Suggestions on winter tires

tim908 said:

As in Montreal, winter tire is a must. I narrowed my choices down to three, but can not make my decisions out of these three

Toyo Observe GSi-5 (quoted at $1000 all in)
Yokohama Geolandar I/T G072 (quoted at $970 all in)
Continental Extreme Winter Contact (quoted at $960 all in)


I don't have lots experiences on choosing winter tire, any suggestions will be welcome

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fredbuteau said:

But then again, if you can tell me about your driving habits and what your car uses are during the winter (city, country or highway) I could maybe recommend a better choice..

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MikeM. said:

Can you recommend a winter tire for a maritime climate?

I drive lots of miles on twisty, wet roads, often with puddling and often have to deal with wet, saturated snow, the kind that can be quite treacherous because it has no shear strength and yet does not generally allow contact with the pavement. Also deep powder (up to 8") of snow falling at 20 degrees F to 35 degree F. Also, some dry roads around 50 F. Most driving between 35mph and 60 mph.

All suggestions welcome.

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fredbuteau said:

First off, Thanks ZuluCX for the link to my post!

As for the tire suggestions, I would also go with the Toyo.. It will be much quieter than the Yoko and perform better on dry roads (for comparable durability). The Continental is well rated, but being a strong asymmetrical tire, you'd need extra care for alignment and tire pressure so they don't wear out prematurely. But then again, if you can tell me about your driving habits and what your car uses are during the winter (city, country or highway) I could maybe recommend a better choice..

Hope this helps a little!

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fredbuteau said:

Since ice traction doesn't seem to be your top priority, I'd go with a tire whose main function is to evacuate water and snow, then have good deep snow traction, then perform good on dry roads. They'll be less expensive than the ice masters, too. For that, here are my top choices :

1. Goodyear UltraGrip Ice WRT (not the SUV one)
2. Gislaved Nord-Frost 5 (non studded, this is what I currently own)
3. Pirelli Winter Carving Edge (non studded)

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tim908 said:

Hi fredbuteau, thank you for the suggestion.

I am a conservative driver, mainly drive in Grand Montreal Area, 45% highwa, 55% city, almost zero country driving. The reason I pick those three tires is because we have a very close client works at the tire business. Those three brands are the brands he can have the best price from his supplier. Apparently, his Toyo price is good, but the other two is so so at the best.

If you have any suggestion, please feel free to do so. I need to make the final decision next week.

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MikeM. said:

Thanks for the suggestions. I'm leaning towards the Goodyear UltraGrip Ice WRT for my CX-5. I only have two reservations:

1) I've never been fond of Goodyear tires in the past (but I haven't tried them for over 15 years). I imagine they must have better design now.
2) The photos make them look like they have a "valley" running in the center of the tread (around the circumference) but maybe it's an optical illusion created by the tread pattern. If there is a valley it seems like it would encourage planning on water and slushy snow. Is this valley just an optical illusion?

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fredbuteau said:

Hey tim908, since you don't do lots of long trips on the highway (as you said, mostly MTL metro), and because weather is so changing (snowstorms, wet, icy verglas) then I'd go with the Toyo, since you can have a good price. The Bridgestone ws70 would be good too, but four years? Not so sure!

In your case, Toyo ftw!

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fredbuteau said:

What I can say is this : of all the fish tail tire design out there, this is probably the best one out there. The external block are huge so its kinda like splashing your hand in water, starting by your palm going out to your fingers; the water splashes out forward and this is what these tires do. The fact of having a smaller center rib is a good idea, it is more stable and the large exterior blocks give a lot of traction in snow, and should evacuate water more efficiently.

My two cents!

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MikeM. said:

My new Goodyear UltraGrip Ice WRT's arrived yesterday and they look great mounted on OZ Racing Alleggerita HLT wheels (color Titanium Tech). They do not have a valley in the center of the tread as it appeared to me in photos and the evacuation grooves are even wider than anticipated. The rubber feels very grippy. Some of them needed more balancing weight than I like and I assume this is mostly due to the tire being out of balance as OZ wheels are generally well balanced from the factory.

Fred, thanks for the excellent advice - I think these tires are going to fit my needs perfectly!

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Zooms said:

Just got my tires installed! Haven't had a chance to test them out on snow or ice yet but they are a pretty quiet tire! Excuse the crappy cell phone pics!

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