Quietest snow tire?

Quietest winter tires I have had are Vredestein Wintrac (H) and Snowtrac(T). Comparable tire for a Prius seems to be the Snowtrac3. Eurotire in Fairfield NJ is a dealer.

(I haven't used winter tires on my 2010 Prius.)

 

Snowtrac3 (195/65-15) is listed at tiresbyweb.com at $130 per tire; free shipping. Still a relatively high price.

Michelin and Continental seem to often be rated for best snow performance.

Suggest you look at link below for comprehensive winter tire tests including rolling resistance. Please note that lower numerical score is better - like rank and not a point score.





ADAC Test 2011 Winterreifen 195/65 R15







Page is in German, but google will translate for you.

 

ADAC test says that Continental TS830 has very low rolling resistance, with only the US-unavailable Semperits being lower. Tirerack sells a TS810 which is a similar tire with non-directional tread. Also Continental owns Semperit, so small difference could be test driver perception.

 

We're using Michelin X-Ice, in 195/65R15, and finding them very well behaved, quiet, unsnowtirelike. Case in point: last fall I put them on, and a few days later asked my wife how they were doing. She'd forgotten I even put them on, lol. This is comparing to our stock 215/45R17 Michelin Pilots, fwiw.

The rolling resistance of the X-Ice (in 15") seems on-par with the OEM Pilots (in 17"). Mileage stays pretty much the same, the tanks before/after the switch. So from that I take that the X-Ice mileage premium is comparable to the 15" vs 17" premium.

We had Nokian WRG2 (all weather) on a previous car, and they had a distinct "song", not unpleasant though. They did have an impact on mileage, comparing to tires like the Bridgestone Ecopia EP20. This is with both in 195/65R15.

 

The TPMS does not need to be reset.


iPhone ?

 

You can read TireRack's opinion on the Xi2 here:

Tire Test Results : Testing Winter Weather Specialists: Studless Ice and Snow Tires

 

I read a review - can't find it right now - of the Xi3 that indicated it was a significant improvement over the Xi2. But you read reviews like that all the time and I really pay little attention to them. I just bought a set of the Xi3s in 15 for my Gen 3. Not on the car yet. Probably wait another month or so. I will say this - last time I purchased snows from a big online dealer and I thought I was getting a huge deal but when I went to have them mounted and balance locally I got hammered with installation charges that the local dealers waive if you buy tires from them. In the end the total cost was about the same buying locally v. buying from the big on line dealer. So now I buy locally. I think the differences between all these high end winter tires are very minor and not worth a lot of angst. They are all good tires. There is an awful lot of marketing hype and you don't want to take it too seriously.

 

Here is that review of the xi3 v xi2.
Review: Michelin X-Ice Xi3

 

Around these parts, (Vermont), Nokians are sort of the gold standard - very well known and liked. Lots of folks use studded snows around here. I have used studs in the past but my experience is after the first year any small advantage over modern studless tires disappears. But that is another issue.

 

Geräusch is noise.

 

I got ours on Corolla steel rims:

Corolla 15" black steel rims p/n: 42611-02471-sw (snows)
With lug nuts p/n: 90942-01007 (utilitarian, open ended, galvanized Toyo nuts)

You could get the Corolla wheel cover to go with the above, for a nicer look.

I didn't bother with tpm sensors.*

Because of some uncertainty regarding the rim fit (it was fine), I went with the dealership for tire purchase install. Next time around I'd likely use Costco. Their prices are hard to beat, and any manufacturer's coupon (Michelin typically has a $70 off coupon on a set of 4, pretty much every fall) is taken off at the till. In other words: no mail-in hassle/delay, and you're paying tax on $70 less.

* Off topic: our tpms showed a warning the other night. I'd reset it when I was using a bit higher tire pressures, and with cooling temp's the pressures had dropped enough to activate the system warning. This is on our OEM's. Brought the pressures up and warning went off, after maybe a block of driving. Good to know it works.