Winter tire discussion for grown ups thread.

[supafamous]

Originally Posted by 68style

After driving my dad's stock Highlander around on the factory all seasons in all kinds of snow conditions in the lower mainland I cannot imagine why any somewhat proper SUV needs snow tires locally.

Besides ride height, SUVs have no inherent advantages over a regular car in the snow. If anything the fact that they stop and turn worse makes them need winter tires more than a regular car.

I think winter tires in Vancouver is ultimately a preference and situation for people - we don't get a tonne of snow and we get a relatively low number of icy days. For me, it's worth the money to ensure I can travel where I need to when I need and to have that extra bit of safety - my wife certainly feels more comfortable driving with winters than all-seasons.

Situation wise, places like Coquitlam and some parts of Burnaby are not particularly drivable when it snows, same with parts of the North Shore. I've driven past many a car and SUV stuck in the snow after work on roads like Moscrop and even on Willingdon (rare).

[roverT]

Being stuck in snow with an SUV and all seasons is the cheapest part of inconvenience. Crashing your SUV because of lack of deceleration/lateral grip is the much more expensive part compared to just purchasing winters. When I was traveling on highway one and even highway 99 in snow dumps, rarely did I see passenger “cars” in the ditch or crashed. It was usually SUVs and trucks. There is quite a confidence that an SUV appears to give but they do not have any entitlement to physics. Our Sienna AWD handles great in deep snow with all seasons and I think it would be hard to get yourself stuck with a little bit of common sense. When I put Hakkapeliitta winters on the vehicle for the next year, snow handling changed dramatically.

There is a balance and for some people they can’t just go all out on every security expense. If we could, we’d all be driving G wagens and Range Rovers in the snow. But if you have winters on, it’s not like you’ve lost money long term. Since your non winter tires are stored and not being worn out while you winter tire.

I’ve had a handful of occasions where winter tires have made the difference of avoiding someone who has lost control or being slammed into them. While that’s probably a low percentage chance of it happening (using common sense) to you during any given snowfall drive, it’s up to your balance of peace of mind to yourself and others around you.

[yray]

xice were terrible this morning with the fog

nothing like a 4000lb powerslide to wake you up

[trollface]

Originally Posted by yray

xice were terrible this morning with the fog

nothing like a 4000lb powerslide to wake you up

To be fair, they never advertised Xice for fog. You need fog tires for fog. Not ice tires.

[underscore]

Originally Posted by supafamous

Besides ride height, SUVs have no inherent advantages over a regular car in the snow. If anything the fact that they stop and turn worse makes them need winter tires more than a regular car.

They're also heavier and harder to stop.

Originally Posted by roverT

When I was traveling on highway one and even highway 99 in snow dumps, rarely did I see passenger “cars” in the ditch or crashed. It was usually SUVs and trucks. There is quite a confidence that an SUV appears to give but they do not have any entitlement to physics.

It's almost always a truck or newer SUV. If it is a car it's usually a Subaru. Trucks have more clearance and more weight so they tend to make it further from the road before stopping because they tried to drive out of it.

[SkunkWorks]

Anyone have experience with Costco's road hazard warranty?

On a road trip right now and noticed a chunk missing out of our 3 year old Blizzak WS80s.

As the 90s are out now, would they replace with that? And would the warranty cover the second tire on the same axle as well (due to significant difference in tread depth with new)?

I'll call when back across the border but I know 320i lurks here...

[68style]

I think the biggest problem with most SUV’s is they don’t even come with all seasons... they come with performance tires... so that’s a non-starter regardless of the vehicle’s capabilities.

[yray]

Originally Posted by trollface

To be fair, they never advertised Xice for fog. You need fog tires for fog. Not ice tires.

they are shit on ice too

[AstulzerRZD]

Originally Posted by yray

they are shit on ice too

And the slush.

Great on dry roads tho, quieter than MXM4 imo!

[trollface]

Originally Posted by yray

they are shit on ice too

Thats what studz are for.

[bcrdukes]

WTB: Fog tires

[jackmeister]

Hey Guys I'm looking for a new set of tires for my Audi S6. My tire size is 255/35/20

I'm leaning towards Continental DWS06 but I'll be running them all year. Would this tire be a good A/S tire to drive around in? My car came w/ performance tires and I need to replace them.

I also have a SUV at home that I was thinking of getting the same tires as strictly winter tires (will run stock tires on the drier months)

[BIC_BAWS]

Originally Posted by jackmeister

Hey Guys I'm looking for a new set of tires for my Audi S6. My tire size is 255/35/20



I'm leaning towards Continental DWS06 but I'll be running them all year. Would this tire be a good A/S tire to drive around in? My car came w/ performance tires and I need to replace them.



I also have a SUV at home that I was thinking of getting the same tires as strictly winter tires (will run stock tires on the drier months)

Well for starters, where do you live? Do you go to work in the morning before they plow?

Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk

[supafamous]

Originally Posted by BIC_BAWS

Well for starters, where do you live? Do you go to work in the morning before they plow?

Also:
- Do you need to be able to get somewhere regardless of weather conditions?
- What routes do you drive that are essential?
- Are there places you plan on going that are outside of your regular zone? Eg. Whistler or Westwood Plateau or the Malahat

[TOPEC]

Originally Posted by jackmeister

Hey Guys I'm looking for a new set of tires for my Audi S6. My tire size is 255/35/20

I'm leaning towards Continental DWS06 but I'll be running them all year. Would this tire be a good A/S tire to drive around in? My car came w/ performance tires and I need to replace them.

I also have a SUV at home that I was thinking of getting the same tires as strictly winter tires (will run stock tires on the drier months)

If ur gonna have stock tires for the drier months then y aren’t u buying dedicated winter tires for the SUV?

[supafamous]

https://www.automobilemag.com/news/c...ires-snow-ice/

Maybe not news to us but a pretty decent writeup about the different types of winter tires available that you can share with friends and family who are considering winter tires.

FWIW, I got the Continental WinterContact TS850 P that they mention in the article. In dry conditions I've been super impressed - great steering response and ride. None of the squishiness that comes with Blizzak or X-Ice tires.

[trollface]

You guys doing Nurburgring runs in Richmond working your apexes or something in the winter? Steering responses on snow tires...

[sonick]

Originally Posted by trollface

You guys doing Nurburgring runs in Richmond working your apexes or something in the winter? Steering responses on snow tires...

Hazelbridge Canadian Tire to Lansdowne togue stage.

[supafamous]

Originally Posted by trollface

You guys doing Nurburgring runs in Richmond working your apexes or something in the winter? Steering responses on snow tires...

Southbound on Boundary onto Joyce man, how am I supposed to go sideways through there in the winter properly.

I like to have winter tires (not snows) that feel like I'm not driving a boat and I don't need the snow chomper grade tires anyways (Blizzaks, Nokians, Altimax Arctic)

[jackmeister]

Originally Posted by BIC_BAWS

Well for starters, where do you live? Do you go to work in the morning before they plow?



Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk

I live in the Victoria/Marine area and its a lot of hills in the inside streets. They don't plow the inside streets and sometimes plow Victoria Drive. I work in Richmond so relatively safe (myself, not other people driving). I'd still prefer M+S because my original stock tires that were brand new was slipping and sliding when I tried driving in fresh snow (1cm)

Originally Posted by TOPEC

If ur gonna have stock tires for the drier months then y aren’t u buying dedicated winter tires for the SUV?

I thought of getting dedicated winter tires for SUV but mostly when my mom drives it or when I take it up the ski hills. Are there better options? Due to previous experience I will be buying wheels + tires. Had tires / wheel damage when they change it back and forth.

Audi is my daily driver
SUV is the car my mom and I share (when I need it).

[underscore]

If you want less floaty feeling snow tires get something like the Hankook i*Pike W419, they've got really stiff sidewalls.

[yray]

got some conti wintercontact si+ from cambodian tire for $184 instead of $249

pretty good in the rain so far

[lowside67]

Originally Posted by supafamous

FWIW, I got the Continental WinterContact TS850 P that they mention in the article. In dry conditions I've been super impressed - great steering response and ride. None of the squishiness that comes with Blizzak or X-Ice tires.

Just put my new Blizzak WS90s on my Mazda 3 and even though I'm going from 18" summer tires --> 16" Blizzaks, the WS90s are leaps and bounds better than the WS70s I had which were squishy AF.

These tires ride great, I am a huge fan.

-Mark

[roverT]

Good to know about WS90s!! Just jacked up and mounted Hakkapeliitta winters on our Sienna AWD today so it’s good for winter beast mode!

[320icar]

Ws90’s are twice as heavy as the old ws80 and the sidewall is significantly stiffer. Hopefully they’ve also improved the tread life