Topic: '21 VENZA winter tire decision

[pi314]

That's a good point, that area does get hit hard with the Lake Effect.  One could probably argue that it is easier to get around without winters in Ottawa than it is the GTA.  I find our roads are generally cleared quite quickly, so if you can wait a few hours before going out you'll be ok.

But in Ottawa you need winter tires to get to the ski hills!

[ktm525]

My definition of south Ontario is GTA to Windsor. Aren't most of you retired? If the roads are bad you don't need to be going anywhere.  

[pi314]

I mean some of these folk sure, but I'd wager I'm far closer to half your age than retirement

[ArticSteve]

OK, you spent north of $50K and you are agonizing over 4 winter tires and 4 steel wheels/sensors    Less than $2K tax in.  Tread wear is thread wear.  What you use on your winters is tread that isn't used on the summers.  The thing is factory supplied all seasons suck in snow.   

[dirtyjeffer]

OK, you spent north of $50K and you are agonizing over 4 winter tires and 4 steel wheels/sensors    Less than $2K tax in.  Tread wear is thread wear.  What you use on your winters is tread that isn't used on the summers.  The thing is factory supplied all seasons suck in snow.

it may be closer to $2500ish, depending on wheels/tires chosen...plus another $160 per year...that's why i'm contemplating all weathers...likely half that cost with no storage required ($$)...plus, if the roads are bad, i can take the Sorento or work from home...i do have options.

[ArticSteve]

If you where to choose OEM rims you'd be looking at $5K plus.  All weathers are a better choice than all season no question.  All most all factory all seasons suck for any winter use.  So these new "all weathers" are not the worst choice if one is looking for a replacement tire and if one doesn't hit the highways in winter.  Can see them being a big seller.  However, after about 25K km their effectiveness will be substantially diminished.

All Weather tires are ideal for drivers in urban centres, and areas that see mild winter conditions: mild temperatures and light, occasional snow. These tires bear the mountain snowflake emblem, so they’ve passed snow traction tests for performance in severe conditions.

Unlike 3-season tires, all-weather tires stay soft and give grip at temperatures above and below 7 C, so they’ve become a popular year-round tire in cities like Toronto and Vancouver, where drivers need tires to get them through mountain passes and to ski hills on weekends.

Kal’s Tire Testing showed when it comes to hard-packed snow and ice, all-weather tires don’t perform as well as winter tires, but they definitely outperform 3-seasons in winter conditions.

[rrocket]

If you where to choose OEM rims you'd be looking at $5K plus.  All weathers are a better choice than all season no question.  All most all factory all seasons suck for any winter use.  So these new "all weathers" are not the worst choice if one is looking for a replacement tire and if one doesn't hit the highways in winter.  Can see them being a big seller.  However, after about 25K km their effectiveness will be substantially diminished.

All Weather tires are ideal for drivers in urban centres, and areas that see mild winter conditions: mild temperatures and light, occasional snow. These tires bear the mountain snowflake emblem, so they’ve passed snow traction tests for performance in severe conditions.

Unlike 3-season tires, all-weather tires stay soft and give grip at temperatures above and below 7 C, so they’ve become a popular year-round tire in cities like Toronto and Vancouver, where drivers need tires to get them through mountain passes and to ski hills on weekends.

Kal’s Tire Testing showed when it comes to hard-packed snow and ice, all-weather tires don’t perform as well as winter tires, but they definitely outperform 3-seasons in winter conditions.

I guess we'll find out!!

My all weather tires on the Prius have at least 25K on them!!

[ArticSteve]

It's a Prius man; light and small and slow.  Different kettle of fish than the average vehicle say like an new Explorer.

[Dante]

I had 2 sets of Nokian WR and now run CrossClimate 2 on the Outlander.
What AS said is absolutely correct in my experience. Now, also in my experience, I think Michelin will last a bit longer and they also perform noticeable better than the Nokian's I had 10 years ago.

I got all-weather again just because the car is approaching its end of service and needed both winter and summer tires. It's a compromise and it can be a good one depending on the context.

For any car I plan to keep more than 4-5 years, I would go with dedicated winter tires.

As for wheels, look for used OEM on Kijiji - better and sometime cheaper than steelies IMO.

[Fobroader]

I got OEM rims for the GX for $400, for 4 of them, you would have to be silly in the head to shell out for 4 brand new, oem rims. This is what kijiji and Facebook marketplace is made for

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[dirtyjeffer]

I got OEM rims for the GX for $400, for 4 of them, you would have to be silly in the head to shell out for 4 brand new, oem rims. This is what kijiji and Facebook marketplace is made for

when i was briefly looking at wheel/tire options at the dealership, they have some quality steel and winter alloys ranging from about $100-$180 each (steelies at the low end).

[Fobroader]

I got OEM rims for the GX for $400, for 4 of them, you would have to be silly in the head to shell out for 4 brand new, oem rims. This is what kijiji and Facebook marketplace is made for

when i was briefly looking at wheel/tire options at the dealership, they have some quality steel and winter alloys ranging from about $100-$180 each (steelies at the low end).

Well yeah, same with Lexus, no steelies though, but for an OEM rim I think it was about $500 per.

[PJungnitsch]

Our Lexus dealership was happy to sell non OEM alloys and they've been fine.

Have to budget a bit for sensors too

[warp]

I got OEM rims for the GX for $400, for 4 of them, you would have to be silly in the head to shell out for 4 brand new, oem rims. This is what kijiji and Facebook marketplace is made for

when i was briefly looking at wheel/tire options at the dealership, they have some quality steel and winter alloys ranging from about $100-$180 each (steelies at the low end).

Got a winter tire package from the VW dealer for the GTI for ~$2000 taxes in, mounted and balanced. Original VW alloys and 225/45-17 Pirelli Sottozero tires. Tirerack says you can go as small as 16" for the Venza and the tires will have a higher profile so you should be able to get a package for substantially less.

[ArticSteve]

I got OEM rims for the GX for $400, for 4 of them, you would have to be silly in the head to shell out for 4 brand new, oem rims. This is what kijiji and Facebook marketplace is made for

when i was briefly looking at wheel/tire options at the dealership, they have some quality steel and winter alloys ranging from about $100-$180 each (steelies at the low end).

Sure, multi fit.  Not hub centrix and the offset will not be dead on.  I don't think there is such a thing as quality steel rim.  I'd say from my experience with the dealerships about 1 in 12 steelies is out of round.  Some more than others.  However, unless they are wobbling on the balancer profusely the boys just plaster them with weights as best they can and install on the rear of the vehicle. 

[ArticSteve]

One of the free Bizzack winters wheels that I acquired with the Armada is out of round.  The local Dodge dealer, only a few miles away, has both a Dynamic and a Road Force balancer.  I first got 4 20 inch Blizzacks mounted on 4 2018 Ford F150 OEM chrome alloys.  No issues other than one strip of stickem weights fell off.    $124.00 tax in.

Next were the ex Titan steelies with Blizzacks.  No weights originally which I found odd.  So apparently only 3 balanced up and the 4th wheel was out of round.  So they put it on the road force and shifted the tire around as best they could but warned that it's not great.  Will put on the rear of the Armada.  If it shakes I'll buy a new steelie.  Charged me the same amount.  Great small town little dealership.  No front line up selling. No waiting.

[Great_Big_Abyss]

I 'ordered' my new Blizzak WS90's yesterday at the dealer that sold me the Mazda (they were included in the sale of the car).  They gave me the option of the multi-fit alloys, or steelies.  I chose steelies - I've had steelie winters for the last ten years and haven't had any problems with them.  Anyway, I set up an appointment to have them swap over the winters next Saturday. 

Anyway, I'm poking around on Kijiji this morning, and I find a nice set of 16" Mazda alloys from a 2012 Mazda3 for $200.  Sweet, I think to myself, I'll offer $150, settle at $160, then drop the alloys off at the dealer, and they can just install the new Blizzaks on the used rims I'm supplying.  They shouldn't have any issue with it, as they'd get to re-use the rims they ordered on something else.  When I call them up to just confirm this, the shop manager tells me that the tires/wheels came in yesterday, and they've already mounted/balanced them.  DOH.  They moved too quickly.  OH Well, I can't fault them for doing exactly what I asked them to do.   

Guess I'll just go with the steelies. 

[dirtyjeffer]

I got OEM rims for the GX for $400, for 4 of them, you would have to be silly in the head to shell out for 4 brand new, oem rims. This is what kijiji and Facebook marketplace is made for

when i was briefly looking at wheel/tire options at the dealership, they have some quality steel and winter alloys ranging from about $100-$180 each (steelies at the low end).

Sure, multi fit.  Not hub centrix and the offset will not be dead on.  I don't think there is such a thing as quality steel rim.  I'd say from my experience with the dealerships about 1 in 12 steelies is out of round.  Some more than others.  However, unless they are wobbling on the balancer profusely the boys just plaster them with weights as best they can and install on the rear of the vehicle.

the steelies at the dealership are hubcentric and look to be pretty good wheels (he said they were made by Toyota?, but not sure if that makes sense or not)...they were about $110 each for 18 inch...he said if i'm looking to keep costs down, they sell the Firestone WinterForce2 tires which are quite a bit less than the Michelin and Bridgestone ones and are still a pretty decent winter tire...i haven't had any experience with those ones, but they seem to get decent ratings...he was sending me a quote, but i think our work email may have blocked it from coming through.

[ArticSteve]

Steelies aren't made by Toyota.  The alloys you mentioned for $180 will be multi fit guaranteed.

"Winterforce"  name plate being out there forever.  It's a Firestone.  Not terrible, but not good either.  Would take Firestone over Uniroyal or it's Crappy Tire version though  It's cheaper for a reason.  Still better than I drove on for at least half my driving life.

 

[Fobroader]

I had toyota steelies for winter tires on my Altima, they had Toyota stamps all over them.