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[TheMidnightNarwhal]

Hey I burned my last year used winter tires so this is going to be the first time I buy brand new winter tires and I'm having a bit of a debate.

My used tires were Nokian hakkapeliitta r3 and they seemed to have worked pretty well. Never was stuck on city roads. I wanted to order from Costco since they would be able to mount them as well and they don't offer this tire.

I'm making this post because I'm also bit confused in the winter tires offerings. You can get "normal" winter tires and sports winter tire?

Are sports winter tire offerings there to be able to drive sporty when the roads are clear but in winter temps? So if what I want in a winter tire is to not get stuck and be able to drive speed limit safely would be best to get the normal type of winter tires rather than sport?

Also with the tire I get, I would like to get a tire that it's preformacne does not decrease a lot over time. I've read that the Blizzak WS90 do this for example which were the tires I was interested in but not so much anymore.

[CTinline-six]

I have General Altimax Arctics 205/55/16 on my 328i and they were perfect. Open diff RWD and drove through the mountains of upper state NY with 3-4" of snow and no problems. They were pretty cheap too and are nice and quiet.

[TheMidnightNarwhal]

Originally Posted by CTinline-six

I have General Altimax Arctics 205/55/16 on my 328i and they were perfect. Open diff RWD and drove through the mountains of upper state NY with 3-4" of snow and no problems. They were pretty cheap too and are nice and quiet.

I don't mind getting something name brand. My summer tires are Lexani's but for winter I really want the best even if it's just a slight performance increase.

[Gamb1t]

I just bought a set of Continental Wintercontact Si. Haven't mounted. Looking forward to use them. However winter in Vancouver is like Fall in Quebec.

[floydarogers]

Costco carries Michelin, Bridgestone and Goodyear only.

By the time the Blizzaks get worn beyond the special rubber (about 5 mm iirc), they're unsuitable for snow.

IMO, Hakkepelita, Blizzak and Michelin are the premium snow tires. They're almost always the top three.

Michelin Pilot Alpine is the high-performance tire, xIce the pure winter. Blizzak is similar (WS80 versus WS90 - or something like that).

[TheMidnightNarwhal]

Originally Posted by floydarogers

Costco carries Michelin, Bridgestone and Goodyear only.

By the time the Blizzaks get worn beyond the special rubber (about 5 mm iirc), they're unsuitable for snow.

IMO, Hakkepelita, Blizzak and Michelin are the premium snow tires. They're almost always the top three.

Michelin Pilot Alpine is the high-performance tire, xIce the pure winter. Blizzak is similar (WS80 versus WS90 - or something like that).

Okay. But high performacne vs pure winter what exactly does this mean? What even is a high performance winter tire?

[Sgop335]

Originally Posted by TheMidnightNarwhal

Okay. But high performacne vs pure winter what exactly does this mean? What even is a high performance winter tire?

I think a hi perf winter tire is speed rating V or above. They are better suited for low temps (good dry traction), higher speed and of course good in snow but perhaps not as good in snow as the low speed rating ones (pure winter as per your terminology). The pure winter ones in my experience are noisy not great for performance driving esp. in low temp and dry but are probably great in heavy snow because of the compound and treads.
So basically one would have boring driving when its just cold and dry out w the pure winter tire. Since hopefully that is the case in MD i choose a perf winter tire, which happens to be vredestein wintrac this time...make any sense?

[floydarogers]

Originally Posted by TheMidnightNarwhal

Okay. But high performacne vs pure winter what exactly does this mean? What even is a high performance winter tire?

H-speed rating (usually) is the differentiator. You lose some snow/ice performance (still much better than an all-season or horrors, summer) in a tradeoff for longer tread life. Note that most winter driving is done on pavement, where snow/ice isn't as important, but cold-weather performance is.

[TheMidnightNarwhal]

Originally Posted by Sgop335

I think a hi perf winter tire is speed rating V or above. They are better suited for low temps (good dry traction), higher speed and of course good in snow but perhaps not as good in snow as the low speed rating ones (pure winter as per your terminology). The pure winter ones in my experience are noisy not great for performance driving esp. in low temp and dry but are probably great in heavy snow because of the compound and treads.
So basically one would have boring driving when its just cold and dry out w the pure winter tire. Since hopefully that is the case in MD i choose a perf winter tire, which happens to be vredestein wintrac this time...make any sense?

Originally Posted by floydarogers

H-speed rating (usually) is the differentiator. You lose some snow/ice performance (still much better than an all-season or horrors, summer) in a tradeoff for longer tread life. Note that most winter driving is done on pavement, where snow/ice isn't as important, but cold-weather performance is.

Okok alright. Hakkepelita R3 I had last year drove fine and felt good with about 7/32 of thread although like I said in winter I don't ever see a chance to drive "sporty".

I may give a sport winter tire a go this year a try though... seems like the only sport winter tire Costco has would be the Pirelli winter sottozero 3 but I remember last year before finding the deal I got IIRC the reviews weren't to great in winter performance. To give you an idea here is what I want to be able to drive in if needed. There is also the WINTER 210 SOTTOZERO SERIE II I see now. My god there is so much choices that it just saturates...

I also would prefer something that doesn't gradually decrease in performance but rather around 7/32 or 6/32 it drops mostly there because anyways in inter I will change them at that thread.

I'm probably thinking this way to much uh? As I always do...

[TheMidnightNarwhal]

Originally Posted by Gamb1t

I just bought a set of Continental Wintercontact Si. Haven't mounted. Looking forward to use them. However winter in Vancouver is like Fall in Quebec.

Aye it is. I wish I could move to west coast one day it's so nice.

[floydarogers]

Originally Posted by TheMidnightNarwhal

...I may give a sport winter tire a go this year a try though... seems like the only sport winter tire Costco has would be the Pirelli winter sottozero 3 but I remember...

As I said, Costco carries Michelin, Bridgestone and Goodyear (no Pirelli).

You can order any of the tires from those brand catalog from Costco; either online or over the phone. Buy some Michelin Pilot Alpine 3. They may complain a bit about a non-RFT tire, but tell them it's ok. Michelin also makes a Primacy RFT (semi-high performance) in sizes that fit some BMWs.

[TheMidnightNarwhal]

Originally Posted by floydarogers

As I said, Costco carries Michelin, Bridgestone and Goodyear (no Pirelli).

You can order any of the tires from those brand catalog from Costco; either online or over the phone. Buy some Michelin Pilot Alpine 3. They may complain a bit about a non-RFT tire, but tell them it's ok. Michelin also makes a Primacy RFT (semi-high performance) in sizes that fit some BMWs.

Well probably different in Canada, I can buy Pirellis on the Costco tire website.

The Alpine 3 doesn't sell under selected size.

[Donutz]

I ran sotto zero ii for the last few years. They're great in the cold dry/wet, but the suck in the snow / ice. I'll be switching them out this year.

[TheMidnightNarwhal]

Originally Posted by Donutz

I ran sotto zero ii for the last few years. They're great in the cold dry/wet, but the suck in the snow / ice. I'll be switching them out this year.

Well there's that. I think I'll just get a new set of Nokian hakkapelitta r3, they worked well last year even at 7/32 / 8/32 so imagine as much or even better when newer. Why change something if it works well right?

I think safety is the priority rather than being able to drive sporty. Anyways in the winter sport/fun driving is drifting everywhere in the snow.

[Volasko]

I might be wrong but I always thought the Nokian brand was the top dog winter tire but cost the most. I think if your used this this performance already most other tire choices may be a disappointment.

Also I'd avoid the concept of the "performance" snow tire: they're expensive, don't last as long and aren't as effective in the deep snow as a dedicated option. As a fellow canuk you know when you need a snow tire you couldn't care less about anything but outright traction. Skip any tire that calls itself a performance snow. I've played around with a few tire options on my RWD 330i for winter and never had any issues, most of the tires were pretty low budget options and performed fine. I think you're thinking about this too much!

[TheMidnightNarwhal]

Originally Posted by Volasko

I might be wrong but I always thought the Nokian brand was the top dog winter tire but cost the most. I think if your used this this performance already most other tire choices may be a disappointment.

Also I'd avoid the concept of the "performance" snow tire: they're expensive, don't last as long and aren't as effective in the deep snow as a dedicated option. As a fellow canuk you know when you need a snow tire you couldn't care less about anything but outright traction. Skip any tire that calls itself a performance snow. I've played around with a few tire options on my RWD 330i for winter and never had any issues, most of the tires were pretty low budget options and performed fine. I think you're thinking about this too much!

Yeah same here Nokian in my head was the top brand.

Aye, when you are in need of a snow tire here all you really care about is traction. I think it's getting in my head that a performance snow tire is really just for areas with no much snow but that do get winter cold.

[Gamb1t]

I agree. I think you might be over-thinking this. Back when i was lived in Toronto, I had a Subaru Impreza 2.5RS coupe and it was shod with Motomaster Nordic-something from Canadian Tire. Not big brand name. But worked fine. Even took it to a few winter rally events and never had a problem. I would advise to run thinner width.

What you care about is traction. No one should be driving in a "performance" manner in heavy snow.... unless you are winter rallying.
And if the condition is that bad as in the photo above, I'd stay home.

[Volasko]

Originally Posted by TheMidnightNarwhal

Yeah same here Nokian in my head was the top brand.

Aye, when you are in need of a snow tire here all you really care about is traction. I think it's getting in my head that a performance snow tire is really just for areas with no much snow but that do get winter cold.

The "performance" part of a performance snow comes down to when the roads aren't covered in snow and nothing to do about how they work in the deep stuff.

Some decent value snow tires I would consider are Sailun Ice Blazers WST1 or Hankook iPike RS. I've ran both on my car and they did the trick.

[TheMidnightNarwhal]

Originally Posted by Volasko

The "performance" part of a performance snow comes down to when the roads aren't covered in snow

That never happens here in winter

[Volasko]

Originally Posted by TheMidnightNarwhal

That never happens here in winter

Well in TO it is. Our proximity to the relatively "warm" lake Ontario means we're usually getting rain when just 30 minutes north they're getting hammered. But like anything in life, when it DOES snow you damn well better be sure you got the right tools to handle the situation. This is why I'm so against the concept of a performance snow tire; you sacrifice tire life, cost and snow traction for a bit of extra sportiness in the dry. Who cares, no one is apex hunting when it's minus 10 deg C out!

[catcher22]

Originally Posted by Gamb1t

I just bought a set of Continental Wintercontact Si. Haven't mounted. Looking forward to use them. However winter in Vancouver is like Fall in Quebec.

I had the Wintercontact SI for the past 4 winter seasons or so. They were very good, decent wet/dry grip, great at dry stopping, ok stopping on wet/ice, ok handling, ok in light snow great in deep snow. A very quiet tire (not much noise at all). My XI was an absolute tank with them.

Just ordered WS80's on sale from tire rack and will see how those fare this year...I feel bad bad winter weather coming...

[catcher22]

Yeah, the performance part of a performance snow tire is mostly related to the tire's speed rating, it's dry road performance (grip during acceleration and stopping), and (often lack of) noise compared to a true snow tire.

Snow covered roads have nothing really to do with performance