oldmansimek
New member
I highly recommend Nokian tires, they are the best snow tire I have ever used.
Winter Tires for your 4th gen
- Thread starter rbf420
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VT245
New member
+1
My fiancée has blizzaks on her RX350 and we usually get about 4 seasons out of them as well here in Vermont. We follow the same plan as Beaumont here and put them on around thanksgiving and take them off in April.
Last edited:
stsmytherie
New member
+1 for Blizzaks
I've been running them as winter only tires on various cars since 2004, two BMWs and now our '07 T4R. Very very good in slippery, icy conditions. They've been great getting up the mountains in VT this winter.
My Golf has been running Continental ExtremeWinterContact XLs, which were not quite Blizzak grippy, but certainly got me through some hairy drives safely. (For you NE guys: Williamstown MA <-> Winsted CT, which seems to get the brunt of any weather.)
We also have studless Nokian Nordman 4s on the Jetta and I do not like these tires. Maybe they are better with studs? They are a very old compound and nowhere near the snow and ice traction of more modern tires. The Nordmans are the only winter tire we've run that still left us stuck due to ice.
If you're you're going to go Nokian, go the most recent Hakka or save your $
For just deep snow, I'd think a good AT tire would do the trick, but not my area of expertise. Dedicated snow tires are best at wet, slushy, icy conditions and smaller accumulations.
I've been running them as winter only tires on various cars since 2004, two BMWs and now our '07 T4R. Very very good in slippery, icy conditions. They've been great getting up the mountains in VT this winter.
My Golf has been running Continental ExtremeWinterContact XLs, which were not quite Blizzak grippy, but certainly got me through some hairy drives safely. (For you NE guys: Williamstown MA <-> Winsted CT, which seems to get the brunt of any weather.)
We also have studless Nokian Nordman 4s on the Jetta and I do not like these tires. Maybe they are better with studs? They are a very old compound and nowhere near the snow and ice traction of more modern tires. The Nordmans are the only winter tire we've run that still left us stuck due to ice.
If you're you're going to go Nokian, go the most recent Hakka or save your $
For just deep snow, I'd think a good AT tire would do the trick, but not my area of expertise. Dedicated snow tires are best at wet, slushy, icy conditions and smaller accumulations.
stsmytherie
New member
PS: following on comments from Beaumont67 and VT245 regarding lifetime...
We always put the winters on dedicated rims. They go on the car around the end of November (usually after the first good snow). They come off around April (usually before the last good snow).
I bag and store the tires out of the sun and elements (in a shed or garage) when not on the car.
I got 8 seasons out of my first set of Blizzaks before feeling like they were aged out, though they still looked fine. Still had plenty of tread, too, though we didn't put on many miles with that car.
Second set got sold with the car after 2 years.
Contis are 3 seasons and 20k old (lots of driving with this car) and still look brand new. Most likely will be moving these over to a new car soon that is replacing both Golf and Jetta.
We always put the winters on dedicated rims. They go on the car around the end of November (usually after the first good snow). They come off around April (usually before the last good snow).
I bag and store the tires out of the sun and elements (in a shed or garage) when not on the car.
I got 8 seasons out of my first set of Blizzaks before feeling like they were aged out, though they still looked fine. Still had plenty of tread, too, though we didn't put on many miles with that car.
Second set got sold with the car after 2 years.
Contis are 3 seasons and 20k old (lots of driving with this car) and still look brand new. Most likely will be moving these over to a new car soon that is replacing both Golf and Jetta.
AdmiralAugbar
New member
Falken Wildpeak AT3W's have been performing great for me both on road and off road.
oldmansimek
New member
The nokian hakkapeliitta r2 beats the blizzak hands down, and nokian also makes the only true 4 season tire they now have a suv model I think its a wr g2 suv or something like that.
derekjmiller913
New member
I also run Blizzak's... Unbeatable confidence in snow, slush, ice, etc.
shahsmerdis
New member
Please explain Nokian tires to me. I dont get there series. they seem to have is drive on ice tires all the way to tires for the north pole. They don't seem to have tires tuned for here in the states except for this all weather tire I'm seeing.
ZebRuaj
New member
Was dinking around discounttiredirect while I was shopping for tires for my dad's truck.
Saw Pathfinder AT and Pathfinder Sport S A/T tires, both have the Snowflake stamp on them. Quick Googling says they are rebranded Kumho's made for Discount Tire with not too many user reviews.
While not a dedicated snow tire, I wonder how these hold up in the snow? Living in MN, I wouldn't mind running an All Season AT that's also rated for snow.
Saw Pathfinder AT and Pathfinder Sport S A/T tires, both have the Snowflake stamp on them. Quick Googling says they are rebranded Kumho's made for Discount Tire with not too many user reviews.
While not a dedicated snow tire, I wonder how these hold up in the snow? Living in MN, I wouldn't mind running an All Season AT that's also rated for snow.
AdmiralAugbar
New member
I can recommend the Falken Wildpeak AT3W, great price on them as well.
- Bridgestone Blizzaks = Awesome (WS80's on my van and WS50's on a VW Golf)
- General Altimax Arctic = Average (previously on van)
- Goodyear Duratracs = Surprisingly good (4Runner)
- Cooper Weather-Masters = Not recommended (VW GTI VR6)
3 or the 4 sets of tires are dedicated winter tires (Duratracs are not dedicated winters).
The General Altimax Arctic tires were worse than my Duratracs when they were 2 years (25k km) old and the Duratracs were new, in my opinion.
I've had the Duratracs for 5.5 winters now and haven't been disappointed. I told myself as soon as they under-performed I'd invest in either studded Duratracs or a dedicated winter tire but haven't felt the need to yet. As they wear down I intend to reevaluate.
Good luck.
- General Altimax Arctic = Average (previously on van)
- Goodyear Duratracs = Surprisingly good (4Runner)
- Cooper Weather-Masters = Not recommended (VW GTI VR6)
3 or the 4 sets of tires are dedicated winter tires (Duratracs are not dedicated winters).
The General Altimax Arctic tires were worse than my Duratracs when they were 2 years (25k km) old and the Duratracs were new, in my opinion.
I've had the Duratracs for 5.5 winters now and haven't been disappointed. I told myself as soon as they under-performed I'd invest in either studded Duratracs or a dedicated winter tire but haven't felt the need to yet. As they wear down I intend to reevaluate.
Good luck.
I ski a lot, so I always prefer a dedicated winter tire like the Blizzaks to the ATs. Even if the ATs have the snowflake on them, I'd rather be driving a set of Blizzaks which can dig down for traction and handle both snow and ice. A less than $1k investment for years of driving and safety. I change out my 4 winter tires for my 4 stock all season tires every May/October - helps prolong the life of the tire too - easily last me a good 5/6 years of driving. Just my thoughts, thanks for yours!
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