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

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davefr

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Just seeking opinions on 17" all seasons that are designed to perform well in most winter situations.

Yes, I know dedicated winter and summer sets are best but just curious who makes an all season with a focus on winter. (Nokian???)
 
Nokian makes some tires that are snow tires but rated for year round use.
 
My wife's previous car had a set of continental extreme contact DWS. They are an all season tire, but did fairly well in light snow and ice.
 
im going to try the Michelin Latitude Cross. I Live in Nz, so not much snow where I live, but I will be using it on the ski fields, ive been told this tyre is a good all round tyre.
 
Having worn out a set of the Nokian WR G2 SUV, I can say that they're awesome in snow when they're new, but their winter performance drops off dramatically as they wear. They're nothing special for year round traction (especially in the wet) so I'd probably avoid them for Oregon.

Depending on exactly where you are, I might suggest upsizing to 18" wheels and going with the Continental ExtremeContact DWS - they're spectacular in the wet, very good on ice, and passable in light snow.
 
Nokian has updated the WRG2 to the WRG3 so they might be better now then what Lee Harvey experienced. I can't say for certain. My sister in law runs the Conti Extreme Contact DWS on her RDX year round is very happy with them. She's an avid autocrosser and knows a thing or two about tires. You're in Oregon but you don't mention where exactly. I lived in Wilsonville for 4 years and would make trips up to Hood on the weekends to ski. Most of the time I was just fine in our A4 Quattro with all season Kumho tires. There was only once that I put chains on the car and that was the snow-pocalypse of 2008. We had to get to the airport to try to fly home for Christmas, Somehow we got a flight out!
If you are worried about the occasional freezing rain storm that the Portland area gets, the best is to get a dedicated winter tires for ice traction. Most of the All Seasons don't fair well on straight ice. Some do better then others on snow, like the Conti DWS
 
I also had a set of Firestone Destination ATs on my Tribute and they performed wonderfully in bad winter conditions and look great year-round. Will probably get either those or dedicated snow tires for the winters here in WV after my stock Yokohamas bite the dust. They did get me through a tough winter in DC just fine though.
 
The problem with the Conti DWS's is that they don't come in 225/65-17. If I have to buy a new set of rims then I'll go dedicated summer and winter.

Just how bad are the stock Geolanders? They look like they'd be terrible in the winter.
 
davefr said:
Just seeking opinions on 17" all seasons that are designed to perform well in most winter situations.

Yes, I know dedicated winter and summer sets are best but just curious who makes an all season with a focus on winter. (Nokian???)
Click to expand...

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.
 
davefr said:
Just how bad are the stock Geolanders? They look like they'd be terrible in the winter.
Click to expand...

Based only on the couple of times I've found myself on snow without my winter tires, I would rate the Geolanders as slightly below average when compared to other quality all season radials. Which is to say, compared to winter tires they suck. Even good all season radials suck under many winter conditions.
 
davefr said:
The problem with the Conti DWS's is that they don't come in 225/65-17. If I have to buy a new set of rims then I'll go dedicated summer and winter.

Just how bad are the stock Geolanders? They look like they'd be terrible in the winter.
Click to expand...

I only suggested them because you weren't clear on whether you were averse to switching out tires, whether it was a storage issue, etc. Also, you can sell your stock wheels for close to what a set of decent 18" wheels would cost, so unless you're not liquid enough to float $800 for a month, cost shouldn't be an issue.

The Geolandars are tolerable in snow their first year, but good luck after that. Honestly, my set didn't make it to their second winter, but I wouldn't have even wanted to attempt it with anything less than almost full tread depth.

It would still be helpful to know just what kind of winter driving you're expecting to see.
 
leeharvey418 said:
It would still be helpful to know just what kind of winter driving you're expecting to see.
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My experience has been you never know what to expect until it happens. While there are geographical differences in the most common winter conditions for a specific region of the country, most places that winter tires are used experience everything from arctic blasts to snow falling near the freezing point to melted and re-frozen ice.

To me the relevant factors are:

1) How many miles of winter conditions do you expect to average each winter?

2) How fast will traffic be flowing?

3) How steep of hills do you need to descend?


If the answer is you take slower surface streets which are relatively level for just three or four miles to get to work/schools/groceries, etc. you might be able to get by with all-season radials safely.

If you are going to be driving 50 mph on icy roads or driving up/down steep hills with unplowed snow on them, you definitely want real winter tires.
 
Lots of rain, frost and ice. Occasional snow but I don't want to maximize snow performance if I have to sacrifice wet road performance. I have no intention of venturing out in really bad conditions with the CX-5 but here in the PNW the weather throws a lot of curve balls at us.

I live about 1500' higher then Portland so mountain driving is a consideration. When Portland has rain, we have snow and ice.

I'll probably invest in a second set of rims for a dedicated winter tire.

Hope this better explains what I'm after.
 
I think you've already answered your own question. Still, I wouldn't go with anything too geared toward winter - a General Altimax Arctic is great in heavy snow, but it gives up a lot on wet pavement (for instance).

A Pirelli Scorpion Winter is available in the right size, and looks like it would be just the ticket for what you'd need in a winter tire.
 
davefr said:
Lots of rain, frost and ice. Occasional snow but I don't want to maximize snow performance if I have to sacrifice wet road performance. I have no intention of venturing out in really bad conditions with the CX-5 but here in the PNW the weather throws a lot of curve balls at us.

I live about 1500' higher then Portland so mountain driving is a consideration. When Portland has rain, we have snow and ice.

I'll probably invest in a second set of rims for a dedicated winter tire.

Hope this better explains what I'm after.
Click to expand...

Do you live up in the west hills? Doesn't really matter. Anyhow, your biggest challenge for tires is going to be wet conditions. Like I said before I lived in Oregon for 4 years, Denver before that and grew up near Milwaukee Wisconsin. I can tell you that "Bad" weather is all relative to what you're use to. I was shocked at the reaction Portland had to an inch of snow the first time it snowed when we were there, businesses closed, schools closed, half the city shut down. When the Storms of 2008 came it was like a scene out of the walking dead, just with snow, cars where abandoned on the highway with 5-6" of snow fall! Where their owners went, I have no idea. In Wisconsin 5-6" is pretty much the norm and schools won't close for really anything under 10-12" expected. When looking at different tires you should pay attention to how well they are rated in wet conditions. A lot of winter tires are great on snow and good and ice but suffer on just wet roads because most of the thread compound is designed to work in conditions no warmer then 35-40 degrees. I know a lot of tire shops in Oregon offer to sipe the tires before install. They basically use a machine that puts razor cuts across the thread to give more "shoulders" of bite. We did it for tires on my wifes A$ Quattro and were happy with the results. It got us through all but the very worst of conditions and safely to Mt hood many times on snowy roads. If I were you I'd look at good All season tires with excellent wet performance and have them siped. Unless you get dedicated winter tires that is. And do the streets of Portland and Oregon and favor, don't get studded snow tires. You don't actually live in the mountains so they are bit over kill and just damage the roads and studless tires are nearly as good if not better in most scenarios.
 
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