Got snow's for th 18's

mihalis

Member
To be a little more cost effective, I decided to just get some snows for the standard 18" rims on my wife's CX-9. I had a choice between Blizzaks and Hankook's but due to price, I decided on the Hankook's iPike RW11. I did get a little of a different size though, 235/65/18 instead of 245/60/18 (narrower is better in the snow + the 245's were tough to locate). No snow yet, but I got to drive the car home from the tire shop (22 mile mix of city and highway). They seem pretty quiet, and the grip does not appear to be any different from the stock's (in the cold dry). Then again, it's not like I was pushing it either...Good news is that they are T rated, which is 118 mph, and that is the governed speed limit of the 9, as I discovered the other night (2thumbs).

The total cost was $660, which is the cheapest I found after calling 4 places. $50 for switchovers...again, not bad. My wife does a lot of driving now (the 9 was purchased in 08/09 and has 26K miles so far and that includes us taking my car when we go places together), therefore I wanted to make sure she is safe during our winter months. I will update everyone once we get some ice/snow.
 
I'm thinking I'll do the same, after seeing the terrible reviews on the snow/ice handling characteristics of the OEM Bridgestone Duelers. What was your experience with the OEM's through the last Boston winter?
 
I'm thinking I'll do the same, after seeing the terrible reviews on the snow/ice handling characteristics of the OEM Bridgestone Duelers. What was your experience with the OEM's through the last Boston winter?

They actually were not that bad, but we bought the car in August of 2009, so the tires were new by the time we hit winter, therefore, they were pretty good. They are not that bad of tires as everyone makes them out to be.

We had the first ice/snow a couple of days ago. The tires worked awesome. My wife stated that people were sliding all around her, my sister and my 3 month old niece in the car. She got really nervous driving, but she stated that she was happy the 9 felt well in control. $660 is a small price to pay for safety.
 
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