Winter tires... 3 options

General Discussion
#1

Im hesitating between 3 sets of winters. Any have words of wisdom or personal experiance with these?

Blizzak LM60 (1660$)

http://www.1010tires.com/Tires/Bridgestone/Blizzak+LM-60

http://www.1010tires.com/images/tires/Bridgestone/bridgestone_lm_60_lg.jpg

Michelin pilot PA3 (1740$)

http://www.1010tires.com/Tires/Michelin/Pilot+Alpin+PA3

http://www.1010tires.com/images/tires/Michelin/michelin_pilot_pa3_lg.jpg

Pirelli sottozero (1500$)

http://www.1010tires.com/Tires/Pirelli/Winter+210+Sottozero

http://www.1010tires.com/images/tires/Pirelli/pirelli_scottzero_210_lg.jpg

All input welcome

#2

i already told you to call tires23

all three of those are decent. Dunlop wintersport 3ds are great too. I think they also have an m3 tire guys like.

#3

those are tire23 prices!!! (taxes in and installed)

i just dont know which to go with.

The pirelli seems to have a nice thread pattern for winter use.

Dunlop only comes in 255 / 35 19. i need 40. Dont know how bad that would throw out the ratio

#4

Go with the sport 3Ds! but if you dont want to change up the profiile/height then pick the tire with the best speed rating. I had the LM-60s and I believe they are H rated…soft sidewall = when you turn it feels like youre driving a 5k lb boat. In your case it will feel like a 7500lb boat :wink:

#5

Oh I thought you were quoting 1010, sorry.

Were they best?

#6

I’ve run the Blizzaks and the Sotto Zeros. The Sotto Zeros were a bit better “performance” tire and the Blizzaks were better in the snow and ice. I run Blizzaks (DM-V1) on my wife’s Durango R/T. But in reality both the Blizzaks and Sotto Zeros are pretty good winters for a heavy, powerful car.

Fwiw

http://picolio.auto123.com/art-images/123961/car-performance-tire-chart.jpg

#7

Wow, the Nokians really went downhill. I used to have NRWs 12 years ago and they were absolutely fantastic in dry and snow. Strange.

#8

Also found this image from auto123.com slightly different.

http://i.imgur.com/5t6kw.jpg

#9

^ i dunno about that one. Rated LM-60s > Sport 3Ds on cornering. Based on my experience I would have the 3Ds a 9 and the LMs a 6

#10

I’ve got LM-25 on at the moment, they are the predecessor to the LM-60 and they handle pretty well. Mind you the are the LM-25Vs v-rated… From what I know the LM-60s are an improvement in wintry conditions so you may have a point about their dry, sporty abilities.

#11

Some anecdotal evidence on some tyres not in that chart:

  • Gislaved Nordfrost 5. Made by Conti IIRC but a favourite of Volvo owners. Good snow performance + braking. Got these on the GTI. Those Scandies know a thing or two about snow tyres.
  • Hankook iPike W409 on the S4. Dragstrip proven lol. I ran the 13.33 on these. But brilliant performance for accelerating, braking and cornering compared to my old Conti Extreme. Pretty cheap and generally good reviews from SUV owners (since the V is in SUV weight territory lol)
#12

What’s new?

I had hakkapellita or whatever they are called…and they were great. A little noisy though.

#13

I have a set of the Vredstein’s on my S4 for the past 3 winters and I absolutely love them. They grip the road very well in all conditions and handle excellent on dry roads as well.

Detailers Domain has them for a good price: http://www.audizine.com/forum/showthread.php/508053-Get-ready-for-winter-Vredestein-Wintrac-Snow-Tires-in-245-40-18-and-255-35-19

#14

Well, the Hakkas (probably the 1 model) were more for snow. The NRWs were snow+performance and I just couldn’t believe how they managed to get both to work so well. I had 80% of my summer tire’s performance yet I was also able to snowplow through 2 feet of snow, up a driveway in Vermont for 50 metres in a 3400lb+4 passengers FWD only car. They stopped making them and started making WRs instead which weren’t as good and more expensive. Now it seems they’ve gone down even more.

#15

^^^just according to that one test. Who knows how impartial or effective that test is really.