Topic: Winter tire advice needed

[logan5]

Hi folks,

first time using CarTalk, any advice is greatly appreciated. as I don't have experience with winter tires.

Need tires and winter rims for a 2010 Malibu ( OE: P215/55R17 ). Will have to travel between downtown Toronto and Brampton daily. Considering the following (prices include rims but not taxes):

Kumho KW19 - $1000 (from OK Tire)
Kumho KW 21 (ice tire) - $980 (from OK Tire)
Firestone Winterofrce - $1044 (from Gateway Chev)

Any advice on which may be best? not so good? Or are they all decent tires? Don't normally get huge accumulations in Toronto, although north of the city sometimes gets heavy snow.

Am leaning toward the KW21, figuring ice may be more of an issue, but still want to make sure they can handle snow - not much info out there (only 4 reviews on 1010 tire).

While I'm at it, was thinking of downsizing to P215/60R16 to save some cash ($840 inclusive at OK tire for General Altimax). Most people tell me it's ok (though one GM guy said it couldn't be done - something about rim being too clase to caliper). Called GM to see if it might void any warranty items to downsize, but they would not commit to anything, however he "did not suggest it", quoting that the manual said you must use same size tires for winter (which it does). I figure I'll just pay the extra money to avoid hassles, but any comments on this would be great.

Anyhow, any help would be greatly appreciated. Am looking for good tires at a reasonable price for the mild to moderate winters we have in the GTA.

Thanks again all.

[sailor723]

I'm not familiar with the Kumho's but I do know that the Firestones score just about at the bottom of the latest CR winter tire test. The comments were that they were "OK" in deep snow but that the testers said you would need to consider studs to get ice/hard-packed performance. That almost sounds to me like they are an oldfashioned "snow" tire without any of the design/modern rubber compounds that give today's "winter" tires their performance edge.

I'd check with a good tire retailer about going to -1 in sizing. Either tirerack.com or 1010tires.com (this forum's sponser)  should be able to help with fitment advice. I know the Altimax Arctic's have a reputation of performing very well for a lower priced tire.

Edit

I just checked the CR site. The Firestones ranked 15 out of 17 winter tires tested

The Altimax Arctic were tied for second with Nokian Hakkapeliitta 5's and behind Michelin X ice Xi2's

No Kumho's were tested....maybe not widely sold in the US??

I'm no expert on Toronto winters but it would seem to me that if you were in an area with mild/moderate winters you'd get a lot of freeze/thaws and would want a tire that is good on ice and in wet and slushy conditions rather than deep snow.

[davidy]

Kumho appear to be less popular these days.....technology appears a bit dated IMO.

General Altimax Arctic and Hankook I*Pike W409 are popular Q-rated winter tires which are very good in deep snow and ice. For hwy commuting, H-rated winter performance tires like the Hankook Icebear W300 are often recommended....will have less winter capabilities than the Q-rated, but will have improved handling characteristics if the stock tire is H- or V-rated.

Michelin X-Ice Xi2 are also available in 215/55R17. These are a bit pricier though.

Dave

[sailor723]

For what it's worth CR ranks the Hankook Icebear W300 dead last out of the 17 tires tested.

The I Pikes score about the middle of the pack (10th)

The OP might want to check tirerack.com   They seem to do a lot of testing and also have many user comments/ratings.

 
 

[tpl]

I found the Icebears worked well on my BMW but it was the old type AWD and I lived in TO and encountered little deep snow.  If CR found them not too good then probably other tires have improved a great deal since the Icebear was designed in 2003-2004.

[sailor723]

I found the Icebears worked well on my BMW but it was the old type AWD and I lived in TO and encountered little deep snow.  If CR found them not too good then probably other tires have improved a great deal since the Icebear was designed in 2003-2004.

 

Winter tire design/performance seems to be advancing quickly in recent years. A 4 or 5 year old design that ranked among the best when it came out often seems to rank near the bottom now as it nears the end of it's production lifespan.

Good for us as they keep raising the bar in terms of performance

[davidy]

For what it's worth CR ranks the Hankook Icebear W300 dead last out of the 17 tires tested.

The I Pikes score about the middle of the pack (10th)

The OP might want to check tirerack.com   They seem to do a lot of testing and also have many user comments/ratings.

CR is not the end all or be all of tire reviews. Many years ago, CR had rated Bose speakers very high....bought them, but they were overpriced bottom end stuff. I use their ratings along with ones from Tirerack, 1010tires, etc.

Was the Hankook W300 the only H-rated winter performance tire that CR had tested?  Are all the others Q-rated? If so, all the Q-rated tires should perform better than an H-rated winter tire. However, if the stock tires are H- or V-rated, an H-rated winter performance will be close in handling characteristcs....a Q-rated one will be significantly different/worse (some can "handle" this, others can't or won't...sorry for the pun).

[tgg]

FWIW, Michelin Primacy Alpin PA3 H rated came in 4th in Consumer Reports "test" and
Pirelli Sottozero 210 H rated came in 8th place.

[sailor723]

Not sure why but CR also included the Hankook W300 in their "performance" winter tire test as well (where all the tires were either "H" or "V" rated)....they came  7th out of 10

I'm not sure why they included them in the "regular" winter tire test....maybe lower price than some of the other "H" and "V" tires??

[logan5]

Thanks for your advice all!

Have a great holiday.