considering snow tires.

[kkreit01]

Originally Posted By: Robertslowpoke
thank you!!

kkreit: does that mean you must reset the tpms each and every day? if i DID buy new ones, is it hard to set them up?

sound like you ALL love that tire!

must be good!! i am now sold on snow tires. my caddy, although heavy and front drive, was not good in the snow and ice. we had a tough winter in northern Mass.


thanks again!!!


Bob


Your idiot dash light will remain lit. If you have a message center, you may have to reset a message here every time you start your car. It's as simple as hitting "reset" on your dash. If you buy the extra set of TPMS sensors, you'll either need to pay someone to reprogram every time you swap, or you can purchase the programming tool yourself. For me, it wasn't worth the extra $200-300 (more in the long run). From the end of Oct to the beginning of Mar, you'll have a light on in your dash.

You might want to check your Caddy forums. They may have something else going on? I'm only familiar with Ford's TPMS systems.

 

[Greaser]

Bought a 4 wheel set( HAKKA'S) for my son's Chev Cobalt last winter.He told me his ABS never activated once! He drove home from his part time job at a burger joint ,at night,in snow up to his spoiler with-out a hiccup.Very happy with these tires,especially for a 19 year old driver.He car pools to college with other students in this vehicle so we did some research and bought good tires.Very satisfied!

 

[leeharvey418]

For a 2008 DTS, Tire Rack says that downsizing to a 16" package isn't an option. As for the TPMS, it would appear that you don't have to worry about a trip to the dealer to reset the system when you swap wheels - they specifically tell me that I will need to pay the stealership for reprogramming when I set up a wheel and tire package for my RAV4, but there is no such warning for the Caddy. Most likely you have a reset procedure to do it yourself, or the system will automatically register new sensors (my Mazda3 does this). Check your owner's manual to make sure, but every indication that I have tells me that you're good to go.

...and I realize that this won't help in the event that you need a tiebreaker, but either the Altimax Arctic or the Hakkapelitta R is an excellent choice. Of course, if you're like some posters (myself included) who prefer to avoid directional tires, the Continental ExtremeWinterContact is also an fine tire, and Tire Rack has them in your size for nine bucks more than the Altimax Arctics.

 

[Robertslowpoke]

thank you everyone!! 4 great snow tires it is! we had a major winter last year!!!!

best!!

Bob

 

[Rand]

do you drive aggressively? you might want to consider a performance snow. still way better than all seasons but handles good.
Also if you like doing 75 on the highway I'd pass on studded snows.

IMO studless are better than studs for most people who live in the city.
I've tried studded tires without studs before but IMO studless are better than studded tires without studs.

Also studded tires can be slippery if you have to panic brake in the wet.

Studded tires do have their place they just have some serious compromises to be the ultimate in winter traction.

Studded are very hard to beat if you live in a more rural area or drive on ice/hardpack many days out of the year.

The xice2 that were recommended are very good. 650 must be for tires only? consider purchasing winter rims.
If you can live with a tpms light on I'd skip the sensors.

My old car would only register 4 sensors at a time so I skipped them. Didnt feel like hitting the dealer 2x a year to have them initalized.


Tirerack says you have to stay with 17" rims but you can switch to a
225/60-17 alternative size.

here is a link to what tirerack carries in that size


4rims and 4 xice2 with free roadforce mount & balancing for under 1000$ and 70$ mail in rebate.
TPMS sensors are 156$ extra and they will install them free but I'm not sure about the initalization process.

 

[123Saab]

You cant go wrong with the Generals or the Nokians.

 

[Robertslowpoke]

THANK YOU rand!!!!


best

bob

 

[sciphi]

Running into the same TPMS issue with my Cruze due to not wanting Stabilitrak and traction control to stay on all winter. I've heard there is a way to have the car learn the TPMS sensors that involves letting about 10 PSI out of the tires with the car in a "learning" mode. The horn is supposed to beep when the car learns the sensor. I'd also love to keep the individual tire pressure readouts available on the dashboard. My question is whether it's worth the $200 to me to do so. I suspect the sensors will be purchased just to avoid any potential issues with Stabilitrak.

Our Honda only lights up the dummy light when TPMS sensors aren't detected, so we elected to do without sensors on the winter tires. There's no stability or traction control on that car, so aside from the light there's no downside to not having the sensors.

 

[Ken2]

Quote:
Snow tires remove terror.
In addition, it gives one much greater ability to dodge someone sliding around in front of you.

Any brand of snow tire is much better than the best "all-season" tire--which are really three season tires. Michelin, Dunlop, Bridgestone, etc., etc., hard to go wrong. I like the newest studless snows a lot. As said above, try for a skinnier snow tire of the same outside diameter as original and the same or greater load carrying capacity.

 

[FordFocus]

Has anyone tried the BFGoodrich Winter Slalom KSI's?