Tire Rack Consumer Reviews

Initial Review, 9000 Miles on Tires
January 05, 2012

This is my second set of Winterforce tires since 2004, which at that time weren't even branded as Firestone. I prefer studdable snows over the studless as I feel the studless are a waste of $. I have used many types of Winter tires dating back to the '90s, with some being a repeat purchase.

In any event, these are decent tires that I would place second (though a distant second) in the studdable category. The wet, & especially ice traction leaves a bit to be desired. My only consolation is that I got an amazing deal on them, & I knew at the time that they would probably be a little disappointing based on my awesome experience with the General Altimax Artics. These are significantly better, even if it costs you an extra $100/set. The ice traction is that disappointing & now I know where Consumer Reports is coming from on their poor ranking as well. If $ is tight (like it was for me), they're 1000x better than All Seasons but not the best available.

On the plus side, I try to break them loose in snow & it doesn't happen. Treadwear is great as well (for Winter tires). At 6K when I put them back on in Dec. 2011 I was looking at 12/32" Front, 14/32" Rear on my heavy FWD Odyssey. My rough calculations is 36K-42K of life at this rate if they don't wear-out on the edges, which Odysseys are notorious for (not the tire's fault). This is phenomenal, & exceed the Generals on a much lighter car ('09 Civic) that would be done around 30K due to starting with only 12/32" tread. The Winterforce's extra 2/32" of tread is definitely a selling point for those on a strict budget & if you encounter little ice in your Winter conditions these would be a better choice due to longevity for your dollar. I encounter a ton of ice in the Winter, so no more Winterforces for me though for the right person/conditions they are are great choice & tire.