Studded Snow Tires

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, 30,000 Miles on Tires
February 07, 2013

Great winter tire, but like most winter tires they wear quickly if you drive them on dry pavement. I have had these tires on for three years of Wisconsin winters and have gone through countless snow storms with no issues. Honestly I feel safer driving my 2wd truck in the snow with these tires than with a 4x4 vehicle. I could only imagine how well these tires would perform if they were studded also.

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.

Initial Review, 1,000 Miles on Tires
March 22, 2013

If you are driving a rear wheel drive car like my camaro and it snows where you live get a set for the winter driving. Took my pirelli stock tires off due to slipping and sliding on the smallest amount of snow and put the scorpions on and WOW!!!! huge difference no slipping or sliding at all. Went thru 6" of snow with no problem the Ice is very good as well due to the siping on the tread. Would have liked to be able to stud them but cant. One bad thing they are louder than the all season tires particularly on rough roads.Cornering is a little less stable than the all seasons as well. If it snows get a set ASAP!

Initial Review, 2,000 Miles on Tires
March 12, 2013

These tires turned my Golf into a snow mobile. I've had zero problems driving on very treacherous roads in Belgium where they don't treat roads during or after snow/ice storms. They seem tough and handle the roughest roads well and most roads here are very narrow, not straight, and riddled with heaves and holes. I do not have studs installed on these tires.

Initial Review, 4,837 Miles on Tires
March 22, 2013

I ordered 2 sets of these tires ( both studded, hence the lower dry traction score and noise ) with new steel rims, one set for my brother who has the identical vehicle. I have just over 7780 kms on these, ordered October 15th, installed on the 22nd of October.

These tires are AMAZING in the snow, and equally competent on ice with the carbide studs. Wear seems to be non-existant, however I haven't measured the tread depth. The only downside to having studded tires though is the noise, which is more annoying at lower speeds in town, as well as reduced traction braking and accelerating on dry road in the winter.

With the traction control off, you can break them loose in wet snow, but it takes a bit of throttle to do so. With traction control on, this car is like a 4x4, I managed to climb about a 25 degree incline with about 5 inches of fresh wet snow ( back lane that didn't get plowed ) without losing forward momentum, although the traction light was flickering.

If you live in the snow belt, you need these tires. If you also have a lot of ice in the winter ( melt/freeze cycles + rain and snow ) you need them studded. What a difference over driving most of my life on all seasons.

Initial Review, 15,000 Miles on Tires
March 20, 2013

i bought these tires in 2010. i put them on my vehicle on the monday following thanksgiving day and remove them between march 15th & april 1st. i had them studded and recommend anyone buying them to do the same. i have probably 3-4 years life left in them. they far exceeded any expectations i had for them. i drive on dry roads, rainy roads, snow and ice with full confidence i am going to arrive safely. i know i can travel at the posted speed limits even in icy conditions. i will be buying them again when i or if i need another set. buy these and drive with confidence.

Initial Review, 15,000 Miles on Tires
March 04, 2013

Have purchased a set of 4, every year for the past 10 years. These are the only tires I 'have to have'. Use on work vehicle as well as personal vehicle. I am a rural carrier 150 daily miles Conditions: snow, ice, drifting snow, slush, gravel, sand, rocks, manure, and mud Vehicle Type: car and 4x4 truck I use these tires until they wear out in usually 5 to 6 months. They do wear quickly during warm weather, but last longer if the winter is colder (below freezing). If used on the interstate, they will start to sound loud at higher speeds of 65mph. These are quiet for snow tires and do not affect your gas mileage much. No complaints with the handling. No lean when cornering. Please rememeber these are not sport tires so I am compairing to average all season radials. I use two sets per year, but this is hard stop and go driving over multiple kinds of road terrain and with vehicle weighted down with mail. Tires only last 6 months for me, even the all season radials. Everyone in our office now uses these tires, even those who are not carriers. We all swear by them. I have never had to stud them. They always get me thru everything. One co-worker has been using them for three winters now. Says he may be able to make it thru a fourth. Puts them on in Nov and removes them in early spring. I recommend these tires to everyone.

Initial Review, 72,000 Miles on Tires
March 17, 2013

These came as original equipment on my Fusion. I live in higher elevations so I don't run these in the winter. I have to run studded snow tires Dec-March or there'd be a few days I wouldn't get home. Anyway the noise level is a bit higher than I'd like, but other than that these were great tires for the first 50-55K miles. After that in heavy rain they tend to hydroplane more than my comfort level can except in even slightly rutted highway. Overall not a bad tire!

Initial Review, 25,000 Miles on Tires
March 17, 2013

This is my 3rd set.I get about 35000 to 40000 miles out of them till the wear bar.I don't baby cars! I love these tires and they look great on the car. For the price you get great performance. I drive fast and hard and they hold tight. Yes they have road noise louder then the stock tire but i can hit a corner as fast as I want and they hold true.You get what you pay for and these tires are a lot of bang for your buck. They run great in the rain. You get a little slipping in snow but no worse then every tire I ever had used in snow.Ice, who doesn't slip on ice, good luck with out studs.All in all I will buy them again.

Initial Review, 3,000 Miles on Tires
January 31, 2013

Four of these tires with studs makes a front-wheel drive car a brilliant performer on ice!

We live on a gentle hill that became slick as snot after freezing rain last week. It was so slick that it was perilous to walk down the sidewalk. But with their studs, these tires did great -- going down the hill our Mazda 3 never lost any traction. Even when I tried stepping hard on the brake, these studded tires did not slip even a little.

Besides ice, we've driven on a couple of inches of snow and with a set of four we had no problem in our front-wheel drive Mazda 3.

I bought these from TireRack, who also installed the studs and mounted them on rims. What we received from TireRack was ready to mount on the car, which we did at a cost of $25 at the local tire shop at the beginning of the snowy season. This was a good customer experience.

Initial Review, 50,000 Miles on Tires
December 12, 2012

This review is re: two sets of this tire spent and replaced with 100k+ miles driven. I am now on my third set. All on Mercedes 300SE's. This tire remains a great handling tire in all weather conditions with the unknown of snow/ice where we change up to studded snows for 3-4 months of winter each year. No complaints. They are quiet, stop on a dime when req'd, corner hard when req'd, handle superbly cruising at 65-80mph wet or dry, very smooth handling. Replace at 50k+ miles or so. This review after two sets consumed with 100k+ miles. Now on third set of tires. Love the tire.

Initial Review, 8,000 Miles on Tires
February 17, 2013

I actually have 2 sets of these, one is on my 07 Jeep Grand Cherokee Limited 5.7 Hemi/Quadradrive II this set has about 8,000 miles on then over 4 winters. The other is on my wife's 98 Subaru Outback, they were just installed this fall and have about 1500 miles on them. Both are studded. I have to say I have used Nokian Hakka studded snows in the past and I switched to the General Arctics because the Nokians, while excellent, were getting very expensive and not easy to find. The Generals are the equal of the Nokians are a much lower cost. We drove both vehicles home in the recent north east blizzard of Feb 8-9th and they gave excellent traction. Will definitely buy again, the studs do add noise but they really help on ice.

Initial Review, 2,000 Miles on Tires
February 17, 2013

these tires are great... I mostly drive in the city, we have had some deep snow light snow and ice. is Tire performs well in all of them, however I did not stud them so I do not know how well the studded ones are in ice, but these preform quite well unstudded in slick conditions. they also really tear into the snow in deep conditions. great for a FWD car.... will buy again

Initial Review, 1,000 Miles on Tires
February 12, 2013

I had them studded,thus the noise level was a bit high. Great tire overall. Have no problems with traction now for the winter driving. With the Summer only tires I had to move my car in the lot for plowing and got stuck every few feet. Not made for snow, but now I feel safer and more sure of not getting stuck or sliding off the road. Steering is not as good on the road as with the 20" rim and summer tire but as expected they are good for winter driving. Aspect ratio may be the reason for the looser feel. Stock Summer Size 255/45ZR20 Rear 245/45/ZR20 Front. Winter 235/60/18 all four corners. Down sized to 18" Wheel. They are studded so I don't push them real hard, don't want to rip up the roads.Over all great for Winter driving. This is a 6 Speed manual with 392 Rear gears. So Easy off the line, or spin the wheels, rip the pavement or pull the studs out of the tires.

Initial Review, 2,650 Miles on Tires
February 05, 2013

Had the studded version mounted in Kirkland, WA, then drove to Anchorage. On dry/bare pavement they make some noise, but they're studded snow tires so that's expected. On dry/clear pavement until Prince George, BC, and it's was snow & ice from there to Anchorage. Once into full winter conditions these tires came into they're own. Top notch deep snow traction, and great ice traction. -51F in Tok, Alaska, and the tires were great. Driving 60-70mph on hard packed snow these tires felt very secure. Glare ice was no problem. I would recommend the General Altimax Arctic to anyone shopping Nokian's. Within a fraction of the studded Hakka's performance, but nearly half the price.

Initial Review, 8,000 Miles on Tires
February 10, 2013

Bought these tires for my Jeep Liberty CRD. Mounted them on dedicated rims. Bought tires slightly oversized, but only by.2 inches.

Tires have a slight road noise, but to be expected with a more agressive tread. Tires were tested in the Blizzard of 2013. Tires gave me confidence that I was in control of the vehicle. I admit, I did get stuck, but only after high centering the vehicle in a 3 foot snow drift. No fault of the tires, just the driver.

I opted not to stud the tires. If I was in a location prone to more snow and ice, I may have. But, I did like the fact that these tires gave me that option.

Initial Review, 26,000 Miles on Tires
February 02, 2013

This tire has great snow and ice traction for a non studded tire. I have driven through numerous snow storms in the mountains of Vermont with these tire on a front wheel dive car and never had a problem getting where I wanted to go. These tire are also very good in dry conditions as well. They handle extremely well for a winter tire and feel like a summer performance tire in dry conditions.

Initial Review, 500 Miles on Tires
January 03, 2013

Purchased minus size 205/55-16 for my wife's GTI. Previous experience with several Nokian Hakkapeliitta's, Bridgestone Blizzaks, Conti TS-740's, Goodyear Ultra Grip Ice, Goodyear Ultra Grip Ice WRT, Pirelli Winter 210's on four Audi Quattros: 5000 CS, V8, S6 and allroad so going to a front wheel drive after 25 years of Quattros I was looking for the best all around stud-less snow and I feel with the limited drive time I've had in 20 some inches of new snow that I made a wise/good choice.

Initial Review, 4,000 Miles on Tires
February 05, 2013

I rely on these reviews for all my tire purchases, so I try to write up my recent experiences. I bought a set of Winterforces 11/12 for our WA mountain winter driving. We have a cabin at the end of a snowy, icy road (dirt in summer). The 'last mile,' our driveway, is a steep nasty hill, 800 feet long with a nice little hairpin in the middle. Lots of snow this year in Winthrop, WA where we are. These tires are doing great. Lock up the VTM-4, turn off the darned VSA, and let the tires go to work. Had to use chains once, but the bottom had fallen out of the driveway with 8" of new wet snow. Great too over the 'compact snow & ice' mountain passes at 65 mph. Totally fine around town too. If you need a good snow tire in the best value category, these are great candidates.. (Mine are not studded.)