Some advice on snow tires, please

fyi- discount tire direct is offering a $100 rebate when you buy 4 select tires. The general arctics are included in the rebate!

see here http://slickdeals.net/f/5386352-Discount-Tire-Direct-100-Rebate-w-Purchase-Of-Any-4-Tires-or-4-Wheels-Free-Shipping?

In reply to old_:

Thanks for the heads up on that! I liked buying from Discount Tire (the store) before I was a GRM subscriber and I still do whenever buying new tires, knowing now that they're a magazine supporter.

I'm guessing that the tires available in this deal are leftovers from last year but I'll be taking advantage of it regardless!

wbjones wrote: I used the Kelly Snowtracker used them for 3 winters and sold the car .... they still have at least 3 more winters in them ... if not more ... '95 Impreza ... never spun a wheel here in the mountains

I had a set of those a few years ago, although at the time they were called Magnagrip. I was really impressed with them in snow. I suspect the wide voids in the tread pattern did the trick. I looked for the a set a couple of years ago and couldn't find the in my new size (or in my area). They didn't seem to be as good on Ice as Blizzaks, but overall I thought they were a good tire.

I run Michelin X-Ice on my current car. I'm happy with them. IMO they're a little better tire than Blizzaks, and this opinion is confirmed by the professional reviews. I find used is often the way to go. You can find people selling tires with very little use for a excellent price. This seems to be much more true than with summer tires.

I say buy the cheapest studdable winter tire for your car if you can run them. There is no substitute for studs when it gets icy. And ice is THE most dangerous winter road condition. I'll be going w/ the Generals.

+1 on the General Altimax Arctics!

BoxheadTim wrote: TR lists three tires I'm considering but I figured I'll pick the brains of the local brain trust first: Bridgestone Blizzak WS70. I hear lots of good things about them, but they're also the most expensive tire Firestone Winterforce. That's what I had on my CJ7 last winter, we have them on my wife's Cherokee and they seem to work, but we didn't have a really bad winter last year General Altimax Arctic. That one seems to be a bit of a dark horse, on TR it's rated higher than the other two options I'm considering and IIRC someone on here raved about them, too.

No experience with the WS70, but the -15 and -50 were freakin' awesome on ice and deep slow.

The Winterforce sucks on ice and is meh in snow. Would not buy again.

On my second set of Arctics. (Actually, set #2 is the Gislaved, not the General re-badge, but same tire) Love 'em to death. They work great on ice and in snow, and they're cheap enough that I can throw them away after a year or two instead of having to hang on to them for multiple seasons. The second year is never as good as the first, and by the third year they're only as good as new all-seasons.

I'm up to the WS 60, they still have a lot of life in them. I only use them for three months or less depending on the weather. In the off season I carfully store them just like a race tire.

I agree on the Winterforce.

When it comes time to replace the Blizzaks, I will have to do some shopping.

Nexen Winguard snow tires on the Suby. Chinese I believe. Better than I expected, but I don't know that I would recommend them. Mind you I think I'm a WRC driver every time it snows.

Kinda hard not to buy them, Walmart was pretty much giving them away.

hmm...those snotrackers have a nice rallycross tread

I run Generals on my DD, a 2WD GMC 1500 p/u. With 220# of sand and about another 200# of utility cap over the back end, it does surprisingly well in the slick stuff. In fact, on packed snow/glare ice it does about as well as the old no-seasons performed on simply wet roads. So I'd recommend them.

They're durable, too. I've was a lazy cheap bastard and ran them all year, and they have no visible wear. Granted, I drive maybe 5k miles per year, but I haul a fair amount in the truck. If we get a real winter this year, I'll report back on their performance longevity.

peter wrote: I had the Winterforce on my Miata in Baltimore. It's a great snow tire. I found it lacking in anything else. Rain? Sucked. Dry? Sucked. Warm? Sucked. I was much happier driving my T1-S/T1-Rs and Azenis and swapping to the Winterforce as the first flakes were flying. They stayed on until the streets were clear again. YMMV

I also ran Winterforces on my Miata last winter. I wouldn't say it sucked in non-snow conditions. It certainly didn't perform as well as a summer tire, but keeping in mind that this is a snow tire, it's all right. I also not only won my class at the one winter rallycross I entered on them, I was the fastest RWD car (or truck) at the event.

I used Winterforce on my Firebird 205/70/15. Car was awesome in the snow!

Currently have I-Pike's on the Saturn, but last year was a 'non' winter so I can't say how good or bad they were. Hope to NOT have to put them to the test again this year.

I've been impressed with the Dunlop graspics.......running down ice covered roads it sounded like a berkeleying zipper.

One thing for the Winterforce.

It makes a pretty good rallycross tire.

I ended up with a set of WS70s as could get a decent deal at Costco - at slightly more than a Benjamin per corner (fitted, thanks to a special offer) the price difference to the Generals was so small that it wasn't worth the additional hassle.

Got to drive the car in the first proper snow of the season today and it looks like the tires are working rather well.