Finally, an ice/snow test of car and tires

That' freaking awesome!

We're supposed to be in for some snow tonite. I hope my Michelin X-Ice's work as well.

Be safe.

 

I'll add a review as well.

For the last three days in Anchorage, AK, it has been snowing constantly. It started Wednesday morning at 0500 and didn't stop until noon today.

There was over a foot of fresh snow in areas that had not been plowed yet or travelled on. This included my parking lot and the two roads I use to exit the complex.

With my Bridgestone Blizzaks, I get fine traction going through any snow that's about as deep as my front bumper. Once it starts having to push snow or go above it, forget it.....party's over. A slight incline resulted in nothing but slippage. Steep inclines are a real battle. I had to back down a hill and get a running start to get up it (luckily traffic was light). Anytime it starts to lose traction the traction control goes crazy and cuts the power.

Once I got onto plowed roads I had no problems. If I had to do it again, I'd buy a tire that could be studded....or maybe I would have kept my Subaru, and used it for days like today.

 

I live in Minnesota, had our first "real" snow on friday.

Took the '05 Prius out for a spin on ice and snow covered roads.

I have to say I am impressed with the handling, The VSC (vehicle stability control system)
and the Michlin Hydroedges I had installed two months ago performed flawlessly.

Toyota makes and engineers great Vehicles.

Tom

 

I had the Dunlop Graspic DS-2 last winter, and this winter the Yokohama Ice Guard 10. Believe it or not, the Ice Guard DOES provide better snow and especially ice traction.

The only downside, and this could be serious if you do a lot of highway driving, is the Yokohama tire wanders a lot. I have to make almost constant corrections. For city speeds 70 km/h and slower, no problems and good traction.

As far as studded tires, my parents have a 2003 Buick LeSabre with Cooper Weathermaster ST/2 studded winter tires. In snow, I'd have to say my Prius and the LeSabre have equal traction, when the snow is deeper the edge goes to the LeSabre due to the almost 1.5 inches greater ground clearance.

On glare polished ice at intersections, the studded tires on the LeSabre provide a real advantage compared to a studless snow tire. On dry pavement, they do make a lot more noise, though the Yokohama tires growl like an off-road tire.

If you routinely have to drive through deep unplowed or rutted snow on roads, most cars will let you down once they have to push snow with the bumper. A small light SUV, like a Honda CRV, has many advantages in such driving conditions, especially equipped with proper studded or studless snow tires.

 

thanks for the info,very helpful!!

 

Thanks for the great reviews. Can each of you answer a couple of questions for those of us anticipating our first Prius winters?

Do you use these tires year round or just for winter driving?

What kind of mileage are you getting? What kind of mileage did you get on the OEM tires (for comparison)?

Thanks!

 

The Dunlop Graspic DS-2 and the Yokohama Ice Guard 10 - as well as other "studless" winter tires like the Bridgestone Blizzak - work so good in snow and on ice due to their very soft tread construction.

If you tried to drive on these tires in summer, they would heat up and rapidly wear. Especially in warmer temps, some of them experience squirrely cornering charateristics. My Ice Guard tires have terrible cornering as it is.

That's a hard question to answer, as so many variables are involved. In particular, cold winter weather will have a much bigger hit on fuel economy than just the tires.

To compare to my "all season" Michelin Harmony tires:

Last December when my Dunlop winter tires finally arrived, I put them on and that weekend went out to the hobby farm. The temps were about the same, -25 C. On the highway, I had averaged 5.5 l/100km the weekend before with the Harmony's. With the Graspic's, I used 5.8 l/100km. About 3 MPG difference.

So far, in much warmer temps, the Ice Guard tires appear to have about the same 2-3 MPG loss in highway fuel economy. For example, in temps of +4 C I was using 4.9 l/100km on the highway, with the Ice Guard 5.1/5.2. Around the city, there is no difference.

 

I only use my Blizzaks for winter driving. The OEMs will go back on around April 1st.

I got gas today, averaging 39 MPG. Seems like I'm having trouble getting good fuel quantity readings, as I had two bars left on the gauge, but it only wanted a little over 7 gallons. I'm disappointed with my mileage, but it's in line with what everyone else experiences in the winter: drastically reduced mileage. I average close to 50 during the summer.

 

Well, don't feel too bad.

We've warmed up here quite a bit, highs of -3C to -8C, lows -15C to -24C last week. When the cold weather returns, we should be able to bet who will once again claim title to "Lowest Prius Winter Fuel Economy."

 

I use Nokian WRs all year round and I love them. Great traction and it's an all season tire. Winter tires are great if you live in a climate that has snow on the roads for most of the winter. Not so on Long Island. Winter dedicated tires are horrible on dry roads. They handle like crap and have longer stopping distances.

 

I am in a quandry.. Where I live locally, they often stay somewaht snow covered and solid gray ice until I get to the NYS Thruway, which after a snow is very good... of course, I do travel 100+ miles while it is snowing... I may just go with a VG all season tire, rather than a snow...

 

I got into my first snow over the Thanksgiving trip. It seemed to handle fine (Blizzak Revo 1). Went into a wet snow covered parking lot, turned the wheel and gunned it till the VSC kicked in. Never got weird, just seemed to "mush" ever so slightly (as opposed to the rear end kicking out in a RWD, or the front end spinning and plowing straight in a FWD).

So far so good. A bit scary doing traction tests in a $25K car rather than a $2K car LOL

 

Got my beautiful driftwood in October 2005, and watched the mileage like a hawk (as new owners are prone to do.) Averaged 4.5 litres per 100 kilometers (translates to 52.3 miles per US gallon.)


Then, after reading the posts about the Goodyear Integrity, replaced the tires with the Michelin Harmony. Now I average 4.7 litres per 100 kilometres (translated to to 50 miles per US gallon.)

Not bad ... but I haven't had the opportunity to test this out in real snow yet (Toronto, you know). But I'll let you know!

 

Hi!
I'm new to PriusChat and my Prius (purchased October 5, 05). I put Michelin X-Ice on November 1 and have not noticed any difference in my MPG. I'm getting around 48. I've been in one snow storm and the car did as well as my 4WD RAV4 used to do. That is amazing because my driveway has about a 7% grade and the Prius went right up as smooth as silk. The Michelins drive just fine on dry pavement, maybe a little softer than the OEMs. Handling has really not changed. These tires appear to be great for Colorado weather (dry and sunny with some snow days). I will put the OEMs back on around May 1. Hope this helps.

 

I am so excited!! We may get snow in western Washington!!! I am looking forward to it, though I may drive my Ford Explorer if it is deep enough. I have always had two sets of tires for my cars, because as an Obstetrician I kind of have to get there, but I don't have winter tires for the Prius. OK it was a warm winter last year! I am conflicted, I do not want to cause harm to Belle and the Beast is better suited for snow, but the milage.

 

I just picked up an '05 the day after Thanksgiving and I'm very happy so far, but I know that I need to do something about the Integrity's that came with it. We get a fair amount of snow here in Rochester, NY, but they are agressive at clearing the roads and only the side streets stay slick most of the winter. I don't commute at all (I telecommute full-time), so I can usually stay home when it's really nasty.

I'm thinking that, instead of getting separate snow tires I should buy great all-season tires and see how things work out. I'm leaning towars Michelin Energy MXV4+, which I can get for $90 each delivered from Discount Tire Direct. These tires rated quite well for winter driving in the 11/2002 Consumer Reports, and are low rolling resistance. Our other winter car is a CR-V with the same Michelins on it, but it's primarily my wife's car and I've rarely driven it in winter conditions. She hasn't had any complaints, though.

I was wondering if anyone has a strong opinion as to why this would or would not be a good idea for my situation.

 

if you tele-commute and can avoid driving in the snow altogether just leave the OEM's on till worn out and then make a decision to get something better. They do give fairly good mileage and if your not driving on snow and ice are probably good enough. People who just have to get somewhere important, hdrygas, snow's or a 4x4 would do it.

 

I have to drive in snow and ice sometimes, just not every day.