snow tire advice

i use blizzaks (bridgestone) on my sisters corolla
I use ice guards (yokohama) on my prius
my dad uses xIce (Michelin) on his accord

stay away from the artimax or any other snow tire that is studdable as consumer reports say those tires are really just all season tires with the ability to be studded. (unless you intend to use studs which I doubt anywhere in NE allows)

don't buy any snow tires this summer as they will be leftovers from the last season. since rubber rots and you're only going to use them 4 or 5 months of the year and the tread hardly wears when driving in snow, I would wait as long as possible, the prius is FWD so it can handle the first few light snowfalls, but definitely get them before the first winter storm. My new Prius V has the wider tires so I will definitely need new snows this November. (I'm moving to Alaska!!)

 

WS-60 are great, I use them on my car.

 

Please no talk of snow
I am still waiting for it to be warm enough to melt the ice in my drinks

 

I use Blizzaks on my Prius and they did great this past winter. As you know, we got hit pretty hard here this last winter, and the DelDuh idiots only really plow main roads repeatedly then work on the other roads (we supposedly have a larger fleet than the city of Chicago, but they don't have issues like we do). I would recommend getting a spare set of rims and have them come mounted & balanced from TireRack. It makes it easier for you to swap on and off (or a shop if you have them do it).

But, I'd put a vote in on the Blizzaks.

 

Ted,

I would check out Consumer Reports' November 2009 comprehensive tests of a wide variety of all-season and winter tires:

Consumer_Reports_Nov._2009_Tire_Tests-1.doc

Note that unlike previous tests, you can compare tire performances across tire type categories. E.g., now you can compare a winter tire's snow and ice ratings directly against an all-season tire's snow and ice ratings.

To me, the biggest surprise of these November 2009 tests is that they found an all-season tire -- the Hankook Optimo 727 -- with snow and ice performance that equals or exceeds those of most of the winter tires tested. (Although not as good as the very best winter tires tested.)

As between the Altimax Arctic and the Blizzak WS-60, they rate the Altimax higher. But you can compare each tire's characteristics yourself and, given the factors that are most important to you, maybe you'll prefer the Blizzaks.

 

Also keep in mind some of those Blizzaks have the grippy winter-compound on the rubber up to a certain depth of tread, and not throughout the rubber. That's one reason I chose other winter tires over the Blizzaks for my last car.

 

I went with the Michelin Xice2's. See the Consumer Reports' listing.

But I would wait until the fall when new stock comes out. I remember mine had a buy 4 get back $70 deal. I don't think the total price was much different than the close-out price you've been given. And at least you won't get year-old tires.

Because the rubber degrades over time. For that reason, most tires should be replaced after for 5 years or so, regardless of mileage. If you buy tires now you will get 1 year's less life out of them. Figure that into your math. Again, I would wait until October or so.

 

Given that most people are only going to get 3-4 seasons max out of a snow tire, I wouldn't worry too much about rubber degradation on a set of snows.

I had Continental Extreme WinterContacts last year. Wasn't thrilled.

Another tire definitely worth consideration is the Yokohama IG20 IceGuards. I had them on my Crown Vic the previous winter and the car was damn near invincible. Will probably pick up a set of the IG20s for this winter.

 

You will love them, I have no complaints