Question of the Day: What Brand of Snow Tires Do You Use?
With the weather turning rather cold, rather quickly up around our way, we’re getting ready to kit out our long-term Volkswagen Jetta TDI with a fine new set of snow shoes. We had a good experience with the Bridgestone Blizzaks we used for our Scion xB long-termer, and we thought we’d ask which sort of foul weather tires our readers prefer. Are you planning on a set of snows this year—and if so, which brand do you prefer? Give us your picks, in comments.
Comments
Mena
Snow? What's that?
kurt
Nokian WRG2's, which are one of the world's few all season tires rated for winter service.
JohnD
Bridgestone Blizzaks.
oollyoumn
Of all the snows I've used Blizzaks' are the best, but I rarely find a need for snow tires, even in the Adirondack mountains. But, off road with snow above the front bumper, chains are very handy. While I've owned AWD, it is rarely needed, and I've noticed on many occasions the the 1st vehicle in the ditch after a snow is AWD or 4WD. I actually prefer a well balanced RWD in most snow. I find FWD fails you once you start up hill, and that's when you need traction the most, and AWD just isn't necessary.
Justin
There is absolutely no instance where fwd or rwd is better in the snow than awd.
jeff12435178
Sure there is - C&D did a big FWD/RWD/AWD comparison test in numerous categories, and in lane change manuevers the extra weight of AWD can be a penalty to handling. I've run BMWs on Nokians and Gislaveds - really gives you the confidence you're not getting stuck. I do like RWD better than FWD for winter, but will stick with the Audi AWD for now - really great to have that starting traction, and fun to boot. The tough thing is realizing where the boundaries are with so much traction getting going - the BMW RWD was great handling, but you definitely were made aware of when traction was going away when it was all delivered via the rear wheels which is really a plus.
Anonymous
Blizzak LMs
D70
Our last set for the 89 Civic a few years ago were Woosungs made in Korea in the same factory than manufactures Michelins! They were amazing, leaving 4x4 SUVs in our wake ascending the local ski hills in North and West Vancouver BC. Woosung have changed their name to Nexen, we have their all seasons on one of the Miatas excellent performers
http://nexentire.en.ec21.com/company_info.html
AndyH
Dunlop Winter Sport M3's on my '05 STi and Pirelli Winter 240 SnowSport's on my wife's '05 S4 Avant. Both tires fall into the "performance" winter tire category. BTW, we live in the Twin Cities, MN suburbs. I've also used Blizzak LM-22's in the past (first on my '01 S4 Avant and then later on the wife's '01 A4 1.8T). I'm a big believer in the proper tire for the conditions/season.
Anonymous
Had Bridgestone Blizzak first time around then did Goodyear. Go BRidgestone. The GYs sucked.
OPF
We have Pirellis. We had Toyo's GO2+ before. They we're good too. Nokian tires are very good as well and so are the Michelin.
In Québec, you NEED winter tires; its the law now.
Anonymous
WORST QUESTION OF THE DAY EVER!!! WHO CARES???
AndyH
Just because YOU don't care doesn't mean that others don't care about this subject.
D70
Everyone who has to use snow tires to drive in their winter including all the Canadians that supply cheap oil to the USA .
ps USA imports more oil from Canada than any other country
BluesMan
Yeah, and we have to pay $1+ more per gallon than USA , for our own Canadian oil.
Eviking
235/45R-17 DUNLOP SP WINTER SPORT 3D XL on an Audi A4 Avant Quattro.
I have owned Blizzak and Michelin Arctic and can recommend both, but the Dunlop is superior to the Blizzak on dry road without sacrificing noticeable traction in snow.
turbomonkey
Nokian Hakkapeliitta RSI
mike french
Michelin X-Ice on both my Nissan Versa and the X-Trail. 2 full winters (10 months/30,000 km so far) with excellent results and little wear.
BluesMan
Michelin X-Ice on my wife's '06 Monte Carlo. Excellent grip and quiet.
Steven J. Ewing
I have a set of X-Ice tires on my personal car -- a 2006 Scion xB. I like Blizzaks, but I've never had a single problem with the Michelins.
---
Steven J. Ewing
Production and Test Fleet Manager
Winding Road Magazine | NextAutos.com
C
Michelin X-ice. We had a record amount of snow last winter and they were great. Just bought a set of the Xice Xi2 for the other car.
jasonporritt
Our Mazdaspeed3 is shod with a set of Nokian Hakkapeliitta RSIs and our Jetta wears Cooper winter something or other. Both work well enough, but the Nokians were a lot more expensive.
MN Driver
Have used Blizzaks since they were first introduced in the mid-90's. Just ordered two sets of the WS-60's from TireRack for a 2006 Accord and a 2008 ES350.
Rod Panhard
Trojan.
ticann
nokian wr or dunlops m3 are ok for their value
Anonymous
Definately the Blizzaks. Never had any other snow tire that performed as well on my Celica.
Brandon
I live in Colorado and use Dunlop Winter Sport M3's on my 03 VW GTI 1.8T. Turns the GTI from a slightly scary proposition to a very well controlled snow machine on snowy, icy roads. Mostly I do not have to worry about the weather conditions.. makes driving in the winter relatively stress-free. The heft of the car definitely becomes an advantage in the winter.
James O'Brian
After researching winter tires for years with numerous cars--seeking the best winter set up--I have chosen the Nokian WRG2 for my dedicated winter tires on all my cars. I had good results in heavy winters with Bridgeston Blizzaks, but they did tend to have less stiffness in sidewall strength effecting dry performance. After several years of Blizzaks I tried the Dunlop Winter Sports which seemed better in dry traction -- but not as crisp in snow and on ice. They were, however, more stable on rain slicked and dry roads. Then came my tests of Nokian. It was clear that in Scandinavian and Canadian testing the Nokian RSI was considered "world class" but I decided to try out the Nokian WRG2 on our Saab 9-5 Wagon. The WRG2 "All Weater" had just been released two weeks before we purchased. Fantastic choice for heavy Wisconsin and Minnesota winters. We switch out to summer only tires on all cars even though the WRG2 is an All Weather tire with a winter rating. Gained us flexibilty of when to change tire sets. The WRG2 gave my wife and I true "autobahn secure" feeling with superb cornering - and was outstanding on snow and ice. The recently realsed Nokian "R" which is supposed to replace the "RSI" is apparently amazing. Was torn in choosing, but ordered and installed a another set of Nokian WRG2's for our new BMW 5 Series Wagon. No snow for the Bimmer yet - but thus far they are like heaven in dry. Can't wait to try our traction control on the rear wheel drive. WRG2's are in a class of their own! Try 'em--we love them!!
James O'Brian
After researching winter tires for years with numerous cars--seeking the best winter set up--I have chosen the Nokian WRG2 for my dedicated winter tires on all my cars. I had good results in heavy winters with Bridgeston Blizzaks, but they did tend to have less stiffness in sidewall strength effecting dry performance. After several years of Blizzaks I tried the Dunlop Winter Sports which seemed better in dry traction -- but not as crisp in snow and on ice. They were, however, more stable on rain slicked and dry roads. Then came my tests of Nokian. It was clear that in Scandinavian and Canadian testing the Nokian RSI was considered "world class" but I decided to try out the Nokian WRG2 on our Saab 9-5 Wagon. The WRG2 "All Weater" had just been released two weeks before we purchased. Fantastic choice for heavy Wisconsin and Minnesota winters. We switch out to summer only tires on all cars even though the WRG2 is an All Weather tire with a winter rating. Gained us flexibilty of when to change tire sets. The WRG2 gave my wife and I true "autobahn secure" feeling with superb cornering - and was outstanding on snow and ice. The recently realsed Nokian "R" which is supposed to replace the "RSI" is apparently amazing. Was torn in choosing, but ordered and installed a another set of Nokian WRG2's for our new BMW 5 Series Wagon. No snow for the Bimmer yet - but thus far they are like heaven in dry. Can't wait to try our traction control on the rear wheel drive. WRG2's are in a class of their own! Try 'em--we love them!!
Thunder
Hopefully they will start making snow tires to fit my rim size. Only have two choices both are getting smaller rims or larger rims.
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