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Winter Tires - A little overwhelmed with options

Jarred767

Ready to race!
I've been doing a ton of research and read countless threads and the more I read, the more overwhelming it all seems, so I figured I'd start over and start my own thread.

First winter with the GTI and I'm in need of a winter set of tires. Planning on putting the tires on my stock Detroits (they currently have all-seasons on) and then keeping them as my winter set. I'll buy a new set of wheels in the spring for my summer set.

So I need a set of 18" winter tires, it definitely snows here in Central Oregon and gets quite cold, but usually the snow comes in three or four large dumps throughout the year (so a lot of bare and wet road driving in-between too). I don't drive the GTI a ton (pretty much 15 miles round trip to work and a few other short around town drives - wife's car is the AWD so it's the primary car in winter). I'm looking for a solid tire that will be able to handle in the snow, but cost will be a factor and I don't have a need to go overboard.

Thanks all!
 

snobrdrdan

former GTI owner
It might still be early, so maybe all the options might not be in stock yet, but the cheapest tire on TireRack is $144 + shipping right now

Whereas DiscountTireDirect.com has some for only $80/each (although not in stock right now) and free shipping:
https://www.discounttiredirect.com/...r=18&width=225&aspectRatio=40&winterTires=on#

Any winter rated tire will/should do the job though, being way better than what you have, and you don't run them that long either...don't over think it
 

clownish

just clowning around
If you can swing the upfront cost, getting some steelies and 16in winters will get you more effective snow tires and they'll be cheaper in the long run because they're smaller.

Blizzaks are phenomenal and sort of the name brand baseline. Either blizzak or Hakkas for the super serious. For budget, general Altimax winters are amazing and they seem to nearly sell out yearly.

I run a set of Yokohama winters that are totally fine - they were on sale when I first bought them and in the years since have been great.

In the end they'll mostly all be okay especially since it doesn't seem like you have any serious usage scenarios.


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Jaber

Modero
If you can swing the upfront cost, getting some steelies and 16in winters will get you more effective snow tires and they'll be cheaper in the long run because they're smaller.

Blizzaks are phenomenal and sort of the name brand baseline. Either blizzak or Hakkas for the super serious. For budget, general Altimax winters are amazing and they seem to nearly sell out yearly.

I run a set of Yokohama winters that are totally fine - they were on sale when I first bought them and in the years since have been great.

In the end they'll mostly all be okay especially since it doesn't seem like you have any serious usage scenarios.


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General Altimax Artic + Steelies FTW. Been running these for years and haven't had any issues.
 

Jarred767

Ready to race!
Thanks guys, yeah, maybe I'm overthinking it. Maybe I just need to go into a couple places and get some options. I've read countless amazing reviews on here about the General Altima Arctic, but unfortunately they don't come in 18's and I'd highly prefer to just keep my Detroits as my winter set. I've heard good reviews about discount tire, so maybe I'll check into them.

Thanks for the links, any further suggestions are definitely welcomed!
 

voidopolis

Passed Driver's Ed
I'm in Ohio and I ran 16" steelies with Blizzaks and my 2010 GTI was pretty good in the snow. I also ran Michelin AS/3's on Detroits and they were definitely not as well behaved... The AS3s were much better in dry than the blizzaks. but in snow the blizzaks were great. On my M3 I ran the Continental DWSs and they were pretty good overall, but I switched the blizzaks as the M3 needed snow tires being a rear wheel drive monster...

It sounds to me like you could get away with a good all season tire (possibly a dedicated winter). Something that is going to handle some snowy conditions and cold weather, but still needs to deal with the other days when there isn't 12 inches falling.

I like Tirerack's testing typically... and Tirerack likes Continental DWS's in their tests (they have rated them high for all season tires for quite a few years now).
https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/testDisplay.jsp?ttid=201

GL.
 

Jarred767

Ready to race!
I'm in Ohio and I ran 16" steelies with Blizzaks and my 2010 GTI was pretty good in the snow. I also ran Michelin AS/3's on Detroits and they were definitely not as well behaved... The AS3s were much better in dry than the blizzaks. but in snow the blizzaks were great. On my M3 I ran the Continental DWSs and they were pretty good overall, but I switched the blizzaks as the M3 needed snow tires being a rear wheel drive monster...

It sounds to me like you could get away with a good all season tire (possibly a dedicated winter). Something that is going to handle some snowy conditions and cold weather, but still needs to deal with the other days when there isn't 12 inches falling.

I like Tirerack's testing typically... and Tirerack likes Continental DWS's in their tests (they have rated them high for all season tires for quite a few years now).
https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/testDisplay.jsp?ttid=201

GL.

Thanks for the advice, trying to get away with the all seasons has definitely crossed my mind, multiple times, but if I try to do that (and it works) I have no real incentive to get a new set of summer wheels in the spring :23: Having the extra safety would probably feel a little more comfortable too, especially since the tires aren't exactly brand new either.

decisions must be made, and soon. The snow is creeping down the mountains:eek:
 

NotMoneyGuy

Ready to race!
If you can swing the upfront cost, getting some steelies and 16in winters will get you more effective snow tires and they'll be cheaper in the long run because they're smaller.

^^^^ This.

Here is a real in-depth Finnish magazine tire test/comparison link, and the nice part is that the test size is 205/55R16. Happy reading!

As a Swede, I got all prepped for the coming Canadian winter by picking up my Russian-made Finnish tires yesterday. Production date of "1517" so nice and fresh (mid-April 2017).

These Nokian Hak R2 replaced a set of Gislaved Nord*Frost 5 that served me well through six winters and 46,505 km. Cheers.

https://tekniikanmaailma.fi/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/tm_17_2016_english.pdf

 

clownish

just clowning around
Nokian Hakkas are the truth if you need serious snow tires. Apparently they just expanded their presence in NA this summer; hopefully their quality stays the same.


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ben_m

Ready to race!
Do yourself a favor and get a set of 16" steelies or some other used rims and mount winters on that. I have the Dunlop Winter Sports now, they are ok, a little more aggressive tread for dry traction but lots of road noise. I used to have the Michelin Ice-X, they are much better in snow. 5-6" was no problem, nor was getting up my driveway, ~30deg incline.
 

riceburner

Autocross Champion
Last winter on my MK7 i ran 2 blizzak ws80's on my 18" stock wheels and was AMAZED at the traction I had.

Literally had no issues, and the car would turn on corners like I couldn't believe, where the rear end would come out on me just slightly which would just point me directly where I wanted to go :lol: FWD drift brooo. It was great, and I will likely do the same thing this year. If you aren't comfortable with sliding your car around, would def. recommend blizzak ws80's on all 4 corners, and of course the taller, narrower tire you can put on the better. as others have said, 16" recommended.
 

corrado917

Go Kart Champion
Nice price!

It might still be early, so maybe all the options might not be in stock yet, but the cheapest tire on TireRack is $144 + shipping right now

Whereas DiscountTireDirect.com has some for only $80/each (although not in stock right now) and free shipping:
https://www.discounttiredirect.com/...r=18&width=225&aspectRatio=40&winterTires=on#

Any winter rated tire will/should do the job though, being way better than what you have, and you don't run them that long either...don't over think it
 

elcid86

Passed Driver's Ed
Last winter on my MK7 i ran 2 blizzak ws80's on my 18" stock wheels and was AMAZED at the traction I had.

Literally had no issues, and the car would turn on corners like I couldn't believe, where the rear end would come out on me just slightly which would just point me directly where I wanted to go :lol: FWD drift brooo. It was great, and I will likely do the same thing this year. If you aren't comfortable with sliding your car around, would def. recommend blizzak ws80's on all 4 corners, and of course the taller, narrower tire you can put on the better. as others have said, 16" recommended.



I have Blizzaks on my 04 BMW (RWD) and they are amazing. It’s a snow beast!
 

zrickety

The Fixer
Those Nokians look just like my old Blizzaks. Stick with a good brand and I like tirerack.com for the quick reviews and more in depth surveys if you're interested in specific handling. I see some affordable Yokohamas but I might steer you towards some great Michelins for a little more. They should last a long time.
 

NotMoneyGuy

Ready to race!
Long Post Bro.....

...Stick with a good brand...

Yes, sir. Hard to go wrong with the top ones.

Last Saturday I went with my brother to pick up his new winter Pirellis at a respected long time, high-volume Toronto tire shop. While waiting, I snapped some eye-candy winter tire pics that just happen to be (most of) our size if you're running 16" for winters.

These pictured are either their highly recommend and/or best sellers. Enjoy. (They are not a Nokian dealer).

The shop boss, who speaks from years of experience and running discounted "early-bird" sales (10th one now) for us frost-bitten Canadians posted these comments recently in a forum: (bolding by me)

"The WS80 and DMV2 are nearly identical. I ran them for a half season, and wasn't overly impressed. Each one of our sales guys would take our shop Honda Element home when it snowed and really tested the tires. The Element moved onto Xi3 and then Continental and we liked both of these more. At the end of the season, I threw on a set of Yokohama IG and couldnt believe the way they felt. We all agreed. The Honda has had IG's every season since and is getting a new set again this year!

We rely heavily on the feedback RFDrs give us at the end of each season. Last year we couldn't believe how many great comments we got about the Continental Si and now we make sure we recommend them heavily along with the Yokohama.

We are NOT that shop, that sells what we have the best margins on... If that were the case, believe me it wouldn't be the two above. We sell what impresses us, what we use ourselves. 2 of our sales guys swear by the Pirelli Ice Zero, and the other loves his Toyo GSi5 so much and wouldn't change them for anything. Coming to us, you will get 3-4 different, but very honest recommendations. The beauty is none of the ones we recommend will ever disappoint.

Our best sellers every year are the Xi3, and either Blizzak. But this year we feel things are shifting as we know the Yokohama is currently in the lead with a nice 3 way race between Xi3, Blizzaks and Conti."


Earlier, in response to a customer's inquiry about choosing between Hankook iPike W419 vs. Bridgestone Blizzak WS80 he wrote:

"For me it would be none of the above.
Based on info weve received from RFD members over past 3 years, the tires that get highest praise are the Continental Si, Yokohama IG series, Michelin XIce. (Read the reviews about first two) I personally run Yokohama on my car, and Pirelli on my wife's car.

We've had numerous "wear" complaints about the WS80 (just like we did with WS50, WS60, WS70) and the Hankook W419 is now a 4 year old compound and for some reason Hankook raised their prices this year which in my opinion makes them over priced."






 
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