Need a winter tire suggestion.

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Rust_Belt_Pete

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Hey folks, I just got a 2015 Ford fiesta,need some new "shoes" for the car.
Trying to find a good compromise winter tire.
Me and the wife do lots of long highway trips on the weekend (around 160 highway miles).
During the week I make lots of city driving for work and school.
Need a tire with halfway decent winter performance but handles well on the highway in the winter.
I put Michelin ice xi3 on my wifes Mazda 6, it seems to do well on ice and packed snow, not sure how it handles the wet slush which is my main concern on the highway.

So short version is that i am looking for a winter tire that wears well and handles highway driving/iced roads.

Thanks guys.
 
Well, this is bobistheoilguy.com, so Michelin is very highly rated.

My first suggestion would be to put a set of 185/60-15 or 185/65-15 on the Fiesta. Narrower is better.

I would recommend trying to find a set of Nokian Hakkapeliitta or Nordman. Nokian seems to make the best snow tires out there. IF you can find a dealer, I am of the opinion that the Nokians will be the best.

Followed by the latest Bridgestone Blizzak.

If you are more budget minded, there's always low end snow tires like the Firestone Winterforce. But those will only do well in deep snow and not so much in slush. They will do okay in ice, but only studded.
 
Nokian Hakkapeliitta 8 (studded) or Hakkapeliitta R2 (non-studded). They're in a class unto themselves.
 
Hi Pete, I have Goodyear Ice Grip WRTs on my Forester and I was very pleased with them through a very tough New England winter season. We ski most weekends and I need to deal with long highway drives that range from treacherous to completely dry as well as getting around on steep roads in the mountains that might not be cleared. I have had snow tires in the past that were great in the white stuff but scary at speed on a dry highway. The WRTs got me through the tough stuff, even unplowed, but had very good highway manners in all conditions, as well.
I will also mention that tirerack.com tested the WRTs against the Xi3 and WS80 and found it to be the weakest of the three, FWIW. The WS80 was not available at the time of my purchase and I didn't see enough difference in the driver ratings of the Xi3 and WRT to justify the $30 extra cost per tire for the former. These ratings rank the WS80 #1, followed by the Xi3 and the WRT, but they are all pretty close...I'm surprised that WRT gets a relatively low rating for noise, I thought they were quiet enough and the OEMs weren't really any better when they went back on in the spring.
 
Originally Posted By: Bandito440
Nokian Hakkapeliitta 8 (studded) or Hakkapeliitta R2 (non-studded). They're in a class unto themselves.


+1

Particularly good in wet, slushy conditions...
 
Thanks guys! By the way those "skinny" tires are my OEM size tires.
Looking at both xi3 and (insert painfully long Finnish word with rolling R's here) R2.
How is the tire life of both?

I average 20-25k miles a year sometimes.
 
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My parents have a set of Hakkapeliitta on their Escape (I believe) and they maybe have lost 2/32 to 3/32, total, in the 3 winters it has been in service.
 
The best wet slush tire I have had is the Nokian WR G2,G3 series. However they lack in ice traction as they are really extremely winter capable all-seasons.

The Michelin's, Bridgstone Blizzack and Nokian Hakka series seem like nice all around tires.
 
I never wore out a set of Nokians - but I mounted them in October and pulled them off in April. Heat kills winter tires, as does hard driving. They didn't get exposed to either. I would expect 25K useful miles out of a good set of winter tires...when they get to 6/32" depth, the snow traction begins to decline...you can just run them through the summer at that point, or pitch them...
 
The one significant weakness of the Xice Xi3 is resistance to slush planing. In every winter test that I have seen, the Xi3 scores at the bottom of the class in slush.

The relative weakness of the R2, compared to its peers, is dry and wet traction.
 
I have the Hakka R2's and dont find they are great in slush, maybe average at best. Solid on ice and snow. I dont think a tire exists that handles both slush, ice and packed snow extremely well. Deeper grooved tires/sipes will handle snow and slush better, the Nokian R2's are likely the best all around that I've used, but I would suggest trying the Hakka 8's. Think they might handle all conditions best.
 
Originally Posted By: Rust_Belt_Pete
Thanks guys! By the way those "skinny" tires are my OEM size tires.
Looking at both xi3 and (insert painfully long Finnish word with rolling R's here) R2.
How is the tire life of both?

I average 20-25k miles a year sometimes.


Tread life will be much better on the Nokians. Find out the smallest size tires you can run (narrowest) and run those. I believe the conclusion is smaller the footprint, the more the weight on contact patch= better winter traction. Also, generally cheaper when buying tires.
 
Published slush planing tests that include all 3 classes of winter tires (studded, studless, performance) are not very common, but in all of them that I have seen, the performance winter always gets #1 rating in resistance to slush planing.

As one example, in the 2013 tests from Vi Bilagare, the Nokian WR-D3 beat the R2 and Hakka8.
 
Originally Posted By: SubLGT
The one significant weakness of the Xice Xi3 is resistance to slush planing. In every winter test that I have seen, the Xi3 scores at the bottom of the class in slush.

The relative weakness of the R2, compared to its peers, is dry and wet traction.


I can vouch for that. I had XIce 2's on my Camaro for 5 winters (or was it six?), and they were great in snow, rain, and ice, but really lost traction easily in slush.
 
Originally Posted By: Rust_Belt_Pete
Thanks guys! By the way those "skinny" tires are my OEM size tires.
Looking at both xi3 and (insert painfully long Finnish word with rolling R's here) R2.
How is the tire life of both?

I average 20-25k miles a year sometimes.

They both have soft compounds (which you want in a winter tire), so the key is to remove them quickly once the weather warms up. November - March was my usual time period, unless I saw an early storm forecasted.

I had Nokain Hakkapeliittas on my first car, an old rear wheel drive Volvo 740. Those tires plus two sandbags in the trunk allowed me to get anywhere in Central New York winters. It was especially fun to motor past SUVs that had spun out and ended up in the median on I-81. I won't purchase another brand of winter tire.
 
I cant do studded tires, it would drive me nuts on the highway, the noise will grind down any sane man.
I think I am going to go with the R2's.
Changing lanes in a slush covered highway is one of the most unpleasant experiences I have yet to encounter even with decent winter tires (xi3).
 
Originally Posted By: Rust_Belt_Pete
I cant do studded tires, it would drive me nuts on the highway, the noise will grind down any sane man.
I think I am going to go with the R2's.
Changing lanes in a slush covered highway is one of the most unpleasant experiences I have yet to encounter even with decent winter tires (xi3).

That's a good compromise. I think you'll be happy with them anyhow.
 
Originally Posted By: RISUPERCREWMAN
Look into the Firestone Winter Force tires! They are the best bang for the buck!


I run these on my Audi and I ran them on my old Pontiac Sunbird, hands down best budget snow tire IMO, I do a lot of highway driving for work and I've only worn down maybe 2/32 of tread in two years and I take it on the occasional hooning adventure in an empty parking lot after a large snowfall
 
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