Help Decide Which Winter Tires for '18 Civic

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Originally Posted by john_pifer
Originally Posted by 14Accent
Why don't you just get a set of Toyo Celsius for the 17's and call it a day? None of this swapping out every time she heads north nonsense, just put them on now and leave them on until March/April.

Toyo Celsius


Your idea is tempting...

Who here has run an "all-season" or an "all-weather" with the Mountain Snowflake logo, vs. a true winter/snow tire?

What kind of performance differences we talking about?


I have. With the Nokian WR G3 on my old FWD car, as my winter tires.

Compared to True Winter tires, I have run in the past for that car, Not as good in the snow/ice as the Nokian Hakkapeliitta RSI, but better in the cold dry/wet
General Altimax Arctic... I would rate as equal in the snow/ice, but better cold dry/wet
Korean performance winter tires (Hankook Icebear W300 & Nexen Winguard)... better in snow/ice and equal in the cold dry/wet.

The Nokian WR G4 and the G3 actually start out as Central European winter tires ("True Winter tires"), then Nokian gives it a modified compound to work year-round, as the WR G4 started out as the WR A4 in Europe, and the WR G3 was both the WR A3 and WR D3 (depending on size).

The W4 G4 SUV for my car
https://www.bobistheoilguy.com/foru...new-winter-tires-from-nokian#Post5293742
 
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So if you intend to drive them a lot in dry and wet then winter performance and all weather tires may be preferable.


Go to library or news stand and get December Consumer Report. They did quite comprehensive (number of tires tested, the number of tests is not so comprehensive but best available in the USA) test.


One can see that performance winter tires trade snow/ice traction for better dry/wet traction and better handling.
Studless winter tires have abysmal wet performance (wet braking is tested) but their snow and ice traction is second to none.

The tire to get if one wants one tire to do it all reasonably well (specialized tools beat it in their focus conditions) seems to be Michelin CrossClimate+.

You need to pick a tire category that strikes you balance and then pick model that matches your price/performance criteria.

KrzyÅ›
 
I just bought a set Continental VikingContact7s for my AWD MINI Clubman.

There's a $70 rebate on a set of four right now. That makes them among the cheapest option, and also one of the highest rated. A no-brainer for me.
 
Originally Posted by madRiver


Just mount the 17" on as-is and see how it goes next storm. The size 235/40-18 would even be mediocre with winter tires.



Ummm ... NO.

Having driven on wide winter tires, 275/30/20's, they were not mediocre by any stretch. Sure, in deep fluffy stuff they are not ideal, but they still work light years better than a regular all season. And on hard pack snow and ice, a wider tire actually gives you MORE grip.
 
I loved the old Continental DWS on my 06 Civic Si. Did great as an all season tire thru MN winters and everything.

Think they revamped them into the Conti DWS06 now.
 
Originally Posted by ZebRuaj
I loved the old Continental DWS on my 06 Civic Si. Did great as an all season tire thru MN winters and everything.

Think they revamped them into the Conti DWS06 now.


Cool.

I'm really leaning towards the VikingContact 7 a couple of you suggested because of the good deal on them right now with the $70 mail-in rebate, plus the $50 off from TireDiscounters when you sign up for the credit card (I'll never use it again, probably), and the good ratings of the tire.

I'll just put them on for when she's driving to Northern Indiana to see her parents/family or to Michigan to see her sister, then pull them off when she comes back.

I've been impressed with the quality of tire I can get with Continental in the past (I bought a set of the ExtremeContact Sport summer tires for the ‘16 WRX I had. They probably had 90% or more of the performance of a Michelin or Bridgestone, for much less money.
 
Another question for you guys.

The factory tires on the 16" wheels are 215/55-16s. Should I go with 205/55-16s for the winter tires? Wouldn't that size fall within the acceptable range of tire size for that width wheel?
 
Originally Posted by john_pifer
Another question for you guys.

The factory tires on the 16" wheels are 215/55-16s. Should I go with 205/55-16s for the winter tires? Wouldn't that size fall within the acceptable range of tire size for that width wheel?


Will a 16" wheel clear the brake calipers?
 
Originally Posted by SubLGT
Originally Posted by john_pifer
Another question for you guys.

The factory tires on the 16" wheels are 215/55-16s. Should I go with 205/55-16s for the winter tires? Wouldn't that size fall within the acceptable range of tire size for that width wheel?


Will a 16" wheel clear the brake calipers?


The Civic came with 16" wheels (215/55-16). I think they are 7" wide. Not 100% sure about that, however.

I bought a set of 18" OEM wheels from a friend who bought a new Civic Si and immediately put aftermarket wheels on it. We kept the 16" wheels, so that's what I'll mount the snow tires on.

Just wondering if a slightly narrower tire would perform better in ice and snow.
 
Originally Posted by john_pifer

...
Just wondering if a slightly narrower tire would perform better in ice and snow.


It depends. Aquaplaning resistance or going through slush - yes.
Everything else may be worse. Manufacturers suggest sticking with OE size. If downsizing wheels keeping tread width the same as OE and increasing aspect ratio seems to be in fashion now.

KrzyÅ›
 
I put Vredestein Quatrac 5 tires on my Clubman; the Quatrac 5 is a grand touring all-season that also has the severe snow service rating. I like them a lot- they are good in the snow and amazing in the wet; a while back I was driving the car on the interstate in a moderate rain; I wasn't paying attention to the speedometer(easy to do in an R55 Mini) and when I did glance over at it I found I was cruising at over 85 mph. The car felt solid as a rock- the tires performing as if the road was bone dry.
 
Originally Posted by john_pifer
Another question for you guys.

The factory tires on the 16" wheels are 215/55-16s. Should I go with 205/55-16s for the winter tires? Wouldn't that size fall within the acceptable range of tire size for that width wheel?


31.gif


It will be smaller, less load-carrying capacity.

You might be able to use 205/60-16
 
Originally Posted by slacktide_bitog
Originally Posted by john_pifer
Another question for you guys.

The factory tires on the 16" wheels are 215/55-16s. Should I go with 205/55-16s for the winter tires? Wouldn't that size fall within the acceptable range of tire size for that width wheel?


31.gif


It will be smaller, less load-carrying capacity.

You might be able to use 205/60-16


Nah. I think I'd rather just keep the OEM size
 
Originally Posted by john_pifer
Another question for you guys.

The factory tires on the 16" wheels are 215/55-16s. Should I go with 205/55-16s for the winter tires? Wouldn't that size fall within the acceptable range of tire size for that width wheel?


I used 195/60/16 on my Civic. With Hakka R2 was unstoppable in the snow. For real winter driving, you want skinny and as much sidewall as possible. There is a slight t trade off for dry handling. 600 hp pro rally cars will use 135's on snow/ice.
 
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I put 195/65r15 vikingcontact7 on the 2020 elantra it came with 205/55r16 both are aprox the same diameter.

It feels a little better vs stock over the giant highway expansion bumps we get in the winter from frost heaves/cold.

Also since the oem tires are marvels of low rolling resistance.. the winter tire is better in pretty much every way..
esp for tramlining on grooved roads... the ones with the groves in the traffic direction pull the stock tires all over REALLY BAD.
whiplash bad in some spots where the grooves change direction.

The winter tires are 95% immune to this.
 
Originally Posted by mightymousetech
Originally Posted by john_pifer
Another question for you guys.

The factory tires on the 16" wheels are 215/55-16s. Should I go with 205/55-16s for the winter tires? Wouldn't that size fall within the acceptable range of tire size for that width wheel?


I used 195/60/16 on my Civic. With Hakka R2 was unstoppable in the snow. For real winter driving, you want skinny and as much sidewall as possible. There is a slight t trade off for dry handling. 600 hp pro rally cars will use 135's on snow/ice.


Wow!
 
Originally Posted by Rand
I put 195/65r15 vikingcontact7 on the 2020 elantra it came with 205/55r16 both are aprox the same diameter.

It feels a little better vs stock over the giant highway expansion bumps we get in the winter from frost heaves/cold.

Also since the oem tires are marvels of low rolling resistance.. the winter tire is better in pretty much every way..
esp for tramlining on grooved roads... the ones with the groves in the traffic direction pull the stock tires all over REALLY BAD.
whiplash bad in some spots where the grooves change direction.

The winter tires are 95% immune to this.


Cool! So, how long have you had those VikingContact7? How many miles? Liking them?
 
I am (or rather my wife is) driving on Viking Contacts 7 and they are very good. Similar to Xi3 but better in dry and wet, in my non scientific butt feel testing.
I do like them, as is my wife.

KrzyÅ›
 
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