Snow Tires and Wheels

Initial Review, 10,000 Miles on Tires
April 06, 2013

These converted our AWD Montego to a winter half track. Studded these tires on their own wheels and they actually out performed the Blizzaks on our other car, for a lot less cost. They have the usual studded winter tire squirm and noise, but not as bad as others were before. But after getting a 3 foot blizzard and many other snow storms, these have proven themselves. And on ice? You can't beat studded tires in my opinion. Took Tire Rack's advice and went down an inch in wheel and tire size, but the taller sidewall gives us the same effective ground clearance, which is valuable in deeper snow. And that taller sidewall is more forgiving on Maine's frost heaved, potholed roads.

Our new Michelin hydro all seasons were downright dangerous in snow the previous winter, so glad we got them off for winter!

Initial Review, 15,000 Miles on Tires
April 11, 2013

These tires replaced the OE Dunlop run-flats that were on the '08 TT Roadster when we bought it. What a difference, the ride is much less harsh, traction is much better, and spirited driving is fun again. The control at highway speeds in heavy rain is exceptional due to the directional tread pattern. Due to the fact that I change to my other wheel/snow tires for the winter I can not comment on driving on snow and ice. Tread ware is very good after 15,000+ miles. When I bought these tires I had them sent to KO Tire in Elk Grove Village, IL for installation. They did an exceptional job and were very friendly and informative when I asked questions. These were both a winning experience.
Thanks Tire Rack & KO Tire !!

Initial Review, 31 Miles on Tires
December 14, 2012

Just bought a set of MD10 (17” alloy wheels) and Bridgestone WS70 tyres (balance & mounted with sensors) from www.tirerack.com and saved over $1300.00 Canadian Dollars compared to buying them directly from the Dealership. I got the alloy wheels and tyres in 4 days from the United States. Great service, as well as fast and efficient. I got Lexus of Calgary to mount them onto my Lexus CT200H 2012. These tyres are like Velcro to ice and snow. I live in the South West of Calgary, which is very hilly, like Bow and Sarcee Trail. These Bridgestone WS70’s perform very well indeed and I have great confidence in their hill start, accelerating, cornering and most importantly stopping. I have over 24 years of driving experience from Europe, as well as here in Canada and I must say that these Bridgestone WS70 tyres, perform very well indeed. I would never dream of driving in winter without them.

Initial Review, 6,200 Miles on Tires
April 11, 2013

The Firestone Winter Force tires replaced the factory original Michelin LTS AT2 tires which were very good hiway tires but were terrible snow tires.

The Winter Forces were easy to balance, give almost no road noise, and drive down the hiway with no squirme with or w/o pulling a trler. Excellant traction in hiway snow or when pulling through deep snow on non-plowed gravel roads.

Two downsides with the Wimter Forces: lost of about 1 MPG, and they p/u hold sall rocks like crazy till about 55 MPH when they start poping into the wheel wells.

Initial Review, 10,000 Miles on Tires
April 22, 2013

I cannot say how much I love these tires off road !!!! If you're looking for an exceptional offload tire with good on road manners then look no further. I've tackled mud, rocks, and extremely deep snow (several feet deep) and these tires have pretty much reduced my winch usage to monthly checks and maintenance because I've yet to need to use it since getting these tires. I wheel mostly in the Black Hills of SD, that being said I cannot tell you how good they handle deep mud, however if they perform half as well in deep mud as they have in all of the other terrains then they will do great! These will be the only tires I put on my Jeep unless Goodrich develops a better set :)

Initial Review, 5,000 Miles on Tires
April 02, 2013

Bought these almost 1.5 years ago for my wife's Audi A6 Quattro AWD and it became an absolute tank in the snow. Nothing could stop it. Turn the traction control off and it just dominated the roads. Truly forged a path for plow trucks to follow in the February snow storm where New England saw upwards of 3 (THREE) feet of snow. I was beside myself with this tire being labeled as "All-Season". Props to Audi on their AWD powertrain and all that, but these tires just showed to up perform, and they did just that. The roads have dried up now and the ride is still very smooth. Our two kids (3.5 and 7mo) both pass out from the smoothness and quietness of the ride. Had a 4 wheel alignment done at the time of installation.

Initial Review, 200 Miles on Tires
April 25, 2013

Just put these on my Cayman after wearing out my second set of Michelin PS2's and taking off my Michelin Alpin winter tires. They look great. Very different feel. Immediately more comfortable - softer ride, quiet, but there's a slightly "floaty" feel and a brief delay when you turn the wheel before the car turns. Still grips on a hard curve, its just the connection between driver and road is a little fuzzy compared to the other tires which, frankly, are punishing as every day drivers. Was only getting 32,000 miles out of the PS2's and needed more durability for my dollar. Haven't driven them in rain or snow yet. Will update. So if you switch from a dedicated high performance summer tires, which are all considerably more expensive and last half as long, be prepared to trade off some precision for comfort.

Initial Review, 8,000 Miles on Tires
April 22, 2013

I live at a ski resort at 8500 feet with an annual snowfall of 500". These tires on a subaru were awesome. I passed other all wheel drives and SUVs that didn't have snow tires and they were sliding off the road. The traction is unbelievable. These tires were cheaper than blizzaks and I knew I would be driving some highway miles as well. Stopping and turning on snow was no problem. Driving up to Alta and Snowbird was a dream! I am not sure about the wear. I drove 2000 dry highway miles and then six months of 50/50 snow and dry driving and the tires look brand new.

Initial Review, 75,000 Miles on Tires
April 15, 2013

I have 205/55R16 size tires on my car. Brand new they're no better in the snow than my 97,000 mile old OEM Michelins that I replaced! Sliding and spinning everywhere no matter how slow you go. I had them "road force balanced" when new and rotated them every 4000 miles along with watching how they were wearing to adjust tire pressure accordingly. Longevity is excellent but they're absolutely terrible in the snow. I now have 75,000 miles on these and they're at 3/32". They handle corners better now that they're almost slicks. I've been driving on these through 2 winters now. Was hoping to get a good compromise between cornering and snow capability. I'll just get a set of performance tires to get me through the next 4-8 seasons. I might as well get the tires I want if all-seasons don't work any better! I'm not about to waste money on winter tires.

Initial Review, 2,000 Miles on Tires
February 04, 2013

There was no snow for the first month of the tire use, so when we got a few inches, I took the Miata to a parking lot to see how the tires would perform. Donuts, quick stops, quick acceleration were all tested. It's a rear wheel drive roadster so there was fishtailing, but the Miata does that with the forecast of snow. I was really impressed with the Continentals. I was able to control the slides and was able to recover every time, no matter how hard I pushed the car. I have had all season/mud & snow tires from Pirelli (P Zero Nero's), Dunlop, Goodrich (Super Sport M/S)...the Continentals beat them all. We'll see how they do in deep snow, but so far, so good!

Initial Review, 10,000 Miles on Tires
April 12, 2013

Excellent winter tires for my truck. They performed well in all conditions (dry, wet, snow, ice and slush, as well as cornering, acceleration and stopping). In deep snow, my truck did some fish-tailing as I had no weight on bed and I could feel it pushes the front wheels through the snow. Once I turned the 4x4 on, the truck went like a charm through the snow and didn't flinch a bit. After one winter with 10k miles, there is a noticeable tread wear on rear wheels compared to front wheels which still looks like new. Will have to rotate them after 5k miles next winter.

Initial Review, 3,000 Miles on Tires
January 24, 2013

I have these on a Rear Wheel Drive V8 Caddy and I could not be happier. I live in NE Ohio, so snow is not an uncommon occurrence, and dedicated snow tires make all the difference in the world.

Keep in mind, these are snow tires, so don’t put them on too early or leave them on too long. Know that even ½ throttle will over power them if you have a real motor and corners should be taken with a little more care than with the summer shoes.

Noise is no issue, it is winter – your windows should be up anyway – and if noise is a problem, it’s not the fault of the tire - you just need a Cadillac. I
I would definitely buy these again, and this is a much better solution than buying an AWD car with their lower MPG and heavier handling.

Initial Review, 12,000 Miles on Tires
April 06, 2013

These came as original equipment on my Acura TL with all wheel drive and stick shift. I did not switch over to winter tires this year, and in light snow, I detected no loss of traction at all. I normally run separate winter and summer tires, but these tires with the all wheel drive are a good compromise for year round use.

Initial Review, 10,000 Miles on Tires
March 14, 2013

These tires were on my WRX when I bought it so I'm not sure of the mileage. The previous owner said they have 1 or 2 seasons left. They are awesome in the snow. I can start from a dead stop in the middle of a 2 foot drift with no wheel spin, stop on ice, drive right over tall snow banks. I've tried to get stuck and failed numerous times. A lot of the credit goes to Subaru but these tires are great.

Initial Review, 3,000 Miles on Tires
April 10, 2013

Excellent snow tire especially when paired with an all wheel drive sedan. The car stuck to the road like super glue(TM) in every winter driving condition. HIGHLY RECOMMEND.

Initial Review, 500 Miles on Tires
April 09, 2013

Bought these to replace my worn out Pirelli Scorpions. Thinking spring had arrived I pulled off my Blizzak WS-70's and put these on. As luck would have it, 3 days later we got hammered with almost 2 feet of snow. Very quickly found out how good my Blizzak's really are. Calling these "All Season" tires is being optimistic. Traction in loose snow (after roads were plowed) is marginal at best. Cornering in loose snow caused the front end to plow and the traction control to activate immediately. Deep snow (unplowed roads) resulted in lots of wheel spin and darting. To be fair, I didn't buy these for winter driving and I did get a chance to evaluate them on dry roads prior to our spring snow. Road noise is low to moderate. Not as quiet as my Pirelli's but not annoyingly so. Haven't seen wet roads yet so I can't comment on how these do on them. Dry traction feels good but there is a small amount of sidewall squirm that you can feel in cornering. We have a lot of rutted roads thanks to the use of studded winter tires and these tires wander around when you get in a rut. It's not uncontrollable but it does make me feel a little loose compared to the OEM tires. I only have 500 miles on the tires so maybe they will get better as they break in and the roads warm up. I'll write a followup review in another 1000 miles to see if this is the case.