The Snow Tire FAQ Forums

Deciding on when to remove winter tires in General Discussions

Tuesday 7 February 2012 00:56:26

Dave Tire, Tuesday 7 February 2012 00:56:26 (0 Replies) -- Subject: Deciding on when to remove winter tires -- -- I removed them yesterday, February 5th. This is very early. However, it is 58 degrees F today (14 C) and it will be about 50 F (10C) for the next 10 days. By then, it will be mid-February. The latest snowfall in Seattle is mid-March. The record low temperatures between now and the end of March is about 29F. The average for February is a high of 50 (53 late February) and a low of 38F In much of the country, there are wild temperature swings but here it is fairly stable. It won't hit 65F until June, never in March. On the other hand, the record low is about 29.

Michelin Introduces new X-Ice Xi3 in General Snow Tire Discussions

Monday 6 February 2012 19:15:53

SubLGT, Monday 6 February 2012 19:15:53 (11 Replies) -- Subject: Michelin Introduces new X-Ice Xi3 -- -- Michelin has introduced a new winter tire, the X-Ice Xi3. Will be interesting to see if it has improved its performance in slush and deep snow, since that seemed to be its weakness based on the tests I have seen. To me, the overall tread design appears almost identical to the Xi2. But the siping pattern appears different. http://www.tirereview.com/Article/96142/michelin_ups_performance_with_new_winter_tire.aspx http://www.moderntiredealer.com/News/Story/2012/01/Michelin-introduces-next-generation-X-Ice.aspx http://www.beyond.ca/michelin-x-ice-xi3-winter-tire-reviews/12491.html

[ Poll ] Norwegian/Finnish/Swedish/Russian winter tire test 2011 in Reviews

Friday 3 February 2012 23:12:53

SubLGT, Friday 3 February 2012 23:12:53 (17 Replies) -- Subject: Norwegian/Finnish/Swedish/Russian winter tire test 2011 -- -- Enjoy! :P http://naf.no/no/Forbrukertester/Dekk/Dekktester/Vinterdekktest-2011/ (Run it through Google translate or similar. From Norwegian to whatever language you want)

What are you running this winter? in General Discussions

Tuesday 22 November 2011 01:38:20

Peter K, Tuesday 22 November 2011 01:38:20 (29 Replies) -- Subject: What are you running this winter? -- -- [It's quiet.... too quiet.... maybe I should stir the pot....] Seeing as I am testing a set or two of snow tires this winter, it is pretty much public knowledge as to what I am running on my cars this winter. It's also no great secret that this January has not brought much snow to Rochester that has stuck around. The question is, "what is happening with other members of the forum?" So, what tires are you running on your car this winter? Do you like them? What kind of weather are you having?

Nokian - Fastest Snow Tire on Ice in General Snow Tire Discussions

Friday 18 November 2011 20:28:14

jwernerny, Friday 18 November 2011 20:28:14 (0 Replies) -- Subject: Nokian - Fastest Snow Tire on Ice -- -- I'm having too much fun looking at things on YouTube.... This time I found a video from Nokian touting their setting the World Speed Record for a car on ice. The tires were Nokian Hakka 7's. [web height=480:4c295b26ea]http://www.youtube.com/embed/NIWABCS9Ilg[/web:4c295b26ea] Enjoy, - John

Another Snow Tire Maker.... Nitto in General Snow Tire Discussions

Friday 18 November 2011 20:11:27

jwernerny, Friday 18 November 2011 20:11:27 (0 Replies) -- Subject: Another Snow Tire Maker.... Nitto -- -- I recently called my "tire-guy" and was asking him about the snow tires he could get. He came across a tire I hadn't heard of before: [b:780108ae89]Nitto NT-SN2[/b:780108ae89]. Research on the the interwebs makes them sound promising. Here is one of the reviews I found on YouTube: [web height=480:780108ae89]http://www.youtube.com/embed/LbkNDrWhbOs[/web:780108ae89] I am hoping to have a set of these to test myself this winter. - John

Winter Driving Tip - Using ABS in General Discussion of Winter Driving

Sunday 13 November 2011 02:13:27

Igloo, Sunday 13 November 2011 02:13:27 (2 Replies) -- Subject: Winter Driving Tip - Using ABS -- -- Does your car have ABS? Have you ever used the ABS? Do you know what to do when the ABS kicks in? Surprisingly, many drivers don't know if their cars have ABS. Still fewer have ever experienced it, and even fewer know how to react to it. If you are driving where it snows and you car has ABS, sooner or later you will end up using it, so its a good thing to understand what it can do, and how to deal with it. First off, ABS will not help you defy the laws of physics. If you are doing 60 mph on glare ice in your car wearing "baldini-speed-special summer tires", you are not going to stop quickly with or without ABS. [b:94ef792782]ABS only maximizes your control while stopping.[/b:94ef792782] It doesn't do miracles. I chose my words carefully. ABS is not designed to stop you as fast as possible, it is designed to give you as much control as possible while slowing the car down by maximizing the braking of the wheels while maintaining their traction. [For some interesting test data from a reader comparing ABS vs. Locked brakes on snow, see [url=http://www.snowtire.info/forum/viewtopic.php?t=69]this post[/url].] ABS does this by monitoring the wheels of your car looking for the wheel lockup. When it senses a wheel locking up, it takes over and releases the brakes just long enough for the wheel get traction again (which allows you to steer), and then reapplies the brake until it locks up again. It's like pumping your brakes, except it does it a lot faster than you can. Also, most modern ABS systems actually do it independently to each wheel of your car, so each wheel is getting as much braking as possible. Trying doing that with one brake pedal! The problem that most drivers have is at the point where the ABS takes over braking. When the ABS takes over, the feel of the brake pedal changes... it changes a lot. If you have never felt it before, it may make you want to take your foot off the brake pedal. That's the last thing you want to do, because that would tell the ABS you are done trying to slow down. Instead, what you really want to do is keep putting your foot down as hard as you can. Sounds simple. In fact, I had been driving ABS equipped cars for over 20 years when I went to the Bridgestone Winter Driving School and did the stopping exercise. "No problem, hit the ABS, steer around, show them how it's done." I made my run, then the instructor's voice came over the radio, "Great control, but you could have stopped harder. Not all 4 wheels locked." If I had done what I was told to do, hit the brakes and keep pushing until the car stopped, the ABS would have individually brought brought each wheel to the point of locking up, thus getting the maximum amount of braking out of each one. Instead, only a couple of the wheels locked while the others where left with some room for more braking. I could have stopped faster! In fact, what I did is so common that some more advanced ABS systems now detect the speed at which the brake pedal is depressed, and if it is depressed very rapidly (as in a panic stop), they take complete control and force the brakes all the way on. [b:94ef792782]Moral: When the ABS kicks in, keep pushing![/b:94ef792782] There is one corollary that falls out of this, and it is also something I learned at the Bridgestone Winter Driving School: If you are under fully engaged ABS braking on a surface where different tires have different traction, the car will pull to the side with the most traction. Why? Because the ABS on that side is braking harder. [I have debated this one with various other performance driving instructors. Some refuse to believe it, but it is easy enough to try, especially if you live where it snows. Find a safe place where you can put one side of the car on dry pavement and one on snow and drive for a bit without hitting anything if you should loose control. Also make sure there is nothing that will go flying around your vehicle should you stop fast. With your ABS equipped vehicle while driving at about 15miles per hour, your hands firmly on the wheel, and one side of the car on the snow and one on the dry, apply your ABS as hard as you can and see what happens. Feel free to post your results.] - John

10-29-11 snow. J.W.....are you ready? in General Discussions

Friday 11 November 2011 08:53:42

jwernerny, Friday 11 November 2011 08:53:42 (4 Replies) -- Subject: 10-29-11 snow. J.W.....are you ready? -- -- Forecast for Westchester County, NY. [i:957baabb6f]Overnight nt_chancesnow Mostly cloudy with a chance of snow and rain late this evening...then partly cloudy. Areas of frost. Cooler with lows in the lower 30s. North winds 10 to 15 mph with gusts up to 25 mph. Chance of precipitation 40 percent. Friday sunny Sunny. Highs in the upper 40s. Northwest winds 5 to 10 mph. Friday Night nt_partlycloudy Partly cloudy in the evening...then becoming mostly cloudy. Cold with lows in the upper 20s. Northeast winds around 5 mph. Saturday snow Cloudy. Wet snow and rain in the afternoon. Light wet snow accumulation. Breezy with highs in the lower 40s. Northeast winds 5 to 10 mph...increasing to 15 to 20 mph in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation 80 percent. Saturday Night nt_snow Cloudy with wet snow in the evening...then partly cloudy with a chance of wet snow after midnight. Additional light wet snow accumulation. Breezy and cold with lows in the upper 20s. Northwest winds 15 to 20 mph. Chance of wet snow 80 percent.[/i:957baabb6f] The Sonata is currently on my "old" snows Nokian WRG2's with about 6/32 up front and 4/32 in the back. Just using them up as I had planned. Even though I love snow, like cold and can't wait to go skiing, I'm not sure if I'm mentally ready to put the ExtremeWinterContacts on yet. I'll be in Westchester on Saturday for an anniversary dinner. At least I know that I have decent tires on the Sonata. The Sequoia is still on the "don't use in freezing/wet conditions" CrossContact LX's which switching over wouldn't bother me as much since it might go 300-400 miles max before Thanksgiving as compared to the 1500-2000k the Sonata will see. It's just that there's a lot of junk in the way to haul out to get to my snows stacked in the back of the shed. What's everybody elses status?

Recommended equipment for tires in General Discussions

Sunday 30 October 2011 20:59:11

Dave Tire, Sunday 30 October 2011 20:59:11 (0 Replies) -- Subject: Recommended equipment for tires -- -- I've seen many lists of emergency kits to carry but no list about tire equipment. Here is what I have: 1. Snow tires mounted on wheels. 2. Wheel chock (to prevent a car from rolling) 3. Wheel jack (much easier and faster to use than the spare tire jack) - cost me $14.99, usually costs about $25. 4. Breaker bar (long wrench then accommodates socket wrench sockets) - cost me about $10 5. Torque wrench (to measure how tight to screw on the wheel lug nuts) - cost me about $20 6. If you have a European car, consider a wheel hanger. Those cars have wheel bolts, not lug nuts and a wheel hanger makes it easier to hang the wheel and then put on the bolts. 7. Tire pressure gauge 8. (optional) air compressor - cost me about $40 Consider also a flashlight, gloves, block of wood if using a wheel jack.

Austrian automobile club winter tire test 2011 in Reviews

Thursday 13 October 2011 21:10:49

jwernerny, Thursday 13 October 2011 21:10:49 (3 Replies) -- Subject: Austrian automobile club winter tire test 2011 -- -- Enjoy :P www.oeamtc.at/?id=2500%2C1371329%2C%2C (Run it through Google translate or similar. From German to whatever language you want)

My snow tire recommendation and decision process: Seattle in General Discussions

Tuesday 11 October 2011 00:53:17

Sequoiasoon, Tuesday 11 October 2011 00:53:17 (3 Replies) -- Subject: My snow tire recommendation and decision process: Seattle -- -- There is no one snow tire that is the best. Tires compromise different attributes. Some compromises are not very good compromises. For example, all season tires are not good in snow but they are generally good in both hot weather and slightly cold weather. [b:9108ee8b0a]When selecting tires my first criteria is[/b:9108ee8b0a] 1. studded tires or non-studded tires. In Washington state, there is a mountain range between Seattle and Spokane. If one crosses a mountain pass a few times during the winter, studded tires are certainly a consideration. However, in Seattle, it often does not snow but the road is wet. I've used two sets of studded tires and do not feel the increased stopping distances are worth the rare ice. In Seattle, snow and ice is often not cleared or not cleared well. For that, one may consider studded tires. However, if the hill has a sheet of ice, consider not driving at all. Conclusion 1: Non-studded tires for me. [b:9108ee8b0a]Second criteria is whether a performance snow tire or a non-studded tire. [/b:9108ee8b0a] Part of the de.scription is that of the manufacturer and their criteria is not clear. Still, it does provide some guidance. In Seattle, often the snow is not cleared. There are many hills. That makes the tire with the best snow traction important. Performance snow tires seem to be better for a plowed road that has a little remaining snow. Examples of performance snow tires may be the Michelin Pilot Alpin PA3. Examples of non-studded tires may be the Michelin X-Ice Xi2. Conclusion 2: non-studded tire for me, not a tire optimized for aggressive driving. I realize that in slightly cold weather on a dry road, a performance tire might be able to drive on a curve faster, but during the winter, I drive more carefully and slower. There is also an uncertain combination of brand name, costs, testing, etc. [b:9108ee8b0a]Final conclusions[/b:9108ee8b0a] My preliminary choices in 2007 were: Michelin X-Ice Dunlop Graspic model Bridgestone Blizzak WS60 I chose the Bridgestone Blizzak WS60. If I had to choose for the 2010-2011 winter season, contenders would be, in order of preference: Bridgestone Blizzak WS70 (estimated price $550/four) Nokian Hakkapeliitta R (more expensive, great reputation, no tests seen but European tests may exists) (estimated price $760/four) Continental ExtremeWinterContact (estimated price $510/four) Michelin X-Ice Xi2 (more expensive, Consumer Reports criticize cold, dry braking) The Nokians really look like nice tires. Cost is not the primary decision factor because my current tires have lasted 4 seasons and will last 5-6 seasons. That makes it less than $100 per season. I watch the forecast closely and then try to remove the tires after I think it will not be under 36 degrees F in evening or early morning. I removed my snow tires on January 31, 2010 and around March 15, 2011. One year, I removed them in early April. In the last 4 seasons, I have correctly predicted the right time to remove tires.

Brag about your tires or at least comment about them in General Discussions

Monday 10 October 2011 02:02:08

Dave Tire, Monday 10 October 2011 02:02:08 (0 Replies) -- Subject: Brag about your tires or at least comment about them -- -- Brag about your tires or at least comment about them. Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric - used most of the year but not in the winter so I won't comment much. I like them. Continental ExtremeContact DW - to be put on the car in 2012. Also, not a snow tire. Bridgestone Blizzak WS60 - a snow tire. I like them. They are being replaced by the WS70 so most people will not be buying the WS60 now. They have provided good service to me so far. They are not too clunky but cannot compare to my summer tires when driven on dry pavement. I could much write more but that's a start.

September:Now is the time to start thinking about snow tires in General Discussions

Monday 10 October 2011 01:53:22

Dave Tire, Monday 10 October 2011 01:53:22 (2 Replies) -- Subject: September:Now is the time to start thinking about snow tires -- -- As I write this, it's Labor Day weekend. Now is not too early to start thinking about what snow tire to use. Is your current snow tires worn out? Remember that snow tires need a deeper tread than tires used in the summer. If you need new tires, consider which brand and model unless you are looking for sales. Sometimes, there are early sales and often late in the season sales but after the first snow, lots of other people are looking for tires.

Can't decide between these studded winter tires? in Snow Tire Q&A

Sunday 11 September 2011 16:42:23

jwernerny, Sunday 11 September 2011 16:42:23 (4 Replies) -- Subject: Can't decide between these studded winter tires? -- -- Hello, I can't decide between the following two studded winter tires: General Altimax Arctic Hankook Winter IPike Has anyone ever used either of these tires in snowy conditions? I live in a very snowy town in the Colorado Rockies which has a lot of plowed roads which result in either new snow on packed snow or very packed snow. Thank you!

General non-snow tire off topic thread in General Discussions

Tuesday 2 August 2011 00:44:49

Sequoiasoon, Tuesday 2 August 2011 00:44:49 (2 Replies) -- Subject: General non-snow tire off topic thread -- -- During the summer, there aren't many visitors. Maybe say hello over here. Hi!

Coming Soon: 2011 Real World Snow Tire Tests in 2011 Real World Snow Tire Tests

Saturday 30 July 2011 11:04:00

Guest , Saturday 30 July 2011 11:04:00 (5 Replies) -- Subject: Coming Soon: 2011 Real World Snow Tire Tests -- -- After taking a year off for a variety of reasons, most relating to a very unplanned change in employer on my part, I am happy to announce that [b:9f1395bec4]The Real World Snow Tire Tests are back![/b:9f1395bec4] I have already begun talking to manufacturers, and I hope to provide some more concrete information soon. I can tell you that this year, the plan is to look at snow tires for Minivans. If you have any suggestion for tires you would be interested in seeing tested, please feel free to leave a comment. PS, if you have contacts you would suggest I explore, please PM me. - John

Green Diamond Icelander Review in Reviews

Thursday 10 March 2011 12:34:10

StrugglingFarmer, Thursday 10 March 2011 12:34:10 (7 Replies) -- Subject: Green Diamond Icelander Review -- -- After 500 mostly dry road miles on my Green Diamond Icelander tires, we got a substantial snowstorm on Thanksgiving day so I thought I would post my initial impressions. First, the storm was a good one for testing winter tires. The evening before Thanksgiving it started to snow with what looked to be only a couple of inches. By Thursday morning, the rumble of thunder could be heard as very warm air was interacting with a major cold-air mass over Johnstown. The air temp was around 34 degrees so the snow that fell was wet and heavy. After dropping about 6 inches of heavy snow, the sun came out, the wind picked up, and the temp plummeted to the teens by sunset. Local road conditions had about 2-3 inches of "slurpy snow", the highly salted stuff that's too cold to melt but not cold enough to freeze solid. Local unplowed parking lots had 5-6 inches of snow; the top was powdery from the cold wind and drifting, the bottom layer was still warm and wet, freezing instantly when exposed to air. The Icelanders are mounted on all four corners of a 2001 Chrysler PT Cruiser which has been lowered moderately and has stiffer swaybars than the factory "Touring Suspension" came with. despite the modifications, the car has been fun in the winter and has driven through untreated snow that approached double the car's ground clearance (with Dunlop Graspic DS-1 tires which, unfortunately, are worn out). The car is equipped with traction control and ABS. I tested traction both with and without the traction control. Despite being marketed as an "All-season" tire by Green Diamond, the tires performed well in the untreated parking lots. The traction control was active more than I am used to with the Q-rated snow tires I normally use, so after a few tight circles, I shut it off. Lateral traction is not as good as the Graspic's; once a slide begins it takes the Icelanders longer to hook back up than I remember the Dunlops taking. All the things that you are taught to do for good snow driving apply to these tires: light on the gas, slow and smooth with the clutch and the brakes, and reduce your speed. I found the tires competent, but not excellent, as long as I kept my speeds at or below the posted speed limits. And I was able to stop in the deep parking lot snow (described above) while facing uphill, and start out with no problem. However, If I lived where I constantly faced deep, untreated snow, I would consider another tire. Perhaps Green Diamond's Inari, or Dunlop's new Graspic DS-2. Deep snow braking required a fine touch or the ABS would be activated. The Dunlops were far superior to the Icelanders when braking under these conditions; in fact, my ABS would rarely come on during an entire winter's worth of driving with the Cruiser being driven quite agressively with the Dunlops. On the roadways, the Icelanders slush performance was far superior to the Dunlops. With the Dunlops, I had to always worry about steeply crowned roads if they were slush-covered (slush performance was the DS-1's weakpoint). With the Icelanders, whether traction control was on or off, I never got the sensation that one drive wheel or another was trying to pull my car to the side. At highway speeds, the Icelanders come up wanting. Their dry road manners are fine: they don't feel like a snow tire, and the sidewalls are plenty stiff. The bad thing about them (and something I've never experienced with the Q-rated snows I've run in the past) is that when you are on dry pavement and encounter a drifted-over patch of snow/ice at highway speeds, there is no sense of control. The Icelanders demand that you reduce speed before you ever hit such a patch, and that defeats the purpose of running dedicated winter tires -you want to be prepared for ALL road conditions. Bridestone Blizzaks(WS-15 and 50), Yokohama Guardex 600, and the previously mentioned Dunlops all could handle high speed transitions from dry pavement to drifted snow and ice and back to dry again with little drama. The Icelanders cannot. The road conditions I tried the Icelanders out on did not permit a valid test of the carbide grit; there was too much slop at the bottom of the deep snow, and any ice I encountered was too bumpy from the wind and frozen slush to NOT permit a grip, so the jury is out as to whether it works as advertised. I bought the Icelanders because my car will spend the rest of this winter in North Jersey at my daughter's college. She is in Montclair, just about 15 miles from Manhatten. The terrain is very hilly, and they get lots of ice and a lot of slush. Hopefully, I made a wise choice. Since my daughter will be home for about a month at Christmas, I should have more opportunities to test them myself, and hopefully try them in black ice conditions. I will keep you posted as the winter goes on.

Snow Tires in large truck sizes in Snow Tire Q&A

Monday 7 March 2011 13:37:51

red90, Monday 7 March 2011 13:37:51 (7 Replies) -- Subject: Snow Tires in large truck sizes -- -- I have a lifted truck that I use to drive down rough terrain in the non-snowy months. currently it's fitted with 35x12.5 R15 tires. The suspension and gearing are all setup for tires in this size. I would like to buy a dedicated set of snow tires in a similar size but I can't seem to find a single company that makes them. I'd be willing to go as small as 32x10.5 on the tire on any sized wheel but I have yet to find a single snow tire made in these sizes. I need a tire that has a tread good on both snow and ice. If not a dedicated snow is there an all-season or all-terrain tire that would fit my truck with a better-than-average tread pattern for snow and ice.

Michelin X-Ice in General Discussions

Thursday 17 February 2011 21:27:28

Dave Tire, Thursday 17 February 2011 21:27:28 (5 Replies) -- Subject: Michelin X-Ice -- -- I only put about 6000 miles a year on my car. I have been considering year round use with my Michelin X-Ice winter tires. I realize that they will wear out faster than an all season tire, however, I feel that it would be cost effective to do this rather than pay $40 twice a year to switch off tires or it would offset the cost of extra wheels and tires. My biggest concern is road noise if I run winter tires in the summer and also performance. Does anyone have experience with the Michelin X-Ice tires used in this manner? How quickly do you think the winter tires will wear out if driven all year, keeping in mind that I only drive 6000 miles per year.

Got a pretty good dumping in General Snow Tire Discussions

Friday 4 February 2011 20:11:31

Dave Tire, Friday 4 February 2011 20:11:31 (5 Replies) -- Subject: Got a pretty good dumping -- -- Amazing once again, a little Corolla got around like a mini panzer tank in this snow. I am more convinced than ever the merits of snow tyres during inclement weather.