Hey all,
I'm ready to pull the trigger on winter tires. However, being in Northern VA, I have a problem. We are usually in the low 20's to low 50's all winter and only get a handful of snowfalls each year. We get more rain during the winter than anything else.

So I'm looking at getting winter tires that are good in snow and rain and great in dry but cold weather.

I've spoken with Neal on the phone, but would like some testamonials, especially if you live in a similar climate.

Right now I'm leaning towards the Yokohama AVS Winter, which if I'm not mistaken is the winter tire for what's on our cars now. Second choice would probably be Dunlop Winter Sport. Not sure if I can afford the extra for the Conti Extremes or the Blizzaks.

Am I right in assuming I need a Performance Winter tire rather than a Studless Snow & Ice?

Any help with this is appreciated. I'm hoping to purchase something by week's end.

Thanks,
ac

 

This being my first winter in NoVA, I'm not sure exactly what to expect.

But I'm pretty sure that the Nokian WRs that rocked in Massachusetts aren't the ticket here. They're better in deep snow, and not as good on ice. (But they're VR rated, with a better load rating that the stock Yokos).

My expectations for NoVA: Few thin snowfalls, no real deep accumulation on the roads. Lots of slush, often freezing into ice ruts. Some glare ice. No high speed freeway driving.

If that's at all accurate, I'd say the Blizzaks would be the choice, for their ice handling capacity. (Especially as I have a steep ramp down to the parking garage to navigate.)

If you have a high speed part of the commute (then you have to tell me your secret ) and you want a VR rated snow tire, then I'd say go for the Dunlop M3 Winter Sports.

Ironically, though, one reason I bought the WRs last year was for their long life -- so I still have a few seasons on them, even though they're not best for commuting to Xtal City (especially as I went with a thinner 225 width for deep snow capacity). But then, for commutes lucky to see 25 mph, I guess they'll do. (Compared to the parade of hondas with dime store tires likely to populate these roads.)

 

I recently installed the Falkin ZE 512 (235/45/17) on my Evo. The seems pretty good for an all season tire.

 

Not sure if the fit the Evo wheel size but Sumitomo HTR+'s were great on my old Impreza RS. I had 215/45/17 tires on my Prodrive P1s and they were a great combo even on 3 inches of snow.

Currently I have Falken 512s on the Evo and from what I read they are supposed to be pretty good overall, so we shall see. I was suposed to get the Kumho ASX if they were not back ordered when my wheels came in. Good reviews on Tirerack for those tires as well as the HTR+'s. The Falkens had good reviews from other sources and supposedly rated #1 by Consumer Reports at one point. Good luck!

 

My suggestion. You dont neccessarily need winter tires, I would instead buy some good all-seasons. They are designed to deal with the occassional snowfall and are much better than snow tires in the wet. IMO, snow tires are really only neccessary if you live farther north where it snows much more regularly.

 

I just posted in the other winter tire thread about the ContiExtremes I just put on. I took advantage of the Tire Rack deal on KA3s and the Contis and have to say the results are excellent so far! The Contis have improved the ride quality and noise quite nicely. These are also very grippy tires... a little less then the Advans but pretty darn good.

No snow yet, but everyone says these are GREAT tires for the snow. I am extremely pleased with these tires as an All Season Ultra High Performance tire. Again... not quite the Advans in the dry but... close enough. They should get through the white stuff much better, though...

 

Sumitomos are cheap and great I had them on last year.

 

I too live in NOVA and I am getting some Toyo Proxy 4's installed this friday. All season high performance tire. With temps now in the 20's at night i find that our stock advans just aren't working well. They slide way to easily and under hard braking activate the ABS alot.

 

 

I ran AVS Winters last year in NoVA (Thanks, Neal). They were great. I could get drift or grip on demand. Just don't push them too hard in the dry or you'll get a little slippy.

I found a nice, empty Chicken Out parking lot and did some Makkinen-styley stuff...

 

I replaced the RS-A's on my Eclipse with the ContiExtremeContacts.

After about 15,000 miles, I'll say they're pretty good for all-seasons, but really, they don't compare to a M+S tire. Their usefulness is reduced on extremely cold days (10F and below), and powder. And on glare ice, you're almost guaranteed to slide. Granted, with M+S tires, you're not invincible on ice either, but I've never slid as much as when I ran All-Season tires all the time on the Eclipse. My RWD F-150 with winter tires fared better. In all situations though, I was able to correct fairly quickly with the CEC's on -- once I had to straighten up and pull myself off the road to avoid sliding into the car in front of me. I think with the RS-As, I would've slid into the car at 5 - 10 mph. They had pretty good hydroplaning resistance as well, but after nearly 15,000 miles, it was noticably reduced.

Additionally, I doubt you'll be running the CEC's all year anyways, as they just aren't anywhere near the level of the Advans (they're not bad, but nowhere near the Advan). So you're going to swap summers for all-seasons? If you're going to make the swap, bite the extra $200-250 for the set and go with winters. If you still want better dry handling and "moderate duty" the LM-25's look like a good bet. Mine (purchased from TireRack) went on the MR today. If you deal with a lot of crap though, go with the WS-50's, which really, are going to run you about the same as the CECs and will fare better.

 

(edited to add: Oops, didn't realize this was an Evo specific board ... Google search results for winter tire recommendations came here ... my question is still valid, I think and feel free to answer with an Evo-specific recommendation!)

I've only been in NoVA for three winters, but I grew up in Michigan and haved lived in Kentucky and Iowa, the winter driving here is much much closer to Kentucky than Iowa.

Michigan (Detroit area): generally below freezing for months & months. No non-frozen precipitation during the winter. Once the snow starts falling, it doesn't melt much (a pile that you make in December will likely still be there in March).

Iowa (Des Moines area): <censored> <censored> cold. Windy, too. See Michigan, just colder.

Kentucky (Lexington): It snows. A few times/year. Generally, temperatures are above freezing for parts of each day. Snow lingers for days before it's gone. It rains in the wintertime sometimes.

NoVA (Fairfax): It snows, sometimes great amounts (>2 feet two years ago in January). See Kentucky, above, snow generally melts before the next snowfall. Snowplow drivers aren't generally interested in making sure they've left room for more snow (the piles are gone before the next significant snow). There are stretches where it doesn't get above freezing (but they are only occasional). It frequently rains in the winter.

Right. So I'm in a similar quandry. For MI or IA, I'd know what tires to get - there's serious snow and ice.

For KY or VA, beats me. Any serious snow tire will likely get a workout on road conditions it's not designed for (that is, 45 degree dry roads).

Any suggestions? Blizzaks might be right, but not for the above reasons.

Dunlop SP Winter Sport M2 claim "Factory recommended by Audi, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Porsche and Volkswagen" (possibly important for my BMW 528). What's the difference between M2 and M3?

Anyone have advice on the best tire given the weather I described?

Adam