errands.
Felt like I could drive up the side of a building.

The reason I bought snow tires in the first place was because of a new
hobby/ sport I got involved in this year.
TSD (Tour) Road Rallys.

The 2004 season, for me, gets started with a winter rally in Michigan (Jan
10).
Hope to be able to put them through a good test at that time.
See how they perform against some of the more expensive tires these people
use.

I'll try to remember to publish a report on this thread when it's over.

Tom

 

[rekab]

I've got a full set of Firestone Winterfires on the '02 OBW.

They handle great in the snow - even the hub deep stuff. I just got
back from a cruise on some back country roads, and punched through some
1' deep drifts on corners without any loss of control.

 

[TW-Ohio]

So ... how are those snow tires working out?

From: (e-mail address removed) (J999w)
Date: 12/5/2003 5:28 PM Eastern
All summer and fall there were people asking about snow tires.>
So, how are they working? (some of you are lucky enough to be up to your hubs
in snow).

We got blasted on Friday a few in the am, and then more in the afternoon
(Youngstown, OH). So I was on my way to WalMart to have a 4 wheel rotation
performed (4 snow-wheels on, 4 all-seasons off $10) and looped it on a 90º
right turn on my worn re92's = sob. I was perpendicular to the yellow line! A
bit of solice though, a Durango and a CJ had already "ditched it". I got to WMT
and they said they had a 2½ hr wait - forget that. Phoned a local
dealer/installer where I had bought 2 sets of tires for other cars, and asked
how long for my "regular winter rotation", and he says 30min; = sold. Had the
LM22s (with take-off wrx rims) on and out the door in 25min for $14. On the way
home (with the kids P-hut pizza) I had to wait 15min for a school bus and an
Avalanche (lol) to get towed so that I could get down our hill. It was as bad
as I've driven in (had a hard time standing up on the icy road as we waited for
cops to clear the road).But after I got past the mess, I was able to really
scoot on roads I had been quite cautious about just 50 minutes prior. An
amazing difference - my smile was measurable. And an hour later after 2" more
snow, the LM22s were great when my better half and I headed out to her
company's X-mas party ~4 miles away.
I did have the WS50s on other cars, and the LM22s are better handling, and
very close in snow and ice handling - afaict.
Terry - '02 Regatta-Red GT wagon 5spd - 25,000 miles
'03 Silver Legacy SE auto-sedan - 2450 miles
Yakima / TandeMover / Rockymount rack
To reply, get rid of the "nonsense"

 

[ct]

So, how are they working? (some of you are lucky enough to be up to your
hubs

in snow).

Toyo Observe G-02 Plus...$352 including taxes, etc. Seem to stop really
well, if I get on it in 2nd in a corner I can break the rear free a little
easier than with the Blizzaks I had on before, but handle WAY better in the
dry. Very nice, quiet tire.

The real test will be going over Berthoud Pass a few times this
weekend...come on snow!

C

 

[Jason Kavanaugh]

All summer and fall there were people asking about snow tires.

So, how are they working? (some of you are lucky enough to be up to your hubs
in snow).

jw
milwaukee

Still got summer tires, I live in South Arkansas where it snows maybe
once every 3 years lol.

Jason Kavanaugh

 

[Vince C]

Just keeping on the all season contiextremecontacts. They worked pretty
good in snow for an all season.

 

[Nicolas Dore]

All summer and fall there were people asking about snow tires.

So, how are they working? (some of you are lucky enough to be up to your hubs
in snow).

jw
milwaukee

Hello JW

Great idea, this thread.

I bought Kumho KW11 L'Zen Stud
(http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Kumho&tireModel=I+Zen+Stud+KW-11)
from a local shop - had trouble finding them, most tire shops could
not get them from their supplier. Installed, it came to ~450$CAN /
330$US for 205/60R15s.

On the highway they have been very good, quiet and responsive, good on
wet roads and, so far - we've had 4 inches of snow -, they've been
good on ice and OK on snow. I do a lot of highway and live in the
city, so a well balanced good highway/dry/wet tires with good snow/ice
abilities is perfect for me.

And the final approval came from my girlfriend, who usually never
notices changes in the car...

Nicolas

 

[Tom Forsha]

Tires: Winterforce (a Bridgestone / Firestone associate brand).
Situation: SCCA sanctioned TSD Road Rally (TSD = Time, Speed, Distance)
Location: Waterford, MI and surrounding areas.
Distance: 150+ miles
Date: Jan 10, 2004
Weather: Cold -Teens to low 20's
Road Conditions: Mostly gravel (I think) overlaid with 2-4 inches of hard
packed snow/ ice.

For those not familiar with Road Rallys, they require you to travel over a
defined course, often twisty secondary roads, at specified speeds, in this
case usually 30-40 MPH (always within the legal limit). Scoring is achieved
by positioning "check points" along the route where your arrival times are
logged. The goal is to pass each check point at exactly the right time
(calculated by the speed and distance traveled).

The Winterforce tires on my '02 Forester performed extremely well on these
slippery roads.
How slippery were they? At one point when I was returning to my car (usually
after passing a check point you are required to stop your car and walk back
to the check point crew and get your scores), I forgot how old I was, and
ran back to my car and did a playground slide of at least 10-15 feet on the
road surface. Still got it!

Now the more fanatical road ralliest will claim that the Nokian
(Hakkapeliitta) winter tires are the best. And at approx $100 per tire
compared to the $40 Winterforce I'm sure they are better, maybe even much
better.
But for everyday winter driving through snow or ice, I have to give the
Winterforce tires a solid thumbs up.

http://www.bridgestone-firestone.com/news/corporate/news/2003/031112a.htm

http://www.nokiantires.com/newsite/home.cfm


Tom