What’s your go-to winter tire?

Put some new snow tires on my work van and was wondering what everyone’s go-to snow tire is. I usually run Cooper M+S but they didn’t have a size I liked for my van. Decided on Nokian Hakkapeliitta CR3s. Went from a 235/65R16 to a 225/75R16...I like tall skinny tires for winter driving. 

Here are some pictures of the change. 

235/65r16 (28”x9.3”) All seasons

225/75 (29.3”x8.9”) Winter

Lately ive been using Mastercraft Glacier Grip studded tires, they are ok but suck at deeper snow.

For years i used Treadwright studded mud terrian tires to great effect. The tread compound was a great balance of sticky and long lasting somehow, i used them for about 11 years before the tread compound got hard and it lost a lot of lateral traction. Those tires were amazing in all conditions though, i miss them

General Altimax Arctic 

Glaser Grip. 

In reply to Antihero :

That’s why I loved the Cooper M+S, they had an all terrain type tread and were great on slushy dirt roads and deeper snow. I think more traditional snow tires work better on ice and snow packed roads. 

Generally I pick from either Blizzaks, Nokians, the Continental offerings or the Micheling offerings depending on whether I'm looking for a performance or regular snow tire, who's released a new tire more recently, what did better in recent tests and pricing in the size I'm looking for.  At the moment, the Jeep has Nokian Hakka R2 SUVs on it, the BMW has Blizzak WS80s (also a very good tire and they were around $170 / tire compared to $230+ / tire for Nokians in the same size). 

I am a blizzak guy, but many of the cheaper makes are catching up according to my tire guy. 

xflowgolf said:

General Altimax Arctic 

2ND that

Blizzaks forever.

Dunlop Winterport 3D/4D for a decade on my WRX. They are performance winters, so still very good in dry conditions. Similar to the Blizzak LM-60/70/80 series - like driving an all-season when it's dry, but with great snow/ice traction if not quite as good as the softer-sidewall snow/ice tires. 

I have Altimax Arctics on the e30. They grip well but suck to drive in the dry, so mushy. 

iceracer said:

Blizzaks forever.

I'mgonna give you a hard time because of your screenname for just saying "Blizzak" as if it's a single tire, because you know better . Aren't there like 10 variants of Blizzaks ranging from ice tires to snow tires to performance winters, etc?

It's like saying "Potenza" for your favorite summer tire lol. 

Is there any tire that is good in snow, but could still be used year round?  I’d be willing to sacrifice dry performance for great snow and ice, and decent wet weather performance.  Is this asking too much from one compound?  Recently I’ve been seeing comparisons with winter and summer tires to prove how good winter tires are, so this makes me wonder is there are some all-season tires that come close to winter tires. 

Apexcarver said:

xflowgolf said:

General Altimax Arctic 

2ND that

3rd and 4th

This is the 3rd season for them in the Elantra and I just put them on the Sedona this season. 

Mine was the Arctic Altimax, but since they discontinued the original (Gislaved Nordfrost) design I moved over to the Conti WinterContactSI. Not fully committed to these yet - great in snow, maybe even better than the Altimaxes, but they are awfully soft in the dry (much like the Altimaxes).

In reply to Nate90LX :

I have been driving 21 years in Wisconsin with no snow tires. All seasons for all seasons and cars with summer tires only run between the salting seasons.

In reply to Nate90LX :

No all season will be nearly as grippy in the snow as a snow tire.  And even though snow tires usually put in a decent showing for outright grip on pavement when compared to a summer tire, they're much mushier feeling, less responsive and tend to wear quickly in warm weather, especially if driven hard. 

In reply to Nate90LX :

Having a good set of all seasons will get you through a lot but they won’t stop your car nearly as fast as snow tires will. I think being able to stop rather than go is the big advantage to snow tires. In my opinion they have saved me a couple times from people sliding through red lights.

Im sure if you’re an attentive drive and stay home when the weather is terrible (not always possible in my line of work) you could get by fine. There are also all sessions/terrains with the snowflake on the side. If not changing out tires I’d find a set with that marking. 

See this link for more info:

https://blog.tirerack.com/blog/hunters-ramblings/non-winer-tires-that-meet-the-industrys-severe-snow-service-standards

But with all that said, if you can afford snow tires get them. 

RossD said:

In reply to Nate90LX :

I have been driving 21 years in Wisconsin with no snow tires. All seasons for all seasons and cars with summer tires only run between the salting seasons.

My stepfather always said this (in northern Michigan) then he tried snow tires...

80sFast said:

RossD said:

In reply to Nate90LX :

I have been driving 21 years in Wisconsin with no snow tires. All seasons for all seasons and cars with summer tires only run between the salting seasons.

My stepfather always said this (in northern Michigan) then he tried snow tires...

100% correct - once you have winter tires for winter, you will always want them

Nate90LX said:

Is there any tire that is good in snow, but could still be used year round?  I’d be willing to sacrifice dry performance for great snow and ice, and decent wet weather performance.  Is this asking too much from one compound?  Recently I’ve been seeing comparisons with winter and summer tires to prove how good winter tires are, so this makes me wonder is there are some all-season tires that come close to winter tires. 

I run 2 sets and think its a much better way to go

NGTD said:

100% correct - once you have winter tires for winter, you will always want them

I guess I'm the exception to this. I had winter tires on 3 different cars some years back, and while they were great, both of our dailys are on all-seasons now. I do like them and know they are better than all-seasons, but it's not night and day, and there is a cost and time factor involved in switching back and forth. Modern all-season tires are pretty freaking good, too.

Tom_Spangler said:

NGTD said:

100% correct - once you have winter tires for winter, you will always want them

I guess I'm the exception to this. I had winter tires on 3 different cars some years back, and while they were great, both of our dailys are on all-seasons now. I do like them and know they are better than all-seasons, but it's not night and day, and there is a cost and time factor involved in switching back and forth. Modern all-season tires are pretty freaking good, too.

Or just buy some rims and change them yourself, its what i did. Rims were sub $40 each

In reply to Tom_Spangler :

I would agree that they are close in most situations, but when it really matters you really notice. 

It just seems like such a pain in the butt for little gain. The roads here are salted often and early, and the snow is cleared within hours. 

Are snow tires better on cold dry pavement than an all season?