Here's what you need to consider before buying ;

Always consider your driving style and local conditions. If you don't see much snow during the winter, and you like to drive/corner fast on cold dry roads then look into the H-rated or V-rated "high performance" winter tires like the Bridgestone Blizzak LM60 or Dunlop Winter Sport 3D.

If your area gets heavier snow, and/or are often driving on packed snow and ice then look into a more aggressive "Studless Ice and Snow" tire. Among the best of this type are the Blizzak WS-70, Michelin XIce XI3, and Continental Extreme Winter Contact. Winter tires like these will offer the best in snow and ice traction, but will give up some dry road responsiveness over the more performance oriented H/V rated snow tires to get that additional traction.

If deep snow is your only concern and ice is almost never an issue, you can save some money and get the Firestone Winterforce or General Altimax Arctic. These two models have very aggressive tread patterns that make them exceptional in snow, but they lack the specialized rubber compound needed for good ice traction (which makes them less expensive). You can add studs to either model ( $15) to improve traction, but studs have been outlawed in many states and may put the combined price of the tire and studding very close to a Studless Ice and Snow tire......

Choosing between these two categories may be difficult and is mostly a personal preference choice for the trade off between snow traction versus dry road handling. Any dedicated snow tire will do better than a standard "all season" tire in light snow and ice, but keep in mind the worst conditions the tire may see and use that as a frame of reference.

--New/Updated products for 2012/2013 season:

The Michelin XIce XI3 has replaced the XI2 in nearly all sizes (with remaining sizes marked down for clearance). The tread pattern appears to be very similar between the two, but Michelin has increased the speed rating on the new model (in most sizes) in an effort to improve the "clear road" handling compared to the previous model. The Michelin Pilot Alpin PA4 will be slowly replacing the Pilot Alpin PA3 in a few sizes this season as well, with the same goal of improving dry road handling.


A few years back, the Bridgestone Blizzak LM60 replaced the Blizzak LM25. In the past the Blizzak LM25 and the popular Dunlop WinterSport 3D tires were considered very equal to each other in snow traction and in dry road handling/cornering and were the tires of choice in this category. The redesigned LM60 is moves the balance closer to the snow traction side of the equation by using the more aggressive tread pattern of the WS60 but with a compound and construction of a high performance snow tire like the Dunlop WinterSport 3D. This tire will be an ideal choice for someone having trouble deciding between the high performance snow tires that sacrifice a lot of snow traction and the Studless Ice and Snow tires that lack crisp handling and dry grip. Having used the LM60 on my Pontiac G8 GT last year, I feel the LM60 ideally suits many drivers needs in this forum well for an ideal balance of snow/ice traction while still keeping acceptable dry handling and grip for the non-snowy days.


And one last thing;

Don't wait too long. Ordering early when most products are still available lets you choose what you want to buy rather than being forced to settle for what is left over. We have been hit with delays and shortages from our manufacturers already ! Tires and wheels purchased together are mounted and balanced at no charge to make changeover easy !

Click here for more info or to order !

 

Lemme ask you a question Doc. Just how bad are summer tires in the winter? I'm kinda strapped for cash so would prefer to buy one set of tires that will last this winter and obviously into next summer. It seems the borderline (for 195 or 205/50/15) between summer and winter tires are Yokohama S.Drive, Nitto Neogen VR, and Sport-Comp 2's for the summer. Kuhmo ASX, Exalto H/S, Ziex 912, or contiprocontact for all-season/winter. I REALLY want to be able to run summer tires but if they're THAT bad in the winter then i'll go with all-seasons.

 

^Summer tires do not work in snow conditions. All-season tires are not to be used either. The vehicle can move still, but there is a specific reason not to be using anything but snow tires.

 

I agree that you should never run summer tires in the snow. That is just asking for trouble! However, I have been running all season tires on all of my cars for the past 15 winters and :knocksonwood: My wife and I have never had any issues. My parents never ran two sets of tires ether....

No matter what tires you are using. If it's snowing out and you find it hard to stop or turn, your driving too fast for the conditions... Slow the F#@k down!

First snow fall I always go out to the nearest large parking lot and get the feel for how my car will handle. E-Brake slides, quick starts, stops, speed turns, you name it. I try it all until I feel confident that I can handle the conditions.

 

Yeah i have no clue what darklord is talking about...they're called ALL-season tires for a reason. My car is great in the snow with all-seasons. In fact, it's pretty much what i've been driving on my entire life.

 

Thanks for the great info. I'm gonna purchase some snow tires as soon as this winter passes. Only one month or so left of snowy months left so rather save the money for better ones.

 

Actually now is the time to buy them for next year. A lot of tire shops are having winter clearance sales. I know the shop down the road from me is selling their remaining winter stock at 30% off.

As far as winter goes for me. So far this year I haven't needed snow tires and I drive 530 miles a week for work..... All seasons have worked just great the 2 times that I actually had to drive in 30-40cm of snow. Saved myself $600 again this year!

Actually helped pull two 4x4 trucks out of the ditch that were running brand new snow tires...lol Ironic eh! They were driving to fast for the conditions and thought that their $1000 & $800 winter tires would save them. reason I know how much they paid is becuase I asked them both as we were pulling them out of the ditch.


If you have the money and want to give yourself a sense of security for winter driving, spend it! I agree that they will give you better traction and work great in colder temps. However, as soon as the warmer temps come around they will start to degrade quickly. They are made of a much softer rubber compound. So swap them out for your summer/all season tires as soon as possible. That way you should be able to use them for a few winters.

 

I ran my Winterforces into late March once, never again. The tires felt like they were made of butter and it was only about 60 degrees. I did like how chunky they looked though, almost like a rally car or something.