Author Topic: Snow tires for the Acura (Read 3679 times)

Wetson · « **on:** October 07, 2009, 08:16:12 am »

I went last winter without snows for my TL figuring the car was new so there'd be lots of tread on them. Big mistake. HUGE. It's a skate.

Managed to survive the winter but this year snow tires are bought an on the car already.

Ended up getting a set of Gislaved Nordfrost 5's again. Went up to Steelcase in Markham. They tried to sell me a set of Sonnys but I've never heard of them and am still somewhat weary of automotive products from China. Not logical thinking but those Chery crash test videos are still in memory. I had a set of Gislaveds on my Accord and they're now on the coupe for the winter. Tried tested and true.

After getting the new Rims and tires put on I got on the 403 and at 100KM/H I thought my butt was going to vibrate off. Turned around and took it back. It turns out the rims didn't seat properly and were slightly off centre. OI! I was told after by Steelcase that some of the rims had come with bolt holes that weren't drilled properly.... whatever that means. To their credit, they replaced all 4 rims and hand lugged the new ones on. No more vibration.

Total cost was around $950 for all 4 tires and black steelies. OUCH.

Guy · « **Reply #1 on:** October 07, 2009, 02:21:02 pm »

I Have the same tires on mine. I like them!

adamtherealtor · « **Reply #2 on:** November 25, 2009, 03:33:00 pm »

I hope the sales reps tried to explain which tires suited your type of vehicle. I have the sonny winter tires on my pacifica and handles very well! I got them at the same location and have been a long time customer. Being on the road for many hours, means I need really good 100% dependable tires. Various car models handles differently in the snow. Based on weight, front or rear drive vehicles and size of the tire is very important to match the right tire. As for your case, you did the right thing. The Gislaved snow tire works great with your type of vehicle. It all has to do with the weight on the front drive tires. Heavier vehicles will work better with Toyo's observe tires that require the treads to be spread out for better traction. Or Nokian tires like the Hakk's or RSI type suits better for vw, audi's,bmw's or light trucks. About the Michelin's, well it comes down to more research and which type of car and size tire!! Have fun in the snow doing donuts in the parking lot!! Cheers

blur911 · « **Reply #3 on:** November 25, 2009, 04:23:36 pm »

Quote from: adamtherealtor on November 25, 2009, 03:33:00 pm

I hope the sales reps tried to explain which tires suited your type of vehicle. I have the sonny winter tires on my pacifica and handles very well! I got them at the same location and have been a long time customer. Being on the road for many hours, means I need really good 100% dependable tires.

If you need really good 100% dependable tires then why did you buy cheap Chinese junk?
I certainly wouldn't want to trust my life or my families on tires made by a Chinese company that's only been in existence for 2 years. YMMV of course.

johngenx · « **Reply #4 on:** November 25, 2009, 05:25:14 pm »

I am fan of Falken and Kumho tires, two newer brands to our shores. However, they'd been around for a while and had a proven track record of reliability before I put them on my own cars.

I know a brand has to start somewhere, but for something as important as tires, I'll let someone else be the guinea pig.

Now, that said, for those that are buying them, post your experiences on boards like this one.

fede · « **Reply #5 on:** November 25, 2009, 07:23:55 pm »

Sunny Tire is the Same as Wanli tire. There winters (they have 2 a T and a H/V rated) are pretty much copies of other winters. I have some wanli winters and they are great!! I dont have 1 complaint. I dont know why so many people talk bad about them when they havent even actually used them.

blur911 · « **Reply #6 on:** November 25, 2009, 09:40:32 pm »

Quote from: fede on November 25, 2009, 07:23:55 pm

Sunny Tire is the Same as Wanli tire. There winters (they have 2 a T and a H/V rated) are pretty much copies of other winters. I have some wanli winters and they are great!! I dont have 1 complaint. I dont know why so many people talk bad about them when they havent even actually used them.

Why would I want to test my life with a tire that comes in last in comparative testing and is highly not recommended? What other winter tires have you compared them to that makes you say they are great?

I stand by my cheap Chinese junk comment.

2008 ADAC winter tire test ranking

http://www1.adac.de/Tests/Reifentests/Winterreifen/195_65_R15T/default.asp?ComponentID=229327&SourcePageID=8979#

Goodyear UltraGrip 7+ <-- 1. if wet
Continental WinterContact TS830 <-- 1. on ice, 1. if wet 2. on snow
Pirelli Winter 190 Snowcontrol
Dunlop SP Winter Sport 3D
Michelin Alpin A3 <-- 2. if dry
Goodyear Vector 4 Season
Kumho I’ZEN KW 23
Vredestein Snowtrac 3
Uniroyal MS plus 66
Nokian WR G2
Bridgestone Blizzak LM25
Yokohama W.drive
Hankook Icebear W440
Semperit Speed-Grip
Firestone Winterhawk 2
Vredestein Quatrac 3 (
Nankang Snow Viva SV-1 (not recommended)
Marshal I’ZEN KW15 (not recommended)
Wanli Winter – Challenger S1086 (not recommended)

ovr50 · « **Reply #7 on:** November 25, 2009, 10:55:24 pm »

Quote from: blur911 on November 25, 2009, 09:40:32 pm

Quote from: fede on November 25, 2009, 07:23:55 pm
Sunny Tire is the Same as Wanli tire. There winters (they have 2 a T and a H/V rated) are pretty much copies of other winters. I have some wanli winters and they are great!! I dont have 1 complaint. I dont know why so many people talk bad about them when they havent even actually used them.

Why would I want to test my life with a tire that comes in last in comparative testing and is highly not recommended? What other winter tires have you compared them to that makes you say they are great?

I stand by my cheap Chinese junk comment.

2008 ADAC winter tire test ranking

http://www1.adac.de/Tests/Reifentests/Winterreifen/195_65_R15T/default.asp?ComponentID=229327&SourcePageID=8979#

Goodyear UltraGrip 7+ <-- 1. if wet
Continental WinterContact TS830 <-- 1. on ice, 1. if wet 2. on snow
Pirelli Winter 190 Snowcontrol
Dunlop SP Winter Sport 3D
Michelin Alpin A3 <-- 2. if dry
Goodyear Vector 4 Season
Kumho I’ZEN KW 23
Vredestein Snowtrac 3
Uniroyal MS plus 66
Nokian WR G2
Bridgestone Blizzak LM25
Yokohama W.drive
Hankook Icebear W440
Semperit Speed-Grip
Firestone Winterhawk 2
Vredestein Quatrac 3 (
Nankang Snow Viva SV-1 (not recommended)
Marshal I’ZEN KW15 (not recommended)
Wanli Winter – Challenger S1086 (not recommended)

Agreed, going cheap on tires is not a smart move IMO. I would not use any of those last 3 on the list.

DKaz · « **Reply #8 on:** November 26, 2009, 12:29:48 pm »

The Marshal I’ZEN KW15 sounds a lot like the Hankook equivalent...

HeliDriver · « **Reply #9 on:** November 26, 2009, 04:13:07 pm »

Quote from: DKaz on November 26, 2009, 12:29:48 pm

The Marshal I’ZEN KW15 sounds a lot like the Hankook equivalent...

I mean this in the nicest possible way, but maybe you should have that dyslexia checked into.

It's Kumho that makes the I'ZEN line of tires, not Hankook.

Canada Stig · « **Reply #10 on:** November 26, 2009, 04:17:06 pm »

I love Hankook tires, but a good cheap brand is Barum. Made by Continental in the Czech republic. Worth considering, but for a few more bucks go for Hankook W409s or the Gislaved NordFrost.

DKaz · « **Reply #11 on:** November 26, 2009, 06:05:19 pm »

Quote from: SiRCivic on November 26, 2009, 04:13:07 pm

I mean this in the nicest possible way, but maybe you should have that dyslexia checked into.

It's Kumho that makes the I'ZEN line of tires, not Hankook.

Man caught again, like when I mentioned the Michelin Assurance Tripletreads and Goodyear Hydroedge lol. Am I allowed to say Wanli Arctic Altimax and General W409 since they all look the same?? I could sure go for some Bridgestone Pilot Exaltos in the summer.

HeliDriver · « **Reply #12 on:** November 26, 2009, 06:17:28 pm »

Quote from: DKaz on November 26, 2009, 06:05:19 pm

Quote from: SiRCivic on November 26, 2009, 04:13:07 pm
I mean this in the nicest possible way, but maybe you should have that dyslexia checked into.

It's Kumho that makes the I'ZEN line of tires, not Hankook.

Man caught again, like when I mentioned the Michelin Assurance Tripletreads and Goodyear Hydroedge lol. Am I allowed to say Wanli Arctic Altimax and General W409 since they all look the same?? I could sure go for some Bridgestone Pilot Exaltos in the summer.

Yeah, those tires would work great on your Mitsubishi 5 GT.

Nathan@1010tires · « **Reply #13 on:** November 26, 2009, 07:19:09 pm »

The problem with a lot of the Chinese tires, is that they (literally) put no R&D into them. They just make a decent looking tread pattern, the cheapest rubber they can find, and then build and market the tire. One of these brands was used in a recent Car & Driver test, compared against some of the bigger names. Around a small autocross course with the same vehicle, the Michelin PS2 in the wet was faster than the cheaper Chinese tire in the dry. Another brand was recently sued by Yokohama for copyright infringement.

There will always be a market for this product and that is why it is out there, but I would not expect much out of it. The big names spend heaps of money on R&D so they can be the ones to develop and release new product and ideas. This is why a company like Bridgestone has a new winter tire every three years or so. They do not need to wait around for something else to come out so they can learn from it, they learn by engineering and researching themselves.

wing · « **Reply #14 on:** November 26, 2009, 08:37:23 pm »

As Nathan said, they "copy" the tire. Basically they copy the tread pattern, but tread pattern is a VERY minimal part of what makes a good tire.

mrthompson · « **Reply #15 on:** November 27, 2009, 08:38:14 am »

Northumberland Tire is selling Infinity Winter Hero winter tires. They were recommended to a colleague, provided she didn't do much driving out of town. WTF?

http://www.redflagdeals.com/forums/what-kind-tires-these-never-heard-them-before-no-info-either-online-665632/

Canada Stig · « **Reply #16 on:** November 27, 2009, 01:09:25 pm »

If it is good only when you "don't leave town too much" that means it is a piece of junk. What they mean is that it can handle city speeds fine but is either (a) unstable on the highway or (b) gives poor high speed traction. Let's face it, any decent all season tire can tackle mild-moderate winter conditions IN TOWN at under 60km/h.

Winter tires are designed for more than that, however, such as higher speed driving in foul winter weather. So, this begs the question - if it is really only good in town, why bother switching from the all seasons at all??

mrthompson · « **Reply #17 on:** November 27, 2009, 01:14:53 pm »

The store was sold out of Winterforce tires so I suggested the Uniroyal Tiger Paw Ice & Snow and the BFG Winter Slalom (KSI?) as lower priced options for her 2000 Taurus.

sailor723 · « **Reply #18 on:** November 28, 2009, 06:03:04 am »

A friend bought General Altimax Arctic's last year and was very happy with them. From reviews I've read they seem like a good lower cost alternative to premium priced winters such as Blizzaks, X-ice etc

Winklovic · « **Reply #19 on:** November 28, 2009, 10:10:46 am »

I'm still happy with the Goodyear Nordics I purchased in April 2007. They're a little noisy at 75 mph on the Interstate but that's a sacrifice I'm willing to make.

IIRC, the tires, steelies and balancing cost $677 for size 205/65R15.