Winter Tire Thread

Well winters soon gonna be here in Alberta and i've been browsing around and was wondering what the more seasoned drivers in the TW community would recommend for a good winter tire.

Im currently looking at the Firestone UV because i can stud them and because they have good snow and ice ratings (as per firestones website) but im sure people like me who are not so seasoned with winter experience would like some real world guidance as to what direction to go in.

tire price could be one of the factors for some people but i wanna buy a good set of winter tries, the 2wd taco is too light even with weight in the bed so i need some grip.

lets see what you guys have for winters and what you would recommend.

 

no suggestions? come on ppl chime in.

 

I recommend the General Grabber AT2. They're great in snow, and are studable. They also have a nice aggressive look to them. I drive a lot of highway and they hold up nice... Not very noisy. A lot of threads on these tire on TW. Got mine from Tire Rack for $450, but I took advantage of a $50 rebate. Installed and balanced the grand total was $520. I went from 215/70/15 to 235/75/15 so I love the bigger tires. The snow rating was a huge factor in my decision to buy them. Great reviews on tire websites. Like I've heard before I don't like that they were made in Mexico but its a great tire.

 

I run Bridgestone Blizzak in the winter. I am pleased with their performance. They are certainly far superior than any AT with a snowflake that I have run.

 

^^the soft compound in dedicated winter tires along with their design for improved siping makes them far superior to either AT or MT tires in winter. I too have mine mounted on separate wheels so that I can do a quick switch over come winter.

 

i ended up going with the suggestion of the guys at kal tire and took advantage of their sale they had, went with Nokian Hakkapeliitta 5 pre studded from factory for 850 mounted and balanced.



also gotta keep in mind, with the 2wd like i have, tire sizes are funky because the 215/70 from factory look too dinky for me, i had 225/75/15's but they are an uncommon size. went up to a 235/75/15 which gives a lot more options in availability.

 

Nice choice, and good price. However, I too was going to suggest the General Grabber AT2's. I have them on my (other 4x4 vehicle) not sutdded, and they did really well on the drive to work this morning, lots of snow and ice. So good, that I'm shoping for a set for the Tacoma, but will have them studded.

 

Sweet tires
I have those on my 4 Runner
and Hakka 2 on my old Corolla...best tires in snow I've ever used

 

I've got 2 winters on my Yokoham Geolander IT's. They are a great winter tire, lots of traction and they handle water on the road very well. I got 265/75-R16 which are bigger and heavier than the stock 245/75-R16 size for my Taco so I don't get quite as good mileage.

 

I've got a TRD Sport with 17" stock rims and the prices for 4 mounted winters is upwards of $1200 (for Kuhmo KC16 = $1243, toyo gsi5 = $1264, Yoko ig51v = $1402, Hankook iPike rw11 = $1286).

So I'm thinking of buying some 16 inch steel rims instead and getting Hercules Avalanche XTreme's studded, which my wife has and are unbelievably sticky.

In the past I had some Uniroyal TigerPaws, which were very good. I also had some Winter Slaloms, which were ok but wore down pretty quick and were nearly useless at 50% tread.

I'm tempted by some studded Duratracs but they're pretty noisy and draggy already.

 

Does someone had reviews about Nokian Hakkapeliitta 7 ? I will put a set of these tires on my truck next week and i want to know if i do a good choice.

 

Installed mine 2 days ago awsome

 

They are a little bit pricey but I think that they will worth the price.

 

General Altimax. Bought 265/75/16 load E for $750 installed and balanced

 

Cooper Discoverer M+S if anyone else is looking for good tires ....they are an awesome tire.They can be studded .I was out playing in about 2 feet of snow last night and they handled amazing! ,plus they were 584 mounted

 

... ^^^ ... No snow tires needed in Atlanta ... ... but my friends in the northern US & Canada love these tires ...

These tires have "little finger & toes" ... ... that pull you through the snow & ice ...
.

 

I'm hopin my adventuro m/t's don't suck this winter. Hopefully some sandbags will work to my benefit and we have more deep snow that ice,which somehow i doubt will happen.

 

I have Bridgestone Blizzak DM-V1's in 265/65/17, but can't really compare them to any other winter tire. Got them last winter and they were definitely a lot better than stock Dueller all-seasons or my Yokohama Geolandar All terrains.

 

Can you run winter tires all year round?

 

They wear out really quick in warm weather and dry pavement plus I don't think they work as well as summer tires.