Post your Winter wheel/tire setup

[GenSan]

I can report that driving to Madison WI on I-39 through a winter storm this past weekend had a half-dozen vehicles in the ditch. They were 2 pickups, 2 sedans, and a SUV. It was dark out and I could only make out a Silverado, an Explorer, and either an Accord or Camry. The Blizzak LT E Load tires handled as expected. Very confidently and that's what I prefer.

 

[burbguy82]

The Blizzaks are an excellent choice. Like all winter tires, the steering response suffers a bit, as the tall tread blocks are a bit squishy, but the traction is excellent, and they do very well in mixed precipitation and ice.

I’ve got Blizzaks (or more correctly, my kids and I have Blizzaks) on three of Volvo wagons.

The 2004 XC90has the Continental Viking 7.

The Nokia Hakapelliitta line are also excellent and got me through many Vermont winters.

A bit of Volvo trivia - the only wheels that clear the Brembo 4 piston calipers on the R are the OEM Pegasus wheels. Even other Volvo wheels, with the proper offset and bolt pattern, don’t clear those calipers. So, to mount the snows, I bought a new set of 17” “Pegs” and put the new Michelin Pilots AS4+ on them, and then mounted the Blizzaks on the original set of Pegs, that have a bit of curb rash and age on them.

I did the same with the 2004 XC90 - took the original wheels, with curb rash and age, and put the Viking Contacts on them, and got a refurbished set of identical wheels for the summer Nokian WR G4 on that car.

On my son’s 2001 V70, I got new 17” wheels for the Michelin AS4s, and kept the older 16” wheels that were original to the car for the Hakapelliittas. That car now has Blizzaks.

All that to say that it took considerable effort, not to mention some expense, to get the winter tires properly mounted.

They are that important.

IMO, traction and braking are the two most important factors in driving....you cant do either without good tires. Man you really love them Volvos.

Didnt know the Volvos were that stout in the brake dept, that is impressive.

 

[jadmt]

these get me thru Montana winters...we do a lot of road trips all winter long and icy and snow covered roads are no problem for these tires on either vehicle.for the record I have run dedicated snow tires ie Blizzaks and their ilk..I worked a job for years where I always had to be out on the roads no matter the conditions 24/7.

 

[road_rascal]

Just had Hankook Winter I Pike X (245/60R18) and Liquid Metal Halo wheels (Discount Tire) installed on our new Telluride. Seeing as it's snowing now and we're going 'up nort' to WI this weekend I'll edit this post to see how they perform.

 

[rstsco]

I put on a set of Continental VC8s for our trip to our daughter's in Wisconsin for Thanksgiving. Today I swapped back to the OEM all-season tires and put the Contis in the shed for the next cold-weather trip, probably in March. These wheels feel much heavier than they used to when I was younger!

 

[danielmid]

I can report that driving to Madison WI on I-39 through a winter storm this past weekend had a half-dozen vehicles in the ditch. They were 2 pickups, 2 sedans, and a SUV. It was dark out and I could only make out a Silverado, an Explorer, and either an Accord or Camry. The Blizzak LT E Load tires handled as expected. Very confidently and that's what I prefer.

I kept reading about accidents all over during that storm, that's why we all stayed home and didn't go anywhere. Glad you didn't have any issues.

 

[OVERKILL]

Just had Hankook Winter I Pike X (245/60R18) and Liquid Metal Halo wheels (Discount Tire) installed on our new Telluride. Seeing as it's snowing now and we're going 'up nort' to WI this weekend I'll edit this post to see how they perform.

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I had iPike tires on my Jeep for a while as my snows. I found their snow performance phenomenal, but their ice performance wasn't great out of the gate, and degraded considerably as the tires aged to the point where I got rid of them the winter before last, despite tons of tread left because they were scary. May not be an issue for you, but just throwing it out there in case that matters.

 

[tbm5690]

Still hurts with getting up and down a lot. Knees are shot with some arthritis, lack of cartilage from surgeries. Getting them all from back of shed and putting all the 3 season back in there is fun.

Do you have open wall space in the garage? Stud location somewhat determines length of these but I bet with 3 racks you could store all 4 sets. I'm 6'3" and can walk under mine without issue.

 

[Sequoiasoon]

Unfortunately the garage has to much other CRAP and non car stuff between cabinets on wall, refrigerator, freezer other racking. I also have maybe 8" between top of garage door and ceiling and maybe 8" space at side wall to to garage door tracks.

They stack well in the shed. The Pilot and CRV rims/tires make it 1 stack of 8 tires/rims to the top of metal shed. The other 8 are next to them under a shelf. It's just the seasonal not in current use stuff blocking (folding patio chairs, snow blower etc.)

 

[road_rascal]

I had iPike tires on my Jeep for a while as my snows. I found their snow performance phenomenal, but their ice performance wasn't great out of the gate, and degraded considerably as the tires aged to the point where I got rid of them the winter before last, despite tons of tread left because they were scary. May not be an issue for you, but just throwing it out there in case that matters.

Just about anything has to to be better than the OE Michelin Primacy all seasons that came with this car. The iPikes did very well on the rural snow packed roads going to our cabin. Luckily for the 35 years I've lived here in Minnesota ice generally hasn't been an issue since MNDOT does a great job on dumping a few million tons of salt on the roads.

 

[edyvw]

I had iPike tires on my Jeep for a while as my snows. I found their snow performance phenomenal, but their ice performance wasn't great out of the gate, and degraded considerably as the tires aged to the point where I got rid of them the winter before last, despite tons of tread left because they were scary. May not be an issue for you, but just throwing it out there in case that matters.

Oh boy when I remember Hankook W300. By far the worst winter tire I had. Everything was good going forward in snow. Stopping or handling was raising question whether summer tires would do better.
I mean, we say any winter tire is better in snow than non winter tires, but I had serious doubts about W300 fits that description.

 

[dustyroads]

2025 Nissan Sentra - trying out Dunlop Winter Maxx WM02 asymmetrical tires. $63.84 each for 205/60R16 from walmart. I wondered if they would be "old" and sure enough, they were made (in Japan) spring of '23.

Not a lot to say yet but they feel pretty good for ride comfort and reasonably quiet. I've been through some slush and on hard packed snow without issue, but nothing very challenging.

Both of my cars eat up the rears much faster than the fronts with the right rear going away fastest. I wanted the ability to rotate them in traditional cross patterns, thus the asymmetrical tread design choice. For the price, couldn't help giving them a try.