Well, I finally broke down and bought myself a Christmas present - new true winter tires for my Focus ZX5. Actually, they are on order and will take a couple of days to get here. Last year, I made do with the stock all season P6 but I noticed the traction control coming on all the time, especially when trying to get moving from an intersection. The traction control actually moderates the speed with the ABS brakes so it really wasn't any faster, just easier to get moving. And on ice or light snow the Pirellis were just plain tricky to handle with the occasional fishtailing. We only had one heavy snowfall last year (300mm +) and a number of 50-75mm snowfalls but getting stuck just once during that heavy snowfall was once too many for my pride!
The tires I settled on were Michelin X-Ice studless in an oddball size
195/55-16. I could get the 205/50-16 size (same loading) but I figure the slimmer tire will track through snow a tad bit easier and better still they are about $13 CDN cheaper than the wider tire! The Michelin's are supposedly better than the Blizzak's for snow and better in handling but not quite as good on the ice. The Michelin's also are supposed to wear easier and longer.The oddball size is about 1.6% larger in circumference than the stock tires but then again the stock tires are undersized/overspeed for the car. (Driving 112 kph on the speedo = driving 110 in the real world according to a radar.) So the new size will be just about perfect. The handling shouldn't change all that much - but then again I won't be "throwing the car" into corners like I do in the summer on dry pavement. A handy website for determining size equivalent is:
I also considered buying a set of 15" steel rims and downsizing with 195/60 series tires (slightly higher loading - 88 vs the 87) - still with the Michelin X-Ice. That size of tire would be cheaper but then I have to buy another set of rims so the cost would be offsetting and there would be a greater difference in handling but still within the range of the Focus. The third option would be to use even cheaper generic winter tires and add studs to them but I figured that would be even noisier and some jurisdictions don't permit them. They aren't designed for prolonged use at highway speeds either.