dorqus

Which tires should I get? Yokohama Ice Guards in 225/45-17, or Blizzak WS-50's in 215/50-17? I live just north of NYC, so we get a decent amount of snow (twice already!) I don't drive the car a lot, but when I do, I'd still like it to have decent handling. Lots of people are raving about the Blizzak's, just wondering if anyone has any experience with the Yokohama's.

Thanks!

Neal@tirerack

iTrader: (25)

Cant comment on the Ice Guards but I can on the Blizzaks. With AWD and the Blizzak you will be able to go anywhere this winter!! Unfortunately, the 215's wont fit on the stock 8" wheel. I would recommend using the stock size if you are installing on the stock wheels.

rentaslut

get nokeans, they are better than the blizzak's!

dorqus

I am getting Enkei RS5's from www.rdmwheels.com, $599 shipped with lugs, locks, hub rings and stems (discounttiredirect.com is out of stock on them until January) so 215/50's will fit (and are narrower than the 235/45's and have the same profile ratio, so my speedo won't be all out of whack

See No Evo

Highly recommend Hakka 2 (with or without studs) in 225/45-17. Try Maynard & Lesieur (http://www.tiresupermarket.com/home.htm), I've heard their prices are very good. The speedo error is less than 2%.

s4toevo8

I have the Yoko's in the 215/50 17's on RS5's and they are superb. I would have gotten Hakka 2's but didn't come in a 215/50. This is the ideal size compared to stock since the rolling diameter is almost exactly the same as 235/45's. I can vouch for the Yoko's since I have them. They have the same compound as the Blizzacks but have the compound the entire depth of the tread. The Blizzack has the snow compound only the first 65% but after that have all season compound. If you want snows for multple seasons I wouldn't do Blizzacks for this reason.

evodave

iTrader: (546)

get 235 45 17Blizzak ws-50 and thank me later

DGS

For a mix of snowy and dry roads, over the winter, go with the Nokians. The Blizzaks have a reputation for wearing out quickly on dry roads.

If you have highway miles, you can get the V-rated WR's (marketed as the "world's fastest snow tire"). The WRs are less extreme for snow than the Hakkas, but they handle most of the surfaces that New England gets over the winter, they last longer on dry/wet/sand covered roads, and they're pretty good in snow, too.

I put the 225/45VR-17 WRs on ASA KA-3 (17x7.5) rims. The base diameter of the 225/45s are slightly less than the 235/45 Advans (by 4.5mm), but the Nokians' tread blocks are larger than the A064s, so it works out about the same.

Besides which, the stock speedo setting isn't very accurate to begin with. (The roadside radar signs read 5MPH lower than the speedo, on mine with the Advans. They put the signs away for the winter, so I haven't had a chance to "calibrate" the Nokians, yet.)

But I feel a bit better running 94V rated Nokian WRs down the freeway than 91Q rated Blizzaks.

EVOLUTION/RC51

iTrader: (2)

I second that!! One word to describe them is "WOW". I live and Westchester County and with two storms so far plus another one coming this weekend, I say bring on the snow!!

Seriously, it's worth the price and then some. It tracks well and the bite on snow or ice is unparallel.

mhgsx

iTrader: (6)

And the Nokians don't?? Compared to the Michelins I"m using now, the Nokians I had on my Maxima were way soft. If you weren't constantly monitoring tire air pressure, you would get uneven tread wear. Plus the sipes seemed to tear or open up pretty easily.

Don't get me wrong, they were good tires, just not much better than the Michelins I have on my other cars. And the tire wear certainly doesn't justify the added hassel and expense of trying to locate a set, when Michelin or Bridgestone is so readily available.

Also note, around here in chicago, only small mom and pop franchises carry Nokian. And they're equipment is usually antiquated. They royally f*cked up the wheels on my Max. So take this into account for those who plan on using their OEM wheels.

DGS

I can't speak for the wear rating on the Hakka 1s. Most tires that remain plyable in cold weather are going to be softer than summer tires. But the WRs are nominally "all season" tires (by Finland standards), and I've seen several Canadian reviews that rate the WRs far better than WS50s for dry road wear.

And Dodge vans are easier to find than EVOs. Better often takes a little extra effort. Hardly anyone actually stocks tires in this size, so you're pretty much looking at special order, anyway.

That's odd. There's a long list of distributors in New England. I'd have thought Chi-town would have a few as well, as you don't exactly have Miami weather, either. The list from the Nokian site is a bit thin for IL -- mostly in Waukegan. There's quite a few over in Wisconsin, though.

Direct Tire got me my KA-3 rims and mounted the WRs on them without a problem. (They even got them mounted with the right rotation -- which is better than the local shop that replaced the Bridgestones on my Toyota).

I didn't have them bolt them on the car, though. I had to take one set home in the trunk/back seat, and I figured it was better to stuff the clean ones inside the car, rather than the ones covered in brake dust. (And I have the low-rise lift in my garage.)

But if you're going with stock size for winter tires, I gather you don't get all that much deep snow. (235 width is a bit wide for deep powder).

But, for me, the big factor was the load/speed rating. For VR-rated winter tires, you're pretty much looking at either the 94V WRs or the 91V Dunlop M3s ... which are even harder to find than Nokians, at the moment. (Okay, the M3s are 94V in 235 width. Matching the 93 load rating of the Advans is tough in 225 width.) But I saw a German report that the three-season M3s weren't all that great in heavy snow, compared to full snow tires.

Massachusetts often gets a couple of months of weather too cold for the Advans before we get much snow. So I needed real snow tires that can also handle dry roads (and freeways) without shredding.

SpikeLS1

Nokians seem to have become the "Skyline GTR" of the winter tire world... at least on this message board

twan

lemme know what you go with dorqus , im interested as well


p.s. we live close! i prob seen ya around =)

4G63>OOOO

iTrader: (1)

IMO, the WS-50's are too much for the Evo. You don't need them. Take a look at the Blizzak LM-22, it's more of a "performance" snow. I just put a set on and it's not a huge compromise like the WS-50's are. Sidewall's not as mushy and in general, they don't feel like snows. Feel more like performance all seaons, but when it snows, they're a LOT of fun. :-)

FWIW, I'm from the NYC area and you don't need WS-50's. If you want to take a ride in the LM-22's, I'm around, so just drop me a pm.

mhgsx

iTrader: (6)

That's just it, they really aren't better.

So why did you get the all seasons??

I had the Hakka Q's on my Max. As I said, I'll put up my Michelins or Yok's up against them ANY day.

If you want a performance tire that can handle snow, but at the same time have great tire wear, I like the Michelin Pilot Alpins I have on my IS300.