What's the most aggressive winter tire for year round use?

[kjh1127]

Hmmm...actually it's not listed anymore. It used to be!

 

[Ride92]

A lot of people intuitively believe the more aggressive looking a tires tread design is, the better it will be in the snow. I've found this to not be the case. Most types of snow have very little shear strength so a tire with more, smaller, biting edges will generally perform better. Also, winter performance is largely dependent upon the rubber compound. If you live in an area with hot summers, the all-season radial that performs best in the snow will almost certainly have a very short tread life when used in very hot conditions, particularly if used for fast freeway driving. Also, an all-season radials snow performance will fall off considerably after the tire has been run in conditions that heat the tire up for long periods of time or through many heat cycles. This is because high temperatures cause the rubber to continue curing which will changes it's properties, sometimes drastically. Higher air pressures will reduce tire temperatures but perhaps not enough to prevent this loss of winter performance.

Did you not read this? The tires you are thinking about will look cool but they won't hold a candle to actual winter tires. Sure they will get you through rough and muddy terrain but around town driving, dry Cornering and braking, wet cornering and braking will suffer. Not to mention that your gas mileage will suffer with a more aggressive tread.

 

[MikeM.]

The tires you are thinking about will look cool but they won't hold a candle to actual winter tires. Sure they will get you through rough and muddy terrain but around town driving, dry Cornering and braking, wet cornering and braking will suffer. Not to mention that your gas mileage will suffer with a more aggressive tread.

I know the thread is about winter tires but I think he wants tires to get him up a steep dirt road to his cabin. But, even for that, I'm not sure these tires are very well suited. I would like to see photos of the challenging sections to see what he's up against.

For most off-road driving I've found a compliant sidewall and tread is often an advantage. Think rock-climbing using a smearing technique. I believe the weight ratings on these tires is too high to have good compliance but I haven't seen that the OEM sizes are even available to compare weight ratings. Also, tires with big, aggressive blocks need to avoid "chunking" even when off-roading on sharp rocks (otherwise people want to return them for refund or replacement). For this reason they are often molded out of compounds that are more resistant to chunking but may not have as high of friction coefficients on various surfaces.

The other reason they may not be a good choice is that they are quite heavy which is never good, especially on a relatively light and nimble vehicle like the CX-5.

 

[davefr]

Does anyone have an opinion on the optimal wheel size for dedicated winter tires? I read that 19" winter tires are very expensive. Is 17" the sweet spot? Given a choice would it be better to go 18", or drop down to 16" or just stick with 17"?

Thanks!!

 

[leeharvey418]

If you're in for a set of bigger wheels, use them for summer and put the winter tires on the 17" wheels. There are a bunch of good winter options in either 225/65R17 or 235/65R17. Considering the number of good all season and summer tires that are available in bigger sizes but not for a 17" wheel, I'd probably recommend going bigger, but that's up to you. I wouldn't bother with going down to 16" unless you're getting an incredible deal on the wheels - the selection for 16" winter tires isn't as good as for 17", and what there is isn't a hell of a lot cheaper. And if you can get a good deal on a 17 x 6.5" wheel (the five spoke wheel from a first generation 3, for instance) then don't sweat the narrower width - a 225/65R17 tire will go on a 6.5" wide wheel just fine.

 

[MikeM.]

And if you can get a good deal on a 17 x 6.5" wheel (the five spoke wheel from a first generation 3, for instance) then don't sweat the narrower width - a 225/65R17 tire will go on a 6.5" wide wheel just fine.

I don't recommend putting a tire on a rim that's near the outside range of acceptable width. Will it work? Of course, it's not like the bead won't seat securely or the tire will fall off the wheel. But a tire that's on the wide side needs to be "pinched" to fit a narrower rim and this affects the way the tires sidewall transfers forces from the road to the rim which affects steering and cornering traction. Conversely, a tire that's on the narrow side for the rim needs to be spread to fit the wider rim. In addition to affecting the way the forces are transferred through the sidewalls, both of these scenarios can encourage either a slight convex or concave tendency to the tread area. On clean pavement this effect will probably not be relevant but on snow or ice it can degrade traction. For winter driving, I would be especially reluctant to put a tire that's on the wide end of the range for a given rim.

 

[leeharvey418]

While what you're saying seems like it would make sense, it really doesn't. Not all sidewalls need to be square to the wheel to work right. There are a bunch of tires out there that are substantially wider than their nominal measuring wheel width, and even a few that use a wheel at the low end of their width range as their standard.

The long and short of it is: don't try to second-guess tire manufacturers. They actually know what they're doing. Your vehicle isn't going to spontaneously explode even if your wheel is half an inch outside the recommended range for your tire, and you're never going to have a problem with a properly inflated and loaded tire on a good wheel in the right width range.

 

[Ride92]

Does anyone have an opinion on the optimal wheel size for dedicated winter tires? I read that 19" winter tires are very expensive. Is 17" the sweet spot? Given a choice would it be better to go 18", or drop down to 16" or just stick with 17"?

Thanks!!

I would go with 17's if I were you, you will find there are more options at a better price point for the 17" tires then any of the other sizes. The 17" wheels will also give you tires with a taller side wall which will help to ease the bumps of winter roads. As the road way freezes, the water expands, and makes for rougher road surfaces. Your handling may suffer a bit but it's a trade off worth making for better traction. Last I looked tirerack.com had some blizzaks on closeout that would the stock 17" wheels. Those should fit most 17" aftermarket rims that would work on the CX-5 as well. I'm keeping my eyes open for a cheap set of winter wheels as well and looking at 17's.

 

[SirCharles]

Nokian WRG3 SUV all weather tire

I drive mostly in Vancouver, BC (rarely snows) but do travel interior highway routes sometimes where conditions can be pretty bad. I had stock 17" Geolanders replaced with Nokian WRG3 SUV all weather tires at 16000KM. Mud+Snow or tires with snowflake symbol (winter or all weather) are mandated on some routes in BC well into spring (not really enforced to my knowledge but thats off topic). I have put about 14000KM on the nokians since last winter (they were great on ice/snow and no problems with hydroplaning in wet). Fuel economy not quite as good as with all seasons, but still good. I mostly put them on just to meet highway requirements. I try to simply avoid driving when conditions are poor. The best winter tires cannot stop someone from crashing into you. Tread wear has been minimal so far (on track to get 60000 KM -they are warrantied for 60 i think). I have had all seasons that have worn out faster. Will probably put the Geo's back on for next year and try to run them down over a spring/summer/fall before buying another set of nokians or similar. The nokians were not cheap tires. Paid about 1100 CAD installed. Probably cheaper in US. Have paid more for good all seasons on other vehicles. Overall I'd say the nokians are good value. Not sure if they are most aggressive but good for what they are.

 

[Rarebit]

I drive mostly in Vancouver, BC (rarely snows) but do travel interior highway routes sometimes where conditions can be pretty bad. I had stock 17" Geolanders replaced with Nokian WRG3 SUV all weather tires at 16000KM. Mud+Snow or tires with snowflake symbol (winter or all weather) are mandated on some routes in BC well into spring (not really enforced to my knowledge but thats off topic). I have put about 14000KM on the nokians since last winter (they were great on ice/snow and no problems with hydroplaning in wet). Fuel economy not quite as good as with all seasons, but still good. I mostly put them on just to meet highway requirements. I try to simply avoid driving when conditions are poor. The best winter tires cannot stop someone from crashing into you. Tread wear has been minimal so far (on track to get 60000 KM -they are warrantied for 60 i think). I have had all seasons that have worn out faster. Will probably put the Geo's back on for next year and try to run them down over a spring/summer/fall before buying another set of nokians or similar. The nokians were not cheap tires. Paid about 1100 CAD installed. Probably cheaper in US. Have paid more for good all seasons on other vehicles. Overall I'd say the nokians are good value. Not sure if they are most aggressive but good for what they are.

Timely post - Nokian WRG3 are on my short list to replace the Toyo A23s on my CX-5. I make occasional trips to the Okanagan during winter, and have managed very well with a Mazda 3 running 4 snow tires, but am hoping to save space in my storage locker by running only one set of tires.

How is the summer performance of the Nokians? And have you had to drive up the Coquihalla or up to Whistler in winter conditions with them?