Lets discuss winter tires

diamondracingwheels.com/
here get a set of steelies to use in the winter and mount your winter tires on them. they make them in whatever size you want.

Just fucking get General Altimax Arctic. Its cheap for most sizes and works great.

supposed to be an "all weather" tire. In Canada and Europe that means a tire that can be run in spring/fall but also has the 3-peak-snowflake-mountain for winter

>but amerifats can't into changing tires so they market it as an all-season there

Find steel wheels on craigslist and buy WS80 snow tires

Looking for a pair of snow tires to throw on the front of my car for the winter. Tirerack suggests a 215/50R17 for my 7" wide wheels, but I just found a set of 205/45/R17. Will these be too low of a profile to be decent in the winter? They look to be in good shape from the pictures, they're about 15min away from me, and the price is definitely right.

Is there any other decent place to get winter tires + wheel sets other than Tire Rack?

Of course everything is fucking sold out there.

>Too low profile to be decent in winter

What? That doesn't make sense. As long as you get tires from a reputable brand and the tires are in good condition you'll be fine. Also get 4 tires instead of 2

I know a more narrow tire is better than a wide tire, but I just thought that having a taller sidewall would be a little better in the snow. I was supposed to meet up with a guy today to buy a set of 4, but since I have a FWD car with fairly new tires on the rear, I thought I'd just go for the pair instead. They're 1/3 the price of the full set and look to be in similar condition.

Toyo celsius tires would have been a far better choice.

I got the same set of 4 I was going to buy on tirerack for $200 less from discounttiredirect.com

$700 isn't bad for new wheels and winter tires. I wouldn't bother cheaping out with a new car

I would get like 195/70 on a 16, or 15 inch wheel smaller diameter tires with a large sidewall are a lot more inexpensive.

Could be. I've never been satisfied with Toyo "winter" tires on any vehicle. I liked the Proxes T1Rs I put on my Merc and the Open Country M/Ts on my Hilux, but their winter tires are very "meh"

wtf there are no hills in Chicago why do you think you need them?

Canuck here who has run all seasons and many different winters. I will say it all depends on your vehicle and where you are driving. if FWD get winters no matter what, FWD is shit in winter despite the common myth that it is somehow better because the weight is over the wheels. yes the weight is over the driving wheels but that doesn't help you when you lose your rear end. RWD allows you to control the force to your rear by controlling your throttle and gearing. this will allow you to maintain control of your vehicle in most city situations where the streets are plowed, If you need to get through something harsher in your RWD get winters, this and a few hundred pounds of sand in your bed will help you through the tough stuff. treat AWD like FWD but full pride parade, you are gayer than aids. 4WD on the other hand should be treated like RWD and kept in 2WD till you fuck up because you are angry and wasted over the whore Meghan you thought was your girlfriend turns out to also be fucking Eddy who you thought was your best friend, and you run your truck deep into some fucking farmers field after falling asleep at the wheel. At that point you probably have no traction at your back wheels so shift it into 4WD low after you wake up and go fuck up Eddy.

Are there any appreciable differences between the Blizzaks, Ice-X's, and Ice Zero's? I kind of want to try Pirellis.

So what's the best winter, non-snow tire? I'm talking sub 40*Freedom on pavement with possible ice patches. Winter doesn't necessarily mean snow.

No such thing exists I think. If you want a tire to be usable on ice it will have to be/also be capable on snow

Not really, get the cheapest ones (Pirelli). They are curently priced agresivelly to gain market shares but they are as good as the others.

General Altimex aren't the low-cost bargain they used to be anymore, they phased them out for a new style that is $10+ more expensive which puts them in the same price range as more reputable brands such as Yokahama. I got a set of original altimex for $109/tire on closeout from Tire Rack but that was two weeks ago. They're probably out of stock completely no matter where you shop.

As a Finn foreigners talking about winter tires makes me laugh, all seasons, summer tires are ok if you have awd, so on.

Get studded tires, non-studded "friction" winter tires vary so much eg. German non studded winter tires are almost illegally dangerous in Finnish standards.

Also all seasons are stupid, they suck at every season. Mud and snow, M+S means nothing. Handling is horrible in dry and warm conditions but when it snows they are useless.
Get separate summer and winter tires, the rubber is so different.

You can't go wrong with Nokian winter tires, Finnish quality and winter tire autism, it's not coincidence that every car brand does their winter testing in Northern Finland. Get whatever brand you want as summer tires but you can't beat Nokian winter tires.

If you have more than 5 year old somewhat common car, used oem wheels can be found cheaply, perfect for winter.

And people like you who assume that everyone needs to have
>muh finnish rubber
are just as stupid

Conditions vary extremely from place to place. Sure, if you live near/over the arctic circle and your roads are frozen wastes for half the year then you need good tires suited to the condition. That doesn't mean that you need them in the middle of the US where the average snowfall is light, it melts quickly and the pace of the traffic drops dramatically anyways - sure, you will have people trying to tackle three inches of wet snow with their bald summer tires, but that doesn't mean that following the pace of traffic with some average all-seasons cant be safe.

Choose whats right for your conditions. Ofcourse it would be most optimal for everyone to have dedicated sets most suited to whatever you're driving in that day, but there are plenty of places where investing many hundreds of dollars into tires & wheels just isn't a wise choice as you cannot really justify using them only a few days of the year

Just buy a beater subaru for $800 and don't risk your nice car.

Most of Finnish people live where winter roads look like this. Most of winter season it's not like some white christmas tourist advertisement but slippery black ice like pic related, studs still rule and Nokians are best in the business.

Yes, most Finnish people - but not most "foreigners"

All seasons aren't stupid, they are just fucking cheap. Way cheaper than winter tires and summer tires. If you live in a mild climate there is NEVER a reason to get different sets of tires for summer and winter unless you're an enthusiast who owns a sports car.

I had Nexus n5000 all seasons and they work fine. I live in the Chicago suburbs

>when amerifats are so helpless they need another car for winter

lmao

>is norwegian

you shouldn't shit talk Nokia, you need them too

Fucking read, you finnigger

Still it's better to have two sets of tires, all seasons are just too big compromise and most of year you are driving in dry and warm conditions where they are inferior to summer tires. And they are useless in winter.
Separate summer and winter tires are a must, the rubber is just so much different even if you don't have studs. If you can't afford winter tires and you live in a location where it may snow in winter season, take the bus on bad days until you can afford winter tires.

Tires are the best way to improve your handling whatever you are driving, still people cheap out on them and spend the same money on something stupid like siqq modz.

Tires are measured in sudden situations, cheap chinese or bald tires could cost your and your passengers' life when it's raining and you try to sway away from a deer in your headlights.

Thoughts on these?

Are they advertising that their winter tyres collect snow and become slick?

No, its not a fucking must everywhere

The prerequisite for what tires to choose is; will this tire allow you to keep the pace of the traffic in a manner that is safe for you and fellow trafficants?

As in; can you hold the speed of the traffic and still be able to manoveur, brake and everything else without endangering or hindering everyone.

Dedicated winter tires are not necessary every single place that gets a tiny amount of snow. The reasons are;
>amount of snow
Very small amounts of snow, gets crushed/worn away by traffic very quickly
>temperature
The snow starts melting instantly, and the tires are still soft
>traffic
Traffic is heavily reduced as a lot of people choose not to drive, or because they are simply unable to get out of the driveway on their bald tires. The speed of the traffic that will be is way lower, meaning that you will have less of a braking distance. Actual winter tires will ofcourse help in that situation also, but its not a must for being able to drive safely in that pace

People dont choose all-seasons because they are supposed to be equally good at everything (even though some do think that way) - its more that they are most often quite cheap, available everywhere, and typically deal very well with rain. Also, comparing an actual all-season (the term is a bit loose in my opinion, encompassing way too many tires) and a summer tire you'll find that the all-season is more snow-capable than a summer tire and will allow you some modicum of control on light snow due to rougher grooving and siping

There is no need to take the bus when the snow is so light that it allows you to drive safely even with all-seasons. Its also a thing that a lot of people dont have the bus or other forms of public transportation as a viable option to go to work, the store or wherever

Mid-tier european winter tire. Acceptable snow performance, low-end ice performance, and ok performance on asphalt both wet and dry

All seasons should be illegal.

/thread