Snow Traction Tires

Initial Review, 13,000 Miles on Tires
June 11, 2010

These are the best all-season tires for winter driving traction in slush and snow. We are in Western NY so we know about driving in snow !! They perform at the "winter tire" level without the noise associated at highway speeds. Very happy with the noise and handling characteristics as well. A real winner for Goodyear !

Initial Review, 63,000 Miles on Tires
May 20, 2012

This is an unbelievable tire that I put through the tests of Colorado road conditions for the past seven years. Mostly city driving, great traction in rain, light and deep snow with over 63,000 miles. Was so impressed I put a set on my daughters Focus. Very satisfied!

Initial Review, 13,000 Miles on Tires
May 12, 2012

These are much better than the OEM Bridgestones. I bought them for the extended wear rating and quiet ride, and they exceed expectations in both cases. They performed very well on a 2000 mile multi-day trip with a very full load. That said, I wish they handled better. Transient response is quite slow - turn the wheel, wait half a beat, and the car finally starts to turn. It feels like the tire is rolling over on the tread blocks during spirited cornering, and the quiet ride turns into yowls of protest. Wet weather performance is outstanding, and the tires are predictable approaching the limits of traction. I have not tried them in snow, so can't judge how they handle such conditions. If I wanted a really long-lasting tire, I would buy these again. If I want something that handles more precisely at the expense of tread life, I'll look for a more sporting tire.

Initial Review, 35,998 Miles on Tires
April 24, 2012

This Tire at the time I bought it has a very high consumer reports rating, and it proved its self. I traveled 6,000 plus miles in the first 2 months of having them, In April from California to Florida, up thru Georgia on backroads, and thru Kansas to Denver. and back to northern California. Dry wet hot cold ice hail snow, this tire far out performed any tire I have ever owned . I traveled thru the extreame rain and wind that hit St Louis Mo and Kansas late April May of 2011, with the tornado force winds and rain so heavy you could not see to drive well, and had no issues with traction or lose of control at all.
This will be the ONLY tire I will ever buy again, this tire is the best of the best.

Initial Review, 4,500 Miles on Tires
May 08, 2012

I bought these tires because I need to drive my Miata in all four seasons. The wet traction/lack of hydroplaning and the traction in snow has been quite impressive. They are a little noisy, at least at first, and they do numb steering response some. If I ever get to where I don't need to drive my car in bad weather I will go to a more responsive tire.

Initial Review, 1,000 Miles on Tires
May 14, 2012

Only 1000+ miles on this new set on my commute vehicle. Great tire for the price point. Tire makes little noise and ride comfort is very much above average. No rain/snow in sunny CA to test yet. So far dry traction is very good and stable at the corners. Steering response could be just a tick more responsive. Again. These are great tires and one of the category leaders. Now just hoping the tread rating is true. Will rotate and balance religiously and be back for later review.

Initial Review, 15,000 Miles on Tires
April 30, 2012

These tires were on my car and slightly used when I purchased it a year ago. About 12,000+ miles I've added. Dry traction is very good. My 95M Miata handles extremely well with these. Dry traction is very good. These tires loosen up quite a bit when wet. Actually just loose enough to make wet road driving alot of fun at about the speed limit on spirited scenic drives. If your up for that. They reject hydroplaning rather well. Was forced to drive all winter with these in nothern WV. They performed better than expected in the snow on a rear wheel drive vehicle, but you better be a good driver to avoid getting stuck. However, even my spouse could handle snow under 1 inch and plowed roads. We did burn up our rear tires in >3 mild months of winter, we contend with many hills to climb. And we did climb them in the snow with these tires all winter. I'd reconsider using these if being used on a true performance vehicle with muscle. My stock 95M Miata can spin them at will and powerslide with mildly spirited driving if just a little wet. Fun for me, but dangerous at higher speeds/horsepower. These are one of the very few all-season tires available for the stock 95M Miata BBS rims. 195/50 15. Upon an inspection today I did find an outward bulge the one of my sidwalls about 2" in diameter. QC may be an issue? Overall for the price, I'm quite pleased with the performance of these tires. Can't completely say how much of it is the car and how much is the tire. But these tires are giving me exactly what I expect from my Miata and I can afford to burn them up having a little having fun. Also, they look good enough. I'm buying 2 more rear tires. Zoom-Zoom

Note: these are directional tires

Dry Traction = very good+
Wet traction = ok, safe at moderate speeds, good highway, easily pushed to fun limit
Snow traction = just good enough
Hydroplaning rejection = very good
Braking = good

Initial Review, 6,000 Miles on Tires
May 11, 2012

Purchased these tires after I was fed up with the noise and the uncomfortable ride of the Goodyear run flats that were on the car when I bought it. The Goodyear tires did ok on dry pavement, but that was it. Not very well in the rain at all. My car is a daily driver except in the salt and snow. The Bridgestone Potenza RE970AS are GREAT! Road noise, traction, and tire wear are so far very impressive. Alot better than the Goodyear run flats that were on the car. I would definitely buy these tires again.

Initial Review, 13,000 Miles on Tires
May 16, 2012

I switched from Conti SpContact 2 tires to DWS mainly due to the amount of rain we get in the Burgh area and have not been disappinted since. DWS are super quite and offer excellent wet and light snow traction, on par with the best all season tires out there. while my SP2 lasted less than 15k miles, DWS treads are still deep and show no signs of wear, front or back. Cornering is not the same as SP2's but thats to be expected. For me, it was worth the trade off. If you are looking for high performance all season tires, look no further.

Initial Review, 11,000 Miles on Tires
April 27, 2012

Had to replace these tires with only 11,000 miles on them, hit a small pot hole and and a bulge on one of the tires. The ride was not to bad, but the road noise was unbearable, unless you were on smooth pavement. The steering was heavy with these tires. On dry pavement the traction was very good. Wet roads traction was not bad, but on snow, forget it they are worthless. Do not buy these tires.
Bought a new set of Michelin Primacy MXM4 and wow what a diference. Better handling ultra quite.

Initial Review, 15,000 Miles on Tires
May 16, 2012

Good traction. Good mix of dry, wet and snow performance. Decent noise level. Major problem is uneven central rib wearing in a car that is aligned and with normal tire pressure. Tires need replacing after 15000 miles. This is a known problem with this tire in certain sizes. It's a gamble buying this tire.

Initial Review, 59,000 Miles on Tires
May 12, 2012

OE tire on the car. Never heard of them before, but they are great tires. Very long wearing, which prob. is most imp. to me. But also a solid, stable quiet ride. Only issue is wet traction, will slip fairly easily, but predictably, easy to compensate for. Very good even in deep snow. Will prob. try something else just for change of pace and comparison, but absolutely nothing wrong with these tires except as noted and would purchase again.

Initial Review, 15,000 Miles on Tires
May 17, 2012

Moved to this tire from the Direzza DZ 101 (would not recommend) mainly due to my concern for wet-traction. This tire hold my MINI straight and true through wet/snow conditions with no fear of hydroplaning. I feel completely confident driving through light-snow conditions in Tahoe without any chains/cables.

I made the mistake of Autocrossing on these tires, not realizing that the sidewall is nowhere near firm enough to prevent roll and excessive/dangerous wear, regardless of how much air-pressure you put in them (yeah, I'm an idiot). I did, however, manage to pull off top 3 placings in my class each time with these tires on my stock MINI, so there's something to be said for their performance ability if not at the sacrifice of the sidewall.

Overall, I would highly recommend this tire for daily driving conditions. Minimal road noise, excellent wet/snow traction, and very good tread-wear. Just don't be stupid like me and you can easily get 20k+ safe and enjoyable miles out of these tires in spirited driving conditions.

Initial Review, 40,000 Miles on Tires
May 10, 2012

I have had these tires installed on my RAV4 for a couple of years and I would like the share my experiences with them. Given that I live in MA and we have poor road conditions and pretty extreme weather, I am sure I have put those tires in many tests.

For the first 2 years they worked like a dream: Wet, Dry, Snow, there's barely a difference for the way I drive (going slower on heavy snow, of course). I drove about 300 miles during a huge snow storm (all 300 in heavy snow) and my car was as steady as a snowmobile with these Tires and 4WD, and never lost traction in rain.
When running over a deep puddle with speed, with the original tires my steering wheel will go crazy and the car will go out of control, which was the major reason why I switched. With these tires, my car go straight and steady. If you live in an area that rains a lot, I would highly recommend these tires.

In Winter 2010, I was in NYC and we got caught with the biggest snow storm for NYC in a century. Most sedan were buried in snow when it was 3-4 feet high, while my car was one of the very few moving objects on the street. It almost felt like I was in a Video game on a Snow Rally track, but once again the tires and 4WD combined made driving possible, when other car owners were busy digging their car out, I drove by with a smile on my face.

After all the miles on the tires, Treadware is very significant and now it performs poorly on light snow, my car starts skidding with only an inch of snow even with 4WD. Still performs great in rain / wet / dry surface. I will not blame the tires as it seems to be right time for new ones anyways, and I am definitely choosing the same tires again unless I find a good deal on another decent tires. I don't want to overrate them, but they are good enough for me to write this long review to praise them, in compare to the OEM Bridgestone Dueler which is a total trash.

Initial Review, 25,000 Miles on Tires
May 02, 2012

The soft sidewall and the tread pattern make this tire feel somewhat squirrely on dry smooth roads. Treadwear seems high considering the light use although the vehicle does have AWD and that reduces tread life. Good wet traction, in light snow and off road.

Initial Review, 17,000 Miles on Tires
May 05, 2012

Bought these tires to replace the Toyo tires which were OEM, and were 235/55R-20 in size, an odd size which offered limited choices and high prices. Michelin was about the only choice I had at the time, which were twice the price with no milage warranty. These new Pirelli's were slightly larger, and some dealers told me they would not work, would cause all kinds of problems, it would screw up my speedometer calibration, damage the AWD , etc. To make a long story short, I am extremely pleased with the tires; the ride and handling is excellent, they are extremely quiet, and at the present rate of wear should last 60,000+ miles; it took almost 500 miles of driving to wear the little nubs off the tires. We don't take corners on two wheels in the Murano, but the tires handle great and track straight on the interstate. The Toyo's only gave me 24,000 miles. We haven't had much snow so I couldn't say how they will do in the white stuff, but judging from the wet traction I think they will do well. I can't praise these tires enough, I'll buy another set when it's time to replace them.

Initial Review, 12,000 Miles on Tires
May 09, 2012

These tires started out great with wet and snow traction superior to the OEM Continentals they replaced but at about 7000 miles the noise level at city driving speeds became unbearable. They have been rotated twice now and at 12,000 are nearly worn out. Inflation is proper so that is not a contributing factor nor is unusually spirited driving. I'll run them until this winter and likely go back to the original Continentals.

Initial Review, 24,000 Miles on Tires
April 24, 2012

These tires were installed new when I first bought my explorer in February of 2011. The first winter driving with them was ok, we didn't have a ton of snow but did slide a few times when ice was present. During the spring and summer I had no problems with the tires and driving was smooth. After putting about 15,000 miles on these tires (having them rotated every 5k). I started to get some vibrating/bouncing while driving but no noise. Had my vehicle checked and no mechanical problems were found. This past winter I had no traction in ice or snow, and easily slides in the rain. The vibrating and bouncing has gotten to the point that my whole vehicle shakes when driving on the highway, as if I am going over many shallow potholes. I have had my vehicle checked several times and it is def. the tires. I now have 24,000 miles on the tires and have to put air in them every week or two, tread life is bad, will be replacing soon and not buying Eagles. I love goodyear tires and will probably go with something better recommended for an SUV.

Initial Review, 6,500 Miles on Tires
April 30, 2012

This is my second set on my second Jag Convertible. I didn't care for the OEM Dunlop Sport Maxx's as they have absolutely no winter traction. So I have my dealer swap them off for these at delivery. With My Pilot A/S's, I feel like I'm in a little 4X4 come winter, though this last winter was only fair as the very few snows we had were wet snows and the tires do far better in deep snow or very cold 'dry' snow. Compared to the Summer tires though, there is no comparison. These last 35-45,000 miles compared to 18-22,000 miles for the Summer tires. I like that. To all the reviewers who say they get noisey... Have any of you ever heard of an alignment machine? The only noise that builds is due to chopping. Chopping is caused by one thing and one thing alone, a poor alignment or old suspension components which lead to this. I suppose its easier to blame the tire than the driver. I highly reccomend these tires, have never had an issue and will buy again and again. I am eyeing the Conti DWS Extreme Contact's though I must say, as I like the pricing and have heard good things there as well. Competition, isn't it a wonderful thing.

Initial Review, 4,000 Miles on Tires
May 08, 2012

Winter in MN was just over when I put these tires on, so I am unable to comment on performance in snow. However, I can comment on performance in rain, which has been superb. If these tires perform well in snow, I would consider buying them again. I told my tire rack rep that my main criteria was traction in rain and snow. So far, I am very happy with his recommendation of these tires. Not the smoothest or most quiet ride on dry roads, but again, I'll trade that for the great traction in tougher conditions.