snow tire woes

[cranshinibon]

have yokohama avid h4s on my car now, and they're absolutely terrible in snow, (literally almost no traction in a light dusting, and cannot take turns whatsoever.) so today after sliding into a stump going 10 mph i realized I'm tossing my tires in the garbage and shopping for some new winter tires tomorrow. Only problem is after reading all the reviews it's hard to decide on a tire that's not ridiculously overpriced since I'm getting rid of the car next year but i still need something to use to get me around bc I get a lot of heavy snow where i live.

I went to ETD and they're pricing Blizzak W-60 215/60/16 at $145 a tire installed....which isnt bad but I was wondering if anyone could recommend a really good winter tire that isn't quite as pricey.

[Zillon]

Firestone Winterforce - 215/60/16 - $67 each on Tirerack.

I believe Walmart sells them, too.

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....rtnum=16SR6FWF

[evomike]

I loved my blizzaks and Also liked my Dunlop graspic ds-2's

[Rush]

I ran Pirelli Snowsports on my MSP for years, and they were excellent tires. The specific 'model' I had isn't made anymore, but I believe their Winter 210 Sottozero is the current equivalent. They're on the pricey side, though -- listed on Tire Rack for $133 each.
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....omCompare1=yes


At the moment, I have Dunlop Winter Sport M3 tires on my G35 Coupe .. Got to try 'em out in the snow for the first time this morning. They did great. I tried to engage a slip going downhill a few times, and between the traction control and the tires, I couldn't get the car to break loose. The Dunlops are listed on Tire Rack for $105 each at the moment.
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....omCompare1=yes

[MPowerKai]

Keep in mind snow tires that work well with fwd or awd cars may not work so well on a rwd car. Is the ford taurus fwd or rwd? If its rwd I'd stick with Blizzak the preferred snow tire for most bmw owners

[cranshinibon]

it's a fwd car, but my problem is theres a decent amount of torque to the front wheels (think its 190 fpt with 220 hp) so traction is sometimes a problem unless I'm in the lower gears. I called up etc and asked about the blizzak w-60 in the 215/60/16 and he said that they are a low production model for the size so he offered me 205/65/16 saying that the thinner tire and wider walls would offer me the best traction and decided to knock 5 dollars off per tire leaving it 140 a tire installed and balanced. I think I may just go with that, considering the high reviews on the tires and my 45 minute drive home up 6-7 steep inclines and declines.

i just cannot believe how horrific the yokohama's were, I honestly thought it was my driving but when I'm only going 10-25 mph on a straight road and I have trouble getting traction when I'm barely gassing it, then I know it wasn't me. knocked my fog light mount off trying to avoid the tree when i rolled over a stump but thank god I avoided the tree all together.

was the etd guy right in saying that the thinner the tire, the better handling in the snow? (i dont care much for the look, since it will be thinner i know itll look less low profile than the wider and smaller walled yokohama but i'd much prefer traction and confidence in the snow over a ....ooh look, pretty tires....comment while im stuck in a snow bank in a week.)

[cranshinibon]

btw when i slide over the stump, it knocked out my fog light (which didnt work to begin with, and took this thing off with it....please someone confirm my assumption that it is just in fact my fog light mount. It's metal and the fog light bulb fits into the hold perfectly...i just found it weird that such a huge piece of metal is used to attach a small fog light....and that it was attached to plastic with bolts....yeh that part confused me a bit. heres the pic

[DPancoast]

a "thinner tire" will get better traction in the snow because it stands up and puts more pressure in a more concentrated area than a wide and/or low profile tire. Going with a smaller tread width is not a bad thing, and even a taller sidewall isn't too bad either but then you run into clearance issues if you're lowered and such.

$140 per tire mounted doesn't seem TOO bad I guess since they are snow tires. But in my view that means like $100-125 for the tire and the rest to mount them. It seems like you could find a cheaper deal, get them shipped in, and have them mounted and save a few bucks. At $5-10 saved per tire for mounting sometimes, that's $20-40 you could use for gas, an oil change, etc.

[grimm]

i run the dunlop m3's have had them for 3 years now and never have any problems. i'm AWD if that matters.

[Bender]

I am putting approximately 300 ft/lbs through the front wheels and have no issues using Conti ExtremeContact DWS all season (including light snow). That said if I wanted a true snow tire Blizzaks would be the only choice for me.

[ScoobySTi]

I can also vouch for the ContiExtremeContacts. Have had them on the Suby almost 3 years now. Been through snow as high as the front bumper in the Pocono's and have never had the slightest inkling of getting stuck. They are wearing great and road noise is minimal if there even is any.

Though keep in mind this is an AWD vehicle.

[dwl137]

I use Michelin X-Ice Xi2 and I have never had an issue in snow. I have RWD though so I can't comment on how they'll function on FWD/AWD.

[Renegade_]

Originally Posted by cranshinibon

it's a fwd car, but my problem is theres a decent amount of torque to the front wheels (think its 190 fpt with 220 hp)

This is funny.

I've driven on blizzaks a few times; they did pretty damn good. Any snow tire will be better than an all season for winter, but it really just comes down to what you want to pay. Any will work, but you buy cheap and they will be cheap.

[FocusDude]

I've been running Blizzak's on the Focus the past few winter's. Very nice ride, just a little noisy off the snow.

[Subie_sleeper]

http://www.nokiantires.com/
Hands down the best snow tires.
We ordered a set of the NEW
WRg2 s to run year round on my wifes new Legacy

[Flaps720]

im having some woes of my own...any advice would be helpful...im RWD, not much torque (damn rotaries), and i'm currently stuck with summer tires that would need to be replaced soon anyways, but I cant afford to run a dedicated winter tire and buy a new set come warm weather, am i just asking for bad news if i buy a decent set of all seasons? my car is my DD and i drive 50 miles round trip on the turnpike everyday...

im gonna check into those conti extreme contacts right noww...

[92dxman]

Check Craigslist for snow tires. You can usually find good deals on there for them. I scored a set of Blizzaks for $50 a few months back..