Topic: Do my winter tires need replacing?

[Schmengie]

That's pretty much what my Nordics looked like as well, about the same age and mileage too. Rubber deteriorates over time and I noticed last winter that they were performing noticeably worse, especially on ice. Tread-wise I probably could've squeezed another season out of them but why take the chance? IMO, if you don't trust your tires, replace 'em. Simple as that.

[Gnome06]

Thanks for all the advice. I've decided I'll take the chance and try and get another season out of them. I hear what the advocates for replacement are saying - essentially that they wear down more every year, so if uncertain, just replace them. But given the dealer told my 5 years, and I didn't drive much on these the first few seasons, I don't feel an additional year is really stretching it that much. Fingers crossed!

[Noto]

Thanks for all the advice. I've decided I'll take the chance and try and get another season out of them. I hear what the advocates for replacement are saying - essentially that they wear down more every year, so if uncertain, just replace them. But given the dealer told my 5 years, and I didn't drive much on these the first few seasons, I don't feel an additional year is really stretching it that much. Fingers crossed!

Mount 'em, give 'em a try, and if they're not performing the way you want, replace them shortly thereafter.  You may not find the 'best' deal (rebates probably end eventually) or stock, but better safe than having to call a personal injury lawyer.

[davidy]

But that's just IMO, and based on nothing more than photos and my (possibly incorrect) idea of how a tire deals with slush.

I guess my issue is that the Xi3s are the best thing to an all-arounder, but they're still gonna suck in slush and honestly it was terrifying with the Xi2s.

My bigger issue is that other than Haney's article on the iG52cs and my experience with the iG51vs, nobody seems to talk about them.  Are they good?  In what circumstances?  Not that you'd necessarily know, but I want to know the attributes of each tire.  There is no one "best" tire for every situation, but specific for certain conditions.

My biggest issue is with the Contis.  I mean, I read user reviews about how 'awesome' they are, but that doesn't say what the characteristics are, either.  No shops are recommending them over the Blizzaks or Xice3s.

Pricing is Yoko ($105)<Conti=Xice($140)<WS80s ($150).  For a Corolla, I'm inclined to think that the Yokos would be the best buy...but WS80s are incredible and I knowit, Xice will last longer (I'd think an extra season - I rechecked the Xi2s yesterday with an actual gauge (rather than a tape measure and calculation) and am actually I'm at 7/32" on the 5th season!  Incredible!!!)

...but I'd rather have the best winter tire and replace it every 4 years than have a less-good tire and replace it every 5 or 6.

Pretty good test results on the Continental ExtremeWinterContacts at Tirerack.com:

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/testDisplay.jsp?ttid=180

Limited sizes on the EWC's however. I would love to try them if they had my size.

Dave