Long lasting snow tires

[userfriendly]

I found that my E rated snow tires wear at 1/32 per 6,000 miles (10,000 kms) on 2500 and 3500 Chev/GMCs.
Starting at 18/32 for Toyo CTs, Nitto EXO or GY Duratrac, you do the math, depending on how far you want the wear before they become summer tires.
If I increase the width of the tire, I go with a wider wheel as well.
For example I have a set of 295/55/20 Nitto EXO and 295/65/20 CTs both on 20x10" wheels.
A set of 275/70/17 studded Duratrac, 1500 GMC are on Fuel 18x9s.
I'm running a set of 285/75/18 Toyo AT II on stock GM 18x8 inch tires. The AT IIs don't perform near as well on snow and ice as the other tires mentioned.
I'm considering getting rid of a 2014 Ford Escape for a new Chev Blazer. Those cars come with tires that wouldn't get you out of the driveway
if rain was in the forcast. A set of 265/50/20 Toyo AT IIIs might do the trick. I found that Blizzaks wear too fast and are over rated.

 

[dubber09]

General Altimax here on Forte, 7th season and still good tread depth worth another season or two, about 40K miles on the set. Still will be replacing them with yet another General tires, this time Altimax 12.

 

[userfriendly]

General Altimax here on Forte, 7th season and still good tread depth worth another season or two, about 40K miles on the set. Still will be replacing them with yet another General tires, this time Altimax 12.

Try Pemberton to Lillooet, Revelstoke to Golden or from Hope to Merritt on 8 year old winter tires.

 

[dubber09]

Not gonna try it but sure would make it, tread is still good while yet will retire the tires.
Seen snow for at least 6 months a year all my life so kinda have an idea what's what.

 

[mjk1967]

Same here... I bought a set for both my car and the girlfriend. After some 7 seasons before my car was totaled, I had 7/32" remaining. Using them about 2-3 months per year. Quiet, no issues...

The girlfriends set are at 8/32" but now are too old... So I won't put them on, but still plenty of thread life left if the rubber wasn't compromised by age.

Fantastic winter tires... Deep snow, slush and whatever else. Huge traction. I'd buy them again in a heartbeat if I were to buy more snow tires.

Please qualify your statments with mileage you put on them, rather than seasons. I definitely would like to hear more, but we all but different mileage on our vehicles.

 

[paqza]

They might not be close to the top in performance but I've gotten 5 winters on multiple sets of General Altimax Arctic. I'm getting decent wear on the Sumitomo Ice Edge I've got on the minivan - expecting to retire the car before I go through the tires.

 

[Jmlo96]

I have 6 winters on a set of General Altimax Artic on one car. They still have about 7/32nds of tread (new was 12/32nds). I suspect they will need replaced due to age before they wear out. On 2 other cars I have Continental VikingContacts. Both are still at 9/3nds of tread (10/32nds new) after 2 winters. Avoid Bridgestone Blizzaks at all costs if you want tire life. I had 2 of the WS80 model wear out after 1 winter on a FWD car.

 

[UG_Passat]

I have 6 winters on a set of General Altimax Artic on one car. They still have about 7/32nds of tread (new was 12/32nds). I suspect they will need replaced due to age before they wear out. On 2 other cars I have Continental VikingContacts. Both are still at 9/3nds of tread (10/32nds new) after 2 winters. Avoid Bridgestone Blizzaks at all costs if you want tire life. I had 2 of the WS80 model wear out after 1 winter on a FWD car.

I personally average 2 winters on winter tires, including General Altimax Arctic.... there's a lot of dry pavement driving I do in the winter time, ie driving to the ski slopes and such.

The only tire that lasted 3 seasons for my driving so far is Nitto SN-2's. Too bad SN-3's are not available in the US.

 

[nobb]

I remember back when I didn't know any better, I bought a set of used Goodyear Nordics from the junkyard, ran them for 8-9 years and they still had 60-70% left. Never tracked mileage, but 10,000 kms per winter would be a good guess. People complain about these harder compound winter tires not being as good, but this was on a heavier van and always got around just fine.

 

[Corollaman]

While they were the worst snow tire I've ever used, I put 15000 miles on a set of hankook ipikes and they barely used any tread!

I've got a set of ipikes, I actually like them on snow, not so much on compact ice. I do agree that ipikes last a lot longer than other winter tires I've owned.

 

[CheezWhiz]

I went with the grabber arctic lt with studs. in a few years when they wear out will i remember to report back? probably not.

 

[mzugg]

Since the weather is turning cold, and this thread seems to be going again:

I've had extremely good life from a number of sets of General Altimax Arctics. I've even found them to work and last well in warm weather. I will caution that General has changed the tire to the Altimax Arctic 12, and I don't like them as well. The last set I bought for my 99 Lumina sedan, was much noisier than the old design, and also didn't have as much snow cornering traction as the previous sets of the older model of this tire. I don't know if the longevity has been affected, as the newer tires don't yet have a lot of miles on them.

I still have a set of the old version on my Grand Cherokee, and every time I drive it, I wish General hadn't screwed up such a good tire.

I sadly abandoned the Generals as a result, and went to the Hankook that is a rip-off of the old General tread for my newest sedan. I don't have enough winter time on these to tell you how they compare to the old Generals.

 

[sk_pete]

u do not want long lasting tyres.
friend bought from somebody unused, but 10y old premium winter tyres. he almost trashed the car....
we call that here "hockey pucks" or "pressed darkness"

 

[kozanoglu]

Instead of Hankook W616s Arctic 12s were installed on my car recently.

I used several sets of original Arctics 2 years ago a set of Arctic 12s. Original Arctics I drove year round, 4 seasons with no problem. Last set of 12s had one blow-out on the highway, the base of the tire separated from the sides.

How do you install directional tires? I want to see if my last set were installed correctly.

 

[UG_Passat]

How do you install directional tires? I want to see if my last set were installed correctly.

Look for the "rotation" indicator on the sidewall of the tire. it will have an arrow indicating the forward direction. If that arrow is not pointing forward, it's on the wrong side. It's under the "GT" logo.

Asymmetric tires, for instance will have "OUTSIDE" marking