Winter Tyre Tiem!

[02Silver]

Yea, I just went there...anyways I am looking up some winter tires for the new ride and have come down to two different setups. I use to have a set of Nokian Hakapellita Rsi's I bought used for the P5 which were great.

This time around I am looking at getting a new set which has left me to decide I do not want to spend Umpteen Million dollars on Nokians. As a result, I have placed my interest in both the Gislaved Nordi Frost 5's and Hankook W409 I Pikes. The difference in pricing between the two is peanuts so I figured I'll open the floor to those with opinions of either.

As of now I am leaning for the Gizzer's.

Size 205/55/16

[991.8l]

I have the Gislaved.. I would recommend them. They are S rated so are not super poor performance oriented like a Q rated tire... but they were night and day different in 205/60/16 than the 215/55/16 H rated tires I ran the year before.

They are not amazing in deep snow, nor on ice... but I give them a 8/10.

[Bagman]

Well. I do think you should be shot for such talk of winter tires right now. However, my input is as follows...

1) Are you looking for really good snow traction performance or wanting more dry road performance? 205 is TOO wide for our cars in the winter. Bad choice for SNOW traction. 195 at least. 185 if you want the best.

2) Tire recommendation is General Altimax Arctic. Re-branded Gislaveds. I have them in 185. Very happy with them, but given last years barely snowing winter, they really didn't get used.

[Myk]

Depending on price.

I had the W409s and they were a great Performance winter tire, but I seem to be getting stuck more often then not in slow moving situations with deep snow.

[991.8l]

I would be all over the Michelin X-Ice2s if they weren't so much more expensive. I have the first generation X-Ice on my protege and they have been great.

[dead_cactus]

You can't go wrong with either, both good tires with many good reviews.

I've got a set of W409's w/ rims i'll be posting up for sale closer to the winter but they're 185/65/14 :(

[02Silver]

1) Are you looking for really good snow traction performance or wanting more dry road performance? 205 is TOO wide for our cars in the winter. Bad choice for SNOW traction. 195 at least. 185 if you want the best.

2) Tire recommendation is General Altimax Arctic. Re-branded Gislaveds. I have them in 185. Very happy with them, but given last years barely snowing winter, they really didn't get used.

It's for an '11 Impreza, 205/55/16 is stock on the lower models.

I've heard this about the General's, any specific reccomendations as to who carries them?

Depending on price.

I had the W409s and they were a great Performance winter tire, but I seem to be getting stuck more often then not in slow moving situations with deep snow.

Don't ride slammed.

You can't go wrong with either, both good tires with many good reviews.

I've got a set of W409's w/ rims i'll be posting up for sale closer to the winter but they're 185/65/14 :(

Damn...

[Myk]

Don't ride slammed.

...

Im not....jerk! :o

[02Silver]

LOL, I noticed that the General's are $10 more expensive than the Hankooks on 1010tires.com. How are they a cheaper (rebranded) solution to Gislaved's when the Gizzer's are a total of $40 more "all in" for 4 tires at Tires23?

[sumrandomguy]

the generals can be bought at canadian tire
not sure how much they would run you tho, but they usually do a sale around sept/oct so you might want to look out for that

[CulRidr]

It feels like 40+ outside and you guys are talking about winter tires. Has TOP turned into the Sears catalogue? :confused:

[991.8l]

LOL, I noticed that the General's are $10 more expensive than the Hankooks on 1010tires.com. How are they a cheaper (rebranded) solution to Gislaved's when the Gizzer's are a total of $40 more "all in" for 4 tires at Tires23?

The generals share the same tread pattern, but the compound is different in the Gislaveds than the Generals.

[Bagman]

It's for an '11 Impreza, 205/55/16 is stock on the lower models.



OH! You have that AWD thingy that comes on Subarus then.. That thing that makes all 4 wheels work at same time. :o

Given GTA - and assuming you don't find yourself often going into heavy snow areas (ie, north) - I wouldn't bother with Generals then. I wouldn't recommend "high-performance" snow tires either, but the Hankooks (for example) would be a better option with an AWD car then a squishy, deep-snow oriented tire.

[non_event]

Are you putting them on the stock rims, or are you buying steelies?

Not that it really impacts the tire choice at all, just curious.

[timacks]

ipike supposedly suck

Nokian Hawkepelita are Supposed to be the bee's knee's.

[Bagman]

ipike supposedly suck

Nokian Hawkepelita are Supposed to be the bee's knee's.

The Hakkapeliita R (current version) tire is indeed cream of the crop, but it is truly meant for snow traction. I know their WRG2 tire is a good choice too. It is an A/S tire, but I bet it would be great for winter use in the GTA - especially on an AWD vehicle.

[02Silver]

The generals share the same tread pattern, but the compound is different in the Gislaveds than the Generals.

I know, what I was trying to note is how are they a cheaper solution when they don't appear to be much cheaper at all?


Are you putting them on the stock rims, or are you buying steelies?

Not that it really impacts the tire choice at all, just curious.

I'm buying steelies.

[non_event]

^Can you fit 15 inch steelies on there to lower the price somewhat? Just curious. Had I known that 14 inch steelies could fit on my car I probably would have gone with them to save some cash. But that was long before I found this site.

[02Silver]

I would think so since the base model came with 16" steelies, therefore you could technically downsize 1". My model came with 17" which was what I originally wanted for winters also but because there's issues with finding 17" steelies for my model, I am going to 16".

[Exclusive_Wheel]

http://www.toprotege.com/forums/showthread.php?p=788115#post788115

^^^ I'm just sayin... ;)