The great winter tire debate...
 

You wouldn't think it today, but Winter's coming soon..

After picking up my winter steelies today (Thank's Marty)...

I would like to know what everyone is gonna run this year..

I found a nice faq at tirerack here

But would like some personal opinions...

I don't really care about cost..

I would like to get studed tires but they are illegal and hard to find here...

I thought about Blizzak's but am wary of premature treadwear...

Anybody have Nokia Haakepellita NR10's or H10's?

I have heard good things about these tires...

Advice appreciated...

Interesting post, Aaron.

I was thinking of Blizzaks, but got to thinking about our Toronto hivers.

I think I'm just going to blast through with my SiR rims and Michelins. If, at first fall, I'm slip slidin' everywhere, I'll invest in some all good seasons. That's it for me.

As far as the rims deteriorating. I won't be holding on to the car for that long.

I ran Blizzacks last winter and they are excellent! Tread is still in the 90% area. The grip is excellent, never spun the tires in snow makes stopping better as well. I highly recommend them.

From what I've heard from various tire/rim shops, is that the Blizzaks are not worth the money. Appearantly, after a couple of winters, the traction turns to crap and it kinda becomes an all season tire.

Thats what I have heard as well...

Anybody have the Nokias???

Nope, but I have the Dunlops still :thumbup:

I ran the Blizzacks on my first car many years ago. I had them for three winters and never once got stuck or slid. I never really had any issues with them wearing down too fast either, they seemed to provide good grip throughout the three winters.

Audiophilia, I don't think you'll be keeping those craptastic Michelins long once the roads get even a little slippery. They have really crappy traction and are pretty much useless in the snow.

I ran a set of Nokias last winter, nice tire.

My bro has used the same set 3 winters in a row.

My dad does not like Winter Tires + Wheels because you have to change them. I said you can jack it up your self and change it he said you need to balance it. Any rebuttals towards my dad's comment. Thats the only reason why he doesn't use Winter Tire.
Or maybe some High Perf SUV (02 CRV) Tires (Michelin LTX M/S Anybody?)

A tire is balanced on it's own. once it's balanced it doesn't need to be rebalanced as along as you keep the wheel wieghts on.

I't not like people mount the wheel then balance it.

My bro got winter tires after he hit a few people, (locked and slid into them) he figured the extra cost will save him in the long run and aviod dealing with insturance and the hassle of hitting someone.


Just the though of that and I decided to go proactive and went to winter rubber. Don't like the idea of losing control, I could either endanger my life, the life of others, hit someone :eek: and then have the hassle of dealing with insurance.

Some other folks feel that winter tires are for women and people that don't know how to drive, to that I say, look at the rally guys.

I suggest Nokians (I think that's what they are called) they are developed and used in Europe where it snows a lot more than here. A lot of the rally teams use those as well.

are studed tires really illegal? Is it just in ontario?

Just in Ontario...

Sometime in the 70's they were banned...

My mom used to have em on her V-Dub...

Chains are too I think...

What are wheel weights? It mentioned something about that in the manual

I'm not a fan of the Blizzaks either. Bridgestone uses a dual compound layer, so that once the tire wears down half way, it's basically an all-season tire. Expect to get about 1 season out of them if your an semi-aggressive driver.

I've used the Pirelli Wintersport 210's, and the Nokian Hakkapellita 1's. Very fond of both tires because they carry higher speed ratings.
Since Toronto and most of the GTA roads don't see too much snow - it's usually plowed within the next 24 hours. I'd recommend an ice tire more than anything.

Go to a wheel/tire speciallist, and they'll be able to give you the lowdown on winters.

BTW, rear wheel drive is super fun in the snow, until you get caught! :thumbup:

Thanks for the advice....

Time for another "covert" purchase....

Hehe...

Whats wheel weights :confused:

Those little square silver things that are stuck on the inside of the rim.

Oh when ever I wash my dads car I see them wondering what they are. So you must buy wheel weights from Honda to use on the steelies and your fine?

Whoever mounts the tire on the rim should balance the tire for you and they'll put the wieghts on.

Every tire/ rim is a little off balance. Very minor, even tires on Cart and F1 cars need balancing.

What it does is it adds weight to balance it out and eliminate the vibration. The're tonnes of different sizes and they can go either on the outside or inside the rim depending on where and how off the wheel is.

If you notice that you used to have wheel weights on the car and you don't have them anymore, it's probably time to get the wheels balanced.

1. Any con's to buying snow tires for just the front and keeping all seasons in the back?

2. Not looking for anything expensive so how does Canadian tire snow rubber compare?