Which winter tire for snow and slick, packed snow?

[edyvw]

Originally Posted By: The_Eric
Looking to get some dedicated winter tires for my wife's Malibu. Around here, it's fresh fallen snow (she leaves before the plows oftentimes) and the really slick packed snow at intersections, with the occasional spot of ice (intersections).

Have been eyeing the Firestone Winterforce, but after reading a different thread, I guess I didn't realize that some tires performed better on snow only vs. packed snow/ice...

What say the people that have ran these tires?

Bridgestone Blizzak WS-80 or Continental Winter Contact.

 

[buck91]

I've run Nokian Hakka Q, Michelin xIce2, Hankook i-pike W409 and Yokahama IG20 on various pony cars, mostly manual with limited slip rear. They are all on a completely different level of winter weather traction than even the best all season. Only time I've ever been stuck was going up hill on a very steep, rutted dirt road that was half deep snow and half packed ice on about 15 year old Nokian's; ended up sliding backwards into the snow bank but that was driver error (should not have attempted that hill in a Mustang!).

The xIce really were an awsome driver tire. 100% snow tire but when it was dry they really rode like a nice touring tire! I'm going to be running some gently used Michelin Pilot Alpin this year and am curious to see if they meet the expectations set by previous experiences or if they trade too much traction for handling...

 

[The_Eric]

Looks like the Bridgestone and Michelin tires are getting a lot of love here.

To get those tires as an option, I had to drop down to 205/65-15. The only one I could find in 215/60-15 was the Conti Extreme Winter Contact.

I see all the manufacturers are recommending a set of 4. How adversely will the handling be affected by just running them on the front?

 

[sciphi]

Mash the brakes fast on snow while turning, and the rear is going to swap ends with the front with snow tires on the front only.

The biggest advantage of running all four snow tires is turning and braking, especially during emergency maneuvers.

 

[Rand]

Originally Posted By: The_Eric
Looks like the Bridgestone and Michelin tires are getting a lot of love here.

To get those tires as an option, I had to drop down to 205/65-15. The only one I could find in 215/60-15 was the Conti Extreme Winter Contact.

I see all the manufacturers are recommending a set of 4. How adversely will the handling be affected by just running them on the front?


dont buy 2.. The cars handling will be so compromised it will cause a wreck or spinout. Its definitely worse than just All-seasons.
The only exception would be on the rear of a RWD vehicle and that's still bad but you get a lack of turning vs spinning out uncontrollably.

 

[gofastman]

Originally Posted By: Rand
Originally Posted By: The_Eric
Looks like the Bridgestone and Michelin tires are getting a lot of love here.

To get those tires as an option, I had to drop down to 205/65-15. The only one I could find in 215/60-15 was the Conti Extreme Winter Contact.

I see all the manufacturers are recommending a set of 4. How adversely will the handling be affected by just running them on the front?


dont buy 2.. The cars handling will be so compromised it will cause a wreck or spinout. Its definitely worse than just All-seasons.
The only exception would be on the rear of a RWD vehicle and that's still bad but you get a lack of turning vs spinning out uncontrollably.

Agreed, 2 snow tires is asking for trouble

 

[Virtus_Probi]

I ran Goodyear Ultra Grip Ice WRTs through a very tough New England 14/15 winter and was very pleased with them. They pulled me through a lot of nasty, steep roads with deep snow as well as glazed plowed surfaces and were also pleasant enough on dry highways. I had two different types of Blizzak on my last SUV and they ate up snowy and icy roads like nothing, but ranged from squirmy to downright scary at speed on the highway.
In my size (225/55/18), the WRTs were quite a bit cheaper than the Xi3s, which were the other tires I was strongly considering (believe the Blizzak WS80s were not out yet).

 

[E365]

I'm still trying to find out if the new Goodyear Ultra Grip Ice 2 will be sold in the USA this winter. It tied for number 1 with the Nokian Hakka. R2 in the late 2014 NAF tire test. Should be a great option this season. I'd love to buy a set for my Focus.

https://www.naf.no/forbrukertester/dekktester/vinterdekktest-2014/

Reference to it showed up this week deep on the TireRack website but it's not officially listed anywhere. A Modern Tire Dealer publication says it'll be sold on the North American market this year.

 

[IndyIan]

Going by tirerack prices, I think the yoko ig52c are a great snow tire for the money. Just short of the best ice tires performance but at 2/3 the cost. I've run them 2 seasons now on the Focus and they do work great on hard packed snow/ice while being as quiet as all-seasons.

 

[InfmousCornholio]

Whatever tire it is, let out some of that air pressure and I think you'll find it amazing when that snow and ice comes.

It's hot now, but. It's coming.

Pretty sure.

 

[edyvw]

Originally Posted By: The_Eric
Looks like the Bridgestone and Michelin tires are getting a lot of love here.

To get those tires as an option, I had to drop down to 205/65-15. The only one I could find in 215/60-15 was the Conti Extreme Winter Contact.

I see all the manufacturers are recommending a set of 4. How adversely will the handling be affected by just running them on the front?

Ultimately, if I could find Continental TS830 in NA market for my car, I would go for that. Continental IMO is best winter tire, but they are not bringing "biggest guns" to NA market.
New Winter Contact looks really good.
Old winter contact is very soft, deep snow/slush tire, but not as good on ice as Bridgestone or Xi 3 (although Xi 3 is probably of these 3, worst in deep snow and slush).

 

[The_Eric]

Lots of really good info and recommendations guys! Thank you for taking the time to give me your input and relate your personal experiences.

Now it's time to make a decision... that'll be the hard part!

 

[UG_Passat]

With packed snow, studs are the best.

Tires that have stuff in the tread, like Green Diamond, some of the Toyo's, Nokian Hakka R2, etc will help close that gap between studless and studded.

The Winterforce weren't that bad of a tire. They are extemely loud. I had them on my old 02 Golf TDI, never had issues with grip, unstudded.

For the same price though, I would go with the General Altimax Arctic (which I had on my current car)