winter weather

I ran studded tires on my 2004 Prius. No problems on ice

 

You want Nokians.

Nokian Hakkapeliitta R

 

For us we live in Oregon, West side.

We get very little snow. But a lot of rain and freezing rain. Because we do not salt and rarely even shale the roads, ice on hills is a serious concern!

Costco carries the xice, and consumer reports seems to favor the blizzaks.

Why do you recommend the nokia tires?


Another question: Our 08 Touring has 195/55/16s. But there are limited tires in that size. Seem to be a lot more in 205s. I understand narrow tires are desirable for snow - does that matter for ice?
The 205s are also somewhat cheaper than the 195s, for the same tire. But the 205s come in 55.60.and 65s, and I dont know what that means.

 

In your situation I'd recommend a studded winter tire. I use the Goodyear Ultra Grip 500

Goodyear Eur-Winter Tire-UltraGrip 500

Which is sold at Canadian Tire as the Goodyear Nordic

For my FJ, I recently got in these factory studded

Nokian Hakkapeliitta 5 SUV

With my 2004 Prius, I had the Nordics on steel wheels, in 185 65 15 size

NOTE: if you decide to run steel wheels, you MUST use the proper "acorn" style lugnut. Do NOT use the Toyota lugnuts, they will dangerously loosen on aftermarket steel wheels

Studded tires are the only way to go, on ice

 

Sorry, I'm a newb at this. So you'd buy a set of winter tires, then swap them out for winter and drive those tires all winter? Then swap back? How many winters would these be good for?

 

I keep my studded winter tires on separate rims. Takes at most 20 mins to swap over.

By spreading the wear among 2 sets of tires, or 8 tires, you should get at least 5-6 seasons out of them, as Tideland suggested.

The only way you'd wear out winter tires quickly is if you had the very soft studless winter tires, and drove them in very warm weather.

 

First, thanks for the recommendation.

What about the Nokian WR for the Touring Prius? It seems like they would work in New England.

What do you reckon?

 

Is this the same company as Nokia? A while ago, I was talking to a Finn and he told me that in Finland Nokia was most famous for their rubber boots, not their cell phones.

...looked up in wikipedia and I would have been right if it was 1988. God I'm old.

Nokian Tyres - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Nokian Tyres plc (Finnish: Nokian Renkaat Oyj) is a Finnish manufacturer of tyres for cars, trucks, heavy duty equipment, and bicycles. It is the largest car tyre manufacturer in the Nordic region. Headquartered in Nokia, Finland, Nokian (which were originally branded as Nokia tyres; Nokian is the genitive) was split from the then conglomerate Nokia (which later became the world's largest mobile phone vendor) in 1988. Nokia Corporation no longer has any ownership interest in Nokian Tyres, whose largest shareholder (with an 18.9% stake) is the Japanese tyre vendor Bridgestone. Nokian Tyres, however, still operates as an independent company.
In 2004, Nokian Tyres sold its bicycle tyres business to Suomen Rengastehdas Oy[2]. In the bicycle industry they remain as one of the few manufacturers of tungsten carbide studded snow tyres.
Nokian Tyres also runs the Vianor tyre chain, which is the largest and most extensive tyre franchise in the Nordic countries with approximately 190 retail outlets across Finland, Sweden, Norway, the Baltic countries, and Russia.

 

Do you swap the tires yourself? Do you recommend any tools to make it easier?

 

My experience is in MN winters, lots of snow, some ice.
The OEM tires are aweful in the winter. I have a set of Nokian winter tires on my 08 and it handled like a champ all winter, snow and ice.
My wife's 07 just got a good pair of all season tires and we are going to see how it handles with those over the winter.

 

Anyone have any experience with Hankook Winter tires, particularly the W409 with studs? My local Big-O store is recommending these tires. Thanks--TK

 

If you still have the Goodyear Integrities, they are literally crap tires in snow once they have more then about 20,000 miles. I live in Northeast Ohio, and they really are about the worst you can go.

 

Swapping tires on and off is generally kind of seen as a bad idea. Most people get another set of dedicated winter rims. It's really not that bad in terms of extra car maintenance (although it is a little bit more coin).

Since I have a separate set of summer rims, so I'm not running an all-season. As a result, I can't really give any kind of informed advice. Off the top of my head, I think someone else tried them in the past had had good feedback.

 

Not anymore. They are a very well respected maker of winter tires. I suppose their summer and all season tires are good too, but have never tried them

Their factory studded tires have many unique designs that not only enhance traction on glare ice, but also dramatically reduce road wear. The Nokian factory studded tires meet the Scandinavian road rules for a studded tire that doesn't damage the road surface

The Province of Ontario recently lifted the ban on studded tires, at least in areas north of the Sault. The factory studded Nokian winter tires meet Ontario specs for a studded tire that won't damage road surfaces

Yep, I swap the wheels myself in the comfort of my heated attached garage. A good floor jack, actually two of them, makes the job go much easier

http://www.hyjacks.com/n_71202x.jpg

The better hydraulic floor jacks have a rubber adapter for the saddle that fits the jack point on the car, so you won't damage the unitbody. A small piece of 2x4 does the same job

Use a proper 6 point socket to prevent damaging the lugnuts. Loosen the lugnuts a bit with the car still firmly on the floor. You want to do this with the brakes cool, otherwise the front rotors are easier to warp

Now, jack up one side at a time. I suppose you could just use a single jack, and change just one wheel at a time, but I find it more efficient to use two jacks: two jacks also make tire rotation a breeze

If you're using directional winter tires - and most high quality studless and studded winter tires ARE directional - then pay attention to the proper rotation. The tire will be clearly marked as to rotation

If you're using aftermarket steel wheels, which I recommend you do, then you MUST use the proper Acorn style lugnut. The Toyota lugnuts for their aluminum rims will DANGEROUSLY loosen up on an aftermarket steel wheel!

For the Prius and the FJ Cruiser, you can get the proper acorn style lugnuts at NAPA. They are M12-1.5 x 21mm thread. The NAPA part number is 10#641-2042, you can usually get them for $1 each

You might have a hard time knocking off the aluminum wheels, as they can corrode to the steel hub, especially if road salt is applied in winter. You may have to really beat on the tire to get it off

With the winter tires and steel wheels on, thread on the lugnuts by hand, then snug them up with a ratchet wrench. With the car back on the floor, use a torque wrench to get the lugnuts to the correct torque, and make sure you torque in the correct sequence

In my experience, nothing beats a good winter tire, either studless or studded, in winter driving conditions. Once you get a dedicated pair of winter tires, you'll wonder why the hell you ever tried driving on all seasons in winter

You can't legally use studded tires in MN. As a visitor, however, I legally CAN use studded tires while driving in your state! HAHA!

https://www.revisor.leg.state.mn.us/bin/getpub.php?pubtype=STAT_CHAP_SEC&year=2006&section=169.72

Just kidding, I know I shouldn't rub it in. Snicker ...

I've tried Dunlop Graspic DS-2 on my 2004 Prius. Compared to the Michelin Harmony all seasons I ran on that car, much better snow traction, bit better ice traction. Good highway tracking, softer ride.

Tried Yokohama Ice Guard 10's as well. Even better snow and ice traction, but at the expense of horrible highway tracking: constant steering corrections, a real PITA

Finally went back to a "real" winter tire, with studs. The Goodyear Ultra Grip 500, which I mentioned in a previous post, sold at Canadian Tire as the Goodyear Nordic. This is a directional winter tire

Excellent snow and ice traction, soft ride, and good highway tracking. Due to the design of the tire, it does NOT follow the grooves left behind by graders and snowplows, an important safety plus. During spring melt, the directional design and deep tread does an exceptional job of evacuating water out

As an example, I've gone above the posted 80 km/h speed on Bishop Grandin, under the Pembina underpass. That can be treacherous in spring melt, the water tends to freeze in the shade of the underpass. Cars following me have spun out once they hit the water and ice at the underpass, I've been just fine

On dry pavement and especially cement, the tires had a very loud hum/howl between 50-65 km/h. Just like an old bias ply mud truck tire. That is a very acceptable tradeoff in my book, I solved the problem by turning up the radio

Overall, I highly recommend the Goodyear Nordic. It's priced right, and if you have "real" winter conditions, will keep you safe

Actually, I noticed Canadian Tire started carrying this winter tire last fall. That tire appears to combine the soft tread construction of studless tire, with the ability to have studs added.

Should be a good winter tire

Some tire shops offer a promise their equipment won't scratch/harm aluminum rims. Two words here: bull and s***!

I prefer a Road Force balance

Hunter GSP9700 Wheel vibration Control System solves wheel vibration and tire pull problems that balancers and aligners can?t fix

Although 2-4 X more expensive than a regular balance, it's not like you have to get it repeated. If you monkey around with mounting/dismounting tires twice a year, sooner or later you'll have a vibration problem

Back when cars had suspensions that were actually compliant and absorbed vibration, you needed a wheel that was visibly bouncing up and down before you noticed you had a problem

Now, suspensions are so firm that when you roll over a wet cigarette butt, you feel it in the seat of your pants

 

Another Tire Recommendation:

Someone recently told me that the Bridgestone Blizzakseries were a good brand to run in the Northeast or Snow Climates.

Does anyone have any experience with these tires on a Prius? The person put them on his Honda Civic SI and told me it was a world of difference from the All Season Radial which was standard.

If anyone has any input or experience with these, I would believe it would of interest as well.

Thanks All!

 

From my experience (on an Echo/Yaris), the Blizzak are excellent (especially on ice) but wear quicker than some other tires. If you are doing long distances on highways, they might not be the best. For that reason, I had Pirellis (don't remember the exact model) that were stiffer and had longer life. The ride was more firm but they endured 7 winters (!) (something like 75,000Km) and I really liked them. I've had Dunlop Graspic in the last winter and I'm quite satisfied (they will not last as much but I was about to sell the car for the new Prius).

I too have to figure what I'll buy this fall.