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Best tire ever for snow is learning how to drive on snow and ice. That's coming from a guy who lived in a country with -40 winter centigrade, snow 3 feet, roads paved with slippery granite cubes, ALL CARS manual only, and most tires retread with no friction. And in the city that was situated on 7 hills, so whichever way you head, you have inclines and declines.
I completely agree with you on knowing how to drive in the snow. This should always be step 1 when dealing with winter driving. I know how to drive in the snow and do very well with just all-season tires, but this winter we plan on being in the mountains a lot more so we were going to pick up snow tires as an added level of safety.
I use four Nokian snow tires on my Subaru legacy wagon during the winter. Great traction and control. If you are unfamiliar with driving on snow and ice look up Team O'Neil for excellent instruction. We always take our cars to an empty parking lot after the first snow to practice low traction driving.
I get what you are saying, but you are adding in variables not needed. You are talking about swapping smaller wheels for larger wheels. I'm not even sure where changing wheel sizes came into play? If the OEM wheel was a 14" wheel, I've never heard of anyone then getting a 17" wheel just for snow tires. If anything, people would buy a second set of wheels to match their OEM wheel size.
My thoughts were just about the tires. Also, as I mentioned, I meant for this to just be general recommendations on brands of tires. This way the information can be used for everyone and not just my vehicle.
This is why you asked the question, no? You aren't aware that certain models of tire only come in certain sizes. IE if you decide the "best" tire (Blizzak LM-60 for example) is one that starts at a larger diameter than your current wheels, you would have to switch out to a larger wheel to get it. Likewise, if you already have 18" wheels and that is what is required to clear the brakes, a "high profile" snow tire isn't going to fit without lifting the car.
Along those same lines, if your car is currently equipped with a performance tire switching to something that is meant for a Corolla is going to compromise handling to a degree not everyone will be comfortable with. You can also 'get away' with running a lower quality snow tire on an AWD car and get better performance than a high end snow and ice tire on RWD costing 3 times as much. No reason to spend that kind of money if a lesser tire is more than adequate. FWIW, I run Blizzaks on my BMW and a smaller less expensive Hankook on the Subaru, and the subie is still the far more capable car in any snow condition.
In general, a thin, high profile snow tire is optimal for a number of reasons, but not all brands and models are sold like that nor will they fit all vehicles.
Firestone Winterforce tires have gotten by Mustang through several Pittsburgh winters with no problems. Blizzaks are probably better, but for the price, the Winterforce are a great value. And they seem to have good treadwear as this will be my 4th winter with the same tires and there is still a decent amount of tread left.
Best tire ever for snow is learning how to drive on snow and ice. That's coming from a guy who lived in a country with -40 winter centigrade, snow 3 feet, roads paved with slippery granite cubes, ALL CARS manual only, and most tires retread with no friction. And in the city that was situated on 7 hills, so whichever way you head, you have inclines and declines.
This is kind of a strawman and not what the OP is looking for. It is assumed that learning how to drive on snow and ice is helpful.
not really... I'm talking about just the tires in general. Good brand versus bad brands. I also didn't ask what tires would be best for my car. If I had, I would have included my vehicle specs.
In other words, since you had 0 contribution to this thread, go troll somewhere else.
I think CCcgirl is right, it's just you are not there yet.
We have Firestone Winterforce and Michelin Xice3 on our Subarus. The Michelins are better on icy roads, but you can install studs on the Firestones if you live in an area that allows them. I've also had Blizzaks and Dunlop Wintersport 3D tires on previous cars and they worked well too. Bottom line, they were all a huge improvement over all-seasons. Take a look at the ratings and reviews on Tirerack for details on specific tires.
Best tire ever for snow is learning how to drive on snow and ice. That's coming from a guy who lived in a country with -40 winter centigrade, snow 3 feet, roads paved with slippery granite cubes, ALL CARS manual only, and most tires retread with no friction. And in the city that was situated on 7 hills, so whichever way you head, you have inclines and declines.
Hey, easy here with those numbers. We all know -40F=-40*C, right?
Firestone Winterforce tires have gotten by Mustang through several Pittsburgh winters with no problems. Blizzaks are probably better, but for the price, the Winterforce are a great value. And they seem to have good treadwear as this will be my 4th winter with the same tires and there is still a decent amount of tread left.
that's good to know; just moved back to WI from SC and our '11 'stang will see its first real winter so i'll be shopping for some winter tires soon enough lol. And nothing wrong with saving a little coin while still getting good products
i'll add to anyone looking for general info, go on tire rack and watch some comparison videos.
I think CCcgirl is right, it's just you are not there yet.
actually no. I'm reading about all the brands that people are using and then looking into what would work best for my application. By specifying my vehicle, people might not have my particular vehicle so how would they know what tires would work best on my vehicle. Getting a mixture of brand suggestions, from a mixture of vehicles, from a mixture of areas is better because at that point you can narrow down your results.
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