Winter / All season – Confusion

Ok, first off, sorry for more of this type of thread. I am just very confused when it comes to this.

Where I live, (Calgary, AB, Canada) and the ranges of weather I get during the winter months are causing the most confusion for me…

 

For example... last week it was -24’C (-10’F), cold and dry, now this week it is getting up to +4’C (40’F), snowy/slushy….

 

I know, it is pretty messed up for anyone who hasn’t lived in it... (Any locals have any recommendations..?)

 

Stock bunny killing tires are doing just fine for me when roads are dry, warm or cold out.

But the second there is some wet stuff (rain/snow/slush) they really start to suck... (Cant stop worth shit… hydroplaning… etc)

 

I am ready to ditch the stockers, (20,000km)

 

I am not sure if I really need dedicated winter tires… or if something like the nokian WR will be fine... Streets are normally cleared within a day of snow fall…

But with the varying temperatures we get… It can go from cold dry to warm slushy (and everything in between) in a matter of a few hours…

 

Would typical ‘winter’ tires just get worn out way to soon since they are meant for colder/icy conditions? Can they take the dry pavement abuse?

 

Would the best solution for me be something like the WR’s on the stock rims for the winter… and get a new summer rim with a new tire…?

Haven’t even thought about what I would need in the summer, but stock tires sure do suck in the rain

 

Is there one tire that can do it all??? am I just being ignorant in even thinking its possible??

 

I am really unsure of what to do…

Please if anyone can help out with some advise, it would be greatly appreciated…

 

 

Cliff notes…

Re92s suck… extreme weather/temperature variations in winter months… any recommendations?

 

 

Thanks in advance to any input you guys have…

Btw… this site kicks ass… I am not much of a ‘poster’ but I enjoy reading and learning everything I can from this site….

You have to tell us what is most important to you in a winter tire. Do you want maximum braking traction on ice? Do you want excellent performance on dry pavement? And so on.........

I have 3 winters on my Michelin Pilot Alpin PA2 dedicated winter tires (roughly 20,000 miles or so?) and they still have at least this winter, possibly one more if I'm easy on them.

 

It's my understand that most winter tires have kind of a two-stage rubber design. Initially, they're very soft, but very grabby in the snow. This layer, being soft, wears off after a few thousand miles, leaving a harder-compound underneath which then lasts longer, at the expense of a little traction.

 

Basically, if you don't drive like a bat out of hell, you can get your tires to last several seasons.

 

That being said.. buying two sets of tires (you don't even have to have two sets of wheels if you don't mind doing the rebalancing thing each spring/fall) is ideal, as you get the best winter and best summer performance.

Welcome to my world....

 

I live in Boston, near the coast, where a lot of snow gets turned into rain and freezing rain. I also drive all over New England, from Southern CT to Northern NH and VT and even farther in Maine. The southern extreme of this territory gets 20-30" of snow a year. The Northern extreme gets over 100" - with places like Mt Washington NH and some other places get even more. For me to drive through rain, freezing rain, slush, ice, and falling snow - in the course of an hour - is pretty routine.

 

I'm on my third Outback wagon. I used to use premium quality A/S on my older Subarus: basically I would buy the most expensive one I could find. Last ones I had were Michelin HydroEdge.

 

When we bought a FWD company car, I put Nokian RSI's on it, and after driving that in the snow, went out and got some for myself. They're terrific in ice and snow, and have good hydroplaning and wet road stopping power - but wet road handling is kind of poor for the RSI's and the other dedicated snows we have on our other company cars - currently X-Ice.

 

When my wife got a Mazda MPV, I put WR's on it because it seldom leaves Boston and I didn't want a changeover. But I was so impressed with those that I also got WR's. So now I have summer tires, WR's, and RSI's.

 

I would say that if you are not driving in mountainous terrain, or need to be someplace before the plows on a regular basis, you may not need one of the dedicated snows (which don't have a treadwear rating and seem to erode quickly above 40 degrees F). Keep in mind that in Europe and some other jurisdicitions, snow tires with less than 5 or 6/32nds are no longer considered to be snow tires!

 

Otherwise, the WR may be a good fit. It's not the only fit: the Michelin X-Ice is a well-behaved snow-almost A/S tire, and the ContiContactExtreme (and probably the new Goodyear Eagle F1 A/S) are A/S-almost-snow tires. Most premium A/S's are pretty good in snow for the first season - it's once the tread wears down an bit that they get scary, as you've seen. But as far as a passenger A/S tire (meaning it has a treadwear warranty) and severe snow rating, the WR is it. If the others could pass it, you'd think they would.

 

Canadian Driver has a number of reviews on the WR, RSI, and others, which I think do an excellent job of explaining the differences. Tirerack has an explanation of the Mountain/Snowflake severe snow rating.

 

I took the RSI's off in February of last winter and may not put them at all this year. I'm waiting for a decent snow storm as we have one Accord with WR's and one with RSI's so I can do a comparison. There's also a fellow at work with an LGT with WR's, so I can compare Nokians on the Subaru as well. Horses for courses.....

 

http://www.canadiandriver.com/winter/tires/nokian.htm

http://www.canadiandriver.com/winter/tires/tires.htm

If you can afford it I would say get some decent snows and put them on your stock wheels. Then come spring, get yourself some really nice summer tires on some choice 18x8 wheels.

Last winter I got some Blizzak LM25's on some cheap ASA wheels from Tire Rack. The wheels actually look really good, but are heavy. I was still running the RE92's on the stock wheels in the warm months. Should get some awesome summer tires next season, the RE92's are such kaka. I am now on the fence about springing for yet ANOTHER set of extra sweet wheels, or just remounting them and saving the $$$. For that reason, I suggest the first course of action, I wish I would have done it that way now....

Winter tires are designed for cold weather in general not just snow.

They'll be just fine on cleared roads as long as its not above 60F for more than a week.

 

Minneapolis is quite similar in temps to Calgary, including random warms snaps followed by bitterly cold weather. Tires aren't any worse for wear and the improvement in even cold dry traction is improved over A/S.

 

Oh winter tires give you one more thing: true summer tires. So much better than A/S

Thanks for the reply guys,

 

the more and more I think about things, I think im gona go the the nokian wr's on my stock wheels, I should be able to get the grip control I need.. and still get decent tread wear vs. a true winter tire.

 

Plus I'll look imto geting a more summer oriented tire in the spring time... and some new wheels for them to go on...

probably something like Rota SDR's (maybe even gold, mmm.. SWP + gold...)

 

thats brings even more confusion.. lol I'm a total noob when it comes to ordering something online..

I wouldn't even have a clue as to what all would be involved in geting them accross the border to me.. lol.. guess I gota read some more...

Winter tires are designed for cold weather in general not just snow.

 

+1

 

Winter tires does not equate to snow tires.

Thanks for the reply guys,

 

the more and more I think about things, I think im gona go the the nokian wr's on my stock wheels, I should be able to get the grip control I need.. and still get decent tread wear vs. a true winter tire.

 

Plus I'll look imto geting a more summer oriented tire in the spring time... and some new wheels for them to go on...

probably something like Rota SDR's (maybe even gold, mmm.. SWP + gold...)

 

thats brings even more confusion.. lol I'm a total noob when it comes to ordering something online..

I wouldn't even have a clue as to what all would be involved in geting them accross the border to me.. lol.. guess I gota read some more...

 

Check out Contiextreme Contacts. Z rated, great in the snow and wet, cheaper than the Nokians and better in the dry.