What snow/winter tires on your Rogue?

[mstrmstr]

Did you have the opportunity to check the Michelin X-Ice? Not necessarily the Xi2 as it is so new.

Do you have an opinion on them? I am looking for a quiet tire on dry pavement giving good fuel mileage. Any recommendations?

A friend of Mine has had MICH snows for several years now.. he likes them but pricey at $180.00 plus mount/tax and that's USD per tire in the 18" diameter size he needs. Ya get great tire for the big money.Tire pressure needs to be watched very closely as they (as well as others) will wear oddly real quick with that soft multi siped tread.

The Xi2 will not be stocked until early November so can't even see one yet.

Extra word- make a few hard stops with new snows to eat the mold release layer off and the tires work best after that

[Pescakl1]

A friend of Mine has had MICH snows for several years now.. he likes them but pricey at $180.00 plus mount/tax and that's USD per tire in the 18" diameter size he needs. Ya get great tire for the big money.Tire pressure needs to be watched very closely as they (as well as others) will wear oddly real quick with that soft multi siped tread.

Thanks for the review.

The Xi2 will not be stocked until early November so can't even see one yet.

Costco (ex Clubprice) is starting to stock them (mostly 14" and 15" last week but they should have the 16" by now). In Quebec, they are now mandatory from November 15th to April 15th, first year, so they know they will sell a lot this autumn. It seems they improve the threads, I don't know how it will translate in handling and noise, but I assume that should be good, better than the X-Ice.

Extra word- make a few hard stops with new snows to eat the mold release layer off and the tires work best after that

Thanks for the tip, I did not know.

[mstrmstr]

Costco (ex Clubprice) is starting to stock them (mostly 14" and 15" last week but they should have the 16" by now). In Quebec, they are now mandatory from November 15th to April 15th, first year, so they know they will sell a lot this autumn.

That explains why new introduction snows in the US are late to arrive this year!!!

[ahhbeebee]

In Quebec, they are now mandatory from November 15th to April 15th

Wow, I know you guys tend to be more progressive, what a great call. so does this mean people from other provinces driving into Quebec will also need winter tires? Hehee, I don't want to get a ticket if I'm passing through the province. Seems like a tough one to enforce.

[Pescakl1]

Yes, that will be kinda funny to see how it goes.

From what I understand, it is not mandatory in Ontario but a lot of people, mainly the english speaking ones, live in Ontario but work in Quebec. They do the commute everyday (a lot of miles), so will it apply to them also?And what about our friends from the south visiting us?

For sure it is a nice idea, roads should be safer, but how to apply it if we are the only ones asking for it? Could be nice to show to others that we are a country.

It is like the hand free phone in the car, I still see at least 2-3 people holding their phones while driving on my commute (it is mandatory since April 1st).

[philipa_240sx]

Well, I am still waiting for the Nokian Hakka R's to come in. It may be a couple of more weeks.

On a side note, IMHO the best setup for snow tires is the 16" steel rims found on the Rogue S trim with 215/70R16 tires. Not only is this the least expensive combo, the narrower tire width is preferred for better snow traction.

Here are the specs:

Size: 16x6.5Bolt Pattern: 5x114.3Offset: +40mm. Note: you can substitute +45mm offset as this is more common (Altima & Maxima fitment)Hub Diameter: 66.1mm

Compatible model cross reference (in order of preference): '04-08 Quest (+40mm offset), '02-06 Nissan Altima & '04-08 Maxima (+45mm offset)

It is important to get properly fitting wheels with the correct hub diameter listed above. You will avoid alot of problems (fit, vibration, etc) by following the quide above. Avoid 'multi-fit' wheels if possible.

[Pescakl1]

I went to Costco last weekend, and thought, why not buy some winter tires.

I bought the last four 215/70R16 Michelin X-Ice Xi2 they had and made them install them on the steel rims I got from the dealer.

With the taxes, it ended up at 801CAD$, and I got Michelin rubber splash guards for free, as I am an exclusive member, at the same time.

They look great, I will see mid november if they are good on dry pavement and how they behave.

I just have to go to a scrap yard now to find some caps to put on the steel rims and I will be good to go.

[mstrmstr]

I g

I went to Costco last weekend, and thought, why not buy some winter tires.

I bought the last four 215/70R16 Michelin X-Ice Xi2 they had and made them install them on the steel rims I got from the dealer.

With the taxes, it ended up at 801CAD$, and I got Michelin rubber splash guards for free, as I am an exclusive member, at the same time.

They look great, I will see mid november if they are good on dry pavement and how they behave.

I just have to go to a scrap yard now to find some caps to put on the steel rims and I will be good to go.

I guess you will not be calling for towing this winter btw - chains fit well on your setup

[Pescakl1]

I never call for a towing!! I am a big boy, I have a big shovel

Seriously, I never had to, but except the last two years, I always have manual shift AWD cars and that helps A LOT!! (I did some weird things with my Subaru Legacy that stoned my friends... like park on a snow bank ).

But I have more clearance with the Rogue... and I am more mature... may be

[philipa_240sx]

Just picked up a used set of steel rims from an '05 Altima. Perfect fit and it only set me back $100. Now I just need tires!

Pescakl, I put my '99 Ford Escort wagon up on a snowbank once... the result of doing handbrake turns in an icy parking lot! The Rogue has a footbrake so no more rally style driving!

[Pescakl1]

Philip, the difference here is that was intentional

We were downtown and couldn't find a place to park to go dinner, so I spotted a place where snow were accumulated and nobody wanted to park in it for sure.

I asked my friends to go out of the car for me to park there

They bet that I couldn't get out of it without their help. After the good dinner, I climb in the car, started it, put in first gear... and went out without any problem except maybe some wheels spinning (but not too much, that is why I succeeded). They couldn't believe it

But like you said, now with the CVT and no handbrake, no more fun, I am just a regular guy (too bad, my wife's daughters had a lot of fun when I was doing this kind of things ... without my wife in the car and the no tell your mother rule ).

[RogueGirl]

Hi,

well I tried... I went to a Costco in NH to purchase the Michelin Ice XI2 and they need to order the ones I wanted and since I wasn't going to be there a week later I didn't order them. Bad planning!

So I'm going to go with the Toyo G02 plus. Has anyone used those before? Are they reliable compare to a Michelin or Blizzak?

thanksRoguegirl

[philipa_240sx]

I have no experience with the Toyo's. But any decent winter tire is better than none at all.

[roguester]

Hint: the S model Rogue uses the same steel wheels as the late model Altima: 16x6.5

Start searching auto recyclers for these wheels for next winter. New they cost $50ea (CDN).

Called Agincourt Nissan price for rims quoted 89.95 for Altima Rogue is a different rim they claim (wow!expensive for steel rims)

[philipa_240sx]

Called Agincourt Nissan price for rims quoted 89.95 for Altima Rogue is a different rim they claim (wow!expensive for steel rims)

The Altima uses a rim with a 45mm offset. The Rogue is 40mm. Hence the different part nos. 5mm of offset is nothing to be concerned about. With such a small tire, it won't rub or affect the handling. The bolt pattern and hub diameter are the same for both so the wheels are interchangeable.

Since there are so many Altima's out there, you will have a better chance of finding used rims hence my suggestion. If you are buying new and there is no difference in price, by all means get the Rogue specific rims.

$90 for OEM Nissan rims isn't too bad. Everywhere else quoted me $65 for aftermarket steel rims.

[Nick 568]

I just got Hankook iPike RW409 studded tires on my Rogue SL. Stock 17" wheels. I was running the stock dunlops in the snow/ice before now, and yeah, they really sucked...they'd get the job done if you were careful and drove slow though. Also good for AWD drifting in empty parking lots though. Here in Anchorage, everyone either goes Blizzaks or studs for the most part. I had "Winterforce" generic studs on my Ram 1500, Cooper studs on the Acura MDX and Nokian studs on the Honda minivan. Winterforce studs were the absolute worst (would even get stuck in parking spots if I had the truck in 2WD); noise level was manageable. The Nokians are great on the packed snow/ice we have here (saved me in an incident where I was positive I was going to slide into this parked car), but are annoying on the dry pavement for grip, noise level is manageable. The Coopers are a decent compromise, not too annoying on the pavement and good on the snow/ice. But the cornering of the MDX suffers greatly; they're also very loud...think jacked up truck with 44" mud tires-loud.I think the Hankook iPikes I have on my Rogue are the best ones I've used. Only got them on today, but they seem to have little compromise on the dry pavement and are also very quiet. Have yet to test them in the snow/ice as it's all melted for now, but we should be receiving more snow soon...afterall, as the rest of the world heats up, Alaska just gets colder.

Not the most detailed review, I know, but I figure it might help out anyone looking into studded tires for their Rogue. Plus, I just had to brag a bit about my new Hankooks considering they're 1000x better than the Winterforce studs I had on my Ram 1500.
Modified by Nick 568 at 1:24 AM 11/5/2008

[eric_c]

Hi Philip,

You seem fairly knowledgeable on this matter. I'm in the the process of shopping for snow tires for our SL AWD. I'm most likely going to go with 215/70R16 tires.

As I was browsing online I remembered I have a set of 16" snow tires on steel rims sitting in my garage that we used on our 2000 Maxima SE and then later on our 2002 Maxima SE. The tires themselves are toast, but I'm wondering if the steel rims would be compatible with our Rogue?

Doing some comparing on Tirerack, I can't see any reason why not. Maxima and Rogue both call for 16x6.5 steel rims, 5 x 114 bolt pattern, 40 mm offset. Am I missing anything? Thanks in advance.

Well, I am still waiting for the Nokian Hakka R's to come in. It may be a couple of more weeks.

On a side note, IMHO the best setup for snow tires is the 16" steel rims found on the Rogue S trim with 215/70R16 tires. Not only is this the least expensive combo, the narrower tire width is preferred for better snow traction.

Here are the specs:

Size: 16x6.5Bolt Pattern: 5x114.3Offset: +40mm. Note: you can substitute +45mm offset as this is more common (Altima & Maxima fitment)Hub Diameter: 66.1mm

Compatible model cross reference (in order of preference): '04-08 Quest (+40mm offset), '02-06 Nissan Altima & '04-08 Maxima (+45mm offset)

It is important to get properly fitting wheels with the correct hub diameter listed above. You will avoid alot of problems (fit, vibration, etc) by following the quide above. Avoid 'multi-fit' wheels if possible.

[roguester]

Just got the Hankook I pike Dynapro RW07 215R70/16 on Altima steel rims from Nissan dealer $870. mounted, balanced + tax. Just waiting for bad weather to install them.Dealer said thats what they were using last year.Rogue steel rims are expensive according to dealer 150.ea don't know why if almost the same.The Altima rims are takeoffs, (customers upgrading to alloys)My plan was to go with Michelin X- ice or Yokohama Geolander G072Michelins 170-180. Yokos 140.Settled for Hankooks on price and saving time running around getting rims from dealer and tires somewhere else. I did not want aftermarket rims.I hope I made the right decision

[Cristen]

Hi,

well I tried... I went to a Costco in NH to purchase the Michelin Ice XI2 and they need to order the ones I wanted and since I wasn't going to be there a week later I didn't order them. Bad planning!

So I'm going to go with the Toyo G02 plus. Has anyone used those before? Are they reliable compare to a Michelin or Blizzak?

thanksRoguegirl

I have they Toyos on steel rims on my Rogue right now (17s). Love 'em. I can't say how they compare as my previous winter tires were on my Vibe and they were Coopers. They're better than Coopers. They really performed great in the tons of snow we got last winter.

[philipa_240sx]

The tires themselves are toast, but I'm wondering if the steel rims would be compatible with our Rogue?

Doing some comparing on Tirerack, I can't see any reason why not. Maxima and Rogue both call for 16x6.5 steel rims, 5 x 114 bolt pattern, 40 mm offset. Am I missing anything? Thanks in advance.

You should be fine using these wheels. Just test fit them first to ensure they fit properly and spin freely.

Pretty much every 5 lug Nissan wheel uses the same 5-114.3mm bolt pattern and 66.1mm hub. This includes the Maxima, 300ZX, etc. Generally the only difference is wheel offset. Anything close to the OEM 45mm offset will work.

[philipa_240sx]

After much frustration with the local Nokian Tire dealer, I gave up. I have been on a search for the past month to no avail. It appears no one (in Ontario, Canada at least) has stock on the newer Nokian Hakka R SUV, and it's anybody's guess if they will ever get any. Even the previous Hakka 5 SUV model has been a no show. This is very curious... I wonder if some major Nokian distributor forgot to place thier order?

Facing the prospect of not having any winter tires at all and the fact the stock Conti's are not looking very good after 20,000mi (32,000km) of wear, I had to opt for something else.

So after comparing a few options (there aren't many as winter tire stock is dwindling quickly) I settled on the Hankook Dynapro iPike RW07. Looks like there are a few of us on these tires now! At $124 CDN per tire balanced & installed, it was a good deal and $75/tire cheaper the Nokian's. And if I don't like them, I'll sell them off and go back to Nokian's next year.

A few notes to others looking for winter tires:

- Stock Altima steel rims fit just fine, the differences in offset (40 vs 45mm) are neglible- The lug nuts used on the stock 17" alloy wheels are too short to be reused with steel wheels. You will need a set of longer enclosed lug nuts or open ended lug nuts. Nissan's are unique in that they use 12x1.25mm thread pitch. Most imports are 12x1.5mm. Keep this in mind as the 1.25mm thread pitch can be harder to find.

Bring on the snow!

I will try to post a full review of the tire once I get some mileage on them in varying conditions.

[Pescakl1]

A few notes to others looking for winter tires:

- Stock Altima steel rims fit just fine, the differences in offset (40 vs 45mm) are neglible- The lug nuts used on the stock 17" alloy wheels are too short to be reused with steel wheels. You will need a set of longer enclosed lug nuts or open ended lug nuts. Nissan's are unique in that they use 12x1.25mm thread pitch. Most imports are 12x1.5mm. Keep this in mind as the 1.25mm thread pitch can be harder to find.

Bring on the snow!

I will try to post a full review of the tire once I get some mileage on them in varying conditions.

Do you mean the S model doesn't have the same bolts (longer ones) than the SL, or the problem is just with the Altima rims?

I have the SL model with alloys rims but got free steel rims for winter (suppose to be the 16" rims of the Rogue).

We should get our first snow storm tomorrow and don't have my winter tires on, and definitively no time these days with two projects on going and a business travel to prepare.

Changing tires at night tonight when it is 5 outside is probably not that much fun but if I have to do it..., I will, but do I have to go to a Nissan dealer first to get these longer bolts ?Do you have the P/N of these bolts?

Winter is not here yet and it already sucks!!

[philipa_240sx]

Do you mean the S model doesn't have the same bolts (longer ones) than the SL, or the problem is just with the Altima rims?

The problem is with the lug nuts, not the bolts/studs or the Altima rims. If you try to use the lug nuts from your alloy wheels, they are too short and will bottom out before they secure the wheel. You need longer lug nuts:

This is approx what the OEM lug nuts look like:

image courtesy Nissan

You need longer lug nuts in the Nissan 12x1.25mm size:

image courtesy McGard

Or open ended lug nuts like you would find on some older vehicles.

Try a wheel and tire dealer, you won't find these on the shelf at the local hardware store. Worst case, go to the dealer.

BTW, I found this out on a cold night changing the tires in my driveway. Fortunately I had a spare set of lug nuts from my last Nissan that fit perfectly.

[eric_c]

I ended up going with Arctic Claw XSI snow tires in a 215/70R16, $100/CAD per tire, mounted on steel rims. They are resold by a number of companies, including Cooper. For a discount snow tire, I'm quite happy so far. Noise wise, they are not much noisier than the stock all-seasons, and dry handling has not appeared to change much either.

We had our first blast of winter here in Ottawa last night so I got to try them out this morning. Main roads were primarily clear, with occasional packed snow next to field due to high winds and blowing snow. However, we live out in the country so our dirt road was unplowed; I'd say about 4" of wet slushy snow. Pulled out of our unplowed laneway no problem made it down the road fine. Pulling off our side road onto the main road was also worry free; punched it and she went. Saw a few cars in the ditch on the way in but we never felt like we were on the verge of losing traction.

Parking lot here at work was unplowed as well with the added bonus of a small snow bank from the city plows. I decided to try out the "worse-case scenario" settings of locking the center diff, turning off VDC, and putting her in 1st gear. She plowed right thru and felt as solid as my old Pathfinder ever did. Granted, this was a pretty light storm compared to some of the big ones we get, but still, I don't think I would of felt nearly as safe on the all seasons.

I went with these tires in particular because of their open tread block design which I find is better in deeper snow. I mounted them on an old set of steel rims I had on 2000 Maxima SE, then our 2002 Maxima SE, and they fit perfect on the Rogue.

[Pescakl1]

Eric, I have two questions for you if you allow me:

I ended up going with Arctic Claw XSI snow tires in a 215/70R16, $100/CAD per tire, mounted on steel rims.

...

I mounted them on an old set of steel rims I had on 2000 Maxima SE, then our 2002 Maxima SE, and they fit perfect on the Rogue.

Did you get the same trouble as Philip with the lug nuts? Did you need longer ones to install the Maxima steel rims on the Rogue?

Parking lot here at work was unplowed as well with the added bonus of a small snow bank from the city plows. I decided to try out the "worse-case scenario" settings of locking the center diff, turning off VDC, and putting her in 1st gear. She plowed right thru and felt as solid as my old Pathfinder ever did. Granted, this was a pretty light storm compared to some of the big ones we get, but still, I don't think I would of felt nearly as safe on the all seasons.

I assume you don't have TPMS on your steel rims, do you?

Here what I found on another forum about tires without TPMS and VDC system on the car (I did a thread on it here):

I recently researched this issue before buying four dedicated winter wheels (no TPMS sensors)for our 2008 Toyota Sienna.

There is a button on the dash to turn off the stability control and traction control. The purpose of this is to allow you to spin your wheels if needed, for instance if you get stuck in a snow drift and have to rock yourself free.

If the wheels have no TPMS sensors, this button is disabled. In other words the lack of TPMS sensors ensures that stability and traction control is always ON. The override button does not work.

Did you get your wheels spinned while crossing the snow bank or a feeling that the VDC system was still on?Do you still have the possibility to test it to see if the VDC is still on because of the absence of TPMS even when you disable it be?

It didnot snow enough here to experiment (and I am not complaining) and still have to put my winter tires on the car.

Thanks.

[eric_c]

I had them mounted onto the Rogue by a tire shop and they didn't say boo. No vibration or wobbling while driving, so I have to imagine the wheels are on tight. I can't say I was aware of this issue so I'll have to take a look tonight when the wife comes and gets me to see what they did.

I opted not to go with the TPMS on the steel rims as you noted. When I start the Rogue, the TPMS warning light flashes for about 60 seconds or so, then goes solid-on so it knows the TPMS aren't there. Everything else is normal. When I punched it this morning to go from our side road onto the main road, the Rogue did go sideways a bit and I saw the Slip Warning light flash a few times.

As for entering the parking lot, I can't say there was enough snow to cause much difficulty. When I disabled the VDC the light came on in the tach, as did the AWD Lock when I locked the centre diff. I gave it a bit of gas and it just felt really solid; just plowed thru. Really reminded me of my 96 Pathy in 4-Hi. I didn't hear any ABS sounds of the VDC/TCS making corrections.

I will say that on our 350Z, which we run on snow tires without TPMS as well, pressing the VDC/TCS button definitely turns off stability and traction regardless of whether there are TPMS sensors around or not. I have to imagine the Rogue uses a similar system.

Eric, I have two questions for you if you allow me:

Did you get the same trouble as Philip with the lug nuts? Did you need longer ones to install the Maxima steel rims on the Rogue?

I assume you don't have TPMS on your steel rims, do you?

Here what I found on another forum about tires without TPMS and VDC system on the car (I did a thread on it here):

Did you get your wheels spinned while crossing the snow bank or a feeling that the VDC system was still on?Do you still have the possibility to test it to see if the VDC is still on because of the absence of TPMS even when you disable it be?

It didnot snow enough here to experiment (and I am not complaining) and still have to put my winter tires on the car.

Thanks.

[Pescakl1]

Very informative post, thank you very much.

Yes it sounds Nissan VDC system is not linked with the TPMS system as contrary as on the Toyota Sienna.That is a good thing. Just have to live with the TPMS light on, minimal damage.

[roguester]

I had them mounted onto the Rogue by a tire shop and they didn't say boo. No vibration or wobbling while driving, so I have to imagine the wheels are on tight. I can't say I was aware of this issue so I'll have to take a look tonight when the wife comes and gets me to see what they did.

I opted not to go with the TPMS on the steel rims as you noted. When I start the Rogue, the TPMS warning light flashes for about 60 seconds or so, then goes solid-on so it knows the TPMS aren't there. Everything else is normal. When I punched it this morning to go from our side road onto the main road, the Rogue did go sideways a bit and I saw the Slip Warning light flash a few times.

As for entering the parking lot, I can't say there was enough snow to cause much difficulty. When I disabled the VDC the light came on in the tach, as did the AWD Lock when I locked the centre diff. I gave it a bit of gas and it just felt really solid; just plowed thru. Really reminded me of my 96 Pathy in 4-Hi. I didn't hear any ABS sounds of the VDC/TCS making corrections.

I will say that on our 350Z, which we run on snow tires without TPMS as well, pressing the VDC/TCS button definitely turns off stability and traction regardless of whether there are TPMS sensors around or not. I have to imagine the Rogue uses a similar system.

If your tpms light flashes for 60 secs.you will have to go to the dealer when you mount your alloys (in the spring ) to have the tpms resetaccording to owners manual

[philipa_240sx]

If your tpms light flashes for 60 secs.you will have to go to the dealer when you mount your alloys (in the spring ) to have the tpms resetaccording to owners manual

We'll see what happens come spring. In the meantime I have covered the TPMS light with a small piece of matte black electrical tape. You can't even tell it's there.

No problems with the VDC, and yes you can still turn it off.

[Pescakl1]

No problems with the VDC, and yes you can still turn it off.

Had some fun in the snow yesterday?