AT or Snow vs All Season

[FRED48]

Just upgraded from an '06 Tribute to an '18 CX 5 Touring (19"). As with my Tribute, I immediately upgraded the CX 5 OEM tires to Michelin Premier LTX (had a really bad experience with OEM tires on a Subaru).

I do a lot of skiing in the mountains outside Denver, both at area and back country (meaning some moderate off road with inclines and occasional rocks to reach trailhead). I found that really good all season tires worked well with the Tribute. However, the CX 5 is a bit different, and I was wondering about other options for the winter.
As I see it, I have three options:

1) keep Michelins through the winter - supposed to be very good in snow, but is sidewall more susceptible to puncture from rocks?
2) go to dedicated snow tires (Blizzak) - excellent in snow, but is sidewall more susceptible to puncture?
3) go to dedicated all terrain tires - great off road, but what is performance in snow and on pavement?

Appreciate any and all comments

Thanks,

Fred

[CanadaMazdaMan]

Just picked up winter tires for my 2017 Mazda CX-5 GT (bought March 2018) and can't wait to try them out! Nokian Hakkapeliitta R3 SUV's, went with 225/65R17's instead of the 19"ers that it came with. Had them mounted on some nice aluminum wheels...gorgeous! Top rated winter tire, had Hakka R2's on my 2013 Ford Escape 4WD and they had phenomenal grip and wear resistance. The R3's will be even better! Awesome braking on ice, amazing grip on snow, quiet on dry roads and great grip on wet roads, all with the least rolling resistance out there for fuel economy. No snow yet here in Ontario but when it comes, and we know it will, I will be ready! A little more pricey than others but worth it in my opinion. I have Bridgestone Blizzak WS80's on my Ford Focus and they are great too, but they're not Hakka's! The only bummer is the CX-5 is my wife's daily driver but maybe this should change...hmmm lol

Also, to answer one of your concerns, these tires have a special Aramid sidewall to resist cuts and punctures.

[ColoradoDriver]

Just upgraded from an '06 Tribute to an '18 CX 5 Touring (19"). As with my Tribute, I immediately upgraded the CX 5 OEM tires to Michelin Premier LTX (had a really bad experience with OEM tires on a Subaru).

I do a lot of skiing in the mountains outside Denver, both at area and back country (meaning some moderate off road with inclines and occasional rocks to reach trailhead). I found that really good all season tires worked well with the Tribute. However, the CX 5 is a bit different, and I was wondering about other options for the winter.
As I see it, I have three options:

1) keep Michelins through the winter - supposed to be very good in snow, but is sidewall more susceptible to puncture from rocks?
2) go to dedicated snow tires (Blizzak) - excellent in snow, but is sidewall more susceptible to puncture?
3) go to dedicated all terrain tires - great off road, but what is performance in snow and on pavement?

Appreciate any and all comments

Thanks,

Fred

Hello fellow Denverite...

My feeling is this...

My All Season Michelins I had on before were perfectly adequate for the type of snow patterns we get where it can go weeks between snow and it melts fast. They even performed very admirably with some treacherous mountain driving both here and in the mountains west of Reno in California a couple Januarys ago. But those were regular roads, not off-road.

However, after those first couple of winters, my winter performance was very noticeably worse to the point I was sliding all over.

I then got Blizzak tires last winter. They did great, but I'd be careful not to put them on too early or take them off too late like I did. When it gets warm, it eats up that winter tread pretty fast. And considering how our winters tend to be, I'd expect we'd get a lot of dry pavement driving too.

Honestly it's a bit of a dillema, but if you are regularly traversing the mountains in the winter, then a dedicated snow set is not a bad idea.

Don't know anything about AT tires, sorry.

[FRED48]

Thanks ColoradoDriver; good advice. I think I'll keep the Michelins and see how they do; and, how long they last. I'll be very satisfied if I can drive Berthoud Pass with confidence, and get 30-40K.