What are the most capable studless snow tires?

"TheOnelectronic" (theoneelectronic) 12/03/2013 at 12:41 • Filed to: snow tires

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With snow season approaching here in the midwest, I'm aware that my current snow tires are A) Worn down and B) terrible anyway.

So I'm looking to replace them. Snow traction is the main priority. I'm currently looking at Nokian Hakkapeliittas (spell check knows this word??), but am open to other suggestions. Will not do Green Diamond tires due to likely superstitious aversion to retreads.

TheOnelectronic > TheOnelectronic 12/03/2013 at 12:42

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Vintage Volvo rally car; I'm getting good at manipulating this place.

Textured Soy Protein > TheOnelectronic 12/03/2013 at 12:44

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If you're not going with Nokian, then Blizzak WS-70 or Michelin X-Ice Xi3 are your move.

I managed to daily drive a Miata through Wisconsin winter on Blizzak WS-60s (the previous version of the WS-70). This was an NB with ABS & Torsen diff, which helped some, but still.

Forgetful > TheOnelectronic 12/03/2013 at 12:46

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I have hakka R2s on my FR-S. They are fantastic.

ColoradoTaco > TheOnelectronic 12/03/2013 at 12:46

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I have General Altimax Arctics on my S4, this will be Winter #3 and they barely look worn. From what I've gathered General is Continental's budget brand. I make about 40 trips/year over snowy CO mountain passes and they have gripped very well every time.

TheOnelectronic > Textured Soy Protein 12/03/2013 at 12:47

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I had Xi2's the last two seasons. They did not seem any better than the Michelin UHPAS tires I had previously. (AWD car)

Have had Blizzaks before, and the dry traction was abysmal. I could not use cruise control in my 335i during the winter, because on hills, the tires would slip and cruise would cancel itself.

HammerheadFistpunch > TheOnelectronic 12/03/2013 at 12:47

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Depends on the car, and the tire size I suspect. "most capable" also means lots of different things. Check out tire rack, they have great surveys and reviews. I like to check the reviews for cars like mine and driving styles like mine and find out what they think. I have blizzaks (Hakkapeliittas, but you don't know blizzaks spell check?) and they are pretty good, but it might be different for your tire size, the production run, or your car's suspension geometry.

TheOnelectronic > ColoradoTaco 12/03/2013 at 12:48

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A solid endorsement. I'll take a look at those.

Fed(oo=[][]=oo)uken > TheOnelectronic 12/03/2013 at 12:48

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I really like Firestone Winterforces, I've driven through all manner or ice and snow in a rear-wheel drive car with them. Even powered through 12"+ of snow at a reasonable speed. They're pretty affordable too.

Textured Soy Protein > TheOnelectronic 12/03/2013 at 12:49

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Hmm what kind of Blizzaks did you have?

The WS-60s handled like complete mush on my Miata but they got through the snow admirably.

TheOnelectronic > Textured Soy Protein 12/03/2013 at 12:49

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Was a ways back, but I think they were the 60's. I don't mind the loss of dry traction, but if it can be avoided I'd rather.

McMike > TheOnelectronic 12/03/2013 at 12:52

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I have Nokian Hakkapeliittas, and love them, but know this:

We have mild winters

They are the only snow tire I have owned.

I run summer tires normally, so the difference is night and day when it gets slippery.

Textured Soy Protein > TheOnelectronic 12/03/2013 at 12:52

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What kind of car will you be putting these on?

I've used both studless winter tires (the aforementioned WS-60) on my Miata, and performance winter tires (Blizzak LM-25) on the Mazdaspeed 6 that replaced it.

On the Miata, I needed all the help I could get since it was a Miata. The MS6 with AWD, rear LSD, ABS, traction & stability control I figured I could get away with the performance winters. Which was true.

Dry handling with the LM-25s was more like a sorta-sporty all-season tire. Not nearly as good as real summer tires, but not at all like the mushy donut feeling of the WS-60s.

Hoccy > TheOnelectronic 12/03/2013 at 12:57

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Nokian Hakka are known for being good tires. I don't know if you get Continental over there, but those are also very good. My choice (if I couldn't have studs) would a ContiViking variant, as it's developed for Scandinavian contitions (hence the name). That means snow and ice, and not the slush they get further south.

Straightsix9904 > TheOnelectronic 12/03/2013 at 12:58

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I've only had experience with the Blizzak's. They made the RWD MB S Class a TANK when it was super cold or icy, but didn't perform that well in "warmer" snow...I know that sounds stupid. Never got stuck though, you just have to know how to drive, plan, and be a little smart.

TheOnelectronic > Straightsix9904 12/03/2013 at 13:09

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Warm snow is definitely worse to drive through.

TheOnelectronic > Hoccy 12/03/2013 at 13:09

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We get Continental, but I don't think I've ever heard of that particular tire.

TheOnelectronic > Textured Soy Protein 12/03/2013 at 13:11

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Audi S4: True AWD, LSD/Locking center diff, LSD/locking/vectoring rear diff, E-diff front.

Textured Soy Protein > TheOnelectronic 12/03/2013 at 13:18

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On a modern awd car like an S4 I would go with a Performance Winter tire rather than Studless Winter tire. Much better dry/wet handling and still good enough in the snow. Ground clearance will be your biggest issue, not traction.

I was extremely happy with the Blizzak LM-25 on my MS6. I used them for 5 winters (about 20k miles) and still had about 2/3 of the tread left. The current LM-series Blizzaks are the LM-32 and LM-60.

This will be a good read: http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/te…

Straightsix9904 > TheOnelectronic 12/03/2013 at 13:36

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are you being serious or making fun of me....I know...there is a lot of room in the statement I made for jest.

You can tell a Finn but you can't tell him much > TheOnelectronic 12/03/2013 at 13:43

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There are Blizzak WS70's on my wife's Escape, I have Dunlop Wintersport 3D's on my STi. We also had Firestone Winterforce tires on the wife's old car. All of them are good at what they do. The Winterforce tires are probably the best of the bunch in deep snow and when it is really messy. I didn't actually drive that vehicle much, so can't say too much about those.

The WS70's have been great on the Escape (2.0L AWD). Good traction in deep snow and they don't suck on dry roads. They do pretty well in sloppy conditions and when driving on hard packed snow too. These are probably the best all around winter tires of the ones that I've driven.

The Dunlops are better on hard snow than wet sloppy snow. They do fine in loose snow too, and are the best on dry roads. It is definitely an adjustment driving those on dry roads when compared to summer tires though. But you can really feel what the car is doing, so other than having to drive slower it isn't a big deal. It is kind of like the Chris Harris episode where he put the AMG on donuts. There is less traction but more fun.

Ad_absurdum_per_aspera > Straightsix9904 12/03/2013 at 14:56

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You may have meant it in jest, but it isn't at all absurd to say that the wide range of "winter" conditions, from just barely freezing to deeply subzero, from humid to bone dry, not to mention seemingly dry and clear but then whoops-a-daisy-there's-the-black-ice; never mind the different qualities of snow, from powder to granules to "Sierra Cement" that fell (and has since sat, and maybe been driven on) under different conditions, at different depths; would not all equally favor the same tire.

TheOnelectronic > Straightsix9904 12/03/2013 at 15:24

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Nah, I'm agreeing with you. Warm snow is usually wet snow, and it's much more mushy than colder snow which is more uniformly frozen.

MooseKnuckles > TheOnelectronic 12/04/2013 at 20:27

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I've always considered snowtires to be like mudders, not intended for the road. Winter tires however, I give my full confidence in General Altimax Artics. I have experience with Blizzaks, X-Ice, and whatever Pirelli calls theirs-Carving Shit, I believe.
The Bridgestone are a great tire, but not worth the coin, wear faster than the Generals, and although I experience each on different cars, the Generals seemed to have more traction on bare asphalt too.
The X-ice are the same story except even more expensive than the Blizzaks (I think).
The General Altimax are a great price and performance in snow-slush-ice is top notch, plus on days when roads are clear of the winter stuff they are still a decent shoe.
Car with the Altimax was a rwd CTS, X-ice on a rwd Sierra, Blizzack on fwd monte carlo ss.