Hey guys. I have a little dilemma and need some help.

Car: 1999 Honda Civic Si, tire size 195-55-15

My plan - Drive until November then get winter tires.

The problem - My current tires are so bald there not going to make it untill november.

Solution? - What would a good snow tire be that can still handle about 3000 miles of road until it actually starts snowing? I would hate to get blizzaks or something at 88 a tire to have them get worn a lot by driving on all pavement.

Any help would be great. Thanks

 

you are in a bad stop... but I think 3000 miles won't hurt a winter tire that much as long as you don't do any smoke show or stuff like that.

Here in Montreal we get alot of snow and I like to use Toyos winter tires. They are the best I find I have had 2 sets and they really grip well on snow and ice.

Dave

 

This is prime time for you to look at your local classifieds for used winter tires. There are a lot out there; some good some bad. If you look hard enough you can usually pick up a set barely used (3000mi or less) for crazy discount prices, sometimes even mounted on steelies.

The reason is; whenever someone trades in their car at a dealership they never give their winter tires because the dealership won't give them any money for them. The new car they get has a different bolt pattern and thus they sell their winter tires in the newspapers. I picked up 4 winter tires used 1500 mi for only $150

And no putting on your winter tires right now shouldn't hurt all that much, just don't do any spirited driving. Temperatures are already coming down, I saw frost in my area a few days ago in the morning.

Another thing to consider is that you will have to get new summer tires anyways, might want to consider getting them now if they are on separate rims.

Hope this helps,
Cheers!

 

old man neri hit it on the spot.....if you can't find them that way then you will have to buy some tires......i have 00 si and i use yoko f420 in the winter time mounted on mi stock si wheels and i use michelin x ice tires on my third car....i have yet to take off my x-ice tires since last winter and no sign of xtreme wear all year so far........yoko on the other hand will need to be replaced next winter...my snow tires only last me two winters.....hope this helps......

 

I agree with most of what neri said, particularly the part about getting summer tires now, since you'll need them later anyway (but also that you can use the winter tires for the next few months without harm).

Beware "deals" on used winter tires. They usually have shallow tread; remember, winter tires usually come new with 13/32" or 14/32" of tread. When winter tires are worn so that the tread depth is shallow, they just don't work as well. And I can't tell you how many sets I've seen with 5/32" of tread claimed as "good tread" or "50 percent tread" when in fact it's more like 20 percent and it's the WORST 20 percent. Most used winter tires I've seen are a really BAD deal.

 

Anyone have any other recommendations on tires. I was looking at the Dunlop Graspic D-2. Anyone have any experience with those?

 

There are a lot of excellent winter tires on the market, and most of them are available in 195/55-15. They tend to break down into two groups:

a) tires that have the very best traction on snow and ice, but have so-so ride and handling on days when it's not so cold; examples include the Bridgestone Blizzak WS-50, Dunlop Graspic DS-2, and Michelin X-Ice. (The Tire Rack calls these tires "studless ice and snow tires".)

b) tires that have good traction on snow and ice and in cold, although not quite as good as the previous group, but they also have very good ride and handling characteristics on days when it's not so cold; examples include the Bridgestone Blizzak LM-22, Dunlop Winter Sport M3, and the Michelin Pilot Alpin PA2. (The Tire Rack calls these tires "performance winter tires".)

The choice between these two categories depends on the climate in your area, how much highway driving you do in the winter, how much you care about ultimate snow/ice grip versus ride comfort, whether you have another vehicle to use in the worst of winter, etc. Oh, and the tires in category (a) are usually significantly less expensive than category (b), which may be important. For example, I want the best snow/ice traction and I don't mind sacrificing some ride comfort and handling for those three months a year (mid-December to mid-March around here), and winter weather here in Chicago can be fairly nasty, so I have category (a) tires. But your priorities may be different, and you might be better off getting the category (b) tires.

The best category (a) "studless" tires, IMHO, are the Bridgestone Blizzak WS-50. These tires have a "multicell compound" in the outer half of the tread, which acts like a sponge to soak up the moisture which melts when you drive on snow and ice. They really grip much, much better than other tires on those surfaces. Granted, they cost a bit more than the Dunlop Graspic DS-2. But keep in mind that one set of winter tires may last you 6-8 winter seasons, if you drive on them 2-3K miles per winter, so you won't need to buy another set for many years.

 

nsxtasy hit it on the money for you......

 

Thanks!! that was a well written explaination and exactly what I was looking for. Thanks again!