New tires, advise?

[RH77]

Originally Posted by lovemysan

I live in Kansas city. I can get by with all seasons. I also don't commute and don't drive in situations were black ice is an issue. To me its not worth the risk. I'm running a michelin harmony. Wonderful tires but I doubt they make them for your size.

For Minnesota I would recommend a set of winter tires also. Its cheap insurance.

KC here too and with Michelin "Green-X" Energy MXV4 XSE's -- I do end up driving in situations with black ice (although few tires will help you there). Great RR, but again, probably not available in a lot of larger sizes. I've found them to be pretty durable with overinflation and potholes / rough roads.

A good set of treads aren't cheap, that's for sure. Snow tires -- well, it depends on how comfortable (and often) you'll be in the snow. Consider that you have to swap them out every year -- if you kept the steelies, maybe mount a set on those and swap them yourself to save on the mount/balance/stem costs each year.

RH77

[cwarnar]

Another one to check out is Nokian, I am going to go with the i3 all season. I too live in Sask but have yet to run into major ice issues running all season tires my whole auto life.

http://www.nokiantires.com/en/summer_suv.aspx

[dremd]

Are you planning on staying in Cali? if So do you ever get snow / ice where you are?

I've never in my life driven in snow or ice, so I can't help with winter tires.

[brucepick]

OK guys, these tire size calculators will help you find wider/narrower/different rim size tires to match your oem tire diameter. Will do various other calculations re. tire sizing and diameter and what your speedometer will say.

Please save the addresses or bookmark them so you have it when you need it.

http://www.wickedbodies.net/Tire-Size-Calculator.htm
http://ejelta.com/tiresize/index.htm...l=&maxdelta=10

[DifferentPointofView]

_NO_ all season tire is remotely acceptable for winter driving.

Yes, but some All terrains are. A/T are designed mostly for muddy and slushy conditions in mind, just a thought.

You could get some tires for the steelies, winter tires are real cheap compared to all-seasons or A/T's.

What about trying some 215-70-16's? less revs per mile, and those 65's will get smaller and your speedo will be off the longer you drive on it. also just a thought.

[Chris D.]

I'm planning on getting some LRR all seasons for my 16's and find a set fo 15" steelies for the snow tires..

How can one tell a LRR tire?

for my 16's I'm looking at some 215 65 16's..
215 70 16's arent really available from what I've looked for..

[hvatum]

Originally Posted by Figjam74

I used to take risks. I also used to have Ford Ranger 3 years ago with some good all-season tires on it. It never got stuck in the snow either, then on March 17th, the last snow of the year hit just before I started home on my daily commute. The near-zero(Celsius) temperatures and strong wind polished the road. I was about 2 km's from the city limits when the truck caught a gust of wind which pushed it sideways on the highway. We (me and the guy I carpool with) hit the ditch between the divided highway at about a 45 degree angle. The tires dug into the built up snow, causing us to roll sideways once, landing back on our wheels, while we carried on across the oncoming lanes of traffic finally stopping in the opposing ditch.

...

Anyway, that's my PSA. I run studded winter tires now whenever snow or ice is a concern, and I recommend that anyone who has to deal with snow at least semi-regularly have a set because the risk simply is not worth the couple hundred dollars worth of savings.

Well said!

My friend was just procrastinating on getting winter tires, ended up causing a five car pileup. I'm not sure if he would have avoided it if he'd had winter tires, but I bet he would have. If he just had a little more grip I'm thinking he would have not spun out and lost all control. He certainly would not have hit them with as much speed. He was pulling around a bend at about 35 with some snow (limit 65), usually it's totally clear there, but just then two cars had rammed each other a few hundred feet up and there was a backup. If he'd been there five minutes earlier or later he would have been fine. Of if he'd been going 20. That ended up costing him about $10,000.

If you're willing to drive 10MPH slower the whole winter, then by all means skip getting winter tires. Otherwise not having winter tires in Minnesota is just irresponsible and on average will NOT save you money. IF you don't get winter tires, at least invest in some chains so you don't get stuck in a stupid parking lot somewhere and look like an idiot (which you would be). I once watched my neighbor (she thinks she doesn't need winter tires) sitting in her driveway for about 30 minutes trying to get her car out after some snow, probably used at least $20 worth of gas and wear and tear on the tranny.

Even cheap snow tires are better than good all season tires in the snow.

[thebrad]

List of top LRR tires

http://greenseal.org/resources/repor...resistance.pdf

From the looks of it a winter tire made it into #6

[RH77]

Originally Posted by thebrad

List of top LRR tires

http://greenseal.org/resources/repor...resistance.pdf

From the looks of it a winter tire made it into #6

I had those tires (Bridgestone Blizzak WS-50) in the Winter of 04-05. Excellent ice and snow performance. Good dry-road handling as well.

FE, um, dunno (was on an Evo)

RH77

[Chris D.]

Originally Posted by thebrad

List of top LRR tires

http://greenseal.org/resources/repor...resistance.pdf

From the looks of it a winter tire made it into #6

Thanks for the link

I plan on going from a 225 60 16 to a 215 65 16, not much, but it should help a little.. These will be for my all around tires..
and I'll be as close to the factory 205 75 15's

I'm currently looking for a set of 15" steelies for winter time tires so I can run the factory size 205 75 15 tires (also much cheaper)

If I stepped it down to a 14" wheel, the tires would have to be wider because I cant find a 205 80 14..

So 15" FTWinter

My sisters lived in Minnesota for a long time and does all seasons and has been just fine..
Frank Lee, you live in MN?