I've got a 2007 Corolla CE sedan in southern Manitoba that sees mostly city roads. Can anyone recommend a good set of snow tires that aren't priced over the top? Are there any problems using after market steel rims for the winter on my Toyota? I was looking at some Goodyear Ultragrip snow tires, the cheaper model that is capable of being studded. Are these tires OK, or should I be looking at spending more bucks on Goodyear Ultragrip Ice tires?
I have Toyo Observe G-02 Plus winter tires, and they are very good. Not the cheapest priced but not too expensive either. Excellent snow traction and decent dry traction, and only minimal noise at highway speeds.
I saw a set of Hankook i*pike tires yesterday mounted on a car...they looked like thay could make it over the Rockies in FRONT of the plough.
Hankooks are pretty good, and well affordable.
If you don't drive in deep snow often, any pair of all-seasons will do
I have been using all season radial tires on all of my previous cars. However, I had a couple white knuckle experiences with my last Tercel sliding through intersections on glare ice. I promised myself that I would check out some winter tires with my next new car.
The last few winters here have been constant freeze and thaw weather, making city streets very slippery, despite all the sand and salt being dumped.
Not sure if 'snow tires' will be the complete answer if you have road ice issues. Might want to also check into how studded tires might help.
later,
tom @
Studded tires are illegal in some places. I don't know if any U.S. states outlaw them, but they are illegal in Ontario (province in Canada).
Yeah, but... I don't know if studded snows are legal any longer. (I stopped using them shortly after I started buying front-wheel drive cars & all season radials became available, so haven't been paying attention to their status.) It's probably on a state-by-state basis - their legality, & the dates between when they can be used.
Personally, I'd just look into tires that have very good ratings for snow, since glare ice is virtually impossible to deal with effectively, no matter what. Short of lucking out & following a municipal sander, would need a contraption that would spread out sand in front of the car as one drives along... that would work! ;-)
Cathy
Studded tires, if they are allowed. Bridgstone Blizzaks are good for icy conditions, and MasterCraft Glacier Grip is a Blizzak 'ripoff'.
Any snow tire that can be studded would be good.
Wow. They are allowed in Mass, but you can't put them on until Nov 1, I think, and they have to be off by April 15 (Tax Day here in the US!)
The best, in my experience and opinion, are the Nokians. I don't like how the Blizzaks have the "magic rubber" only half-way through the tread, which, when it's worn down, makes it a rather ordinary tire.
It's like shoes. You can cheap out on pants, shirts, hats, jackets, etc. But don't cheap out on shoes if you're on your feet all day. Get nice socks and good quality shoes.
The same applies to your car. The steel rims are fine. Spray a little WD-40 or rust protective stuff on them and get good tires. I'd get some Michelins or higher end tires I were you. It's way cheaper than an insurance deductible and you'll have a lot more confidence that you're looking after your family. Look at Consumer Reports for safety ratings as well.
Studded tires are legal in California from Nov 1 to April 30 - but the DMV Commissioner and CalTrans can extend the period in specified areas if the weather stays bad. CVC 27454(e)
Homepc: If you decide to go for snow tires, do it right - get full-on Snow Only tires like Blizzak's and a second set of rims for them. Plain steel rims are inexpensive and work just fine.
The first and best reason to have two sets of rims is you can easily and quickly swap back and forth as the weather changes - real snow tires will wear out extremely fast if driven on warm dry roads.
Second, every time you mount and dismount a tire on a rim you risk ripping the bead and causing air leaks, and you have to rebalance them. Two sets of rims, and they can stay on the rim till worn out. And Third, you can avoid those six hour plus waits at the tire shop to swap tires and rebalance on one set of rims every time the weather changes. With two sets of rims you can be in and out of the tire shop in a half hour or less - the big holdup is usually at the changing machine and the balancer.
Or get a trolley jack ($25 to $50) and swap all four tires yourself at home inside of 30 minutes. Get an impact wrench (electric or air) and you can shave that down to 20.
Train the wife and kids as a pit crew, and try for five... ;-)
If your car has factory alloy wheels they will be WAY expensive to replace for a few years (till they start showing up in salvage yards) and running them in the snow is hard on the finish - a set of tire chains that gets off center and up onto the rims can scar them up and destroy their appearance REAL fast.
And if you slide sideways into a curb, alloy wheels bend and break a whole lot easier than good old steel rims.
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Southern Manitoba..mostly city roads? You do NOT need snow tires.
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Also, MARK them FR, FL, RR, RL since radials 'break in' on whichever side of the car they are on. Get a Grease Pencil from Canadian Tire or a Home Depot (in Canada?) and mark them on the INSIDE, or you'll have Yellow wall tires! :)
It is also a good idea, for example, to take the all-season tire you took off the car in the fall, say, RR, and put it on FR when you replace it. That way, you'll be sure your tires are rotated every spring!
I think it was Hachiroku who stated:
Good idea. (And a recent "puzzler" on Car Talk says you can save letters by marking 'em FR, F, RR and blank for unique identification. Then you get to solve the puzzle next spring! ;^)
Not true anymore. In fact, the tire manufacturers recommend that modern radial tires be rotated in the "old fashioned" X pattern (I do RR to LF to RF to LR when I rotate mine) so they'll wear the most evenly. That also allows the full-sized spare to be included in all the rotations.
That's why I would mark 'em; tire rotation is a GOOD thing!
-Don (rotating his every 5K miles)
-- Pooder approved this post . . . .
LOL! And this little tip was brought to you by someone who NEVER rotates hios tires!
I drive 'em for 60-80,000 miles until they wear out and then buy some more!
Don't do as I do, do as I say!!!
I think it was Hachiroku who stated:
I rotate mine now 'cause I want to get all the mileage I can, and when I had a VW Rabbit, the tires wore unevenly and I had to buy new ones MUCH sooner than I would have if I had rotated 'em.
I also do it myself 'cause I'm a CHEAP bastard who won't pay for someone to do something I can do myself, and tire rotation is one of the things I can still handle on modern cars. Besides, I can also make sure the wheels are clean, the tire pressures are correct, the lug bolts are torqued to spec, and the tires and brakes aren't wearing incorrectly. A bit of a closer inspection than a shop would do, probably . . . .
Hear, hear!
-- Pooder approved this post . . . .
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