Snow tire question

I

ichiroll

Member
Car
2010 FX50S
Hi all,

Newbie question regarding snow/winter tires.

I have summer performance tires Dunlops on my 21s.
Bought a set of GTR fronts to use as snow/winter tires.

What is the life expectancy for a set of snow/winter tires if I am daily driving?

I heard that due to the soft consistency of the tires, driving them on asphalt really wears them down.

Just wondering how many miles I can expect out of them.

If it's too low, I was thinking maybe I should do an all-season tire?

Thanks for input.
 
Living in the Mountains of So Cal I frequently drive from snowy conditions down the mountain to 70 to 80 degree tempatures so I needed a tire that performed well in both.
I use the Yokohama Geolander AT/S for my dedicated winter tires they have great snow traction and a very high mileage rating.
http://youtu.be/9t9u1PcOGKQ
 
Thanks for your reply. How many seasons/miles is it rated for?

I'm looking for tire size 255/40R20, and the only two options that come up are:

Pirelli Winter Sottozero Serie ii
Michelin Pilot Alpin PA4 N-Spec

I' just hoping I can get atleast a couple seasons worth of winter driving in them...
 
GTR wheels for winter? usually thinner tires/skinnier wheels are the go-to to navigate snow on roads. I did 2 winters in PA with blizzaks on 18" wheels OEM wheels on me 05FX35, 2 with my stock 21's on my 50, and 2 winters in Buffalo on my stock 21's.... Good luck!
 
ichiroll said:
Thanks for your reply. How many seasons/miles is it rated for?

I'm looking for tire size 255/40R20, and the only two options that come up are:

Pirelli Winter Sottozero Serie ii
Michelin Pilot Alpin PA4 N-Spec

I' just hoping I can get atleast a couple seasons worth of winter driving in them...
Click to expand...

They are rated at 50k I believe this is my third winter and one summer because I was lazy this year and they still look great!
Heres a list of available sizes in Yoko AT/S......
http://www.thetirewarehouseinc.com/shop-for-tires/view/alltires/b/16.aspx
 
jbaker1121 said:
GTR wheels for winter? usually thinner tires/skinnier wheels are the go-to to navigate snow on roads. I did 2 winters in PA with blizzaks on 18" wheels OEM wheels on me 05FX35, 2 with my stock 21's on my 50, and 2 winters in Buffalo on my stock 21's.... Good luck!
Click to expand...

yea, was able to get a hold of 4 front wheels from a fellow member. Since they are the same width as the stock 21's, I figure it wouldn't be any worse than using stock 21's. I suppose I could have gone with putting them on stock 21's, but the lack of tire selection was one of the reasons I went with the GTR fronts for winter.

---------- Post added at 09:36 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:35 PM ----------
MTN FX said:
They are rated at 50k I believe this is my third winter and one summer because I was lazy this year and they still look great!
Heres a list of available sizes in Yoko AT/S......
http://www.thetirewarehouseinc.com/shop-for-tires/view/alltires/b/16.aspx
Click to expand...

oh wow, that sounds like pretty good use to me.

have you heard anything about the overall durability of blizzaks?
 
I have used Blizzaks for my last 5 or 6 cars. They are a fantastic dedicated winter tire, they are unbelievable for stopping and starting on ice and plowing through the snow. Nothing compares to a dedicated winter tire. They are made with different compounds for the cold weather and special siping for winter traction. For winter tires I am more concerned with safety rather than wear ratings.
 
GEE50FX said:
I have used Blizzaks for my last 5 or 6 cars. They are a fantastic dedicated winter tire, they are unbelievable for stopping and starting on ice and plowing through the snow. Nothing compares to a dedicated winter tire. They are made with different compounds for the cold weather and special siping for winter traction. For winter tires I am more concerned with safety rather than wear ratings.
Click to expand...

I agree also. Just would prefer to know if I can expect a coupe winters of daily use out of the tires, or whether I should expect to get a new set every winter.
 
ichiroll said:
I agree also. Just would prefer to know if I can expect a coupe winters of daily use out of the tires, or whether I should expect to get a new set every winter.
Click to expand...
You should be able to get a couple winters for sure. The important thing to remember is winter tire compounds are made for temps under 50F, if you drive a lot in temperatures warmer than that they will wear more rapidly.
 
I have Blizzaks DM-V1 on OEM 18". I've only done 1 winter with them, and I'm quite content with them. I live in northern Canada, and the winter here is very harsh. For me, I couldn't see myself spending a lot of money on bigger wheels that will get salt, dirt, and sand that are put on the roads in the winter. Plus, OEM 18" are more common, so I found an extremely good deal on them. It was in the ball-park of $100 per wheel. On top of that, I saved some money on smaller size tires.

Some food for thought for you. :smile (2):
 
Kanedean said:
Plus, OEM 18" are more common, so I found an extremely good deal on them. It was in the ball-park of $100 per wheel. On top of that, I saved some money on smaller size tires.
Click to expand...

another reason why I went with the GTR fronts for snow tires (more options).

unfortunately I won't be anywhere near $100/wheel but, atleast it'll be functional and looking good! :good:
 
I run 20" Hankook IPikes and love them, they are softer compound and like everyone has said are for colder weather. However, the i think the softer compound is more related to the the sidewalls than the tread allowing the tire to have a bigger footprint in the snow. I did not have time to change them immediately after this past winter and drove for a while after the snow had melted. I did not notice any extreme wear what so ever, but I will say that in curves the side walls felt squishy as that is what snow tires are meant to do. This will be my 3rd year on these tires and there is still PLENTY of tread life left! I wouldn't be so concerned about excessive tread wear but more about handling the curves in the warmer weather.
 
Renhalt said:
I run 20" Hankook IPikes and love them, they are softer compound and like everyone has said are for colder weather. However, the i think the softer compound is more related to the the sidewalls than the tread allowing the tire to have a bigger footprint in the snow. I did not have time to change them immediately after this past winter and drove for a while after the snow had melted. I did not notice any extreme wear what so ever, but I will say that in curves the side walls felt squishy as that is what snow tires are meant to do. This will be my 3rd year on these tires and there is still PLENTY of tread life left! I wouldn't be so concerned about excessive tread wear but more about handling the curves in the warmer weather.
Click to expand...

Understood, very useful info.

I'm not so concerned about driving during the spring/summer with them since I'll definitely swap them.
Just wondering if it's ok to be driving around all winter with them in case we don't get a ton of wintry weather.
 
Yes, you will not see any significant tread loss the tires are made to be used when it's cold out regardless of the road conditions besides the tread depth is much deeper than normal tires as well. I know alot of guys run the Yoko's which I do as well for my summer wheels but I run the Hankooks in the winter. And honestly, this was my first year running the Yoko's and I'm not as impressed with them as I was with the Hankook H06 summer tires, too bad they are nolonger availible in my size. Good luck!
 
this will be my 4th winter on my blizzaks and there is still lots of tread on them
 
I read your post and looked at where you live, with respect to the amount of snow that stays on the road for the entire winter season. I live in the Cleveland area and although we see our share of snow, it doesn't remain on the road all winter long- no doubt due to our prolific use of salt. I needed a tire that could handle the lake-effect snows that we get and yet, still not wear down when I'm driving on pavement in the other times. Ultimately, I needed a tire that was suited for winter primarily, but still afforded some degree of handling and the other positive attributes of an all-season tire, which a dedicated snow could not meet. I went with the Nokian WRG3 SUV to meet these needs. I've had them on for 5000 miles now and can't comment on the winter traction, but they do seem like a good compromise. They've got a 55,000 mile warranty and low-rolling resistance so I haven't seen any degradation with fuel economy. Only downside is that they are pretty pricey. This might be a good solution for you..
 
Nokian tires are fantastic tires. I have owned a set of Nokian Hakkapalittas and loved them. The WR's are supposed to be great performance type tire for all seasons.
 
frostyride said:
Ultimately, I needed a tire that was suited for winter primarily, but still afforded some degree of handling and the other positive attributes of an all-season tire, which a dedicated snow could not meet. I went with the Nokian WRG3 SUV to meet these needs. I've had them on for 5000 miles now and can't comment on the winter traction, but they do seem like a good compromise. They've got a 55,000 mile warranty and low-rolling resistance so I haven't seen any degradation with fuel economy. Only downside is that they are pretty pricey. This might be a good solution for you..
Click to expand...

GEE50FX said:
Nokian tires are fantastic tires. I have owned a set of Nokian Hakkapalittas and loved them. The WR's are supposed to be great performance type tire for all seasons.
Click to expand...

On the fence right now between Hakkapeliitta R2 and the WRG3.
It'd be nice to be driving around the GTR wheels in all-seasons, then again I'd have to 21-inch enkeis with summer dunlop to switch to...

View attachment 305824 View attachment 305825
 
I would be very temped to get the WRG3 Nokians for the GTR wheels, they apparently have a fantastic snow rating yet are a performance tire for all seasons.
 
Sorry! going with the Hakkepellittas!

Reviews for the WRG3 were good, but winter performance not even close to the Hakkepellittas.
I already have the 21inch dunlops for summer, and a staggered set of GTR wheels I could use if needed, so didn't want to sacrifice solid winter performance.

Going to get them installed on Friday, AND got the GTR wheels powder coated hyper black!

Can't wait to see the completed look!
 
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