One local tire vendor I am talking to may not have my first two choices available, the Continental VikingContact7 or the Pirelli Winter Ice Zero FR. But it may be down to Nitto Winter SN3 vs Sumitomo Ice Edge.
The car will be the beater I picked up this weekend, a 2004 Chevrolet Impala.
Conditions will be what city driving primarily in Edmonton, which is already seeing below freezing temperatures, frosty mornings and the first dusting snowfall still remaining on lawns, and will dip to as low as -40 during parts of the winter, averaging to -20C for most of the winter, and see up to a moderate amount of snow. Most roads, despite any type of clearing efforts will end up with ice between the pavement ruts (and often in them), formed from snow that has compacted, partially melted, then refrozen.
My tire needs to excel in ice, more so than any other winter condition, but should be able to handle snow as well. I prefer to stay away from studded, though I could even run them all year long here if I wanted.
I've been impressed in the past on other vehicles with the Continental ExtremeWinterContact, General Altimax Arctic and Nordman 7 SUV, and extremely underwhelmed by Michelin X-Ice Xi3, with most of the others I've used falling somewhere in the middle, but most closer towards my previous top tires.
Of the Nitto and Sumitomo, which would be the better choice for my parameters? Sumitomo seems to have good reviews, I can find next to nothing on the Nitto, but the tire shop thinks they are the better of the two. Would I be underwhelmed by either of them? Is there possibly something else I should consider (if they are even available right now in the size I need)?
The car will be the beater I picked up this weekend, a 2004 Chevrolet Impala.
Conditions will be what city driving primarily in Edmonton, which is already seeing below freezing temperatures, frosty mornings and the first dusting snowfall still remaining on lawns, and will dip to as low as -40 during parts of the winter, averaging to -20C for most of the winter, and see up to a moderate amount of snow. Most roads, despite any type of clearing efforts will end up with ice between the pavement ruts (and often in them), formed from snow that has compacted, partially melted, then refrozen.
My tire needs to excel in ice, more so than any other winter condition, but should be able to handle snow as well. I prefer to stay away from studded, though I could even run them all year long here if I wanted.
I've been impressed in the past on other vehicles with the Continental ExtremeWinterContact, General Altimax Arctic and Nordman 7 SUV, and extremely underwhelmed by Michelin X-Ice Xi3, with most of the others I've used falling somewhere in the middle, but most closer towards my previous top tires.
Of the Nitto and Sumitomo, which would be the better choice for my parameters? Sumitomo seems to have good reviews, I can find next to nothing on the Nitto, but the tire shop thinks they are the better of the two. Would I be underwhelmed by either of them? Is there possibly something else I should consider (if they are even available right now in the size I need)?
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