Looking for dedicated winter tires 275/60/20 no studs. Leaning towards Michelin X-Ice Snow but not sure.
Dedicated winter tires 275/60/20 recommendations
- Thread starter scip5.3L
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- Dec 4, 2021
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Those would be my choice. Blizzaks second.
Tirerack only shows blizzak dm-v2 and michelin xice snow suv in that size..
My normal recommendation would be to shop the top 3-4 tires based on price.. but since only 1 is (easily?)available in this size the Michelins are the easy choice.
The blizzaks are old and not great compared to newer models.. so I would also go with the michelins.
Nokian does not make winter tires in this size
My normal recommendation would be to shop the top 3-4 tires based on price.. but since only 1 is (easily?)available in this size the Michelins are the easy choice.
yes they do. and it's all on their North American website. i found 3 models with your size.
https://na.nokiantyres.com/tires/suv-4x4-tyres/snow-winter-tires/
When you search their site it defaults to all season only.. seems kind of odd for nokian.. oops.
The nokians and michelins are within a few bucks at discount tire.
Yet tirerack does not carry them.. and DT owns tirerack?
When you search their site it defaults to all season only.. seems kind of odd for nokian.. oops.
The nokians and michelins are within a few bucks at discount tire.
Yet tirerack does not carry them.. and DT owns tirerack?
View attachment 237223
the Nokian North American website offers 13 tires in that size. 275 60 20. 3 of these are dedicated winter tires.
Nokian makes the Norman 7 - dedicated winter tire, not studded.
It’s on back order - how soon do you need these tires?
https://www.discounttire.com/buy-tires/nokian-tire-nordman-7-suv/p/38414
It’s on back order - how soon do you need these tires?
https://www.discounttire.com/buy-tires/nokian-tire-nordman-7-suv/p/38414
Not until November/December but want to start shopping now and will buy ahead of time when a sale hits.
I owned the original Hakka 1's with large (not Eco) studs.... imho there's no reason to obsess about them.When you search their site it defaults to all season only.. seems kind of odd for nokian.. oops.
The nokians and michelins are within a few bucks at discount tire.
Yet tirerack does not carry them.. and DT owns tirerack?
View attachment 237223
If studs are necessary I guess it narrows the field. But if they are not, I guess X-ice is fine. I have them. I think they are super noisy but many don't agree. With snow being the priority they do work.
Today I'd likely just get whatever Costco is selling and pretty sure they sell X-ice.
yeah they sell the x-ice SNOW which is the newer version, x-ice is the old
The OP said no studs,
The michelin xice we were referring to is the next generation xice snow. Which I had on the 22 forester, and plan to run on the 24 outback.
They are excellent winter tires.. but there are 3-4 choices in winter tires(most sizes) where you cant go wrong.. and I shop on price.
As far as noise on older xice tires.. they were the quietest for me closest to regular tires vs blizzaks ws-60, ws-70, contiential EWC etc.
it's all good and it's all relative. Likely the newer gen is better than the old. I could be comparing noise to the AS tires, whereas you may be comparing it to other snows. This is Tire Rack back in the day. imho at higher speeds, normal road and wind noise overtakes the snow tires
The aggressive tread designs of all four tires generated some additional pattern noise versus the typical all-season tire, too. The X-Ice Xi3 and Blizzak WS70 both produced noticeable growl at speeds up to 55mph which then dissipated as speeds increased further. The ExtremeWinterContact also produced some tread noise that was present at all speeds, while the steady growl emanating from the Ultra Grip Ice WRT was the loudest of the group. We’re hopeful this tire’s aggressive tread pattern will pay back in the snow when we conduct snow testing in the coming season.
I have used Blizzaks and the X-Ice. The Blizzak DM-V2 was nearly superior to the X-Ice in every way, the only area the X-Ice was better was noise level at 60 MPH...slight edge.
The X-Ice is a very good tire, but the Blizzak DM-V2 is better IMHO.
I would absolutely choose the DM-V2, the braking ability is astounding along with unreal snow traction.
Blizzaks have indeed always been a solid choice in that category.
how many miles did your Blizzak last?
I had them about 7 years, put them on at first snow, then off again in spring. If there was a dry spell for a month, I swapped back to my all season tires. Having them on a spare set of steel wheels is the way to go, but larger wheels are likely all aluminum.
That being said, I put about 25-30K miles on them with about 20% tread left. I drove them easy and made sure the alignment was good.
If you can, I would seriously consider a smaller set of wheels that can work around your brakes, and opt for some more sidewall height with a narrower tread. I honestly don't think it will matter too much, but something to consider.
The tires are soft, slightly squirmy, and have some light noise above 50 MPH, but all that is negated once the snow falls. I really didn't need 4WD most of the time.
What area of the country are you in? I am in Michigan
