Thread: Snow tires

What is a good cheep tire? I will only run them while snow is on the ground and I plan to put them on steel rims. Should I go with a more narrow tire?

Whatever is the cheapest snow tire you can find.

But really any all season tire can plow through some snow, its all about the driver.

Originally Posted by Fivefingerdeathpunch

Whatever is the cheapest snow tire you can find.

But really any all season tire can plow through some snow, its all about the driver.

I agree with this but my soon to be wife will be driving it to work everyday (50 miles) and if I can do something to make that easier I'm going to. would you find a narrower tire or would you just run stock sizing?

Stock size, I see no need to reduce the size. 225/60/16 is not a big tire.

Stock size is fine, you may want to consider doing the fronts only and just having some good tread on all seasons in the back. I run winterforces' and like them a lot.

I drive around 500 miles a week year round on a variety of roads, so I can justify spending money on winter tires, I can go a little longer on my regular tires because I'm not using them part of the year. You can drive around in all seasons, but there are times when a real bad snowstorm hits, you're ****ting yourself while only going 30mph 1 hour away from home, wondering what a few hundred bucks could have done. That difference is more like just ****ting yourself while going 45mph.

It does add comfort, but you're still not invincible, If I were you I would do it without her knowing.

Just to throw out my two cents based on going through decade of Wisconsin winters in my GPs. IMHO GPs handle well in snow, water not so much.

My suggestion is get an all season tire that is M&S rated. (M&S is mud and snow). That combined with the fact that tread depth is your friend in snow, she will be very well off for at least a couple years. Combine that with proper air pressure, I run 30-31 psi cold and 32-33 psi warm. One last tip, stay away from any LRR tire.

The TireRack is a great source for tire information and reviews.

i liked my general's that i had on my car last year. it was boring to drive, though so im back to all seasons this year.

a car with too much control is just plain boring.

M&S doesnt mean anything, I had a 1st gen DSM with 225/35 18's that had M&S stamped on the side and you couldnt drive over 30mph if it snowed a flake. Snow tires all the way around is the way to go on any FWD. The best ones ive had were Goodyear Ultragrip in one size narrower and one size taller than stock. They were a bit pricey though. On the GP I ran General Artics on the front and General all seasons on the back and it wasnt that great. They had really wide tread for a 225 tire and they always tried to get on top of the slush instead of cutting through it. The cheapest snow tire will decimate any all season you can find when it comes to vehicle control in bad weather though. The best snow tire size would be a 215/70 R15, half inch narrower and 1/4" taller than stock. IDK if 15's fit or not though and they dont make a good size tire like that for a 16.

Driver ability is mostly what it comes down to.
But I spent the money for a cheap set of snow tires prior to last season and have not regretted dropping the $380 for the set of 4 Nitto's. My car is lowered and I still had no problems crawling through descent sized drifts. Seriously, 2 tires would be worth the money!

Since we are on the topic of winter tires, what are peoples thoughts on studded tires?

I have been running Wanli 215/60/16 snow tires for the past 3 years. They are a little on the hard side, not the best in the rain, but kick-ass in the snow. And for $50 each, I can't complain. I don't like the size, but they do the job.





To those that say that all-seasons can do the job, well, they sort of can. You may be able to plug along, but if/when you have to stop now, you will fail. I have driven all kinds of rigs and tire combos over the years, and until you hammer on the brakes and come to a safe stop, there is no comparison for a snow tire. These tires were on my old Super Coupe, and I needed boost to break the tires loose. I can hold my own in the snow, but when I need to dodge all the other idiots that can't, I need all the help I can get.

Studs are great if you see icy conditions. I have friends that run them as they head up north a lot. You do get a lot of control out of them, so don't get cocky.

where did you get that price for that kind of tire. Sounds just like what I want

Originally Posted by kjohnson

where did you get that price for that kind of tire. Sounds just like what I want

A local tire distributor was overstocked and was blowing them out, thus the smaller size.