neonovice Posted December 2, 2014 Share Posted December 2, 2014 I missed nothing... So, you disagree that tyres that are suitable for 6 months of winter may not be suitable for the occasional 6 days in 6 months? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greenmeanie Posted December 2, 2014 Share Posted December 2, 2014 I live in Switzerland and drive up into the Jura for work during the week and the Alps at the weekend. I run Nokian Hakkapalitta (sp?) on my 110. They see a combination of wet cold tarmac, dry tarmac, crappy wet snow, powder snow and lastly ice. Having them is a night and day difference over normal Cooper Discoverer ST Maxx (Itself a winter rated tyre with the little cavities for adding studs). They do really well in all conditions except the thin slush behind the plow and wet sheet ice. Nothing much short of studded tyres really works there though. For what its worth I usually swap rubber in December and run through to April each year and the snow tires are on their 4th season with every expectation of getting a 5th out of them too. I'll be keeping a close eye on tread depth to see if they make it to a 6th season. Oh, the general justification here is that when you have the snow tyres on the regular tyres are not wearing out so you get a longer lifetime out of them too. As stated earlier chains are great for deep snow (Think chassis deep) but for everyday driving on roads they are just a pain. I have not needed them here in 5 years of hauling up into the Alps for snow boarding. Other than for some very specific locations/purposes I'd call them a waste of time in the UK. Now in mud....... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ex Member Posted December 2, 2014 Share Posted December 2, 2014 If we excluded studded what would be your recommendation Red? For pure ice, probably the X-ice Xi3 or Hakkapeliitta R2, although it would be best to check this year's tire test that they do in Norway. My current tyre of preference is the General Arctic Altimax. It is a rebadged Gislaved Nordfrost 3. It is not quite as good on pure ice, but is much better in snow than the newer tires and a lot cheaper. They do an LT version that is a great choice with a deeper tread. There has been a push in the last 5 years for best ice performance, but it has been at the cost of snow performance, IME. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CwazyWabbit Posted December 2, 2014 Share Posted December 2, 2014 Cheers Red Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chicken Drumstick Posted December 3, 2014 Share Posted December 3, 2014 For the record, most 4x4 tyres, be it AT's or MT's are normally rated as "M&S" stamped on the side, meaning Mud & Snow. This does not mean they are a winter tyre, but does mean they are rated as all season, including snow. Proper winter tyres are superb for the conditions they are designed to be used in. Softer compound and importantly "sipes" give them unrivalled traction on ice and compacted snow. The compound also works better than normal summer tyres below approx 7 degrees C, although it's not a straight drop off in performance of the summer tyres. The downside is if the temps are not lower than 7 degrees C, then winter tyres can get torn up quickly on tarmac, especially if you corner hard. However your intended use and actual conditions will also make a large contribution to what works. In deep fresh snow, a more aggressive MT might well prove the most affective tyre. Or on deep frosted snow. And especially if you are driving over snow covered mud and grass. Driving style is also a major factor too. Remember a 4x4 like a Defender can offer 4 wheel engine braking (with centre diff lock). And you have low range. FWD cars, no matter what tyres they run do not offer these things. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chicken Drumstick Posted December 3, 2014 Share Posted December 3, 2014 You'll get more stopping capability with winter tyres for sure... 4x4 or not. This is quite telling: Good vid. Really wish they'd expanded it and re-run all the tests again with the 4wd car on the winter tyres though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bowie69 Posted December 3, 2014 Share Posted December 3, 2014 There are other videos on YT showing the same, this was pretty relevant to our conditions though. I think with 4x4 on winter tyres you would likely get greater cornering and acceleration than 2WD, but still not be able to stop so fast -in fact slightly slower due to weight of additional drivetrain. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chicken Drumstick Posted December 3, 2014 Share Posted December 3, 2014 Emergency stopping yes, but you should deploy plenty of engine braking in snow, just as you would off road on mud. AWD will allow more engine braking before traction being lost. So general "slowing" the AWD car on winters should probably be the better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deepmud Posted January 14, 2015 Share Posted January 14, 2015 No one likes Blizzaks? I love them - I'm in the "6 months of ice" category - I think for 6 days I'd just chain up and go slow. I like Blizzaks better than studs. Studs work somewhat better on water-on-ice, but not drasticly so. On wet slush or fresh wet snow, I give the advantage to Blizzaks. Blizzaks perform at 100% effective until the "magic layer" wears off. Studs begin to be less effective by the 2nd year - by year 3, you don't want to toss them but you maybe should anyway. I've gotten 6 years on one set of Blizzaks on a Suzuki Sidekick. I got 3 years on my fullsize Ford Expedition - but I didn't swap them out the summber after year 2 - I maybe could have gotten 4 years if I had been careful. I tell people "Blizzaks tires mean check your 6!!!" - look behind you when braking - you may not realize how bad the conditions are for everyone behind you - you want to avoid being rear-ended. My co-worker talked his mother into a set - she's not a great driver - she did a "brake check" on a slick hill and caused several cars behind her to have to dive into the ditch. They really are a great snow/ice tire. Erik Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ex Member Posted January 14, 2015 Share Posted January 14, 2015 No one likes Blizzaks? They are mediocre. I have a set on one car right now and they are okay, but pretty poor in comparison to the better winter tyres. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deepmud Posted January 15, 2015 Share Posted January 15, 2015 Hmm. I disagree. Especially - compare the studded tire(tyre) at 2nd or 3rd year of use. The first season - I'm surprised you are saying "they are okay" - they are becoming the tire of choice for my friends and I, and we've gone to them on our company cars, year round. They dont' get a lot of miles and the costs of swapping every spring and fall plus tire storage make the quick-wear of the blizzaks (year round) about a wash - we get about 3 winters out of a set. I would love some real-world, back to back comparisons of exact-same model vehicle, one with blizzaks, the other with a good studded tire like a hakkapeliitta . I can only say my own experience says I'd give the edge to the studs only the first season or less. I can add one more thin----- I think the blizzaks are LESS grippy on dry pavement - I'm so much happier with them on ice/slush and snow I put up with it but I bet they give up 20% of stopping distance on pavement. Something to consider. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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