The Snow Tire FAQ Forums

National tyre safety week June 7-13 in General Discussions

Friday 15 May 2009 19:44:46

TireMan, Friday 15 May 2009 19:44:46 (0 Replies) -- Subject: National tyre safety week June 7-13 -- -- June 7-13 is National Tyre Safety Week. I think all of us can benefit from a review of the basics, yes, even for summer tyres. P=Pressure A-Alignment R=Rotation T=Tread All of us can do our part by spreading the word about this important but often overlooked piece of car maintenance. Therefore, I ask all of you to do your part.

Reviews of Nokian WR G2 in Reviews

Friday 8 May 2009 08:16:16

Peter K, Friday 8 May 2009 08:16:16 (28 Replies) -- Subject: Reviews of Nokian WR G2 -- -- Before the server crash I asked if anyone had any reviews of the Nokian WR G2. I was hoping someone might know of some magazine tests but I've not managed to find any yet. IIRC there one member posted his review in another forum, I hope he'll post it again. I'm especially interested comparisons of it to the Nokian RSi, although perhaps comparisons to the upcoming Nokian R would be more relevant.

Yokohama Ice Guard iG20 Review in Reviews

Thursday 2 April 2009 18:58:58

DKaz, Thursday 2 April 2009 18:58:58 (2 Replies) -- Subject: Yokohama Ice Guard iG20 Review -- -- So I've officially retired these [b:e37d2aab43]Yokohama Ice Guard iG20[/b:e37d2aab43] tires for the year and here are my thoughts so far... Personal Rating: 4 out of 5 [b:e37d2aab43]Pros:[/b:e37d2aab43] Very good snow performance Excellent ice performance Adequately comfortable [b:e37d2aab43]Cons:[/b:e37d2aab43] Not meant for spirited driving Susceptibility to slushplaning Treadwear could be a tad bit better [img:e37d2aab43]http://www.1010tires.com/images/tires/Yokohama/yokohama_g20_lg.jpg[/img:e37d2aab43] These tires are the second generation of Yokohama's Ice Guard series and were designed to drastically improve ice performance specifically between 0C and -6C (32F and 21F) where a film of water on the surface of the ice can cause problems for any tires. [b:e37d2aab43]Comfort [/b:e37d2aab43] Noise wise they were about the same as my OE Bridgestone SE200s with a noticable higher pitched drone on wet surfaces. To me, the drone was an assuring sound that the nanoparticle pumps and micro bubbles were hard at work. Ride comfort was also comparable to OE tires. [b:e37d2aab43]Dry performance [/b:e37d2aab43] Being a R rated tire, they were a bit squishy but really no worse than the OE tires in most conditions with the exception of freeways where the soft tread blocks easily caught any grooves in the pavement. I pushed the tires once during a cruise with Toyota Syndicate NW along the Washougal River Road in warm and dry 11C (~52F) weather and although I couldn't quite take corners as fast as the others who had more suitable performance tires like the Falken Ziex 912, they really didn't do too shabby. Dry braking was good which saved me from nearly rear ending someone the other night in heavy freeway traffic with five lanes merging into two. As the days got warmer, both my wife and I were accidently burning out the tires and this was far from WOT, clutch dumping acting. We were both eager to go back to our rims and all season tires. [b:e37d2aab43]Wet performance [/b:e37d2aab43] These tires did better in the wet than the dry. Hydroplaning resistance was exceptional, and handling, accelerating, and braking were also all good. Nothing exceptional, that crown belongs to the Nokian WR G2s, but nothing to complain about either. [b:e37d2aab43]Snow performance [/b:e37d2aab43] Very good, never got stuck anywhere where the G2s had problems. Braking is very good, but there was a susceptibility for the car to pull the one side when the wheels are locked. If you have ABS, this is not an issue, otherwise if you know how to threshold brake (brake as hard as you can until the wheels lock then release the brakes a bit, repeat, sort of like pumping your brakes but in a slower, more gradual motion), you'll be fine. Note this could be a result of wheel misalignment and not the tires' fault. In comparison, the G2s maintained control even with the wheels locked but the iG20s overall have much better braking in all types of snow. The tires were also more susceptible to slushplaning whereas the G2s did a bit better. These tires are optimized for safe driving at the posted speed limits and will never let you down. Those looking to spirited winter driving should look to the performance rated winter tires like the Nokians or Yokohama W.drive to name a couple. [b:e37d2aab43]Ice performance [/b:e37d2aab43] Excellent, for a studless tire. Ice is the bigger culprit in Vancouver than snow and these tires certainly proves its worth. My wife was in an emergency braking situation on an ice covered downhill grade and she just couldn't praise enough how the tires stopped no questions asked. The second generation Ice Guards truly does the job! Acceleration and handling on ice was equal to if not better than acceleration on snow. Like most studless tires, black ice poses a bit of a challenge but I hit my first patch ever on these tires so I can't compare these to other tires. All I can say is that I got through. [b:e37d2aab43]Tread Life[/b:e37d2aab43] The tires had 8.75mm (11/32") tread brand new. The tires that went through 5,000km (3,000 miles) on the front through colder, snowier weather and 5,000km on the back through warmer, drier weather had 7mm (9/32") left. The tires that went the other way had 6.5mm (8/32") tread left. I'm hoping that I'll get two more seasons out of these tires before I wear them down at their end of life through the final spring. As these are my first set of winter tires ever, I don't know if this is good or bad, I was expecting that maybe winter tires could last about 50,000km but at this point if I get at least three seasons out of these I'll be content. You can't put a price tag on safety. I would recommend these tires to anyone looking for a good winter tire that is capable in all sorts of conditions, they're great for the price I paid for them ($650 CAD installed including taxes and environmental levy for P185/65R15 in Canada, they're around $75USD a pop at Discount Tire + installation etc. in the U.S.) but I would probably move on to the slightly more expensive Michelin Xi2s for my next set of winters in my search for that perfect winter tire. These tires would almost be perfect if it had better resistance to slushplaning and better braking control as well as better dry performance through the West Coast's relatively mild but unpredictible winters but if you need an above average winter tire that won't break the bank, these tires will certainly do the job! They're good on snow, and great on ice! 4 out of 5. Video of braking performance using threshold braking - 80km/h (50mph) to 0 in under 40 meters (131 feet) - the distance between two lamp standards. [url=http://s286.photobucket.com/albums/ll81/DKazrolla/?action=view&current=6ab623e5.pbr][img:e37d2aab43]http://i286.photobucket.com/albums/ll81/DKazrolla/th_6ab623e5.jpg[/img:e37d2aab43][/url] Video of driving performance - 4 lane mountain pass. [url=http://s286.photobucket.com/albums/ll81/DKazrolla/?action=view&current=023.flv][img:e37d2aab43]http://i286.photobucket.com/albums/ll81/DKazrolla/th_023.jpg[/img:e37d2aab43][/url]

So Just What Has John Been Doing Lately.... in General Discussions

Thursday 2 April 2009 18:56:10

DKaz, Thursday 2 April 2009 18:56:10 (1 Reply) -- Subject: So Just What Has John Been Doing Lately.... -- -- Hello, If you have been following the Snow Tire FAQ for any length of time, you will probably have noticed that the frequency of my posts has been way down from the past. Some of you might even be wondering what has happened? Has the Snow Tire FAQ Editor just vanished? I thought I might just let you guys know I am still around, but I have been a bit busy with other things, and quite frankly, I have been more than impressed with the quality of posts and responses coming from others. So what I have I been doing? [list:d82e173c4f][*:d82e173c4f]I'm still actively rallying, and I even wrote a rally from scratch. (For the un-initiated, that means in laying out the event, I drove over 10 times the distance of the actual event!) [*:d82e173c4f]Cub Scouts. I'm not a leader (this year), but there still have been lots of things to do. [*:d82e173c4f]I've been working on a start-up company along with my parents. Take a look at [url]http://www.smarthearingprotection.com[/url] to see what we are doing. [*:d82e173c4f]Oh yes, then there is the full time job that pays the bills, but keeps me from doing things here during the day.[/list:u:d82e173c4f] - John

Review: Hankook iPike w409 in 2009 Real World Snow Tire Tests

Sunday 29 March 2009 10:19:48

jwernerny, Sunday 29 March 2009 10:19:48 (0 Replies) -- Subject: Review: Hankook iPike w409 -- -- While not yet a household name like Goodyear, Michelin, or Bridgestone, the name "Hankook" is quickly becoming recognized in many specialized circles. Over the recent years, Hankook has has aggressively move in to the competition market, and gained the attention of other markets. One of those markets has been winter tires. Over the past couple of years, I have received many questions about the Hankook iPike w409 snow tires. For a short time this fall, one of the biggest sources of traffic to the Snow Tire FAQ was from people looking for information on Hankook snow tires! So, with this in mind, I set about making sure that the 2009 Real World Snow Tire Tests included a set of Hankook snow tires. Things don't always work out quite as planned. As you can read in other posts, the combination of a down turning economy and increased demand for snow tires in Canada meant that the supply of tires for Press use all but dried up. Being a little, tiny, microscopic, one-cell organism next to the giants of the print media, that meant that the Snow Tire FAQ didn't get any tires donated for testing. (Bridgestone did provide an very interesting opportunity, which is partly described in [url=http://www.snowtire.info/forum/portal.php?topic_id=492]"Teaser - Bridgestone Winter Driving School"[/url] and a series of post to follow.) Being unable to get a set of iPike w409 snow tires donated from Hankook, I gave up on them. Then, an opportunity presented itself through a Ham Radio contact. Paul at Kost Tire in Greece, NY was able to help with offsetting the cost of a set of iPike snow tires, so I took a leap of faith and [url=http://www.snowtire.info/forum/viewtopic.php?t=475]The Snow Tire FAQ bought a set[/url]. So, how have they been? First off, the iPike w409 is designed to be a studded snow tire. I chose to get a set that did not have studs, so performance on ice was needs to be considered accordingly. My first impression of them was that they were way better in the cold then the Ultra High Performance All Season tires (how's that for an oxymoron?) I had on the car before. If you have looked at a [url=www.snowtire.info/forum/viewtopic.php?t=271]chart comparing typical traction vs. temperature for Snow, all Season, and Summer tires[/url], this should not be much of a surprise. Snow traction on all but packed snow has been excellent. If there is enough snow for the tires to get a grip in, they work very well. I was able to easily maintain the aggressive speeds of the fast speed group in the local Winter Rallies even though I was running a RWD car and the competition was (for the most part) running AWD cars. Dirt & gravel road traction, another concern in winter rallying, was also very high. The tires worked very well, and I am currently planning on running them on gravel events in the summer. I've been avoiding something. Have you noticed. It's ice traction. Honestly, without studs, the Hankook iPike w409 does not work that well on ice. On one of the winter events, we came to a road that had glare ice in several of the corners. The iPike w409 tires were scary. I could make not throttle or steering input without causing huge amounts of slip. But, isn't that to be expected when running unstudded snow tires on ice, especially if they are designed for studs? Yes and no. Perhaps I am have been spoiled, but I have found the ice performance of 3 year old Nokian Hakka-4 tires which have had the studs extracted to be better than the 1/2 season iPike w409s. So, where does that leave us? The Hankook iPike w409 snow tires are great tires in the snow, and on dirt. Dry pavement traction is not compromised much beyond that of a typical snow tire. Road noise is quite acceptable. The one caveat is that these tires seem to rely primarily on their studs for ice traction. This means that if you are planning on facing ice, you really should consider purchasing the studded version of the tire. - John

Nokian wrg2 noise in Snow Tire Q&A

Monday 23 March 2009 04:26:15

kevin, Monday 23 March 2009 04:26:15 (9 Replies) -- Subject: Nokian wrg2 noise -- -- Good Morning, I have a 1997 Honda Accord. Last year I put 4 new Nokian wrg2 tires on and was happy with the performance of the tires. After about 25000 miles the front tires got extremely noisy (month of December 2008). I put up with it for a while and then called Nokian. They were very helpful about warranty. My dealer checked the tread and I had 2/32 left of good tread, they prorated me a set of new front tires at 50% because they were completely worn out. I thought this was going to solve the noise problem, but the new tires seem just as noisy? I do not remember the original installation being this noisy. It sounds like I have Mud & snow tires on from a pick up truck. Is this normal? Thank You, Kevin

Privacy Policy Update in Announcements

Wednesday 18 March 2009 22:46:37

jwernerny, Wednesday 18 March 2009 22:46:37 (0 Replies) -- Subject: Privacy Policy Update -- -- Hello, As you may know, the Snow Tire FAQ is funded by three sources: donations, banner adds, and my pocket book. From time to time, the banner ad services update how they do things, so I have to update the Privacy Policy. So, here's the update: [quote:1e0fa5be33]The Snow Tire FAQ uses third-party advertising companies to serve ads when you visit our website. These companies may use information (not including your name, address, email address, or telephone number) about your visits to this and other websites in order to provide advertisements about goods and services of interest to you. In particular, some ads are automatically served by Google. Google, as a third party vendor, uses cookies to serve ads on The Snow Tire FAQ. Google's use of the DART cookie enables it to serve ads to users based on their visit to both this and other sites on the Internet. Users may opt out of the use of the DART cookie by visiting the [url=http://www.google.com/privacy_ads.html]Google ad and content network privacy policy[/url]. [/quote:1e0fa5be33] This addition to the Privacy Policy in no way implies that the Snow Tire FAQ will start selling your e-mail addresses to advertisers. I hate SPAM as much as anyone (95% of the e-mail received on my Snow Tire FAQ account is SPAM -- so if you sent something and didn't get a reply, that's a big part of the reason). - John

Tirerack Reviews the Michelin XI-2 in Reviews

Tuesday 10 March 2009 19:23:42

R&D, Tuesday 10 March 2009 19:23:42 (3 Replies) -- Subject: Tirerack Reviews the Michelin XI-2 -- -- I've always said that I think the michelin XI-2 is going to be a bit of a flop compared to the WS-60 and not really going to compare... Well I think based on that dutch review posted a few days ago and now tireracks review I can begin to think I was wrong... Quite wrong in fact. http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/TireTestServlet?tireMake=Michelin&tireModel=X-Ice+Xi2&tirePageLocQty= Really looks like michelin have a winner assuming tirerack is right in their rating. But it sure does sound good in their review. Too bad I already got a new set of WS-60s a few weeks ago. Oh well I am still looking forward to the improvements over the WS-50.

Non-studded vs. STUDDED (Video) in General Snow Tire Discussions

Saturday 7 March 2009 13:31:46

Sequoiasoon, Saturday 7 March 2009 13:31:46 (3 Replies) -- Subject: Non-studded vs. STUDDED (Video) -- -- A Friend of mine sent me this link to a YouTube video. The video is an Audi climbing a ski jump. bjTwo runs are made without studded snow tires, then the final one is made with some serious ice-racing studded tires. BTW, the dialogue is in German. [video width=400 height=326:52b795cedd]http://video.google.com/googleplayer.swf?docid=3369807373804965831&hl=en&fs=true[/video:52b795cedd] Enjoy, - John

Teaser - Bridgestone Winter Driving School in 2009 Real World Snow Tire Tests

Tuesday 3 March 2009 21:27:29

jwernerny, Tuesday 3 March 2009 21:27:29 (0 Replies) -- Subject: Teaser - Bridgestone Winter Driving School -- -- [fullalbumimg:491f2ee32d]43[/fullalbumimg:491f2ee32d] Earlier this year, Bridgestone invited me to attend the Bridgestone Winter Driving School in Steamboat Springs, Co. The trip allowed me to drive Bridgestone's WS-60 snow tires and to polish my skills. I will be doing a full write-up soon, but for now, I'll just finish this teaser with some photos. [albumimg:491f2ee32d]58[/albumimg:491f2ee32d] [albumimg:491f2ee32d]44[/albumimg:491f2ee32d] [albumimg:491f2ee32d]56[/albumimg:491f2ee32d] [albumimg:491f2ee32d]46[/albumimg:491f2ee32d] Enjoy, - John

Whose On-board for 2009? in 2009 Real World Snow Tire Tests

Tuesday 3 March 2009 21:16:54

jwernerny, Tuesday 3 March 2009 21:16:54 (3 Replies) -- Subject: Whose On-board for 2009? -- -- I thought it might be good to create a topic to keep people updated on the progress of setting up the 2009 Real World Snow Tire Tests. In particular, I'm sure there is some interest in which manufacturers are participating. So, here is the list as of the date shown below (I will try to edit this post to keep it up to date): [u:0d1bfa17af] September 23, 2008[/u:0d1bfa17af] [list:0d1bfa17af][*:0d1bfa17af]Nokian - verbal agreement, not sure what tires yes[*:0d1bfa17af]Vredestein - verbal agreement, unknown tire as of yet[*:0d1bfa17af]Bridgestone - no tires this year, but other special project proposed[/list:u:0d1bfa17af] - John

The Best Windsheild Washer Fluid in General Discussions

Friday 30 January 2009 14:50:34

Blurry, Friday 30 January 2009 14:50:34 (9 Replies) -- Subject: The Best Windsheild Washer Fluid -- -- There are companies I wish I had stock in. One of them is the makers of RainX. Why? Because they get it right. I have used RainX off and on for years. I love what it does, but not having to put it on. Now, they have solved the problem for me with their Winshield De-Icer. I bought my first bottle of this orange fluid last year. At first, I was sceptical that the extra $1 a bottle was going to give a difference. Then I tried it. It works! It cleans the windshield better then anything else I have used, and it also gives an application of RainX. The RainX causes water to bead up and run off the window. In the snow, it means that the snow (and ice) doesn't stick to the window. The result, your windshield gets cleaned with less washer fluid. In the end, I would not be surprised if I spent less buying the more expensive product simply because I use less of it. [Anyone remember the old Toro commercials?] Just my 25 cents.

Dunlop SP Winter Sport M2 - 235/45/17 in General Discussions

Friday 30 January 2009 14:43:50

Blurry, Friday 30 January 2009 14:43:50 (0 Replies) -- Subject: Dunlop SP Winter Sport M2 - 235/45/17 -- -- Winter has been tough this year. Plenty of snow. These tires are fantastic in every way. I've used WRs in the past and they do a good job especially since my wife's car and mine are AWD. I have noticed that these M2 tires grip better on the same hills then the WRs. I only bought these because the previous owner of my Volvo S60 R offered them to me for $125 and they had only been used for one storm before he moved to Florida.

How come there isn't much current stuff? in Reviews

Thursday 29 January 2009 21:07:41

R&D, Thursday 29 January 2009 21:07:41 (4 Replies) -- Subject: How come there isn't much current stuff? -- -- It seems too be from 2006 to 2008 with a little 09 what about reviews in 08 and now 09?? I really am interested in the New Michelin ice Xi2 and reports and reviews etc. :roll: :roll:

Possible noreaster in General Discussion of Winter Driving

Thursday 29 January 2009 18:58:30

TireMan, Thursday 29 January 2009 18:58:30 (0 Replies) -- Subject: Possible noreaster -- -- http://www.accuweather.com/news-story.asp?partner=accuweather&traveler=0&article=2 Naturally, anything can change with this but figure might as well put out an alert for it

More of the same.....when will it end in General Discussion of Winter Driving

Tuesday 27 January 2009 18:28:22

TireMan, Tuesday 27 January 2009 18:28:22 (0 Replies) -- Subject: More of the same.....when will it end -- -- .. Winter Storm Warning now in effect from 6 PM this evening to 7 PM EST Wednesday... The Winter Storm Warning is now in effect from 6 PM this evening to 7 PM EST Wednesday. A strong storm system will generate snow over the area on tonight and Wednesday. Snow is expected to begin this evening with three to five inches of accumulation possible overnight. Snow may mix with sleet or freezing rain on wedneday morning and then change back to snow by afternoon with another two to four inches of accumulation. At any rate, the Glacier Grip tyres have been superlative. Only when the snow is too deep for my Toyota-san do I struggle but when the depth of snow is moderate, man I get around like nobody's business! Each time I take off I see others slipping and sliding around like on an ice rink. It reaffirms my belief in winter tyres for safe driving!

When to install Winter / Snow Tires in Snow Tire Q&A

Tuesday 20 January 2009 16:21:39

R&D, Tuesday 20 January 2009 16:21:39 (6 Replies) -- Subject: When to install Winter / Snow Tires -- -- Hello, I just found this wonderful graphic on another site ([url]http://www.swedespeed.com[/url]), and thought I would post a link to it. It is from some literature put out by Volvo, and it shows some generalized info on temperature versus traction. [img:e9dfbba8ef]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v607/field172/Misc/VolvoWinter2004pg4.jpg[/img:e9dfbba8ef] Special thanks to LTA for digging it up (and plugging this site!).

Dunlop Graspic DS-2 in General Discussions

Tuesday 20 January 2009 10:31:36

kakraemer, Tuesday 20 January 2009 10:31:36 (2 Replies) -- Subject: Dunlop Graspic DS-2 -- -- First of all, I would really love to know how much more traction can i expect from decent snow tires over good all season tires ( I have Yokohama Avid TRZ).Here is my story, I Just moved to Pittsburgh and it snow yesterday which caused about 3-4 inches of snow accumulation. My experience driving in snow is very limited as I only drove in snow in Seattle a few years back (summer tires..scary). I have a civic and just changed to snow tires a month ago. I have Dunlop Graspic DS-2 (brand new) for the front tires and Michelin X-ICE for the back tires. The Michelins are about 4 years old with 60-65 tread left. Anyhow, I decided to test the tires and I was at this tiny hill about 20-25 degrees. Here I go, started from second gear, gently step on the gas pedal and to my surprise, the tires kept spinning and found very little traction. It took me a good while to go over that little hill. I wasn't sure what went wrong so i decided to find another hill. This time, it is steeper, about 35-40 degrees. And here I go again, started from second and I made sure i gently accelerate my car. My car wouldn't even move up this time and I was pretty certain that it would never made up to the top of that hill. I am confused here... 1) is it because the dunlop is bad? 2)how much more grip should i expect out of these snow tires? 3) Is Michelin X-ICE any better? if so, i would try switching Michelin up front. 4) What about my all season Yokohama Avid TRZ? Will it do any better than the dunlop? Any feedback will be greatly appreciated

Got a pretty good dumping here today in General Discussion of Winter Driving

Monday 12 January 2009 05:29:53

jwernerny, Monday 12 January 2009 05:29:53 (2 Replies) -- Subject: Got a pretty good dumping here today -- -- I would guess around 8 inches total. As I type this, we now have freezing rain on top of it all. I went out to the store on mushy unplowed roads and did pretty well unless the snow was deep enough to push the Corolla around. Any more snow and I would have been stuck someplace as the car is just too light to really push down to the pavement. I lost count of the number of dirtbrain drivers running around on all summer season tyres. Makes me want to scream!

Year Round Snow Tire Usage in Snow Tire Q&A

Friday 9 January 2009 16:36:27

DKaz, Friday 9 January 2009 16:36:27 (7 Replies) -- Subject: Year Round Snow Tire Usage -- -- I recently got a question about using snow tires year round. I thought I would share my response with others. [quote:8658cfe491] > My son has just graduated college and accepted a job offer > in WISCONSIN. I would like to get him a good > set of snow tires for his new life in Tundra-land. > > I have a few questions I did not see addressed on your site. > Can he use his snow tires year around? Most snow tires are not recommended for year round use. In order to meet the newer Severe Winter Service rating, many tires have gone to more exotic and softer winter rubber compounds. In the winter, they wear normally, but when you raise the temperature, they wear very quickly. Another difference is often found in how the tire designers traded off snow traction for dry traction. Usually, they figure they can only give you one or the other, and the dry road traction ends up loosing. (They figure you bought snow tires for snow, not for dry roads.) There are some exceptions now. Nokian, has a tire that works well both in the snow and dry. It also can be run year round. It is called the WR. (There are also some other all-season tires that meet the Severe Winter Service rating, but they are few and far between. The M&S rating is no the same.) BTW, the broken link you mentioned should go to this section. I will try to take a look at it and fix it. > If not, what does he do with his snow tires during the summer? I stack them in my garage. There is a company that makes a tire bag for carrying and storing tires. I don't use it, but some people find them handy. There is a link to it on the bottom of this page: http://www.snowtire.info/TireSources.html.[/quote:8658cfe491]