Topic: Feature: Winter Tires vs. All-Season Tires

[Arctic_White]

With that said, isn't it better to choose the Michelins?

i think both tires are pretty comparable.

i was going to get XI3s when i bought my WS70s, but the Bridgestone's were on sale when it was time to buy tires and were also a little less expensive...XI3s would have been about $75/tire more than the WS70s...while i don't mind paying more for a better tire, i don't think the XI3s are $300 better than the WS70s.

No questions that WS-70 are the way to go if they're that much cheaper! 

My willingness to pay is $10 extra per tire for Michelins over Bridgestones, and ~$20 per tire extra for Hakkas over the Michelines.

In Edmonton, the WS-70 seems to be right on par with the X-ice 3 (maybe a few dollar difference per tire at best).

[rrocket]

I checked pricing for my car...$100 difference.

But after reading the most recent test, the Continental Extreme Winter Contact looks mighty impressive...and cheaper than the others.  I'm curious now.  May actually try them on the GS400/IS300....

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/testDisplay.jsp?ttid=167

[HeliDriver]

I checked pricing for my car...$100 difference.

But after reading the most recent test, the Continental Extreme Winter Contact looks mighty impressive...and cheaper than the others.  I'm curious now.  May actually try them on the GS400/IS300....

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/testDisplay.jsp?ttid=167

I've had them on the GTI for the past three winters and will probably buy them again when it's replacement time. Or I'd be tempted to try the Wintersport 4Ds if they aren't too crazy expensive.

The Contis are definitely a compromise: very good (but not fantastic) on snow and ice, but also not completely horrible (but still kind of bad) on bare pavement.

[Black Hatch]

I know the 5 days in November.  That week was hell for driving.  All in a day, it started with rain and as it got colder, it turned into freezing rain, then wet snow and then normal snow.  It basically froze onto the streets.  I wouldn't feel bad about being embarrassed by your winter tires.  Most people with winter tires had issues stopping.  I was a little better with my studded Nokian Hakka 7s, but still challenging.  I couldn't imagine driving on all seasons through those roads.

As for the guy with the CRV, I vote that he had all-seasons with 3/32" tread.

I also remember those days in November.
I was still on my summers in the RX-8. 

[Patrick_D1]

I checked pricing for my car...$100 difference.

But after reading the most recent test, the Continental Extreme Winter Contact looks mighty impressive...and cheaper than the others.  I'm curious now.  May actually try them on the GS400/IS300....

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/testDisplay.jsp?ttid=167

I've had them on the GTI for the past three winters and will probably buy them again when it's replacement time. Or I'd be tempted to try the Wintersport 4Ds if they aren't too crazy expensive.

The Contis are definitely a compromise: very good (but not fantastic) on snow and ice, but also not completely horrible (but still kind of bad) on bare pavement.

I can vouch for the Continental. Great tire.

[johngenx]

If that's the case then why not go with Nokian Hakkapeliitta R2's?  They are arguably better in severe weather conditions than either the Michelins or Bridgestone with the added benefit of being excellent in cold dry weather.

Kal Tire = sucks donkey balls.  The very small marginal gains from the Nokians vs. the much higher prices added with having to deal with the doofuses at Kal Tire mean that Nokians are never on my shopping list.

[mixmanmash]

If that's the case then why not go with Nokian Hakkapeliitta R2's?  They are arguably better in severe weather conditions than either the Michelins or Bridgestone with the added benefit of being excellent in cold dry weather.

Kal Tire = sucks donkey balls.  The very small marginal gains from the Nokians vs. the much higher prices added with having to deal with the doofuses at Kal Tire mean that Nokians are never on my shopping list.

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You need to go to a Kal Tire out in the country.  I went to the one in Tofield and saved $300 on my set of Nokians and they were great to deal with.  All the ones in town sucked.

Personally, I find the Nokians performance benefit to be worth it when I am getting them at a comparable price to similar tires, despite the extra effort of driving to Tofield (45 mins one way from my place).

[johngenx]

No need.  Costco is handy, has very aggressive pricing on the Blizzaks (and Michelins if you're going the Xice route) and for a long time now has done an excellent install job.  (Costco wasn't great way back when, but do a good job now)  Free flat repairs, etc, and I don't have to visit a Kal Tire, in the city or out of town.

My Blizzaks have impressed me to no end in the poorest conditions, so I don't see a reason to change.  I have known some folks with the Nokians and don't think there is a significant performance difference, and especially not enough to send me driving out of town.

But, whatever works for you, run with it.  Glad people are running proper winter tires.

[The Mighty Duck]

I have the all weather Hankook Optimo 4s. Not a good winter tire at all, kept them for summer but went to Blizzaks for the winter, huge upgrade.

All weather tires are better than all seasons in the winter, but they're still a compromise. No comparison with the Blizzak, which is one of the better winter tires out there (I have a set for my Fit - love them). All weathers are probably a decent option for people who live downtown, as streets tend to be pretty clear and finding storage for wheels and tires, well...

[Arctic_White]

If that's the case then why not go with Nokian Hakkapeliitta R2's?  They are arguably better in severe weather conditions than either the Michelins or Bridgestone with the added benefit of being excellent in cold dry weather.

Kal Tire = sucks donkey balls.  The very small marginal gains from the Nokians vs. the much higher prices added with having to deal with the doofuses at Kal Tire mean that Nokians are never on my shopping list.

If that's the case then why not go with Nokian Hakkapeliitta R2's?  They are arguably better in severe weather conditions than either the Michelins or Bridgestone with the added benefit of being excellent in cold dry weather.

Kal Tire = sucks donkey balls.  The very small marginal gains from the Nokians vs. the much higher prices added with having to deal with the doofuses at Kal Tire mean that Nokians are never on my shopping list.

Fair enough.  How much of a price difference were you quoted? 

It is true that Kal Tire is a bit more expensive, but they provide warranty and free tire rotation. 

[johngenx]

It is true that Kal Tire is a bit more expensive, but they provide warranty and free tire rotation.

So does Costco.  Free flat repair, etc, etc.  Customer service at Costco is excellent in my experience.  As for the price difference, it was approx $300/set for the Nokians over the Blizzaks.

Bridgestone was offering a $100 rebate for tires purchased between certain dates.  Costco had to order my tires, and couldn't process the purchase within the dates.  They came through and offered me the price reduction internally, instead of through Bridgestone.  Excellent.

My tire pressures are always set perfectly, and the TPMS is reset.  I've never had a balance issue, including on some cars that were VERY picky about wheel balance.

They're a 10min drive from my home, I get an additional 2% cash back (Executive Member) and see no reasons at all to change. 

Anytime I've talked to Kal Tire they've completely ignored anything I said and pushed tires I wasn't interested in at prices that nearly caused my heart to stop.  A few years ago, I just stopped even calling/going there.

[Sir Osis of Liver]

Kal tire was over $200 more for a set of Nokian's over the WS-70s when I looked.

Sent from my G3 using Tapatalk 4

[dirtyjeffer]

yea, i have great service and prices from Costco as well...aside from the free re/re i get there (they remove/install Costco purchased tires at no charge, so changing my winter tires every fall is free), they have all the extra stuff like road hazard warranty, etc.

on a set of X-Radials i purchased several years ago for my previous car (Taurus), i picked up a nail in the sidewall about 10 months after i bought a new set of 4 tires...they measured the tread, did the calculation and replaced my tire for me...the only cost to me was the pro-rated amount of tread wear, which was something like $15.

[RunsinLight]

What shipping method does tire rack use? Experienced any headaches in getting your tires when they were delivered when you weren't home?

[mixmanmash]

What shipping method does tire rack use? Experienced any headaches in getting your tires when they were delivered when you weren't home?

Tire rack uses ups, but all your duty and brokerage is prepaid online, so no nasty surprises when they show up.  As for home delivery, not sure as I always have them deliver to my workplace.  I would suspect that they would leave a note on your front door and that you would have to go pick them up from their warehouse.

[dkaz]

Does Costco have a satisfaction guarantee? Kal Tire allowed me to exchange my WRG2s I purchased 10 weeks back for Yokohama iceGuards for just the cost of remounting and balancing back in 2008.

[PJungnitsch]

I have the all weather Hankook Optimo 4s. Not a good winter tire at all, kept them for summer but went to Blizzaks for the winter, huge upgrade.

All weather tires are better than all seasons in the winter, but they're still a compromise. No comparison with the Blizzak, which is one of the better winter tires out there (I have a set for my Fit - love them). All weathers are probably a decent option for people who live downtown, as streets tend to be pretty clear and finding storage for wheels and tires, well...

I swear these Optimo's are worse in the winter than the Crappy Tire all seasons that they replaced. However sexy the tread pattern looks the rubber is quite hard.

[dirtyjeffer]

Does Costco have a satisfaction guarantee?

Costco has a satisfaction guarantee on everything they sell...i returned a snowblower i had for 2 years that i wasn't happy with...of course, YMMV...i would imagine your reason has to be somewhat legitimate and hasn't been abused in the past (numerous returns on numerous items with suspicious reasons)...i would pretty much guarantee that if you tried to exchange a set of tires within 10 days, it would not be a problem...2 years??...might be trickier.

[dkaz]

If I buy winter tires in October to be prepared, I don't know when that first ice or snow will hit. Heck it may not even happen.

That said, I don't expect to be disappointed with Xi3s or WS-70s.

[johngenx]

Tire wars!!