First winter tire inquiry for '06-'07... eeny meanie miny mo

[PJGross]

I searched, and here is the most recent broad info post for snow tires:

snow tire thread w/ decent info

I have just acquired an extra set of straight '92 rims from KT (thanks KT) and am trying to pick a snow tire to go on them. I wanted to see if there were any new tires out this year that I should consider, but since this is a BUDGET snow tire install, that might not be relevant to my choice. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif There seem to be several Norwegian options, but not sure if they'd fit in the budget.

I've had Artic Alpine's on my Impala for 3 winters. There is still enough tread and I still felt confident in their grip at the end of last year that I'm going to use them for a 4th season. Siping is all still intact. I realize that the sticky treatment has worn/leached out, but the physical properties are still there. Didn't expect to get 4 winters at about 8,000 miles a winter out of them, but I've been pleasantly surprised.

Questions I have:

1. Does 195/60-15 vs 185/65-15 really make any noticeable difference? Pricing on tirerack did not show a difference in pricing, but my question is does 20 mm total track reduction (nominal) really do much? I guess when dry it should be less drag, too, right?

2. What are known good options in the $60 or less each category? Don't know if the Pilot Alpine is the replacement for the Artic Alpine or what, but I think they are more money than what I'm looking for at about $95 each. Saw good reviews on the X-Ice at $76 each, but I'm going to try and get hooked up with 4 for as close to $200 as possible (mount and balance extra most likely). Winterforce M+S are closest at $57 each. This is all tirerack, where I've gotten my last 5 or so sets of tires, but I'd look at other options.

3. Ideally, I'd like to get out the door, mounted and balanced, for $200 or less. Is this realistic or am I smoking crack?

4. Compared to Artic Alpines, are there any tires I should stay away from from a wear standpoint? I'd love to get 4 seasons out of these, but I'd be happy with 2 and would consider 3 great. Considering I'll be splitting time between the two cars since this will be the first time the galant has been daily driven in about 5 years, I'm not sure how much mileage I'll get on them during this first winter.

Thanks ahead for the input, and I'll investigate some of the links in the previous threads to get better ideas on pricing.

-PJ

 

[slugsgomoo]

http://www.nokiantires.com/newsite/dealer_output.cfm?location=Michigan

Honestly, given what the locals who spend all their time skiing & driving over the mountain passes around here say, I doubt you can find a better tire than the Nokian Hakkapeliitta 2. I mean, they make them in finland where driving in ice, snow & slush is basically a national past time. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

that being said, you'd have to call and find out about price. I've never heard anyone switch from blizzaks or whatnot to nokians and have anything but raves about them. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/dunno.gif

I don't do anything but summer only tires though, so ymmv. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

 

I got Green Diamond for my wife's FWD car. Great tires but more than your $200 budget. Green Diamond

 

[RayH]

I have the Pilot Alpins and they're more for a combination of dry and snow. The Arctic Alpins should be better in snow.

 

[skivittlerjimb]

I'd have to say you're close to the crack pipe for $200 shipped and installed for a set of four. Maybe you've lit up but just not inhaled. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smirk.gif

Nordman is a brand to check into. I'm sure Tire Rack doesn't sell them. They're a Nokian off-brand (outdated models, etc.) I had them for a season and they were already 2 or 3 season old and they were fine. Other than that in your budget you might be able to find Coopers, Weathermasters (Sears?), etc. I highly recommend Nokians but I'm guessing the cheapest you'll find is ~$70-$80 per tire. Green Diamonds are also excellent, and are supposed to actually improve as they wear (up to a point) and expose more of the "diamond" material.

Not much difference between 185/65 and 195/60. You just get to feel more like a driver in the Swedish WRC with the skinnier tires!

-Jim B.
1432/2000
167k

 

[CP]

It costs $130+ to get a mount and balance around here. My thoughts on tires are in that linked thread.

 

[Brianawd]

Last winter when my Galant was my DD ski car I had toyo observes on it.
Car did great all winter, put like 10k on the tires. I have has brigestone
blazzak be for but wanted to try some thing new. I have to say I like the
observes way better. With them I did not get that floaty feeling that you
get with snow tires. I will be getting them again this winter but for my
girlfriends A4.

 

[PJGross]

Got a quote on Nokian Hakkapeliita-2s: $565 with mounting/balancing.
These are probably great tires, but a little out of my range. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Green Diamonds will probably come in close at $91 per tire plus shipping plus mounting/balancing. I'm not sure I can justify saving the environment by paying this price, but it definitely seems like an innovative product that has caught on quickly and fits my question of what's new, above!

After reading through the www.snowtire.info site and looking around at other links, I think I may go the cheap route and settle for average performance, lower cost. However, I don't think I'm going to be able to hit the $200 mounted/balance target. Winterforce M+S may get me close, but we'll see if anyone comes up with any other suggestions.

-PJ

 

[gvr4ever]

I've never used them, but to come close to your budget, you might want to try these

I think any dedicated snow tire is going to be able to out perform a all weather tire.

I'm running Yokohama Ice Guard IG10 on my Galant, but before that I had Blizzaks. The Blizzaks cost more and are suppost to be better, but I acually like the Yokohama's better. They seem to work just as well, but they have a stiffer side wall.

Dedicated snow tires are becoming much more popular then just a few years ago. The tire shopper has MANY more options then they did compared to just a few years ago and paying more doesn't always get you the best. I'm not suggesting that $50 snow tires are as good as others that cost more, but I'm sure they would be safter then not have snow tires at all.

Hit up 1010tires, tirerack, and discount tires and just try and get the best deal you can.

 

[CP]

Walmart or Costco might have some crappy snow tires that may fit your budget. I agree with the "skip the all-seasons if it's snow performance you're looking for" sentiment.

Not to bash you personally, but I really don't understand why people cheap out on safety items, such as tires, or brake pads, or seatbelts...especially if you've got kids. Your tires are the only thing that connect your car to the road. Get the best ones you can. If it means saving a little longer then do just that. It's only early September, so no snow in Michigan for at least a few more paychecks, right?

 

[SleepinGVR4]

That snowtire info website actually used our car to test drive the snowtires they have listed in the 2004 year.

 

[atc250r]

I ran these on the GVR4 I built for my wife a couple of years ago:

WinterForce

I was able to get 4 of them through the place we use at work for $200 which is a little less than the $57 each that Tire Rack gets. I was very happy with them and even kept them when I sold that car but I don't think it takes much to make an AWD car VERY good in the snow. Now they are on her Suzuki Forenza Wagon (FWD) and even that thing seems to be able to go anywhere in the snow, even deep snow. As far as mounting and balancing, I'd shop around. I worked at a Goodyear store that charged like $20/tire to install them but before I worked there I had a guy at the local gas station do 4 of them for like $50. That was a long time ago and I've been at dealers a long time so I can do all that crap myself. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif BTW, don't wait too long to order them, they sell out early and production is usually over by fall so once they're gone, they're gone.

John

 

[PJGross]

CP,

Are you implying something by your "Walmart or Costco" comment?
Did I ever mention "all seasons" anywhere in my questions or posts?
Are you sure you're "not bashing me personally" in your post?
And why would you make any comment regarding a total stranger's financial position?

You've all been saved by a power outage on a very long post that preceded those questions, above, in my initial response. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif (I was actually pretty pissed but my posts are long enough so I'm not going to retype it) Essentially, nowhere in my post did I mention anything that would disregard safety. I simply set a budget and even asked "am I smoking crack?" to show that my target was not set in stone. As just mentioned in the post above, I grabbed that $200 figure from previous posts that I took the time to search and read through before asking the question. Not only that, but in question #2 I asked for tire options in the $60 and under range, which, if my math is right, just for the tires is over $200. Further, in a follow up post I revise my $200 figure and agreed that it was not realistic.

I'm not sure how my posts above were interpreted as being "cheap or unsafe". Unfortunately, I've purchased 5 or 6 sets of tires in the last few years. I've run everything from $260 Goodyear F1 Steels to $120 Kumho 712s to some in between. I get every tire I purchase Hunter force balanced for safety, ride quality, and wear. However, I have a local place that will do dual plane hidden weight force balanced for $25 bucks a tire, so I know I need to add at least $100 plus shipping (if needed) to my total cost.

In my experience, any winter tire will outperform a summer tire, and most could give a high end all season tire a good run in winter conditions. Further, the safest place to be on a sh#$ty day is home b/c of all the other idiots on the road that don't know how to drive, but I don't have that luxury if I want that next paycheck. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/rolleyes.gif

I had to call to get a quote on any Norwegian tires, since I didn't know what range they would be in. No big deal. I'm not planning on studding or snow crossing, so I don't need high performance winters, just something to improve my traction over the summers on the car now. After driving my 2 ton b-body safely for years in snow, somehow I don't think running the galant will be too much of a problem.

Thanks for all of the helpful posts and attempts to answer my 4 questions posted above.

-PJ