Winter tire discussion for grown ups thread.

[RabidRat]

How is everyone liking their current tires this season, and on what vehicle?

So far - on the i3 - I'm not finding the outright traction of the Conti VikingContact 7s particularly strong, but imo it more than makes up for it in predictability. Whether in powder or ice, it feels confident: everything happens in slow mo and I get pretty straightforward outcomes from steering corrections.

Road feel on dry pavement is for sure a bit squishy but seems acceptable.

Edit: They are 155/70/19 which likely skews the characteristics some

[TypeRNammer]

Tesla Model Y on 235/55/18 Conti Viking 7

Seems to be okay, I can't really tell since there hasn't been any snow this year

Will report back if and whenever there's a snow dump

[radeonboy]

Originally Posted by RabidRat

How is everyone liking their current tires this season, and on what vehicle?

So far - on the i3 - I'm not finding the outright traction of the Conti VikingContact 7s particularly strong, but imo it more than makes up for it in predictability. Whether in powder or ice, it feels confident: everything happens in slow mo and I get pretty straightforward outcomes from steering corrections.

Road feel on dry pavement is for sure a bit squishy but seems acceptable.

Edit: They are 155/70/19 which likely skews the characteristics some

My local 1010Tire said VikingContact7 isn’t really suitable for our lower mainland roads - something about them slipping more than average in rain/snow.

My x-ice snow does well as intended. It’s my second car with them and never had problems with them.

[red kryptonite]

snowdragons on x5

the last 2 weeks been super cold, no snow yet but the roads are frosty in the mornings.
so far no problems, still very confident feeling, good feedback. no drastic loss in stopping distance.

[AstulzerRZD]

Originally Posted by radeonboy

My local 1010Tire said VikingContact7 isn’t really suitable for our lower mainland roads - something about them slipping more than average in rain/snow.

My x-ice snow does well as intended. It’s my second car with them and never had problems with them.

Yep, like the all weathers, most winters blow in the wet.

X Ice snow is the best of them in wet but imo still noticeable

[68style]

I've got Viking Contact 7's in Calgary and they've been really good in all conditions... the only thing holding them back ever is the Kia they're on having an open diff so it can only use 1 tire to claw its way up inclines on ice.

I basically drive around whenever it's snowy or icy like it's a dry road.

The snow is definitely much less wet here than Vancouver though.

[roastpuff]

Originally Posted by TypeRNammer

X Ice Snows for 235/45/18 at $229.59 seems like a decent price

Thoughts on it in terms of pricing?

I've previously had X Ice Snows on my previous BMW X1 and absolutely blasted through the previous snow dumps in Metro Vancouver


EDIT:

I currently have Momo Tires NORTH POLE W-2 on my Model 3, and it's the definition of hot garbage. Had it on for 3 winter seasons. The compound is on the harder side, and gets stuck on my street when there's a snow dump

That's about as good as it gets for Michelins - especially if you can stack CT money bonuses. I stacked a 25x + 10x + $10 on $200 (or something) and basically got $200 back in CT money on the tire. I could have done more if I had the CT Mastercard.

Originally Posted by RabidRat

How is everyone liking their current tires this season, and on what vehicle?

So far - on the i3 - I'm not finding the outright traction of the Conti VikingContact 7s particularly strong, but imo it more than makes up for it in predictability. Whether in powder or ice, it feels confident: everything happens in slow mo and I get pretty straightforward outcomes from steering corrections.

Road feel on dry pavement is for sure a bit squishy but seems acceptable.

Edit: They are 155/70/19 which likely skews the characteristics some

Running the X-Ice Snows this year, they have been good so far in the dry and wet, pretty much feels like an all season tire. Super quiet and comfortable too, overall.

Took them out ice racing this weekend, and they did terrific too. The sheet ice area gave everyone trouble but the X-Ice Snows did the best they could to pull the car forward. Straight line standing start/traction was mind blowing - a bunch of the guys thought I had studs considering how I shot out of the corners/start gate. They also held the slip angle nicely if you get the entry right.

So far, have been impressed with these.

[yray]

Originally Posted by trollface

Still on indy500.

please report

[Badhobz]

He’s dead !!! I’m sure of it

[trollface]

Still on indy500, but the car is stuck in the driveway.

If i had a golf R i would be ok.

[jcmaz]

I have a set of BFG Trail Terrain T/As on the RAV4 Prime in 17 inch, stock RAV4 sizing. It's a all season, 3 Peak, MS tire that is more suited for FSR roads than the snow/slush that we get here.

There is an increase in wet/slush traction. OK in snow but I think dedicated snow tires such as Michelin X-ice Snows would offer better traction. The only benefit is that you can run it year round.

[RabidRat]

I'm cringing in anticipation of Badhobz coming after you with the CC2 shame train.

How do you find them in the rain, in the rest of the year? Was thinking about getting those possibly in the Spring.

[underscore]

This is year 3 with X Ice Snows on our Rav and they've yet to disappoint me. We finally got some snow and as far as it's concerned the road is just different colours sometimes.

The Celica was unstoppable over the weekend with studded Hakkapeliitas but those are a bit excessive for most of you guys lol.

[red kryptonite]

just enough snow to be inconvenient but not enough to have fun.
the snowdragons are still meeting my expectations. no trouble in the city with light snow, didnt kick out on me unless i wanted it to. got me up an down an icy hill without getting stuck. good bite when accelerating and reasonable stopping distance.

[trollface]

Still on Indy500.

Not sure what the big deal is.

[yray]

Originally Posted by trollface

Still on Indy500.

Not sure what the big deal is.

do some donuts

[Klondike]

Update: The Vikingcontact 7s are worth every penny. Tons of grip. Stops without ABS kicking in.

If I tried dumping the clutch with no gas in a snow packed alley, it would probably stall.

And these tires are damn near silent. My 'goodride' winters sound like an expo line skytrain.

This morning's commute of slush + snow was the ultimate test. I could feel it bite into the wet snow, feathered the clutch and took off without any fuss. Stops were drama-free.

M+S 3 season tires gotta go

Spoiler!

YouTube

[Hondaracer]

X-ice 3’s have been killing it in this snow absolutely zero wheel spin outside of trying to make them go.

Those + ice mode limited slip, I think you’d be good in almost any winter scenario outside of sheer ice

[westopher]

I'm on x ice and m3 has lsd. Was all good except getting up lonsdale past queens on Saturday. Had to turn around. Total ice, super steep and heavy snow made it a no go. Easy to manoeuvre around though. Lots of awd vehicles stuck far below where I got to.

[68style]

Someone in Calgary tried to tell me driving in reverse up a hill is the same as having front wheel drive if you have a rear drive car... I let him pontificate on it for a bit before pointing out to him that almost all snow tires are directional so the bite on the tread is pointing the wrong way AND there's no engine back there to provide grip lol

He was like "DERRR Don't knock it till you try it"

Okay man

[EvoFire]

Originally Posted by 68style

Someone in Calgary tried to tell me driving in reverse up a hill is the same as having front wheel drive if you have a rear drive car... I let him pontificate on it for a bit before pointing out to him that almost all snow tires are directional so the bite on the tread is pointing the wrong way AND there's no engine back there to provide grip lol

He was like "DERRR Don't knock it till you try it"

Okay man

If you aren't making it up a hill, it doesnt matter if you are FWD or RWD, you still aren't making up that hill cause traction.

[BIC_BAWS]

Originally Posted by 68style

Someone in Calgary tried to tell me driving in reverse up a hill is the same as having front wheel drive if you have a rear drive car...

@roverT reminds me of when you told me to back out of my driveway in the snow lol = rwd

Sent from my SM-G781W using Tapatalk

[Badhobz]

Originally Posted by 68style

Someone in Calgary tried to tell me driving in reverse up a hill is the same as having front wheel drive if you have a rear drive car... I let him pontificate on it for a bit before pointing out to him that almost all snow tires are directional so the bite on the tread is pointing the wrong way AND there's no engine back there to provide grip lol

He was like "DERRR Don't knock it till you try it"

Okay man

Uhhh why would you want fwd characteristics going up a hill anyways ? Weight transfer to the rear and you get less traction on your drive wheels.

That’s why rwd generally performs better then fwd going up a hill if tires are equal.

To back up a hill with rwd is idiotic in that sense alone.

[EvoFire]

Originally Posted by Badhobz

Uhhh why would you want fwd characteristics going up a hill anyways ? Weight transfer to the rear and you get less traction on your drive wheels.

That’s why rwd generally performs better then fwd going up a hill if tires are equal.

To back up a hill with rwd is idiotic in that sense alone.

Dragging the car up the hill is more stable than having the back end slide around all over the place.

The M3 will climb a hill in the snow, but it'll gladly climb it doing a 30 degree angle drift up the whole hill.

[westopher]

Same things gonna happen in a fwd but less pronounced cause they are all 1wd as well.