Does anyone have a recommendation on snow tires? I just got a 2007 Mini Cooper S with 195/55R16 tires. Want to buy some steelies and snow tires for the winter. Needed here in New Hampshire...

Any input would be appreciated...

 

I have always loved Blizzaks, I had them on 2 of my cars and they are literally awesome. Very confidence inspiring.

This year I am trying Goodyear UltraGrip Ice. I just had them installed yesterday so I have no information on actual performance to provide.

Best advice for you -- as you will definitely want larger rims at some point -- just spend less money and get snow tires put on your stock 16" rims and spend all winter trolling ebay, craigslist, and this site for 17s with tires.

 

BLIZZAKS!

I preferred run-flat in the winter. Do you really want to put on your spare tire in the snow?

 

It's really down to personal preference and driving habits. Just stick with name brands and do not buy cheaper offshore brands, they might have a nice tread pattern but doesn't perform well in real world situations. Remember to change your driving habits, don't expect the snow tire to all the work....slow down and you'll get to your destination safely!

 

We have the Dunlop tires (don't remember the exact name) on my GF's Cooper. Havent had any snow yet though to comment. When they wear out (got them used) we're getting her a set of Nokians. They are by far the best winter tire on the market to date. They somehow manage to make the tire a run-flat and make it low rolling resistance at the same time while being outstanding in the winter. I have a set on my Bimmer and they're awesome. They're also rated to 150 mph (like i'll ever go that fast in the snow).

 

Dedicated snow tires make a huge difference. Consumer reports recently did their review of snow and ice tires. The studless Michelin X-ice Xi3 rated the best of the studless. The studded Nokian Hakkapeliitta 7 was the best ice and snow tire.

I have been running studded Hakkapeliita tires for six years and find them amazing, also amazingly noisy. But I can live with the noise as I know that I will always get where I need to go and back home again. They certainly are not a tire for everyone.

Nokian also offers two studless versions of their tire, the Hakkapeliita R and the WRG2. Excellent traction and a quiet ride.

 

I have the Toyo SnowProxes. These are performance snow tires. So far, haven't test on snow or ice yet but it's a lot quieter than stock RFs.

 

I agree w/ Bilbo, this delusion that the tire manufs try to sell us, that an "all season" actually works, is just that, marketing hype. If you live in the Carolinas and see snow once a year, they may be okay but in the NorthEast or mountains, forget it. I have personally used Blizzaks on at least 7 different vehicles and have Firestone WinterForce snows right now, but haven't had any appreciable snow to try them out on yet. The Blizzaks were well nigh unstoppable but had very soft sidewalls and so the handling was a bit sloppy, but sloppy is a relative term to someone used to 245 to 275/40s for street tires, with almost no slip angle on turn-in. If you're not running the stop-lights Grand Prix, the Blizzaks are excellent, grippy and predictable. I got through Snowmaggedon in 2010 here (Maryland - 20+" of snow) in a 2x4 Pathfinder w/ Blizzaks and blazed through drifts over 3' high with minimal traction control intervention and never once was actually stuck.

 

I've had the Michelin Xi2's on for 2 seasons in the amusingly small 175/65/15. They work ok. They tend to understeer easily but are excellent in the acceleration and braking departments. This will be the third season and with roughly 25k on them they seem to be good for at least another year. Still well siped and rubber is crack free.

Its still only a passable car in the snow (compared to my old Legacy, now that thing would go anywhere and cost about as much as a set of snow tires).

The Nokians are awesome and are the go to tire in WNY and Ontario, but you pay good money for that awesomeness.

 

How appropriate of a time for this thread. Did pretty well today in about 3-4" of loose snow. Had nice grip...was predictable. I took it very slow.

 

Blizzak RTFs LM60 - the best
They ride well, they are quiet and I don't have to worry about changing a flat in the middle of a snow storm. I ski all over the NE here, so I know what you are up against. As for wheels, buy a set of used stock 16" off NAM here. You might get them cheaper than steelies and they will look better too.

 

Thanks for all the responses. I am well versed in driving in the snow. Grew up in Boston and live an hour north in NH. We seem to get a lot of snow here. We have two AWD SUVs and I always put snows on extra rims on my front wheel drive cars. Makes a huge difference

 

Seamusnh, they truly do, sometimes I have a hard time convincing people that snow tires are actually useful, they're like "but we dont live in Coloradah". LOL. Yea, true, we don't, but they're really that good. Have to take em for an actual ride to make a true believer. Then you pull out n motor down and they're like "ahh, see, i told ya the roads aren't that bad, all that fuss you're makin" and then you see other cars including 4x4s stuck knee-deep in snow-drifts and then they start to realize "ahhh, well now, i guess it really is that bad" ............... then you have a believer.

 

I just ordered Blizzak Runflats. Once my Coupe arrives I'll let you know how they run.

 

I have Blizzak WS70s in 195/55R16 currently. They were pretty slick in all conditions for the first 400 miles or so, but they seem pretty good in dry weather so far. Haven't had any snow accumulations so far yet, but I'm sure they'll be great.

--Matt

 

I have Pirelli Sottezero's on my MCS. Worked well for me last winter. Was able to blast up a snow covered 89/93 to the mountains.

 

The leading snow tire in Europe are Nokian Hakkapeliitta's.
Probably the most expensive tire out there but you get what you pay for.

I'm running studded Hakka 16s all the way around up here in Alaska, great in snow and on ice. Rides very nice and surprising quiet.

 

I agree that the Hakkapellitas are great in the snow and icy conditions. My only hesitation on doing them again (once this set wears down), is that they don't grip very well when the roads are dry or warm. November and early December are difficult to drive with dedicated snow tires when one is used to super summer grip. I can easily slide tires from acceleration or cornering in these weeks before real snow (Northern Michigan). I wonder if the Blizzaks might do better on dry pavement and still deliver in the real snow...

 

Can't provide a direct comparison to the Hakkapellitas, but I am very happy with the handling with the Blizzak LM60 RTFs. However, these are not sports car tires and, as with any snow tire, these are little vague in the handling department. If pushed they do feel like they won't handle the power as well as my all season tires will. But, I never felt that at reasonable speeds or acceleration they were unsafe. In fact I was more surprised with how much they would take. I think that is the nature of the snow tires. With the rubber "cut up" the way it its for ice and snow traction which is just the opposite of what you want for dry traction, they will have diminished handling.

 

Can you get Hakkapellitas online? I wonder why tirerack doesnt carry them either... I just worry about non snow handling as pittsburgh gets heavy snow one day and dry for the next 2 weeks.

 

I know everyone here is telling the OP to get these super expensive, high-end snow tires, and I will tel you right now, the best snow tires I've ever ran were a set of Federal Himalaya WS1's. Absolutely awesome, and the price won't break the bank. They are winter sport tires that are studdable and siped. I used them on my '11 WRX during the winter '10/'11 in Bergen county NJ when we recived about 4' of snow over the course of a month. The tires handled everything I threw at them, and didn't complain once. Absolutely awesome tires, and I'm considering them for both the Minis again, if we need them this winter.

 

Good point, Bullie. I don't think any modern snow tire delivers truly poor performance in the snow. Like Blu-ray players, it's probably really hard to find a bad one. The margin of difference between them is probably not gigantic.

Having runflats sounded like it was worth the extra investment to me in the winter because I can deal with being stranded in warm weather, but not cold so I bought the Blizzaks this year. Once my car arrives next week and we get some snow around here I'll let everyone know my impressions.

 

We're running Nokian WRG2's on our MINI, our Touareg and our X1. A very, very good all round snowflake rated tire that excels in wet and slushy conditions, is very capable in dryer snow and ice, and is quiet and excellent on dry pavement. And they aren't that pricey , and they last much longer than Hakkas ( if you don't need the really cold capability).

 

Have some Federal Himalaya WS2's on right now... only been through an inch with some ice. No problems at all. A little squishy on the dry, but not bad. Quiet, for a snow tire. Can't wait to see how they perform in some deeper stuff.

 

Agreed. I got some new Kumho snow tires on the MCS and my wife is driving all over southern NH in the snow and slush... No problem...