Tire recommendations

[rover3l]

I live near Buffalo NY and here is my challenge. Sure we get a lot of snow but the highway department are very good at clearing it so it is unusual to be driving on compacted snow / ice. Of course there are patches which are not cleared but these are in the minority.

With this as background I would like to hear advice on the best tires for winter / summer using the following criteria

1. Low noise level2. Great winter traction3. Excellent summer handling

I am assuming I need two sets but have heard that Blizzaks for example may not be suited to roads where most of the time you are driving on asphalt.

What size should I get 235 x 60??

If I get a winter tire / wheel package does anyone know if the Tire Rack does a wheel trim that simulates BBS alloys or is this is waste of time

[s13sr20chris]

tire rack has bbs alloys if thats what you want. i think. i would look for a re910 or re950 but only because i have had so much fun with them in the past. no good experiences on snow with any other tire.edit: the above was an idea for a compromise year round tire

[szh]

Michelin Alpin is another good winter/snow tire. On a Q, that and the Blizzak would be the two I would consider (although I do seem to recall that Pirelli also makes a decent snow tire).

Z

[Qdog]

I just had to make the same decision. The standard advice in snow country (I'm in Minnesota) is to get dedicated snow tires. I have done that for the last 10 years, but Blizzaks & Alpins are uninspiring on dry roads, and you have to take the Blizzaks of quickly when the weather warms. I was convinced to try Nokian WR in 225/60/15 96H for my 92Q. No snow yet, but they are quiet and stiff on dry and wet roads, and feel smoother that my summer Yokohamas even at 80 mph. I'm told that these are real snow tires, too. I will report here how they perform in snow & ice as soon as we get any. I've bought the last 3 sets of tires from tire rack, (Michelin & Yokohama) but they don't carry Nokian. I'm also convinced that the car seems quicker with these tires. It has to be the slightly smaller diameter (vs. 215/65), or maybe the light forged alloys they're on. So far I'm impressed. If these things compare with dedicated snows when it's slick then this will be the ultimate northern climate tire.

[SmithSR]

I had mentioned in another thread that the Nokian brand be considered as an alternative to Blizzak. Glad to hear you like them, as I have used several sets on a number of vehicles. I'd wager you paid more than the Blizzak retails for.. but when it comes to tires, you get what you pay for.

[Grant@tirerack]

Yes, the Blizzak WS-50 is a soft handling tire. That's because it has a 13/32" tread depth and a 'micro cell' compound. It is designed to maximize snow and ice traction which it does better than anything we have tested. It is not intended to handle like an all season performance tire. They have the better traction in snow than the Arctic Alpin, better wet traction, better ice traction, but they do not handle as well in the dry. The Arctic Alpin handles better in the dry because it has 3/32" less tread depth, a firmer compound, and half of the sipes (the small slits in the tread blocks used to provide flex and 'biting edges' in snow and to allow the water somewhere to go) only go half way down into the tread depth. Yes, the Arctic Alpin and European style winter tires handle more like an all-season performance tire on dry but what are you more concerned with? That is the question you have to answer when looking at snow tires. If you live in an urban area where things are kept clean and you don't get a lot of heavy snow, the H rated tires are a great choice. They are safer in snow and ice than an all-season tire. They would be more of a compromise between handling and traction in snow and ice. It all depens on the conditions you are driving in and where you live. If you have severe conditions and, or a lot of ice, you would be safer with a more aggressive compound tire like the Blizzak WS-50 or the Dunlop Graspic DS-1. They both have more tread depth and squared off shoulder blocks for better traction. European type tires tend to have rounded shoulders and less tread depth for better cornering stability and handling.

[WongFeiHung]

Get both summer and winter tires.

Falken Azeni ST115 is the summer tire you are looking for, trust me...

[rover3l]

Grant could you clarify the comment on the H rated tire. I realize H is the speed rating but were you refering to a particular type / brand of tire or were you saying H rated tires in general.

In the Buffalo / Niagara region we do have a reasonable amount of snow 50 - 100 inches, but as this is expected each year the highway department clear it very quickly. This results in a driving condition where the roads can be the following mixture along a route

---- Slush due to salt mixing with the cleared snow-----limited patches of compacted, rutted snow / ice-----large dry areas with a coating of dry salt

Because the temperatures are high enough for salt to work it is rare to be on a road surface that is all snow / ice unless you were to out very early in the morning before the road is cleared. Given this I am thinking that a dedicated winter tire might not be the best choice

David