STi All Season Tire Recommendations.

[sergio.dubois]

Its been real fun (if not a little noisy) this summer riding the
Potenzas, but the ice and snow are coming to the New York area, and my
slicks are about spent.

Someone recommended PZero Nero's, but I read some mixed reviews on them
at TireRack (some seemed concerned about it actually being very good in
the snow...)

This area is not Canada or Alaska, but the mix of conditions varies
from year to year.

Any recommendations for a "spirited" driver (who else buys an STi
anyway....)?

 

[Dan]

Its been real fun (if not a little noisy) this summer riding the
Potenzas, but the ice and snow are coming to the New York area, and my
slicks are about spent.

Someone recommended PZero Nero's, but I read some mixed reviews on them
at TireRack (some seemed concerned about it actually being very good in
the snow...)

This area is not Canada or Alaska, but the mix of conditions varies
from year to year.

Any recommendations for a "spirited" driver (who else buys an STi
anyway....)?

I replaced the original Yokohama's on my Evo with these Michelins & have
been very pleased:
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Michelin&tireModel=Pilot+Sport+A/S
I live in central Ohio, the Yoko's were great in the dry, ok in wet &
unusable in snow & were shot in 10K. Michelins don't have the dry grip
of the Yoko's, but they are quieter, the ride is better & they're good
in the wet & moderate snow. Bit pricey, however. Also BTW tire rack
did a great job, I had a local place I found on the tire rack site come
to my house & install/balance the tires. I would definitely use them
again. Couldn't find these tires locally.

Dan

 

[Zuben el Genubi]

Its been real fun (if not a little noisy) this summer riding the
Potenzas, but the ice and snow are coming to the New York area, and my
slicks are about spent.

This area is not Canada or Alaska, but the mix of conditions varies
from year to year.

Any recommendations for a "spirited" driver (who else buys an STi
anyway....)?

I *do* live in Canada, but Toronto's climate is pretty much like New
York's. Last year I put Nokian WR's on my STi, and pretty much like
them. They are rated for 100k km. The ride is a little quieter and a
little softer, and they are great fun in snowy parking lots! <g> My
only complaint is that they get a little squirrelly during hard
cornering on dry pavement, at least compared to the Potenzas, and that
is to be expected.

If you do much winter driving in remote areas, then the Hakkas are
probably better, but anyplace where salt and plows are present, like a
city and environs, the WR has the advantage.

HTH,
....Ron

 

[Philip Procter]

Seems like you're gonna get a bunch of different responses to this
one. I'll chime in, anyway.

I live in western NY, just south of Buffalo, I used to live in NYC and
Fredonia, so that covers about all the microclimates in NY State. I
have driven many different snows over the years but I keep coming back
to Blizzak WS-50's. They make the snow melt, or so it seems. About the
only time I slide is when I want to or on glare ice. There's a perfect
size to fit my STi (05) and I assume yours as well

I just saw an add for a new Blizzak which adds the silicon filler
feature which might help a bit in ice. I wish I remembered
Bridgstone's number, but I did notice there was a 225/45-17 size
listed.

Do you live in NYC or upstate?

2p

 

[Philip Procter]

Man, do I have to add some comment

I grew up in NYC and now live just south of Buffalo. I've been here
about 25 years and I often fly out of Toronto on business. Last year I
landed at Toronto about 6pm in the middle of a raging blizzard. Not a
hotel anywhere near the madhouse, ahhh, airport. So, off I was on my
quest south. 20 below, 50KM winds and a solid 1/2m snow on the
highway. No big deal, but I witnessed two fender benders on the QEW
right in front of my eyes! What joy! Even my Tracker was less than
fully confidence inspiring at anything over 30Km/h

20 years in Manhattan, I had never once saw anything remotely that
bad!

In NYC 5" of snow shuts the city down completely. People know better
than to go outside. In western NY 1m of snow doesn't allow me to be
late to the office.

No, Toronto's climate is nothing like balmy, temperate NYC. I can see
people using all-season tires in NYC, but there's no excuse for not
having full snows in Toronto!

PS: In case anyone cares, I finally found a wonderful hotel about 25km
out of Toronto. I almost froze to death walking from the parking lot
to the lobby, but that bed was EXTRA comfy that night!

2p

 

[B a r r y]

In NYC 5" of snow shuts the city down completely.

In NYC, there's no place to PUT the snow. <G>

A 5" blanket gets pretty big when plowed up against the sidewalk.

 

[Zuben el Genubi]

No, Toronto's climate is nothing like balmy, temperate NYC. I can see
people using all-season tires in NYC, but there's no excuse for not
having full snows in Toronto!

So you were in Toronto once during a raging blizzard? Well, how could I
argue with that? You obviously know more about Toronto's climate than
someone who grew up here! <g> I'm glad you survived your experience
here in the frozen tundra.

I've never been to NYC during a blizzard or any other time, but I find
it hard to believe that there is a little pocket of temperate air that
hovers over the city all winter and makes it different than the rest of
the state. But what do I know? There does seem to be a lot of hot air
that originates in Washington; maybe it drifts up to NYC? <g>

My point was that the Nokian WR tires work well in Toronto, and have a
long life (unlike most of the snow/ice tires) and work reasonable well
on plowed roads too.

....Ron

 

[Philip Procter]

Sorry, but I think you may have missed the point of the story. I've
lived 25 years within 100 miles of Toronto and 20 years in NYC. All I
was trying to say was that I'm pretty familiar with both climates. My
wife always tells me that I like a good story and can loose my point
in the telling of it.

PS: There IS a little pocket of temperate air around NYC. It's called
the Atlantic Ocean and it serves quite nicely to moderate the climate
in NYC.

I don't want to let anyone think I ever claimed there was anything
wrong with your recommendation. I've never tried the Nokians. They may
indeed be far better than the Blizzaks I run. I know full well
Toronto's climate is extreme and well worth the best winter rubber you
can buy.

Philip

 

[Tom Reingold]

So you were in Toronto once during a raging blizzard? Well, how could I
argue with that? You obviously know more about Toronto's climate than
someone who grew up here! <g> I'm glad you survived your experience
here in the frozen tundra.

I've never been to NYC during a blizzard or any other time, but I find
it hard to believe that there is a little pocket of temperate air that
hovers over the city all winter and makes it different than the rest of
the state. But what do I know? There does seem to be a lot of hot air
that originates in Washington; maybe it drifts up to NYC? <g>

My point was that the Nokian WR tires work well in Toronto, and have a
long life (unlike most of the snow/ice tires) and work reasonable well
on plowed roads too.

...Ron

Ron,

It's true. There climate is different just ten miles north of NYC. I
grew up in NYC and live 15 miles west of it.

And ten miles north of NYC is still much warmer and less snowy than the
Buffalo area, for sure.

I don't know much about Toronto weather, but I know a little about
Buffalo. My wife grew up there. NYC gets much, much, much less snow than
Buffalo. If Toronto's climate is similar to Buffalo's (is it?) then
Toronto's climate is different from NYC's.

Tom

 

[tzygkptr]

"And ten miles north of NYC is still much warmer and less snowy than
the
Buffalo area, for sure. "

Same with Cleveland, & Rochester. It's called "Lake Effect Snow", and
is significant for downwind cities in the great lakes region:
http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mlakeeffectsnow.html

David

 

[Zuben el Genubi]

It's true. There climate is different just ten miles north of NYC. I
grew up in NYC and live 15 miles west of it.

And ten miles north of NYC is still much warmer and less snowy than the
Buffalo area, for sure.

I don't know much about Toronto weather, but I know a little about
Buffalo. My wife grew up there. NYC gets much, much, much less snow than
Buffalo. If Toronto's climate is similar to Buffalo's (is it?) then
Toronto's climate is different from NYC's.

Tom

Toronto doesn't get near the amount of snow that Buffalo gets either.
As another post stated, it's the lake-effect snow that gets Buffalo.
There is also a snow belt coming off Georgian Bay that affects the area
west and north of Toronto, but usually the snow doesn't extend right to
the city.

It's interesting to know about the little variations that occur within a
few miles around NYC, but this was never intended to be a treatise on
weather patterns. NYC is more like Toronto (or Cleveland, or Detroit)
than it is like Miami, or Phoenix, or Dallas. Whatever variations exist
between NYC and the surrounding area surely must fade into
insignificance when one considers the normal variations of month to
month, and year to year. I live just east of Toronto, where for
whatever reason, we get less snow than the west end. But that variation
ain't gonna make me buy different tires! <g>

....Ron

 

[k. ote]

Its been real fun (if not a little noisy) this summer riding the
Potenzas, but the ice and snow are coming to the New York area, and my
slicks are about spent.

Someone recommended PZero Nero's, but I read some mixed reviews on them
at TireRack (some seemed concerned about it actually being very good in
the snow...)

They're all-season tires, not winter tires. If you're looking for winter
tires, go winter. I'm Canadian, and the PZero Nero M+S did very well
driving up over a mountain pass about nine or ten times. Whipping around
gravel & snow corners I felt tremendous and consistent traction the whole
drive, every time.

This area is not Canada or Alaska, but the mix of conditions varies
from year to year.

Any recommendations for a "spirited" driver (who else buys an STi
anyway....)?

Since I also drive it frequently (unfortunately) in the rain, the PZero Nero
M+S also did remarkably well in puddles--even big ones where every other
tire I've fought with would hydroplane, these gave me excellent traction
there too.

Still, New York/Ontario style winters are much harsher in terms of snow and
ice, and probably don't include large volumes of rain, so perhaps the PZN
M+S aren't for you after all.

Don't forget to come back and tell us what you think of the tires you do end
up installing!