Snow tires.

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Originally Posted By: HTSS_TR
Originally Posted By: hattaresguy
DTD is no where near me, but thank's I think I'll grab a set without studs.

A friends shop will mount them for like $20, so the mounting cost is nill.

I never ran snow tires so I suspect the additional traction of snow tires will be enough.

I think $500 +/- for a set of snow tires is money well spent.

DTD is online only, DT/AT are brick/mortar stores.

DTD's price includes shipping, but they do price match other online total price.

Waiting till Labor day for possible sale/rebate is a good idea, because you don't need snow tires until November.


Maybe I'll wait for a sale as well. I was just bored and tireracks price seemed pretty good.
 
Originally Posted By: hattaresguy
Maybe I'll wait for a sale as well. I was just bored and tireracks price seemed pretty good.

The winter tires they have in stock right now were likely made last year, so you'll be getting rubber that is already a year old. If you wait until the Fall, you will likely get this year's production.

Based on my experience, rubber age is critical for winter tires. With age, the soft winter rubber hardens and is no longer as effective in snow. My Altimax Arctic will soon need replacing not because of low tread depth but because of their age and how hard they've become. So, try to get them as fresh as you can.
 
I have a set of these for my '14 Caravan....they are a big improvement over the factory rubber...wife's Subaru has Blizzaks and that thing is unstoppable in the winter. Generals don't seem as good as the Blizzaks but it's hard to compare a fwd van to an awd Subaru.

No reason to get studded.
 
I have the General Altimax Arctics on my Forester. They have been nothing short of unbelievable the last three winters.,I'll eventually be replacing them with another set. Studded tires not allowed here in Illinois.
 
I put a new set of 4 Altimax Arctic on the Sequoia last year. I went through Mavis price match and they beat tirebuyer. I had first set many seasons until they got worn and hard rubber. awesome snows especially for the price. Sequoia (in 4WD) rolled right through the 20" snows that we had couple times.
 
I've been living on the edge of the "Lake Effect" snow belt of Central NY amd averaging 35-45K mi yearly. Ever since I discovered Nokian (previously Nokia!) tires about 25 yrs. agoI've used their snow tires almost exclusively. In my experience every new model has been a distinct a distinct improvement over it's predecessor. Unless you're dealing with severe ice issues a large amount of the time I think the R2 would be more than enough tire! The Hakka 8 is better on ice and perhaps deep snow but in most other areas the R2 is better i.e., dry/wet handling & stopping, noise & comfort. Hakka 7 & 8 can be had un studded and are cheaper than R2 but both Nokian Tech & long time AUDI/Nokian dealer into rallying/ice racing say the R2 performs better in snow/ice than the Hakka 7 & 8 w/o studs.
For that guy from Onondaga county which I presume is the Syracuse, NY area there is a new shop in Morrisville, NY 30 mi. E who has Nokian prices as low as anywhere in the US. They also just bought a high end alignment machine and have an excellent all around mechanic for other repairs. The name of the shop is A & R Tire. No personal interest other than trying to promote an honest & competent shop. http://www.artireservicecenter.com/

BTW Nokian makes a great, moderately priced summer perfomance tire the Zline.
 
Originally Posted By: stuffinder
long time AUDI/Nokian dealer into rallying/ice racing


Shokan??

But they are not in an area that I would consider "upstate" (well maybe lower upstate
wink.gif
).
 
Imagine mentioning Michelin as cheaper alternative.
Yep when compared to Nokian winter tires Michelin is bargain.

I am not sure if R2 is better than Michelin Xice Xi3 or brand new Bridgestone Blizzak WS80. Nokian's are much more expensive though.

We have zLine on wife's Volvo S40. They are decent summer tires for good price.

Krzys
 
Even the cheapest Nokian dealers are a lot. Unless you can get a discontinued, new model of tire. That is what my parents did with their Hakkapellita 4s. The Escape is awesome in the snow. Couldn't break traction on an icy hill with the wheels turned sharp and gas pedal on the floor.


Guess it depends. I think Morrisville would be "Central" NY as it's only a few miles from the geographical center of the state!


But Syracuse would be similar. It's "Upstate" to anyone in NYC.

I found Sunny SN3860 I will probably be getting. Seems to have a similar tread pattern to the Hack-them-all and Altimax Arctic, is snowflake rated. Lots of sipes so I won't have to have them studded.

Selling the Winterforce. $120 for a set with 3/4 tread seems fair.
 
It is not the tread pattern, it is the tread compound that makes most of the difference. Is not Sunny a Chinese tire? Lots of news about bogus Chinese tires made by a factory using old abandoned molds and cheaper compound and even the local dealers and perhaps the distributors did not know they were not authorized by the named brand owner. Consumer Reports had a story on this several months ago. Still, better than Russian tires, I hear.
 
Originally Posted By: Miller88
I found Sunny SN3860 I will probably be getting. Seems to have a similar tread pattern to the Hack-them-all and Altimax Arctic, is snowflake rated. Lots of sipes so I won't have to have them studded.

Selling the Winterforce. $120 for a set with 3/4 tread seems fair.


Why the Sunny? The Altimax Arctic is a proven performer and a great value, and often goes on sale at DTD. I love mine, only 7K miles on them but still look new. They're currently waiting for their second Winter.
 
I have lots of experience driving in snow and ice and my favorite is Goodyear Ultra-grip Ice WRT. They are absolutely amazing without studs (studs are optional).

I put 4 studded Altimax tires on my girlfriend's BMW 320i last winter and they were not very impressive. Might have been partly the car being rear wheel drive and low to the ground but I was not impressed. They are also noisy.

I had Michelin X-ice 3 on my Honda Civic last winter and they were pretty good but still not as good as the Ultra-grip Ice.
 
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Originally Posted By: mva
I put 4 studded Altimax tires on my girlfriend's BMW 320i last winter and they were not very impressive. Might have been partly the car being rear wheel drive and low to the ground but I was not impressed. They are also noisy.

Studded tires noisy?? What a shocker.
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Originally Posted By: mva
I have lots of experience driving in snow and ice and my favorite is Goodyear Ultra-grip Ice WRT. They are absolutely amazing without studs (studs are optional).

I put 4 studded Altimax tires on my girlfriend's BMW 320i last winter and they were not very impressive. Might have been partly the car being rear wheel drive and low to the ground but I was not impressed. They are also noisy.

I had Michelin X-ice 3 on my Honda Civic last winter and they were pretty good but still not as good as the Ultra-grip Ice.


The noise is something I am not liking about the studded Winterforce I had. My parents have studded Nokian Hack-them-all 4 tires on their Escape and you can't even hear them.

Originally Posted By: HangFire
Originally Posted By: Miller88
I found Sunny SN3860 I will probably be getting. Seems to have a similar tread pattern to the Hack-them-all and Altimax Arctic, is snowflake rated. Lots of sipes so I won't have to have them studded.

Selling the Winterforce. $120 for a set with 3/4 tread seems fair.


Why the Sunny? The Altimax Arctic is a proven performer and a great value, and often goes on sale at DTD. I love mine, only 7K miles on them but still look new. They're currently waiting for their second Winter.


Arctic often goes on sale but still pretty expensive. I think the GT Radial Icepro is going to be the one I pick. Many, many sipes and kind of reminds me of a directional version of the old Nokian Vatiiva I had. Since my Jeep is likely going to be out of commission for the winter, need to pick wisely! It's generally reserved for when we get many feet of snow. But that is not going to be the case this winter.
 
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