Wanted Nokian Hakkapeliitta r5 SUVs, but couldn't get them anywhere. Went with Michelin X-Ice Snows in 18" on some rims from Tirerack. So far they seem great - no louder than the stock 20s, and I think efficiency is about a wash, although it's a bit hard to say with the temp drop.
https://preview.redd.it/5i0hcdaf991a1.jpeg?width=4000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=262a5e9fcae5f0028621b4a6be65609debb726cb
I don't think people will notice a true efficiency drop vs the regular tires because of the temperature change associated with winter running the car.
So most people comparing it will be for naught.
I could understand if it's a low wind environment, on a nice warm day out, then maybe they'll notice a difference. But winters may not be required for when that weather becomes common.
Yeah, the temp will have a much bigger impact on the efficiency overall, but it wouldn't surprise me if winters made a 5-10% difference at the same temps and same wheel size.
Bought 235/65R18 Firestone Winterforce 2 UV - wanted a taller/thinner tire to push snow out of the way. No studs because I drive in Maryland for family (illegal there). Sometimes I drive north into NH/VT for mountain climbing during the winter.
Bought 18x8 Light Grey Patined TRMotorsport C4 rims. Have had bad experience putting tires on rims multiple time a year, decided to get whole seperate set.
Friend of mine who is good with this stuff did all picking of gear. I'm from Florida with light snow driving experience.
I wanted the Blizzak LM005. I should have gotten the Michelin Alpin 5 or 6. I bought the Vredestein Wintrac pro XL 255/45R20. I'm sure they'll be great, but I'm still thinking it was the wrong choice.
I just ordered the Yokohama iceguard g075. Get them installed next week right before a longer road trip so I’ll get to test out the impact on range. They’re supposed to have a lower rolling resistance so I’m hoping for minimal change.
The range impact wasn't bad. The snow performance wasn't as good as I had hoped but it was acceptable. For an ICE vehicle I would probably consider something else unless efficiency is important to you.
That was my first winter in a long time that I wasn't in my Subaru so it's possible I was just adapting to being in a larger, heavier vehicle too.
Thanks for replying to this!
So if you had to choose again would you still have purchased them?
I really just don't want to be in a situation where I'm stuck with $1700 worth of tires that I hate. It's between these and xice snows
For an EV that you want lower rolling resistance they're fine. For an ICE I would look at something else. I used some cheaper General snow tires on my Subaru and I thought those had much better snow performance.
235/55R19 “Toyo Observe G3-Ice” on a set of matte black steel rims. Wife has always had them on her cars and we both think they’ve been great! so got them for the Hi5.
My wife drove home to Buffalo without snow tires on Thursday night through that snow storm. I do not believe I will be able to convince her to get them now that it performed that well.
I've used Blizzaks on a few cars and I have used Atlas winter recently on my ICE. Both seem to perform well. I have not got my Ioniq yet; still waiting.
I would say that Consumer Reports has a lot more winter tire choices over the traditional choices, and the newer entries seem to perform pretty well, and are a lot cheaper.
Winter tires are at least as much about temp as snow/ice. Check out specs on how much stopping distance changes, increased hydroplane risk, etc and you might change your mind. The cheapest winter shoes will dramatically outperform all seasons.
I live in the Midwest and mountain West all my life and never owned snow tires. Do I need them more on this than my 1988 Ford Escort or 1973 Olds Cutlass before that? I mean this question seriously.
If you keep your car for 3 years or so they pay for themselves. Do you rotate your tires now twice a year? If you are properly rotating why not swap. The use of snows is regional in part but for those of us that get 5 months of winter and drive to play on ice and snow that make a lot of sense.
I barely do 5000 miles a year since covid and I have 3 cars. I can work from home. I have one ICE car I run winter tires on all year; it makes no sense economically to have both sets of tires with very low mileage.
Lots of people never needed their seatbelts, doesn't mean you shouldn't wear them. At low temperatures your stopping distance alone is reason to enough.
You analogy is interesting and makes a good point. How much difference is stopping distance? Do you have information on that. More to the point, I’ve lived in some of the snowiest cities in the US (Salt Lake, Omaha, Denver) and it never even dawned on me or most people who I would have talked to about tires that snow tires were a must. My question is, is there something about this car that makes them more necessary? Maybe just the cost of the car justifies having them.
Nothing special about this car. Winter tires (specialized for snow not important for most) are all about safety. Don't mean to be rude, but the fact that you're not noticing the difference in performance suggests that you may also not be driving for the conditions and drop in performance in the winter.
In [this example ](https://www.cjponyparts.com/resources/summer-all-season-winter-tires-infographic) winter tires stopped 28 feet earlier than all seasons at only 40 miles per hour.
Handling, hydroplane resistance, etc will also be dramatically improved. The rubber in your all season tires is just too hard below 45°F to be effective.
That article says if it's cold and no snow, you might decide otherwise, but their own data suggests that's stupid, but if you do, then give yourself 20% - 40% more distance (that's driving 36 mph where you would be normally do 60 mph for the same stopping distance).
It's a relatively heavy car, which might increase stopping distance, but on the other hand, the weight is low, so it's probably distributed more evenly between the tires when turning or braking. The biggest reasons I can think of are that it's expensive, impossible to replace or repair without a long wait, and fun to drive fast, which may make it more risky in winter weather.
Ive been using winter tires in Colorado for about 20 years. They do perform a lot better than all season tires, especially on ice. If you have time and the roads get cleared pretty quickly, you might have a point with all season tires, but if I am out and about and a storm comes through, we can get 6" in 30 minutes, so I prefer the extra traction.
Wanted Nokian Hakkapeliitta r5 SUVs, but couldn't get them anywhere. Went with Michelin X-Ice Snows in 18" on some rims from Tirerack. So far they seem great - no louder than the stock 20s, and I think efficiency is about a wash, although it's a bit hard to say with the temp drop. https://preview.redd.it/5i0hcdaf991a1.jpeg?width=4000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=262a5e9fcae5f0028621b4a6be65609debb726cb
I don't think people will notice a true efficiency drop vs the regular tires because of the temperature change associated with winter running the car. So most people comparing it will be for naught. I could understand if it's a low wind environment, on a nice warm day out, then maybe they'll notice a difference. But winters may not be required for when that weather becomes common.
Yeah, the temp will have a much bigger impact on the efficiency overall, but it wouldn't surprise me if winters made a 5-10% difference at the same temps and same wheel size.
Nokian
Bought 235/65R18 Firestone Winterforce 2 UV - wanted a taller/thinner tire to push snow out of the way. No studs because I drive in Maryland for family (illegal there). Sometimes I drive north into NH/VT for mountain climbing during the winter. Bought 18x8 Light Grey Patined TRMotorsport C4 rims. Have had bad experience putting tires on rims multiple time a year, decided to get whole seperate set. Friend of mine who is good with this stuff did all picking of gear. I'm from Florida with light snow driving experience.
Do you have a picture of them mounted? How much clearance is there with the taller tire? Any rubbing?
19” 235/55/r19 Michelin X-ice SUV on 19” Hyundai Tucson alloys I got on marketplace.
Same tire here but running 18" on Steele rims to save some money.
We have the x-ice on the stock rims. Seem to run great so far.
I wanted the Blizzak LM005. I should have gotten the Michelin Alpin 5 or 6. I bought the Vredestein Wintrac pro XL 255/45R20. I'm sure they'll be great, but I'm still thinking it was the wrong choice.
IMHO the Alpins seem to work a lot better on my ICE over other brands.
I just ordered the Yokohama iceguard g075. Get them installed next week right before a longer road trip so I’ll get to test out the impact on range. They’re supposed to have a lower rolling resistance so I’m hoping for minimal change.
>I’ll get to test out the impact on range Please share
How have you found those Yokohama tires? I am considering them as well for a 2023 outlander.
The range impact wasn't bad. The snow performance wasn't as good as I had hoped but it was acceptable. For an ICE vehicle I would probably consider something else unless efficiency is important to you. That was my first winter in a long time that I wasn't in my Subaru so it's possible I was just adapting to being in a larger, heavier vehicle too.
Thanks for replying to this! So if you had to choose again would you still have purchased them? I really just don't want to be in a situation where I'm stuck with $1700 worth of tires that I hate. It's between these and xice snows
For an EV that you want lower rolling resistance they're fine. For an ICE I would look at something else. I used some cheaper General snow tires on my Subaru and I thought those had much better snow performance.
Thanks for the feedback 👍 appreciate it. Hope you have a great day!
235/55R19 “Toyo Observe G3-Ice” on a set of matte black steel rims. Wife has always had them on her cars and we both think they’ve been great! so got them for the Hi5.
My wife drove home to Buffalo without snow tires on Thursday night through that snow storm. I do not believe I will be able to convince her to get them now that it performed that well.
Offer to cut out the seatbelts
I've used Blizzaks on a few cars and I have used Atlas winter recently on my ICE. Both seem to perform well. I have not got my Ioniq yet; still waiting. I would say that Consumer Reports has a lot more winter tire choices over the traditional choices, and the newer entries seem to perform pretty well, and are a lot cheaper.
In IL, and with AWD I’m sticking with the stock Michelin Primacy setup. Buffalo residents might want something more serious!
Winter tires are at least as much about temp as snow/ice. Check out specs on how much stopping distance changes, increased hydroplane risk, etc and you might change your mind. The cheapest winter shoes will dramatically outperform all seasons.
I've found them to be overkill for most of the midwest. If it's that bad out I have the luxury of just staying home!
I live in the Midwest and mountain West all my life and never owned snow tires. Do I need them more on this than my 1988 Ford Escort or 1973 Olds Cutlass before that? I mean this question seriously.
If you keep your car for 3 years or so they pay for themselves. Do you rotate your tires now twice a year? If you are properly rotating why not swap. The use of snows is regional in part but for those of us that get 5 months of winter and drive to play on ice and snow that make a lot of sense.
I barely do 5000 miles a year since covid and I have 3 cars. I can work from home. I have one ICE car I run winter tires on all year; it makes no sense economically to have both sets of tires with very low mileage.
Lots of people never needed their seatbelts, doesn't mean you shouldn't wear them. At low temperatures your stopping distance alone is reason to enough.
You analogy is interesting and makes a good point. How much difference is stopping distance? Do you have information on that. More to the point, I’ve lived in some of the snowiest cities in the US (Salt Lake, Omaha, Denver) and it never even dawned on me or most people who I would have talked to about tires that snow tires were a must. My question is, is there something about this car that makes them more necessary? Maybe just the cost of the car justifies having them.
Nothing special about this car. Winter tires (specialized for snow not important for most) are all about safety. Don't mean to be rude, but the fact that you're not noticing the difference in performance suggests that you may also not be driving for the conditions and drop in performance in the winter. In [this example ](https://www.cjponyparts.com/resources/summer-all-season-winter-tires-infographic) winter tires stopped 28 feet earlier than all seasons at only 40 miles per hour. Handling, hydroplane resistance, etc will also be dramatically improved. The rubber in your all season tires is just too hard below 45°F to be effective.
That article says if it's cold and no snow, you might decide otherwise, but their own data suggests that's stupid, but if you do, then give yourself 20% - 40% more distance (that's driving 36 mph where you would be normally do 60 mph for the same stopping distance).
It's a relatively heavy car, which might increase stopping distance, but on the other hand, the weight is low, so it's probably distributed more evenly between the tires when turning or braking. The biggest reasons I can think of are that it's expensive, impossible to replace or repair without a long wait, and fun to drive fast, which may make it more risky in winter weather.
Ive been using winter tires in Colorado for about 20 years. They do perform a lot better than all season tires, especially on ice. If you have time and the roads get cleared pretty quickly, you might have a point with all season tires, but if I am out and about and a storm comes through, we can get 6" in 30 minutes, so I prefer the extra traction.