Winter tires

Wow we had our surprise blizzard 3 weeks ago, then it went away.

I completely agree the OEM tires are crap on snow and scary on ice. I put on Dunlop Graspic DS-2 tires last winter and they were way better than the Integrity or the Michelin Harmony on snow and especialy ice.

I've used studded Nokian on other cars and the Graspics have nowhere near the ice traction as the Nokians did.

Unfortunately we had some vandalism at the condo where I live and all my winter tires were slashed. The surveillance system caught who did it and the contractor who was hired to paint the lower levels is now on the tab to make good on the damage his subs did.

I just picked up the new winter tires, Yokohama Ice Guard 10. Their tread has really surprised me, your hand STICKS to them if you try to rub your palm across the tread. Feels prickly and sticky, the Graspic never felt that way.

I'm hopeful these Yokohama Ice Guard tires will have better snow/ice traction than the Graspic did.

Make sure you mount the winter tires on steel wheels like I did. PA really salts the roads, and nice aluminum rims get quickly etched. Also makes changing over much easier, just jack up one wheel at a time and swap.

For the steel wheel, it's a 15 x 6.00 JJ size. You may have to ask for a Corolla wheel, some tire shops you mention "Prius" and they gawk at you until drool escapes.

That's always a bad sign.

 

I have some Blizzak Revo 1 tires ordered. Have not driven (or seen) them yet.

 

Yes, we got a little early season surprise of the white stuff too -- though not eight inches! We have a 1/4 mile gravel drive and 4 1/2 miles of steep, very winding one-lane road to reach "civilization,"

Though definitely not as good in snow and ice as a dedicated snow tire, we are running Goodyear TripleTreds on our Prius (as well as our Subaru Forester). We have been very happy with their performance in most all conditions, and they are a great improvement over the OEM Integritys.

ps -- are you a skier or biker? you live in a nice part of the country for such recreational activities!

 

If you're in a climate that is pretty much all winter all the time, then snow tires make sense but around here, we'll get a major snow storm, it sticks around (literally, lol) for a week or two. Then it melts and we get dry weather with temperatures in the 40s or 50s at times. Winter tires in this type of climate wouldn't be a good idea so I went with the TripleTreds as well. I'm actually looking forward to that first serious snowstorm to try 'em out.

 

Can snow tires be put on just the front wheels, leavimg the rear stock, or must all 4 tires be replaced?

 

Yes you can, but it is not recommended. I did it on an old Honda, years ago. I got a scary surprise the first time I had to stop on ice in traffic. I had a semi-truck on one side and a line of cars on the other. The car started fishtailing because the front wheels stuck and the rears did not. I managed to stop without hitting anything, but it was quite an eye opener.

As winter is aproaching, my wife asked me the same question WRT our Prius. I said No! We are buying 4.

It is only a little money and it could save your life.

Best Regards,
Steve T

 

Thanks for the answer!

 

Steve is absolutely right - get 4 snow tires or don't bother. There is a real safety issue if you just put them on the front, especially if your car has VSC. It just can't work right unless all four wheels have the same traction.

There is no real need to get super-expensive snow tires as long as they have a good deep tread design.

 

Cyclesome,

Tirerack.com has a new (well, early Sept.) test posted:
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/bs_blizzak_revo1.jsp
that has the Bridgestone Blizzak Revo 1 rated #1, beating the Blizzak WS50, which was barely ahead of the Michelin X-Ice. The Dunlop Graspic DS-2 was fourth.

There is also another comparison here:
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/winter_tire_type.jsp
which should convince anyone that winter tires are a significant improvement over all-season tires, particularly stopping on ice.

I'd run WS50's for years on my Saab 900 with great success. After one winter of terror (really only during very poor conditions, though) on my Prius, Revo 1's will be installed next week. I am buying from a local Tires Plus store, who was willing to match the tirerack.com price (initially TP was $120 higher). I'm getting them on the cheapest alloy wheels ($68 was TR's price), because Tire Rack does not have any of their $32 steel wheels available for the Prius this year, and the best price I could find locally was $58 each.

It's worth spending the 5 or 6 hundred dollars...remember, you're not really paying anything (in the end) for the snow tires, because your OEM tires are not being used during the winter.

rpm

 

I bought REVO1s a few weeks ago, but they're still bagged in the basement. I don't recall them feeling particularly sticky...

The November Consumer Reports tested Q-rated winter tires. It didn't test the REVO1. They ranked the Michelin X-Ice first. Ratings here.

 

FYI, the Canadian APA has re-written it's winter tire recommendations for 2005-6:
http://www.apa.ca/template.asp?DocID=97

 

Yep.. That plus with a $500 Deductible, if you avoid 1 accident, you've more than paid for it everything considered.

 

Pics of my Revos here:

http://priuschat.com/index.php?showtopic=12630