You'd be okay if you're doing city driving, but I tend to follow the general rule of thumb and hold out until temperatures rise to 10 degree and above.

Mid to late March is when I swap out to summer tires.

Im gonna wait till end of February. I need to cut a notch on a hockey puck to place on my jack so it can go on the pinch welds before I lift the car.

i never put winters on this season :blush:

OH, :noyoudidnt:

A bit off topic but finished ordering my tires from Open Road Audi and they actually matched Kal Tire's price and discounted a further $20. Pretty impressive.

Once it's consistently over 7 degrees during the entire day (including overnight) then that means it's pretty safe to return to normal all seasons. You might run into the rare risk of snow over spring break, which had happened a few times in the past. But no real way to predict that sort of thing.

Most UHP's are only safe above 7 degrees, so if that's what you switch between then that's a fairly good rule of thumb

What about old kinda bald all seasons that came with the car vs a pss with more tread?

I'd run the PSS.

The PSS compounds are not meant to be as pliable in cold weather, but they still are designed to do a good job of evacuating water. Someone who isn't into cars would have a difficult time picking out the difference between a PSS and a PS3

If it were a toyo r888 or an re-71r then the answer might be different. But for just some wet weather hovering around 9 degrees (current Richmond temperature) the healthy PSS is a much safer choice then older worn out tires

I'm running winters on my ISF and planning to swap to my summers at the end of this month if the weather doesn't get any colder.

I'll probably do it next weekend after I figure out how to use my new jack in the factory pinch welds. I see people modding a piece of wood or hockey puck to do it.

Looking for some opinions from RS'ers.

Gonna take off my Nokian Hakka's in a week or so. The front's have approx 60% tread left, the rears 40%, but they are 8 years old now (manufactured in 2008 according to the sidewall). The snowflake is still visible within the tread grooves of all four tires. Worth it to run another winter season next year?

I've read that at about the 8 year mark, winter tires compounds have deteriorated to a point where they won't have the same ability to stop in icy conditions. Thoughts?

Depending on the source, I've read to replace tires every 5-10 years. Basically the compound hardens, which is really bad for a winter tire as that's one of the main advantages over all-seasons; the compound stays soft and compliant in cold temperatures.

NOAA is predicting neutral cycle, possibly entering into La Niña cycle next winter. So average, possibly below average temperatures for us. The past 2 years, we've been in the El Niño cycle, which is warmer than average in our area.

Climate Prediction Center: ENSO Diagnostic Discussion

genuine question...

do you really need winter tires in vancouver if you only drive inside the city? (Assuming you have all-season and not summer tires)

I know the "general rule" is that at 7'C and below, winter tires is better.
But i always thought that means: if the temperature is 8'C, all season will actually do better than winter tire...and the difference is probably minimal between 4-10'C.

I also see some tires manufacturer suggest all-season/all-weather tires do better on 5'C wet asphalt than winter tires. (which is more like 95% of vancouver winter road condition)
https://www.kaltire.com/wp-content/u...fo-graphic.jpg

A lot of people seem to hate on All-Weather tires, but I had the WRG2's for several winters and they worked well for me. I remember I was plowing through the snow in the big snowstorm of 2008. They are not good for icy conditions though, so you run the risk when temperatures plunge below 0.

Vancouver is probably the most difficult place for picking out winter tires. People in Cali ride on their summers all year long, people in Toronto should have the best winter tires money can buy. But us here in Vancouver? My Hakka's were great when I went up to Whistler several times, but for the past month I have been driving in wet and warm temperatures between 7-12 degrees, not optimal. I was taking a cloverleaf onto the highway a few weeks back while it was raining and my back-end almost slid out because it lost grip.

Bringing this back up in time for winter season. Toyo has dropped their hat into the all-weather tire game with the Celsius, and I picked up a set for my LS400. Considering it will be some time before I mod it, I needed something to bridge the gap thanks to the narrow price differences in dedicated winters and the Celsius.With only Nokian offering something in my size, the choices were limited until I found out about Toyo.


Will install and report when the weather starts sucking more.

For those of us rocking SUVs, or trucks, I want to report in that the Blizzard DM-V2s are a great choice for studless winter tires for larger vehicles. Remarkably quiet, smooth, with excellent traction.

What would be an equivalent to the Michelin Xice2 & 3 in terms of price and how it performs in winter conditions? Loved it on the IS300 but want to try something else on the new vehicle.

Picked up a set of lightly-used Blizzaks and OEM BMW wheels for $400 during the summer. Will pick up a new summer set pretty soon and put them on the newer, nicer OEM wheels.

The WRG2s are pretty much toast at this point. 8 years old, 90k on them. Road noise is insane.

I am trying to decide on a set of snow tires for my car. I am planning to go to bigwhite this year and maybe a few whistler day trip. Otherwise I will use it mostly in town. Should i go with WRG3 or Hakkapeliitta R2 SUV? Any other brand recommendation?

I used a set of Hakka R SUV for my Pathfinder a couple years ago. Managed to tackle everything I coukd throw at it up in the Interior. I imagine the R2's are even better.

Blizzak WS80, Nokian Hakkapeliita R2.
R2 SUV. They were amazing tires on my Forester before I switched vehicles. Not the best in the dry but unbeatable in snow and ice. Very good control, even at the limit, and goat like grip for non-studded tires.
I got to compare the R2 and the Hakka 7 studded and the R2 was pretty much as good without the road noise and vibration. They were on small CUVs but not the same vehicle unfortunately.

I use the Blizzaks DMV-1 for my RX and the Michelin Pilot Alpin PA2 for Mini.

The Blizzaks are great on ice and snow, but wear down faster on dry pavement. The Alpin PA2 I find don't wear down as fast, but on ice they're not comparable to the Blizzak DMV-1's.

Fall is here, freebies! : http://www.revscene.net/forums/71043...ml#post8790199

It's almost that time.....how many have slapped on their winter tires for city driving?

Will be putting mine some time next week depending on how busy it is at work