Saijin_Naib

I'm trying to sort out what winter tire will be the best for me as I'm taking either Bucky or our C280 Sport back to school in the Great White North (Rochester, NY).

So far, I've read reviews/tests of these tires (Tirerack):
Michelin X-ICE XI-2 [8.5pts]
Bridgestone Blizzak WS60 [8.4pts]
General Altimax Arctic [8.4pts]
Continental Extreme Winter [NA]
Cooper WeatherMaster S/T 2 [NA]
Nokian Hakkapeliitta R [NA]

From the Tire Rack tests, it appears that the Michelin is a bit poorer overall than the Blizzak WS60 and the Conti Extreme Winter. Between the Blizzak and the Conti, the Blizzak is better in icy conditions and the Contis are better in the snow.

I've not found any compartive tests for the other tires, but reviews for the Generals (Continetal sub-brand), Cooper, and Nokian are generally favorable.

Basically, help me pick the best value out of this group and provide any input if you've used them.

Thanks!

ksing44

Historically, there really was almost no question that the Blizzak WS-60 was as good as it gets for winter snow and ice driving. I do believe the Tirerack tests, however, and I saw that the Continental Extreme Winter Contact challenged the benchmark. The Conti must be pretty darn good.

The trade-off for dedicated winter tires is ride and performance on dry roads. Where I live in southeastern PA, there are too few days of snow-covered roads to justify the WS-60. It would be nice to have the WS-60 a few days of the year, but I have been satisfied with the performance versions of winter tires from a number of manufacturers even though the WS-60 would certainly be better on snow and ice. In Rochester, it might be worth it to have the WS-60 or the new Conti.

Saijin_Naib

After much deliberation, I have decided to go with the General Altimax Arctic. This decision was based in part upon the reviews and tests done by the TireRack. There unfortunately, was no head-to-head test of this tire against the Contis and the Blizzaks however, it completely trounced the Firestone Winterforce which are supposed to be very close to equivalent to the Blizzaks.

Here is a picture of the tread pattern. Pretty serious stuff
I'll let you guys know what I think of them when they arrive and I get a chance to test them out proper in an empty lot somewhere.

poonamt93

The Blizzak ws-50's are the best for my s-2000. I love them and they make me dangerous in the snow because they are soooo good! I think they are closing them out as we speak. Tire Rack has the best deal on line and I've had mine 3 years now and this year will be the 4th.
Note: Do not take corners fast with these tires. They are made for average driving in the snow and are very low speed rated but the best grip in my book.!

Diesel

I have the Nokian's. Absolutely the best winter tire I have used. We put them on our SUV too. The tires stick like glue, excellent handling, quiet.

Let us know how your new tires are.

malahhaor

+1
I've been using Nokian WRs on last 3 cars 1 lexus 2 mercs and all RWD.

Saijin_Naib

Yeah, the Nokains were on my list but they ended up being outside of my price range and not available to me on the TireRack (cheapest/easiest to purchase/install tires). So, then it came down to the Altimax, Conti Extreme Winters, Blizzack Ws-60 and Firestone Winterforce.

So, Conti = Altimax & Blizzak = Winterforce and Altimax > Winterforce in TireRack tests so I jumped on the cheapest, "best" in test tire. Hope I was not duped.

They arrive Tuesday and will hopefully be mounted Wednesday. I'll let you guys know how they are.

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/...y.jsp?ttid=123
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/...y.jsp?ttid=123

Saijin_Naib

Right, never updated this thread, but they were well worth the money per tire.

Amazing performance in the snow, acceptable on dry pavement, and competent in the wet. Only tricky times was when different tires were on different surfaces (one tire deep slush, one tire wet pavement), but I'm fairly certain that is true of any tire on a RWD ca with no limited slip, etc.