Snow tires....

[butcher bergs]

[Falko]

A guy showed up here to work one afternoon in a company truck with a pretty nice push lawn mower in the back. He said he found it along the side of the road, so he took it. Funniest parts, the bag still had grass in it, the engine was hot when he got, and there was no gas in it. I figured some guy came walking out of his garage with a gas can in hand and looked down to his yard, "Mother fucker....."
This just made me think of that.

[Garandman]

Thinking it will climb a tree.

Not All AWD systems are created equal.

It’s sacrilege to studded tire devotees, but like New England Washington State has highly variable winter weather and a U Washington report states:

The issues surrounding studded tire performance and safety are complex. From the standpoint of traction alone, studded tires, when new, often provide some benefit over other tire types on ice-covered roads when the temperature is near freezing. However, the advent of the new studless tires has diminished the marginal benefit, and recent studies suggest that the infrequent, narrow range of conditions necessary for benefit from studded tires may not outweigh their detrimental effect on traction in dry or wet conditions on certain pavement types. In addition, a host of primary and secondary safety factors are related to studded tire use, many of which are very difficult to quantify, including facets of driver behavior and safety perception.

http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc...=rep1&type=pdf

Note that study was in 2002, and the top friction tires have made at least four generations of improvements. Nokian has gone from RSI (2005), to R to R2, Michelin to X-Ice 3, Bridgestone to WS80, etc.

[stoinkythepig]

Not All AWD systems are created equal.

It’s sacrilege to studded tire devotees, but like New England Washington State has highly variable winter weather and a U Washington report states:



http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc...=rep1&type=pdf

Note that study was in 2002, and the top friction tires have made at least four generations of improvements. Nokian has gone from RSI (2005), to R to R2, Michelin to X-Ice 3, Bridgestone to WS80, etc.

I was not looking specifically for studded snow tires, just snow tires and those were the best deal, by far.

My daughter's RAV4 is from the previous generation to the one tested by CR but I bet it has the same simple 4WD system as the newer generation. My wife has one as well and it's great in snow (with 4 non-studded snow tires). Never tried driving one in snow with all-season tires, but I bet there's a massive performance drop off compared to snow tires and that's why we use snow tires.

I'm certain that other cars are superior in pretty much every measurable way; these are TOYOTAs after all and people don't buy them for their top-tier performance. Despite 9 years/165,000 miles and 7 years/135,000 miles, both of our RAV4s are super reliable and still feel really tight and solid. Our other two Toyotas (12 years/196,000 miles, 8 years/185,000 miles) are similarly reliable, solid and utterly boring. As the guy that has to maintain all these cars, I LOVE Toyotas, they have been really easy to work on and they don't have cam belts, a huge plus for me. They seem to be well-designed for serviceability, especially under the hood. My Duramax GMC is exactly the opposite. That thing is horrible to work on...

[RandyO]

It’s sacrilege to studded tire devotees, but like New England Washington State has highly variable winter weather and a U Washington report states:

on certain pavement types

that article ASSUMES people driving on pavement, and probably doesn't apply to northern New England winter gravel roads where there is no question in my mind, that studs make a difference, and most of all, don't damage the road

[loudbeard]

On the way home last night I clipped a vicious pothole on I95, took out one of my all seasons. Not terrible, the Pirelli P7's that I have mounted on my 18's really haven't performed that well in snowy conditions. Decent bite under throttle but braking performance is lacking and it's pretty squirmy on lateral movement unless I'm in the gas pretty well. So it looks like I'm going to drink the kool-aid a bit ahead of schedule, I ordered a set of Nokian Hakkaoelitta R2's to install on my 15" wheels, I'm going to go with 205/65R15 which is about the same height as the 222/40R18 (25" vs 25.1') but a bit more narrow. They're a few sizes larger than stock on my car which is nice because it gives me about 3/4" of lift...nicer to get down roads with snow built up between the tire tracks. Anyway...down here near Providence I didn't think I needed studded tires, so I'm going to slap the R2's on and see how they go.

[LuvDog]

You'll be amazed at the amount of control that those Hakka R2s give you in the snow. It's an amazing snow tire.

[Tas]

go with the hockey pucks Duncan. I’ve had a few sets on my Saab’s back in the day, loved them in the Vermont winters.

[e30addict]

Nokians on an Audi

That thing will go faster in the snow than most people in the dry.

[Garandman]

18” Z71 vs 20” stock rims. This is an optical illusion because the rolling diameter is within 1% though they look smaller.


The R2 SUV tread, sorry it’s a bit muddy. The R2 does not have the central rib.

[OreoGaborio]

Sooo.. I didnt see any clear discussion on this doing a search and want to see the hive's logic.....

My Xterra is rocking some 16" General grabber A/T ( has a snowflake symbol on it) good for off roading and street use with good longevity


I have used last year some dedicated bridgestone blizzaks on 16" OEM rims.

My question are my grabber a/t good enough in snow /ice to warrant selling off the blizzak and OEM rims?

Reason is purely aesthetics and not having to store another pair of rims/gain 400$ by selling the snow tires. Aesthetics as the Snow tires are slightly smaller than stock size 265/70/16 and the A/T's are slightly bigger than that size.After I put a 2"lift it will be more drastic/look with the smaller snow tires. I need to pose at the mall correctly.
The X is not a DD, i'd use it for snow possible days/ drives up north where snow is a possibilty.

General Grabber All-Terrain Tire Review - 4x4Review Off Road Magazine

this review has some wording "On compressed snow we managed to play around, where other trucks had to use chains. This is due to the fact that the Grabbers are siped and have an M&S rating. "

I think the General Grabber A/T's is what I had on my 2005 Pathfinder before I traded it in for my 2012... They did pretty well for a year round tire. I didn't bother with snows.

Yes, dedicated snows are better but they got the job done for me.

The Hakkas I had on my old '87 BMW 325, on the other hand..... Man, those thing turned that car into a winter weapon! Fuckin loved driving that thing in the snow. SO much drift control.

[RandyO]

All Terrains are great in mud, but not really a good snow & ice tire compared to a Hakk

[OreoGaborio]

I'm pretty sure that's basically what I just said, right?

*goes back & reads what I wrote*

Yep... that's basically what I just said.

[RandyO]

I shoulda been more clear, AT tires SUCK on ice

[Garandman]

FWIW CR tests Winter truck tires. I consider their ratings with suspicion, because they do not give out the raw test data. But their rankings were

Michelin Latitude X-Ice
Nokian R2 SUV
Blizzak DM-V2
General Grabber Arctic
Dunlop Winter Maxx SJ8

[RandyO]

FWIW CR tests Winter truck tires. I consider their ratings with suspicion, because they do not give out the raw test data. But their rankings were

Michelin Latitude X-Ice
Nokian R2 SUV
Blizzak DM-V2
General Grabber Arctic
Dunlop Winter Maxx SJ8

hmm, from Oreo's post, he was referring to a completely different tire
a General Grabber AT, a different tire than the General Grabber Arctic or was he?

or was he ? the AT has an All terrain tread, the Arctic has a tread similar to the General Altimax Arctic, I found to be a very good snow & ice tire as I used it to darkside my V-strom

AT

Arctic

[dankatz]

I got Blizzak DM-V2 for my Odyseey. Tirerack ratings and comparisons as well as data are better than CR. Also, for those who see light snow and don't want to bother with snow tires, check out the all-weather tires. They have the snowflake rating. Nokian were the first to have one, but not Michelin and other manufacturers are getting into this. They are better than all-seasons in the snow

[number9]

For you guys that run a dedicated set of snows tires on winter wheels, what do you do about TPMS?

I'd like to get snow tires & wheels for the Subaru, and Tirerack are the cheapest. But new TPMS sensors are $166 a set, so I'm wondering if I should just ignore TPMS and ignore the light...

[RandyO]

For you guys that run a dedicated set of snows tires on winter wheels, what do you do about TPMS?

I'd like to get snow tires & wheels for the Subaru, and Tirerack are the cheapest. But new TPMS sensors are $166 a set, so I'm wondering if I should just ignore TPMS and ignore the light...

Aftermarket set on Amazon for $57
https://smile.amazon.com/AUTOKAY-Pre...ds=subaru+tpms

[number9]

Aftermarket set on Amazon for $57
https://smile.amazon.com/AUTOKAY-Pre...ds=subaru+tpms

The problem is I'm a cheap cunt. Tire Rack send you the wheels mounted and balanced, so it's either pay for their TPMS set or do nothing..

[RandyO]

The problem is I'm a cheap cunt. Tire Rack send you the wheels mounted and balanced, so it's either pay for their TPMS set or do nothing..

or break down the tires when you get them, install the monitors and reinflate the tires

sometimes I'm a cheap bastard too. however today is not one of those days, been looking at fly rods to go fly fishing for bass next summer, ordered an Orvis rod, and not their cheapest either

[Garandman]

For you guys that run a dedicated set of snows tires on winter wheels, what do you do about TPMS?

I'd like to get snow tires & wheels for the Subaru, and Tirerack are the cheapest. But new TPMS sensors are $166 a set, so I'm wondering if I should just ignore TPMS and ignore the light...

It depends on how the car works.

Chevies, for example, are easy for an owner to reprogram. Our Honda minivan will recognize two different sets of TPMS sensors.

On my [2009] WRX, there’s a piece of tape on the cluster blocking the light. But our 2014 OBW has the warning light in the instrument display, highly annoying. Had the tires mounted on the original rims. Have another set of Subaru rims so if the tire dealer can reprogram the car for a new set, I’ll do that. Subaru used to require a dealer reset, which most charged about $50 for.

[nhbubba]

For you guys that run a dedicated set of snows tires on winter wheels, what do you do about TPMS?

On my VW I had a special magical connector do-dad that let me turn the light off. I did this for the first couple winters.
Then I got to the point where I'd leave the dumbass light on all winter and just ignore it.

[dankatz]

It depends on the car. I usually just tolerate the light. On some cars, like my Honda Odyssey, if the TPMS light is on then I cannot disengage the traction control/vehicle stability. It's not a big deal, but I guess if you are truly stuck in the snow it may be a problem.

[butcher bergs]

TPMS is right up there with airbags.....a useless distraction.

The cost of making that light go out on the cluster isn't worth the price of admission, IMO.

On the Subie, run it with the light on and be merry....unless if course it's worth $150 to not have that light on in which case Rock Auto is a good source.