Hey, shopping around for winter wheel/tires as summer comes to a close. I live in Central NY so winters are a thing. I have 17s and Conti DSWs on now, thinking I will go to 16s, don't really like how 15s look on the vehicle. Probably will just get some wheels off tire rack (no steelies), but wondering about tires, do I just do like most people and get the Blizzaks or something fancier like a Nokian Hakka R2. I mean, where I live roads are salted and plowed a lot I don't live in Siberia so I'm thinking studded tires are excessive, but I have a gravel driveway up an incline so I don't know. What is a reasonable winter tire that isn't meant for driving in Antarctica but that is going to give good performance way better than an all season, and look cool too?
7
Winter Wheels/Tires 18 GSW
- Thread starter Wyclef
- Start date
Sumfuncomet
Go Kart Newbie
- Location
- Severomorsk, Russia
- Car(s)
- 2018 Mercedes E63 S
Buy some Motegi traklites, put some Nokians on them. people always want to go cheap on winter tires, i can never figure that out. Your FAMILY is in the car, please be as safe as possible.
shovelhd
Autocross Champion
- Location
- Western MA
For my JSW and MkV GTI I had great performance from the General Arctic Ice in 17's, but they wouldn't fit on the Mk7.5. I found a barely used set of 18" Blizzaks on CL for $200 and I'll be mounting them on the OEM Dallas wheels.
DiscusInferno
Go Kart Newbie
- Location
- Kalifornia
205/55r16 gives you a lot of options. You can go with Nokian Hakka R3/Bridgestone Blizzak WS-90 (the replacement for the WS-80)/Michelin Xice Xi3 for the top studdless tires, for the best in snow and ice.
Or... you can open up to "Performance" winters... such the Bridgestone LM-series, Dunlop Wintersport 4D, Michelin Pilot Alpin's, etc. Sacrifice the best snow & ice in exchange for higher speed ratings and better dry-cold and wet-cold conditions.
Or... consider an "All-weather" tires like a Nokian WR G4, Vredestein Quatrac, or Goodyear Assurance WeatherReady, which is better if you have large swings in temperature in the winter, where one day it could be freezing to the next day in the 50's or so.
Or... you can open up to "Performance" winters... such the Bridgestone LM-series, Dunlop Wintersport 4D, Michelin Pilot Alpin's, etc. Sacrifice the best snow & ice in exchange for higher speed ratings and better dry-cold and wet-cold conditions.
Or... consider an "All-weather" tires like a Nokian WR G4, Vredestein Quatrac, or Goodyear Assurance WeatherReady, which is better if you have large swings in temperature in the winter, where one day it could be freezing to the next day in the 50's or so.
DiscusInferno
Go Kart Newbie
- Location
- Kalifornia
I had some Nexen Winguard Sports before, I couldn't complain about its performance in the winter time, where it sacrificed deep/packed snow & ice performance for better wet and dry cold capability. It was also inexpensive.
Another inexpensive tire that gets a lot of solid reviews is the Nitto NT-SN2, which my mechanic recommended to me.
If you want to be cheap, run all-seasons. Continental's marketing is so good, people are convinced that their DWS tires are snow tires because that's what the "S" in DWS means.
I think I am leaning probably towards one of Nokians variations. Just wondering, if it’s 40 degrees and sunny and the roads aren’t covered in snow and ice but plowed and dry is it a big deal to ride on winter tires for an 50-60 miles? Do you just get bad gas mileage or something?
Sumfuncomet
Go Kart Newbie
- Location
- Severomorsk, Russia
- Car(s)
- 2018 Mercedes E63 S
It's not bad to ride on snows in those conditions.myou are running snows for the worst, crappiest, butt clenching, white knuckle conditions! I live in Northern Maine, we use studded snows on ALL our winter vehicles on a dedicated setup. I run studded Nokians on my all track and 2018 GTI and. RWD Sprinter van, studs all around! Many people have summer cars tucked away till spring and it's all about 4WD, AWD. Lots of Subies, BMW X models, Audi, Volvo AWD. We take getting around in the winter seriously. When I'm going somewhere I want to get there on time and in one piece. The jackasses in the ditches are the fools with FWD and all season tires. Be safe!
DiscusInferno
Go Kart Newbie
- Location
- Kalifornia
Nokian tires are low rolling resistance, so do you really get bad gas mileage.
A Nokian Hakka R3 would be fine, but dry cold handling and braking will suffer since the tread pattern is made to be flexible to grip the snow & ice. Handling on the dry cold, you want more stability in the tread blocks.
If it's 40 and sunny, you would prefer the all-weather WR G4.
shovelhd
Autocross Champion
- Location
- Western MA
No, that's what they are designed for. Over 50 degrees or so, the tread wears faster so don't put them on too early. I'll lose around 2 mpg while on the snows. You can make up for that by running regular.
shovelhd
Autocross Champion
- Location
- Western MA
Around here it's the jackasses in the 4WD pickups, AWD SUV's, and Subarus.
Running regular in these engines causes reduced gas mileage.
My wife runs the Nokian R3's in winter. Previously she had the R2's. R3's are better especially in slush/water. She drives a Passat TDI so her avg tank MPG drops in the winter anyway, as does people running gas (winter mix). She drives about 80 miles a day and loves the Nokians. They do have a tendency of wearing quicker in the center (no matter the air pressures), the R2's were notorious for that. R3's are better. She is fully confident in the Nokians. We can't run studs where we live.
I run Michelin Pilot Alpin PA4's on my Golf R, and they work very well, I avoid most bad weather in my R...she's a little garage queen and I travel a lot, but I have foraged through many a winter storm with the R. The Alpins lean much more towards dry winter performance than the Nokians. BTW I live on the lake Michigan shoreline so it snows every day in winter. Snows go on Nov 15 and get removed April 15. Driving on snow tires in 50* temps is fine, 60's is pushing it and 70's + is gonna accelerate wear. Remember tires are much better than they used to be...like oils.
I run Michelin Pilot Alpin PA4's on my Golf R, and they work very well, I avoid most bad weather in my R...she's a little garage queen and I travel a lot, but I have foraged through many a winter storm with the R. The Alpins lean much more towards dry winter performance than the Nokians. BTW I live on the lake Michigan shoreline so it snows every day in winter. Snows go on Nov 15 and get removed April 15. Driving on snow tires in 50* temps is fine, 60's is pushing it and 70's + is gonna accelerate wear. Remember tires are much better than they used to be...like oils.
What’s up with the Continental WinterContact SIs. They are listed on the VW tire site, along with the Blizzaks. Wondering if I don’t get a VW approved tire if it voids the warranty. Is it just me or is there something boring about Blizzaks. Wonder if the Hakkas would void warranty gonna have to check.
DiscusInferno
Go Kart Newbie
- Location
- Kalifornia
Putting nokians won't void the warranty.
Blizzaks are a dual compound. the first 55% of the tread features their multi-cell tube (whatever they call it) compound that gives their tires the best performance. The last 45% is a standard high silica winter compound.