Pick up a set of extria rims yesterday for my wifes 2005. Look to purchase snows.looking recommendation of snows for gen 2 traction number 1 concern.tell me what you run on your gen 2 as far snows .
Blizzak WS80 (best (studless) in the reviews) I got 4 for the price of 3 (+ $1), lifetime warranty, free balancing, alignment, rubber valve-stems (I put black tape over TPMS nag-light), even though studded are legal here in NH, the consensus was that they're too noisy! …YMMV!)
Does 2005 even have tpms? We do, and run snow tires without sensors, the warning light doesn't stress me though. I like our X-ICE2, they're very good feel and quiet, and little effect on mpg. Significant snowfalls are few and far between here, mostly just icy conditions, so I'm not the best judge.
When new the tread was 10.5/32" I just checked them, they're now around 8/32". I'd guestimate they've been on the car for about 20,000 km's max, say around 15,000 miles. I wouldn't want to run them under 6/32", so maybe their lifespan is around 25,000 miles? Bear in mind: our locale sees VERY little snow, for the most part they're running on bare roads, so that would accelerate wear some I'd think. Bought them in fall of 2010, pretty much right after car purchase. They've been on the car for 5 winters now, but very low mileage vehicle, just over 56,000 km's on the odometer.
thanks for the reply any others with snows tell what you have ? Traction wear mileage you had on them aka number of winters. Try to make wise purchase of snows for prius
Nokian Hakkapeliitta R2. They do have excellent traction and feel on a snow. In tests they are better on snow than many studded tires. I do have better fuel economy with them than with my summer tires. On longer highway trip on (partially) snow cowered roads I did get 4.3l/100km or 55MPG actual. Of course fuel economy in city driving in cold temperature is still bad since engine has to run to keep interior temp up. I only had them for one winter so I can’t really tell you much about useful life.
I just ordered Maxtrek - Trek M7 from PCM Tire. Super cheap...appear to have good ratings. I'll let you know what I find out.
I run General Altimax Arctics on my 2005, nice tire good traction. There are a few hills around here in northwest NJ, have a short but steep one at the bottom of my street that is a good litmus test. I haven't put them on yet this year, we'll see how long I can hold out. I also bought a set for my wife's 2003 Civic Hybrid, which is a bit lighter than my car.
Hello all great post! Just put new snows on our 2004 today. 195/65-15, Also got some steel wheels as well And not a MOMENT TO SOON!! They rode smooth on dry pavement on the way home from mounting them, and worked great in the conditions they are made for hii
I took off the summer wheels (shod with Antares Ingens) a couple of weeks ago at Halloween and fitted the steelies shod with Bridgestone Blizzak WS80s (about to start their 4th season, and about ½ worn), but I found a set of Antares Ice Grip 60s (studded) which I thought I'd try this time. About an hour ago, I drove home from Londonderry->Nashua, NH, a distance of about 20 miles, and almost white-out conditions, about 5" of snow on Route-3, traffic speed reduced to ~30 mph, and the studs are a definite advantage on the ramps, despite the noise!
Yeah I agree, about studs in our minds of climate. The snows I purchased WERE studable, but for some silly reason chose to opt out. I'll probably wish I had them at some point this season! Lol
Nah, be careful what you wish for. They give you better ice traction, but they're noisy, hard on roads, even illegal in some areas.
My state ( N.Y.)we are allowed to run them between 11/1 & 4/1. In my area (the southern tier, you know "Lake Effect snows!!!!!) alot of times you WISH you'd have opted for studded snows
Good non studded winter tires (for example Nokian R3 or Continental ContiVikingContact 7) are actually better than average studded tire. Even on smooth ice they have better grip than many common studded tires. Especially those studable winters are not that good. If you want studs best is to buy tires that are studded at the factory. And if you don’t want studs just get the version that is not designed to be studded. That way the manufacturer can design it with softer rubber and without reinforced locations for studs.
Hmmm, good point. But IMHO I cant see any kind of rubber gripping on ice better than rubber with studs. This is ONLY my opinion. These are tried and tested snow tires I just put on. I have the same tire on 3 of our other cars on separate wheels for winter. One set for the Buick IS studded. They just work in our climate and our conditions. Thanks, Mike
Many tire tests on the resent years have proven that good/best studless winter tires do have better traction on ice than lesser studded tires. Of course the best studded tires still have more grip on ice than best studless. Studs don’t help on a snow so studless normally have better grip on snow than studded. Here we have to use winter tires in winter by law. And most of people do use studded tires as that’s what they have gotten used to.
i did a lot of research and i ended up buying all weather tires (winter capable) the best deal i found were khumo ha31 15" $430+hst canadian ($320usd) for the set of 4 they are rated for 100,000km/60,000miles, currently they are my winter only set they should last many winters as they have great durability im estimating 4-5 or more winters, as long as the rims hold up i spray rubber protectant on them before storage in the spring and to keep my alloy rims rust free, i spray rust cure formula 3000 oil on them to keep the salt away im very happy with them and price was excellent once they wear down to 6mm/0.25inch i would probally use them as all seasons for the last 40,000km/25,000miles
