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Yeah I guess if you have room/cash for two sets, then I’d also recommend a dedicated summer setup and a dedicated for-real winter setup with something like a Blizzak or a Michelin X-Ice or Yokohama IceGuard etc. No compromises in performance either way. But if you’re looking for an all-season that can actually handle (some) snow, that’s where the DWS come in. I run them year-round in PA on my FiST which is basically a work/commuter car.
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Nov 13, 2023 00:44
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Yeah, if you're going to the effort of switching, get dedicated winters. Summers/all seasons is somewhat pointless unless you only deal with cooler temps and no actual snow/ice ever, than I'd maybe consider running summers and a performance all season like the DWS06+ or the Michelin PS AS4. We have a gentleman with a Tesla that switches between PS4S Michelins and a set of Blizzaks, but he ALWAYS waits until after the first snow, and then we have to put his car in the shop for 4-5 hours until his summers warm up enough to actually dismount. Our boss told him we'll refuse service if he does it again next year, because it ties up a bay during the busiest time of the year because he's too dumb to schedule it in October like all our other customers.
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Nov 13, 2023 02:23
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Also for dedicated winters look at going down a wheel size or two, makes both the rim set and tires cheaper!
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Nov 13, 2023 02:30
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I’ll never understand having two sets of tires but not two sets of wheels.
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Nov 13, 2023 02:44
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Counterpoint: I grew up in Maine. My first car was a 1989 Mercury tracer and I have been driving manual shitboxes since then. It snows maybe three times a year here. Could I just run Summers year round and baby them when it's cold?
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Nov 13, 2023 04:26
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Most summer-only tires have disclaimers that they're not meant to be used under a certain temperature range. The Pilot Sport 4S, for example, does not recommend any use below 40°F, and if the tires have been exposed to sub-freezing temperatures I believe they're supposed to be warmed back up to 40° before doing basically anything to them (changing pressures, mount/dismount, or driving on them) or you could crack the rubber compound. How accurate is that? I can't personally say. Michelin doesn't cover cold weather cracking under warranty. But I'd run the Pilot Sport AS4, Conti DWS06+, or the Pzero AS+ if I needed a sportier tire set that could handle some mild winter conditions. On my daily my last set of summers was the DWS06, and currently I run the Pzero AS+ with a set of Conti Wintercontact SI for late Oct-early April.
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Nov 13, 2023 05:19
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Wroughtirony posted:Counterpoint: I grew up in Maine. My first car was a 1989 Mercury tracer and I have been driving manual shitboxes since then. It snows maybe three times a year here. Could I just run Summers year round and baby them when it's cold? Not that it's something to emulate but this is what the whole UK does, and it tends to snow a couple of days a year. I guess it depends on the car and how you like to drive it but I think this would be a good case for sports all seasons.
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Nov 13, 2023 09:30
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To echo Knox I might try it on like an A/S4 or DWS but I wouldn’t try it on a real summer tire like the PS4S. Below about 40F the PS4 is both very firm and also wears badly. If you can just not drive whenever it is actually cold and snowy I might be more tempted to try it as well.
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Nov 13, 2023 12:45
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Well I just got into my car and it's 35 and frosty. I'll see how it feels and go from there. Wish me luck...
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Nov 13, 2023 13:40
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I had PSS on my M235i for the first couple of years, but every time it dropped below 40F it was like driving on hard plastic. My short commute to work was pretty unbearable for about 3 months out out of the year. We also get about a weeks worth snow (mostly ice) here a year, and that was just a total non starter. I decided to just go with "Ultra High Performance All Season" tires and I haven't had to worry about it since. As far as I can tell there is little difference on the street, and there isn't a track within a hundred miles of me, so don't feel I'm missing much. Of course, I don't drive the car to the edge of tire performance on public roads, so they might not be good enough for some year round. Anyway, that's my story. Oh, and they're Goodyear Eagle Exhilarate A/S. I haven't seen anyone on this thread talk about them, but they've been very good for me, which is cool, since I get a massive discount on them. I'm sure the conti's or PAS4s are good as well.
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Nov 13, 2023 14:51
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I once got caught out by early snow in my Yokohama AD08s and the tiniest layer of slush meant I could get wheelspin in 4th gear in my miata. Eventually I replaced them with Nankang NS-2Rs because they were the price of boring midrange tires. I'm sure they're just as useless in the cold, but I have a set of midrange winters anyway so who cares.
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Nov 13, 2023 15:22
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So the first couple of miles were a little rough, but they were fine on dry roads once they warmed up a bit. Eventually I want to just get two sets of wheels, but money is tight. I might just throw all seasons on the front for this winter and drive carefully.
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Nov 13, 2023 15:40
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I got caught by a freak early snowfall with summers on my Now I alternate all weather tires and winters on my daily and summers and winters on my Miata. Zorak of Michigan fucked around with this message at 05:53 on Nov 14, 2023 |
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Nov 13, 2023 16:09
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Jackie the Mick posted:I had PSS on my M235i for the first couple of years, but every time it dropped below 40F it was like driving on hard plastic. My short commute to work was pretty unbearable for about 3 months out out of the year. We also get about a weeks worth snow (mostly ice) here a year, and that was just a total non starter. I decided to just go with "Ultra High Performance All Season" tires and I haven't had to worry about it since. As far as I can tell there is little difference on the street, and there isn't a track within a hundred miles of me, so don't feel I'm missing much. Of course, I don't drive the car to the edge of tire performance on public roads, so they might not be good enough for some year round. Anyway, that's my story. Oh, and they're Goodyear Eagle Exhilarate A/S. I haven't seen anyone on this thread talk about them, but they've been very good for me, which is cool, since I get a massive discount on them. I'm sure the conti's or PAS4s are good as well. Part of this is the spectrum of "all season". UHP all seasons are fine for M235i etc, but regular rear end all seasons like the Pirelli Cinturato poo poo BMW puts on CPO cars are "eh I guess" for xi cars. Sadly, they're lovely on RWD cars, I had them on after swapping the 335 to RWD mode and man they just slip. Next year the daily is getting fun tires. Or I'm putting new wheels and fun tires on the 335 and just moving those summers to the daily. We'll see how irresponsible I'm feeling in the spring.
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Nov 13, 2023 17:23
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Zorak of Michigan posted:I got caught by a freak early snowfall with summers on my B7 S4. It was just barely enough to cover the ground, guaranteed to be gone the next day, but I had to get groceries right then. Well, I thought I did. The driving experience was so terrifying that if I had it to do over again, I'd have stayed home and told my family to do without. The car could not corner or accelerate, and any use of the brakes (I do mean ANY) would trigger the ABS.
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Nov 14, 2023 04:58
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About 12 years ago I drove to my granddad's funeral which was in an interior city through a high mountain pass. It was in February and the weather was clear and wasn't even below freezing so I thought nothing of it taking my RWD bmw wagon on all seasons. I just wanted to return same day so around 4pm I'm heading out and the first flakes started to fall. I drove through some nightmarish conditions of ice fog, blowing snow and accumulating snow that got so deep I had to drive in the tracks of the 18 wheelers ahead of me. The highway has an actual reality show where it's nicknamed "highway to hell" because the conditions get so lovely. I swore after that that I'd never, ever go through any sketchy areas that might turn wintery without proper tires as it's just not worth it. Now with always having a good set of winter tires I am better equipped than probably 60% of the local drivers here in the unlikely but still possible event we get snow/ice and it makes such a difference. We don't get a lot of snow but when it does snow it dumps a LOT. Actually really fun to just blast around and be able to practice powersliding at really low speeds 
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Nov 14, 2023 05:21
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Nthing the "summer tires are a poor choice in real winter conditions". Ages ago I had to drive a W210 Benz on Kumho summer tires in Flagstaff, AZ during the winter. The amount of snow on the ground would probably be laughable by any other winter standard, but even where the road was dry it was so cold that those tires were just rocks. The drive on a snow-covered road down and up a ravine remains probably the second sketchiest thing I've ever done in a car and in hindsight there was a massive amount of luck involved in not pinging that thing off of the armco barriers. By the time I crested the hill I was doing maybe 15mph, sliding at a 30 degree angle to my actual (and intended) direction of travel, and even the tiniest kiss of throttle was sending the traction control into spasms. My brother drove the same road later that day in a Volvo V70 XC with winters on and you would've thought they were slicks on a hot track.
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Nov 14, 2023 07:02
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The biggest thing for me isn't can I drive safely in expected conditions. It's can I actively avoid the idiots? It's only been a handful of times but being able to swerve out of the way of someone who's lost control has more than paid for snow tires.
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Nov 16, 2023 01:26
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Steve French posted:I’ll never understand having two sets of tires but not two sets of wheels.
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Nov 16, 2023 09:45
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I mean, I work at a tire shop, so my time is free when I'm swapping my own tires. But if you're paying for a tire swap, absolutely buy a second set of cheap wheels for winter. $112/yr for swapping seasonal tires at my work pays for a second wheel set pretty quick, if you're keeping the car for more than a couple years. Also this warm spell in the Midwest is killing the tire business at every of our stores in the metro area except for ours. We're at least breaking even compared to last year, but I'm sure it'll be a poo poo show as always as soon as we actually get some snow.
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Nov 16, 2023 21:10
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Hey Tire thread, So I have my new vehicle now and I went into the tire shop I prefer (kal tire, canadian chain) and it seemed like their computer didn't have the info for that model year. Strangely it was on their website, and it even gave me the option to do minus sizes (18") from the factory 19"s. This would be better for snowies I feel. Anyway, I'm looking at the tire size here: https://www.wheel-size.com/size/volvo/v60/2023/#trim-ii-2019-2024-eudm-t8-phev--456 and if the 18"s have the offset of 40 with a range of 40-44 that should be good right or is there still fitting/checking required if it interferes with the brake caliper etc. Those suckers are large. The offset values available seem to be 38, 40 or 45 for the 18s. Interestingly all the 19s they have on the website have offsets of either 38 or 45. Using the tire size site this looks like a recommended option (7.5" rim width, +40 offset) along with 225/50R18:  Picking this combo:  That'll save me a ton over the 19" OEM wheels with a set of 19" winters. Anything I'm messing up here? And I guess another question is can the offset be compensated for with shims when mounting? Is that fairly normal? priznat fucked around with this message at 07:09 on Nov 26, 2023 |
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Nov 26, 2023 07:03
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you need to fit check the wheel because the inner barrel or backside of the spokes might interfere with the calipers. Kaltire should have a fitment guarantee.
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Nov 26, 2023 09:50
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smooth jazz posted:you need to fit check the wheel because the inner barrel or backside of the spokes might interfere with the calipers. Gotcha, it’s a shame there isn’t some absolute numbers to determine that something will fit but I guess just too many variables. It would be a bummer to find out something doesn’t fit then back to the drawing board But that’s the price when you get into the non super standard stuff like the massive brakes etc..
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Nov 26, 2023 17:38
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priznat posted:Gotcha, it’s a shame there isn’t some absolute numbers to determine that something will fit but I guess just too many variables. It would be a bummer to find out something doesn’t fit then back to the drawing board Forums or facebook groups specific to your car will likely have specific info on what will or won't fit. Speaking of which, I put my winters on yesterday. My daily rocks 225/45/18 factory. I have a winter set from my M3 when I dailied it a few years back. The tires on it are 245/45/18. Forums told me it would work. Put them on yesterday and they seem to have been correct. Tight but no rubbing! When they need to be replaced I'll go with something a little smaller, but I admittedly like the chunky look they have.  
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Nov 26, 2023 17:54
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I just got back from a short trip and had to swap the Miata (the Fit is still on PO's winter tires lol) to the winter wheels on the street in front of my apartment because it was going to snow for the very first time this same night. On the upside, I've gotten quick enough that finding the battery for the impact and all the tools is what takes up the most time in the process.
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Nov 26, 2023 22:32
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fknlo posted:Forums or facebook groups specific to your car will likely have specific info on what will or won't fit. Meaty winters are where it's at. I like to go down a size for the extra thickness and even go a little narrower. We don't get a ton of snow here but when we do it is usually deep and messy with ice underneath. I've been a loyal nokian buyer for years but I hear the x-ice is another excellent option. Joined the Swedespeed forums for other volvo people and there are a bunch of folks with extremely similar cars even in the area so that should help a ton, good advice!
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Nov 26, 2023 23:19
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Does anyone have experience/thoughts on Blizzak LT vs Winterforce LT? Looking to have snows ready for a new vehicle I’m expecting in the next month or two. I’ve really liked the Blizzak WS80 and DM-V2, but tire rack ratings have the winterforce rated almost as good, and they’re cheaper with apparently much better tread wear. So wondering if ponying up for the Blizzak is worth it. Or any better resources for making a decision
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Dec 2, 2023 20:23
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Crossposting from stupid questions thread:Jaxyon posted:Trying to find Toyota PT218-42061-08 in pacific blue metallic for a 2009 rav 4. It's the spare tire hardcover.
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Dec 2, 2023 21:04
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On the cover, check car-part.com. it's basically a salvage yard search, put in the year/make/model and what part and you MIGHT find a car in a salvage yard nearby in the same color with an intact spare tire cover. Otherwise yeah, buying unfinished and painting it is usually how it goes, because they don't want to stock the same part in 30 different colors. No opinions on the snow tire question. Honestly I would imagine either are probably perfectly acceptable.
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Dec 2, 2023 21:33
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Testing different snow tire widths: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wf_mIlU82Ac tl;dr: basically makes no significant difference
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Dec 3, 2023 19:42
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Looking for tire recommendations for my wife's 4Runner - we're in TN so really cold weather is rare and snow is even more rare. That being said she's a nurse so even if it does snow she has to be able to get home safely. She currently has absolute garbage Starfire Solarus HT in 265/70/R17 which are dangerously bad in the rain and I'd like to replace before it gets much colder. We put Michelin Defender LTX M/S on her last car which did fine in the snow but they don't look "tough enough" So is there a "tough looking" tire that isn't going to be trash in the wet?
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Dec 15, 2023 13:53
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Falken AT3W, possibly? I had them on my WJ and while I was mostly concerned with how well they did off-road, they never gave me any trouble on-road and seemed to have all kinds of grip in the wet and very rare snow driving.
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Dec 15, 2023 16:07
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IOwnCalculus posted:Falken AT3W, possibly? I had them on my WJ and while I was mostly concerned with how well they did off-road, they never gave me any trouble on-road and seemed to have all kinds of grip in the wet and very rare snow driving. I was just going to recommend the Falken Wildpeaks. Either the AT3W or the new Trail. Both are all weather. I have the Trail version on our Cayenne and they're pretty great in basically everything. Especially in muddy fields when towing a trailer. Edit: I am very impressed with how well they do in freezing rain as well. Edit2: Runner up would be the Yokohama Geolander G015. Also very very good in the wet and basically everywhere else. McTinkerson fucked around with this message at 16:14 on Dec 15, 2023 |
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Dec 15, 2023 16:12
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When I bought my truck it had brand new Falken Wildpeak AT3 tires on it. I never had any complaints about traction in any condition but I was very disappointed in how fast they wore down, I had to replace them in about 20k miles. They saw some heavy towing, but still, they were rated for it and should have held up better IMO.
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Dec 15, 2023 16:27
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Thank you, have a mobile tire installer working in the garage right now so I can run those by him.
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Dec 15, 2023 16:47
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P8Ck_zXa19A Good test of RWD vs FWD on snow with good tires.
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Dec 16, 2023 05:53
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drat that winter track looks fun as hell. I have owned a few rwd cars and with good tires they are tons of fun on snow.
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Dec 16, 2023 06:12
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priznat posted:drat that winter track looks fun as hell. Truth. My Mustang and some Blizzaks had me wishing for snow.
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Dec 16, 2023 16:08
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Uncle Lloyd posted:When I bought my truck it had brand new Falken Wildpeak AT3 tires on it. I never had any complaints about traction in any condition but I was very disappointed in how fast they wore down, I had to replace them in about 20k miles. They saw some heavy towing, but still, they were rated for it and should have held up better IMO. I had the same experience with BFG AT KO2s. Tread life is surprisingly bad, worse than the Wildpeaks I had before, and they’re louder. I was shocked because they were the standard a few years back. I do 99% highway and have around 18,000 miles total with 3,000 miles pulling a ~7000 pound camper on the BFG KO2s. I prefer the Wildpeaks.
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Dec 17, 2023 15:14
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wallaka posted:I had the same experience with BFG AT KO2s. Tread life is surprisingly bad, worse than the Wildpeaks I had before, and they’re louder. I was shocked because they were the standard a few years back. FWIW that’s not been my experience with the KO2s; these are 4 years old with about 30k miles, though probably closer to 50% highway miles. 
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Dec 17, 2023 18:56
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