All season w/ good snow traction

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Originally Posted By: MillerMan
I have a set of Goodyear Integrity, worthless in snow and ice
there 225/60-16 braking and take off is just terrible, cornering is so so

oddly I know sombody that's has Goodyear Integrity 235/65-17, they are better but not great. but the thread pattern is slightly differnt on those


My wifes car came with the Integrity's and the best I can say about them is that they were quiet, road nicely and lasted over 60,000 miles. Everything else was terrable; cornering, stopping, wet traction etc.
 
I will add another vote for Nokian WR or Nokian WR G2.

I currently have WR G2's on our Subaru and love them.

My wife/I have owned 4 sets of Nokian WR's between two cars and get about 40k-50k of service out of them depending if end of life is in summer or winter(shed them quicker).
 
The problem with most all-season that perform well in snow and ice is that there is always the question about how well they will perform towards the end of their life. Some tires may do reasonably well at first but everything goes downhill after that.
To add insult to injury some tires has good tread life so its a pity to see so much tread still left, yet they are practically useless!

Currently, I have the tripletreds on the Accord and the non-Intergritys (pun intended) on the MDX. So, yes, I have experienced both ends of the spectrum. The tripletreds are awesome and the non-integrity's (I like calling them that, dont I?) are traumatic in snow/ice, to say the least.

Now the tripletreds have ~40k miles on them, and still have 5/32 - 6/32 tread left, but this snow season there were a couple of instances where I felt it was loosing it a bit. So before next winter maybe I might have to replace them as well. At that point you wonder was it worth the extra I paid for the extra tread life ?

But lets try not to make this another GY Integrity rant thread.
 
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Originally Posted By: youdontwannaknow
Some tires may do reasonably well at first but everything goes downhill after that.

But that's the case with all tires. You need certain amt of tread depth for the tire to work well in snow. Generally, by the time the tread is half-worn, I would consider replacing it, if snow traction is important.

Interestingly enough, you will find that quite a few people will still buy your half-worn winter tires, so by putting them up on craigslist, you can get some of the money back to help you pay for a new set.
 
Originally Posted By: Drew99GT
I'd strongly consider the Goodyear Fortera Tripe Tread for the MDX. As stated above, it carries the severe service snowflake symbol, so it's as close to a snow tire as you can get while still being able to run them year round.

Goodyear siped them to death. It's essentially a clone of the Assurance TripleTred design but with heavy siping all along the shoulder blocks and more grooves in their "water zone".

The Bridgestone Potenza RE960AS does come in 195/65R15. I have a set of 205/55R16 on my 2004 WRX and it handled snow admirably for an all-season tire. I wasn't exactly invincible, but with due care I think it's about as good as it gets in true all-season.
 
Originally Posted By: y_p_w


The Bridgestone Potenza RE960AS does come in 195/65R15. I have a set of 205/55R16 on my 2004 WRX and it handled snow admirably for an all-season tire. I wasn't exactly invincible, but with due care I think it's about as good as it gets in true all-season.


Those are ultra high performance all season. A passenger all season like the P4 4 seasons will likely have better snow performance.
 
Originally Posted By: Drew99GT
Originally Posted By: y_p_w


The Bridgestone Potenza RE960AS does come in 195/65R15. I have a set of 205/55R16 on my 2004 WRX and it handled snow admirably for an all-season tire. I wasn't exactly invincible, but with due care I think it's about as good as it gets in true all-season.


Those are ultra high performance all season. A passenger all season like the P4 4 seasons will likely have better snow performance.

I'm not sure that these categories necessarily apply in this case. The RE960AS comes in a whole range of different configurations from H to W speed rated. There are differences in load rating and contact patch that might affect snow performance. I'm sure that each tire is tuned specifically for the type of vehicle it might go on; the expectation for an Accord is going to be vastly different than that for my WRX. I've heard that a lot of snow performance has to do with groove configuration.
 
I was able to safely navigate Tahoe after chain controls were lifted on a set of Michelin Pilot Exalto A/S...

And the ONLY car I would even remotely trust Integrities is a Prius. They seem to work great on hybrids but dangerous on everything else...
 
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Originally Posted By: y_p_w
The Bridgestone Potenza RE960AS does come in 195/65R15. I have a set of 205/55R16 on my 2004 WRX and it handled snow admirably for an all-season tire. I wasn't exactly invincible, but with due care I think it's about as good as it gets in true all-season.

I have the RE960 in two sizes: 195/65/15 and 235/45/17. IMO, their winter/snow performance is terrible. As bad as Michelin MXV4+ Energy. I am going back to dedicated winter tires next season.
 
"Some tires may do reasonably well at first but everything goes downhill after that."

That's the same concern I usually have. That's why I recommended the Michelin LTX or X Radial LT, because you start with 12/32 vs 10/32nds, and the siping is all full depth. Unlike the Bridgestone Duellers I have where all the siping and most of the lateral channels are only half deep, so at 5/32 the tire is worthless in snow.

Same thing with our Bridgestone EL41's on our Accord. 5~6\32nd's left, but it's terrible starting or stopping on snow because all the lateral grooves are worn away. Next fall it will be something new, and I hope to find something I can get 3-4 years out of comfortably.

I understand they do this so the tire isn't as squshy/squirrely when it's new, but if you care at all about snow traction it sucks.
 
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Another vote for the Kumho Solus KR21. I've had them on my Taurus through this winter and they saved my bacon a few times. They are definitely the best all season tire I've ever used. Pricing on them also seems to be more reasonable than some of the bigger names. I got mine on sale at Discount Tire - very happy with them, too. Like any tire that doesn't have studs or chains they don't do well on polished ice, but give them a little texture or a nap of snow and they are great.
 
Originally Posted By: Ken E.
Based on personal experience this winter, Bridgestone Potenza G009 is a good choice. I was surprised at how well they did in the ice and snow, especially compared to the helpless Michelin Pilot Exalto A/S on the other car.

Yep! On my 95 BMW 525i Michelin Exalto A/S are not even that good in rain. Took them off and put cheap Firestone Winterforce tires on for the winter. They even ride better. Doubt if will buy exaltos again.
 
BF GOODRICH Traction T/A T are supposed to be good in snow for all season tire . These get high ratings at TIRERACK . Considering them for the YARIS .
 
Ya know, when I did my tire search recently for all of my vehicles, there were IIRC, six different tires that I narrowed my choices down to and any of the six would have been fine so because I had three vehicles to buy for, I went for price. Which tire in my particular sizes can I get the best price delivered/installed. And the prices varried by size. My considerations were, in no particular order:

Pirelli P4
Yokohama AvidTRZ
Kumho Solus KR-21
General Altimax RT
GoodYear Assur Comf Tread
BFGoodrich Touring T/A

I would have taken any of the six tires, price delivered/installed being the real factor.
 
Originally Posted By: Char Baby
Ya know, when I did my tire search recently for all of my vehicles, there were IIRC, six different tires that I narrowed my choices down to and any of the six would have been fine so because I had three vehicles to buy for, I went for price. Which tire in my particular sizes can I get the best price delivered/installed. And the prices varried by size. My considerations were, in no particular order:

Pirelli P4
Yokohama AvidTRZ
Kumho Solus KR-21
General Altimax RT
GoodYear Assur Comf Tread
BFGoodrich Touring T/A

I would have taken any of the six tires, price delivered/installed being the real factor.



Maybe it was different for you, but as soon as I got to the same point I immediately had to cross off the Pirelli, Michelin and Goodyear choices. I don't know how they can justify their prices when other companies have comparable products for 30-40% less price. The car got Kumho and the truck got General and I've been happy. Search by features, sort by price.
 
Originally Posted By: Ken E.
Based on personal experience this winter, Bridgestone Potenza G009 is a good choice. I was surprised at how well they did in the ice and snow.


I agree 100%.

I had the RE950 prior to the G009 and they were also good. We just got hit with a good foot of snow/ice this past weekend and once the roads were plowed over once I had now issues driving about.
 
I had Kuhmo KR21's on 2 cars and one truck.....fantastic all season tires.....even in winter.....I'm in the snow belt here about 60 miles inland from Lake Erie....we get dumped on goooood.
Smooooth riding tire too.....hard to beat. I drive 150 miles a day , gotta have good tires to get me thru....KR21's do it in fine fashion.
I just put Yokohama Avid TRZ on my Camry , no where near the smoothness / handling of the KR21'S.
BOB
 
FYI - some of the KR21's are made in Kumho's China plant.

Not slamming anyone here, I have them on my wife's Highlander.
 
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