Winter Tire Thread

[Dan00Hawk]

For next winter, I may try a tire from the recent "all-weather" tire category. Think of them as an all-season with the mountain snowflake capability, but a compound that you can use in warmer temps. It will be interesting to see how this category develops. They can't match the snow and ice traction of a dedicated winter tire, but that's not always vital for people who aren't facing unplowed roads very often.

While I have used winter tires for every winter for the past 15 years, and I absolutely love the grip in snow, 90 to 95% of the time I am driving on dry or wet roads. So I may give a set from this group a try for next year to see if the compromise between a winter tire and all season is suitable for my needs.

https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/testDisplay.jsp?ttid=231

 

[TechGuy32]

I've used the Dunlop SP Winter Sport 3D Winter tires for about 5 years on one vehicle and they are the best handling Winter tires that I have used yet they still have excellent snow/ice performance. They are in the performance tire category. While an older design they have impressed me and I've driven on a lot of top Euro designed Winter tires.

 

[Shane_Anigans]

For next winter, I may try a tire from the recent "all-weather" tire category. Think of them as an all-season with the mountain snowflake capability, but a compound that you can use in warmer temps. It will be interesting to see how this category develops. They can't match the snow and ice traction of a dedicated winter tire, but that's not always vital for people who aren't facing unplowed roads very often.

The only true "all-weather" tire available in North America is the Nokian WRG3. We sold them at the BMW dealer where I used to work, mostly to E46 owners who didn't want to bother with swapping wheels and tires anymore (this was in 2010, so the cars in question were also on the lower end of the used BMW price spectrum, where many a buyer didn't realize what sort of added expenses they were getting themselves into). So, while my experience with them is still somewhat anecdotal, I can say that 100% of the people who bought them loved them, all of them reporting that they had excellent traction in the snow, and were quiet on dry pavement.

Granted, I have no firsthand knowledge of the tires in that TR test, but given my experience with Goodyear Assurance tires, I'd avoid them like the plague.

 

[Dan00Hawk]

The only true "all-weather" tire available in North America is the Nokian WRG3. We sold them at the BMW dealer where I used to work, mostly to E46 owners who didn't want to bother with swapping wheels and tires anymore (this was in 2010, so the cars in question were also on the lower end of the used BMW price spectrum, where many a buyer didn't realize what sort of added expenses they were getting themselves into). So, while my experience with them is still somewhat anecdotal, I can say that 100% of the people who bought them loved them, all of them reporting that they had excellent traction in the snow, and were quiet on dry pavement.

Granted, I have no firsthand knowledge of the tires in that TR test, but given my experience with Goodyear Assurance tires, I'd avoid them like the plague.

The Nokians have a fantastic reputation for exactly the reasons you described. Given that the Goodyears are a new design that happen to be called Assurance, they aren't the same tires that you have had bad experiences with. They certainly tested well against the others in the TR test, though. I won't be in the market for them until next fall, so I'll wait for more reviews, tests, feedback (like yours, thankyou ) and possibly more options from other manufacturers until then.

 

[K.Nikkz]

225/40/18 Blizzaks.


B0HQEzD by knikkz, on Flickr


IMG_6454 by knikkz, on Flickr


Haven't gotten to use them in any heavy accumulation, but had no issues getting to the mountain the day after a snow storm (not the day in the first pic!)

 

[Shane_Anigans]

Given that the Goodyears are a new design that happen to be called Assurance, they aren't the same tires that you have had bad experiences with.

On the one hand, I agree that dismissing a tire based on the name alone is more than slightly prejudicial. That said, I do know a bit about tires, and branding. When it was launched, the Assurance line of replacement tires was marketed primarily on 2 strengths: wet traction, and long life. It's been a while, but I think their original tread life warranty was 75,000 miles, or something ridiculous like that. According to the TR website, the ones they tested have a warranty of 60,000 miles. I could get really pedantic now, but you can probably guess how they go about minimizing the number of successful mileage warranty claims, and what effect that might have on ride quality and noise level, especially after a few thousand miles. That was the case with several of my former clients' cars, including one guy whose Assurance tires required so much weight to balance that we had to stack the weights, and even then, the car still vibrated.

Having said all that, maybe things have changed since I've been out of the game (its been close to a decade, thank god), and Goodyear's figured out how to solve those problems. Unfortunately, there's no way to know for sure until you've put thousands of miles on them. If you do decide to go with the Goodyears, keep us posted; I'll be interested to see if my suspicions were correct.

 

[Dan00Hawk]

I don't think those Goodyears are even available in the 225/40/18 that I would use on the factory Austins, and I'm limited to the Vredestein Quatrec 5 from that particular test. The Goodyear had the lowest ratings for the dry/wet anyway.

I worked part time for a tireshop for 2 years about 8-10 years ago as well. It was always difficult to determine if it was the tire or the wheel that necessitated more weights for balancing, but as you said, you would certainly start seeing some trends with some tires needing more weight than others.

 

[Shane_Anigans]

I worked part time for a tireshop for 2 years about 8-10 years ago as well. It was always difficult to determine if it was the tire or the wheel that necessitated more weights for balancing, but as you said, you would certainly start seeing some trends with some tires needing more weight than others.

The wheels in question were BMW factory alloys, which were the only part on an E39 which wasn't prone to defect or failure.

 

[daujin_mk7]

Does anyone run spacers w stock rims in the winter? Or would this be bad with potholes, etc?

 

[TechGuy32]

Any additional leverage from spacers places more load on the bearings.

 

[GOLF NUTT]

I have a set of 17" Tronic wheels and hope to use them as winter wheels on my 2019 GTI.

Does anyone know for sure that they will fit the MK7.5 GTI?

 

[ggweci]

I’m going to pick up 17x7.5” wheels for winters - any issues going with a 205/50/17 tire? It’s an exact match to the overall diameter of the 225/40/18 stock setup.

Would 205 be too narrow? I know thinner tires cut through snow better, but anything else I should be concerned with on a 7.5” wide wheel?

Another alternative would be 215/45/17.

 

[DUSlider]

I’m going to pick up 17x7.5” wheels for winters - any issues going with a 205/50/17 tire? It’s an exact match to the overall diameter of the 225/40/18 stock setup.

Would 205 be too narrow? I know thinner tires cut through snow better, but anything else I should be concerned with on a 7.5” wide wheel?

Another alternative would be 215/45/17.

My winter wheels are VW OEM 17x7.5 Goals, I was going to run 205/50/17 but decided on 215/50/17 because I wanted more sidewall. Only issue might be no protection of the wheel if you decide to rub a curb. According to the tire specs of the X-Ice3 that I got, the 205/50/17 supports mounting on a max 7.5" width wheel.

 

[jrdigioia]

Anyone tried the continental Viking contact 7’s?

Going to switch my stock wheels to winter tires and get rid of the less than impressive stock pirellis. I’ll have as+ or eagle exhilarate on my other rims, so these will be for winter only. Need a tire for occasional trips up to the mountains ( snowpack over vail pass) and the worst part of winter here, which is generally not bad.

 

[DiscusInferno]

Anyone tried the continental Viking contact 7’s?

Going to switch my stock wheels to winter tires and get rid of the less than impressive stock pirellis. I’ll have as+ or eagle exhilarate on my other rims, so these will be for winter only. Need a tire for occasional trips up to the mountains ( snowpack over vail pass) and the worst part of winter here, which is generally not bad.

It's too new of a winter tire and it's not even winter yet in North america

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