I'm considering separate summer and winter tires for my 4th gen Maxima, size 205/65-15. Only a few times is it really snowy, as the plows are usually good. These four would be at the top of my list for a dedicated winter tire:
Cooper Weathermaster Snow (made in England)
Hankook icept evo W310 (made in South Korea)
Falken Eurowinter HS439 (made in Japan)
Kumho izen KW27 (made in South Korea)
While none of the tires I listed will match Nokian's Hakkas, they've got to be better than any all-season "no season" tire, and standard winter tires (Tire Rack's "studless ice and snow" category) might be too squishy and not great handling when the roads are dry. I also don't want "all weather" tires because they're kind of expensive, still not as good as a real winter tire, and because they're also not great in regular wet and dry roads and have a very short treadlife. Therefore, the performance winter category is most appropriate for me.
The only summer-only tire available in this size is the Vredestein Sportrac 5
If I stick to only a single tire year-round, my choice would be the Falken Ziex ZE950. How is the ZE950 in the snow?
Cooper Weathermaster Snow (made in England)
Hankook icept evo W310 (made in South Korea)
Falken Eurowinter HS439 (made in Japan)
Kumho izen KW27 (made in South Korea)
While none of the tires I listed will match Nokian's Hakkas, they've got to be better than any all-season "no season" tire, and standard winter tires (Tire Rack's "studless ice and snow" category) might be too squishy and not great handling when the roads are dry. I also don't want "all weather" tires because they're kind of expensive, still not as good as a real winter tire, and because they're also not great in regular wet and dry roads and have a very short treadlife. Therefore, the performance winter category is most appropriate for me.
The only summer-only tire available in this size is the Vredestein Sportrac 5
If I stick to only a single tire year-round, my choice would be the Falken Ziex ZE950. How is the ZE950 in the snow?