Initial Review, 2000 Miles on Tires
October 18, 2010
I went with a dedicated winter tire since the stock Cross-Terrains, or basically anything in the OE size, just don't make it as a great winter tire. I bought these just in time for the big "Snowmageddon" in the Wash D.C. area in 2010, very glad I did.
These tires are simply incredible.
I have driven many, many miles in the snow, more than I care to think about. I have used chains, cables, whatever..these tires will put the biggest grin on your grill...promise.
Believe what others say, you will do in 2WD what others can't in 4WD..NO JOKE. I deliberatly went up a good 25-30 deg hill, in at least 12" of snow, stopped half way up, put back in 2WD, and it chugged up the hill no problem, barely any wheelspin. I went into a hard-packed neighborhood where the surface was glazed over..nearly ice to test the brakes. At about 20 MPH, I slammed the brakes and my coffee cup flipped forward out of the cup holder, it was in there pretty good, almost like summer tires on a wet road...unbelievable stopping power which is the biggest trait of a winter tire IMO...that alone will save you, others, and property damage.
I only have about 2K on them, tread looks very good, almost new. Here's the thing about this type of tire...the tread blocks are very soft, don't expect them to pull 1g of lateral force on an off-ramp, be realistic.
They will have more noise, this is normal.
They will have much higher treadwear, this is perfectly normal.
You must rotate them sooner to avoid rounding off the shoulders, don't fault the tire.
For a winter tire, they are very quiet, can hear them around 70 but again..it's a winter tire, this is normal.
Slightly squirmish on quick lane changes but this is normal, definately feel the difference.
With about 16" of snow, I was the only one out of my neighborhood aside from a neighbors very large silverado..and this is with about 9" of ground clearance on mine. I didn't need a running star