Best Snow Tire For The Money

[SubaruKenny_d]

Im getting a set of 4 2004 WRX rims (I will paint them gold eventually) and I wanted to get some snow tires mounted up, with that said what is the best snow tire for the money. I don't plan on spending a whole lot on them but I'd like some opinions. Let me know what you guys think!

[Garrison]

geolander A/T are pretty nice

[SubaruKenny_d]

Are they very expensive, I was just looking on tire rack.

[Garrison]

Any offroad tire is going to run you a little bit, but they're not terrible.

[grayguy]

Winterforces are the best lower end snow tire ive come across

[rougeben83]

Yeah, depends on what you're after, deep snow/slush/ice/snow-performance, etc.

Winterforces are great for deep snow and slush, not so much on ice unless you stud them. And they're cheap.

[SubaruKenny_d]

What brand are the "winterforce" tires made by? Or are they their own separate brand? I was looking at Goodyear Ultra Grip Winter tires . They seem half descent for the money.

Here is a link: http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp ... toModClar= (http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Goodyear&tireModel=Ultra+Grip+Winter&partnum=055TR6UGW&vehicleSearch=true&fromCompare1=yes&autoMake=Subaru&autoYear=2004&autoModel=Impreza%20WRX%20Wagon&autoModClar=)

[grayguy]

I think winterforces are a Sears brand. And although they are not as good as my nokians are on ice, we ran winterforces on my wifes Impreza coupe with stiff suspension and a giant rear sway bar, ice raced it very successfully and she had no problems commuting through blizzards for 4 years on the same set of winterforces. They are REALLY hard to beat for the $.

As far as im concerned it's either winter forces,blizzaks, or nokians.

[chaksq]

Winterforce are made by Firestone. I have a set for my Toyota MR2. They are studdable, meaning that if you choose you can pay extra to have studs placed in then at the time of mounting. I don't have studs in mine and they work great without them. I'm planning on getting another set of Winterforce for my Legacy come winter.

[grayguy]

Make sure of state law before running studs, I think here in MN it's something like $25/stud you are caught with on the street and your average studded tire has 80 or so studs which would be a pretty hefty fine all told.

[SubaruKenny_d]

The winterforce tire by firestone looks like the way to go. Do you guys hear any humm regarding road noise? I guess you cant beat that tire for the price.

[rkrenicki]

I have winterforce tires on my BG and they are loud.. but then again.. they are snow tires.

[SubaruKenny_d]

My friend runs Bridgestone Blizzak tires on their 08' Legacy and he swears by them. Not as much tire noise as I though. So I will do shopping around to see what I can get. But with a tire....you get for what you pay for. With that being said I might be spending more than I thought. :smt017

[ctbrighton]

wait another month or so when snow tires from last year go on sale

edit: i take it back, just looked now and some if not most winter tires are on sale on tirerack

[Neatfellen]

I've been shopping around as well and I have come to the conclusion that i will get either the Blizzak or the Winterforce depending on which is on sale when i am ready to purchase because I have found them to be pretty comparable in my research.. hope that helps. oh and the winterforces i have found have been about $10-$15 cheaper per tire so hopefully that helps as well.

[SubaruKenny_d]

I've been shopping around as well and I have come to the conclusion that i will get either the Blizzak or the Winterforce depending on which is on sale when i am ready to purchase because I have found them to be pretty comparable in my research.. hope that helps. oh and the winterforces i have found have been about $10-$15 cheaper per tire so hopefully that helps as well.

That helps a lot, from my research I think im leaning more towards the Bridgestone Blizzak. I read a lot of reviews about 99% of them all have something good to say about them. Whereas the Winterforces are what 10$ cheaper and make twice the road noise... In the end im just gonna spend the extra 20$ and get a better tire. Thanks for the info.

[Neatfellen]

That helps a lot, from my research I think im leaning more towards the Bridgestone Blizzak. I read a lot of reviews about 99% of them all have something good to say about them. Whereas the Winterforces are what 10$ cheaper and make twice the road noise... In the end im just gonna spend the extra 20$ and get a better tire. Thanks for the info.

Thats what i was gonna hopefully do as well to be honest im not a fan of tire noise lol so i was just gonna wait till they went on sale.

[Wiscon_Mark]

I've run Michelin Xice tires my entire driving life, and they're quite excellent tires, but somewhat expensive. The one offset to that cost I've seen is that they warranty them for 40,000 miles which is pretty good for winter tires. I think my original Xice tires on my Outback had about that on them and still had tread left when I sold it. The Xi3 models (which are the only ones available now) aren't as good as the originals in deep snow, IMO, as they went with more of an ice tread (more rubber, less siping) than a snow one.

The other budget branded snow tire I'd look at is the General Altimax Arctic:
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp ... max+Arctic (http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=General&tireModel=Altimax+Arctic)

The SF.org reviews on these tires are pretty good, and they look like more a compromise between ice and snow than the Firestones.

[Muse]

I've been shopping around as well and I have come to the conclusion that i will get either the Blizzak or the Winterforce depending on which is on sale when i am ready to purchase because I have found them to be pretty comparable in my research.. hope that helps. oh and the winterforces i have found have been about $10-$15 cheaper per tire so hopefully that helps as well.

That helps a lot, from my research I think im leaning more towards the Bridgestone Blizzak. I read a lot of reviews about 99% of them all have something good to say about them. Whereas the Winterforces are what 10$ cheaper and make twice the road noise... In the end im just gonna spend the extra 20$ and get a better tire. Thanks for the info.

Don't you mean the extra $40? You gotta match tires on all four corners with an AWD car to prevent transmission damage.

[Neatfellen]

Don't you mean the extra $40? You gotta match tires on all four corners with an AWD car to prevent transmission damage.

I did mention it was $10-$15 per tire...


oh and the winterforces i have found have been about $10-$15 cheaper Per Tire so hopefully that helps as well.

[SubaruKenny_d]

So I picked up the rims yesterday and found that the summer tires still have some life left in them, so I cleaned them up and threw them on my Legacy for the time being. Then when the current tires are worn down I will get winters treads put on and paint them a beautiful gold. (See link attached)

http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthr ... ?t=2021942 (http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2021942)

[ScaryFatKidGT]

General Altimax arctics are the best cheap snow tire, for better stuff blizzak's, conti winter contacts and Xi3's are the best of the best.

The firestone winterforce tires are good pretty much only because of there aggressive tread pattern, lots of people use them for rally-x, but they don't to very good on ice and packed snow at intersections and stuff. For all around winter performance the generals are better.

Blizzaks are really soft and use to be the best snow tire but the Xi3's and continentals have caught up and are not as soft and squishy.

I have had the continentals for the last 3 winters and there great but I think im going to try the xi3's next year

[Neatfellen]

General Altimax arctics are the best cheap snow tire, for better stuff blizzak's, conti winter contacts and Xi3's are the best of the best.

The firestone winterforce tires are good pretty much only because of there aggressive tread pattern, lots of people use them for rally-x, but they don't to very good on ice and packed snow at intersections and stuff. For all around winter performance the generals are better.

Blizzaks are really soft and use to be the best snow tire but the Xi3's and continentals have caught up and are not as soft and squishy.

I have had the continentals for the last 3 winters and there great but I think im going to try the xi3's next year
So just to clarify the XI3's ur talking about are the Michelin X-Ice Xi3 tire correct? took a little bit of doin to find the tire with just XI3 to search for so just want to make sure

EDIT: Also for research purposes for SubaruKenny. Looks like the Xi3's are $17 more per tire (on tirerack.com) then the Blizzak so looking at almost $70 more for a set.

on the other hand though the Xi2's are $11 cheaper per tire then the blizzak on tirerack so not sure what the difference between the Xi2 and the Xi3 are so if there isn't a big improvement to the Xi3 u'd be better going with the Xi2 from this perspective unless i am missing something. (prices are based on my stock tire size of 205/55R16 for my 01 BE GT)

2ND EDIT: To help ya out SubaruKenny, I took the liberty of reviewing the differences and it looks like the major difference is just one is a second generation tire were as the Xi3 is the 3rd generation while having pretty much the same features but different wording in the product descriptions on tirerack.com. also the reviews were 4.5 stars for both but the Xi2 was out of 632 reviews were as the Xi3 have had only 79 so far. so just to help ya out with ur search further :smt026

Note: haven't found any info from sites i have heard of or trust for the Continental yet but once I do I will update as well. I did not find any winter continental tires for my stock size - listed above - on TireRack.com or TiresPLUS.com which are normally my 2 stops.

[Wiscon_Mark]

Xi3s are Green-X (Low Rolling Resistance), Xi2s are not.

I think the Xi2s also have a bit wider tread sipes, the Xi3s have a bit more rubber; The former will probably excel a bit more in snow, the latter on ice. I'd snap up those Xi2s if you can as they're probably a clearance price (gone when they're gone).

[Neatfellen]

Xi3s are Green-X (Low Rolling Resistance), Xi2s are not.

I think the Xi2s also have a bit wider tread sipes, the Xi3s have a bit more rubber; The former will probably excel a bit more in snow, the latter on ice. I'd snap up those Xi2s if you can as they're probably a clearance price (gone when they're gone).

it actually says that "Most" Xi2's come with that as well here's a quote: from tirerack " Most X-Ice Xi2 tires meet Michelin's Green X standard* for low rolling resistance that confirms the tire's contribution to reducing vehicle fuel consumption and emissions of CO2 gases. "
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp ... mpare1=yes (http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Michelin&tireModel=X-Ice+Xi2&partnum=055TR6XI2&vehicleSearch=false&fromCompare1=yes)

but yes you are right the Xi2's are on close out for only $112 per tire compared to $140 for the Xi3's so its $448 for a set right now compared to $560 with the Xi3's

[Wiscon_Mark]

I'd get the Xi2s. Great treadlife, excellent ice & snow traction. They're not sporty tires, but most winters aren't anyways.