I live in Pennsylvania so anyone in the north east will remember some of the snow from the past two years.


What are the best snow tires for this car?


This is my DD so I need it to work in all conditions. I don't like all season tires because I feel they are mediocre in all conditions, never much more. If by some chance there exists snow tires that provide pretty good grip in the dry, well that would just be gravy.


Thanks everyone.

 

Bridgestone Blizzak! Have used them for many many years for mountain driving in Colorado. Seriously amazing tires.

 

Awesome thank you. I went to school up in Fort Collins and we took many trips up to the mountains. I know 70 well and the tires held up well there?

 

You're very welcome! Ah! You went to CSU? I went to CU.

I was born in Boulder, but moved up to Evergreen, Colorado for 1st-12th grade. My mom still lives up in the Conifer area. I'm sure, as you know, that's about 7k feet in elevation so we got pretty gnarly snow storms. I skied a lot as well so those are the snow tires I used when driving up to the ski hills. I've driven in 25"+ snow with those tires. I've even done ice racing up at George Town Lake on those tires! They have held up very well. A set, for me, lasted about 4 winters. You wont be disappointed.

 

I went with the Pirelli Sottozero.
While I like the Blizzak, which had the top snow performance, they suffered on the wet & dry surfaces.

My thought was that I will be using "winter" tires from November to `April, how much of that time will I be driving through actual snow. I decided the Pirelli was a good compromise, and would still provide much better snow performance than an all-season.

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/...y.jsp?ttid=181

 

There are three categories of winter tires: studless Ice/snow, Performance winter/snow, and studdable performance winter/snow. Bridgestone (Blizzaks) are made in the first two categories.

You can learn a great deal at TireRack.com from research, tire test results, and consumer reviews.

 

+1 on the Blizzaks. I have used them on 3 different cars (MINI and non-MINI) for multiple Maine winters and have been impressed with their traction and handling. I have passed many "SUVs" with ease. Of course, having snow tires is not permission to drive as if there was no snow on the ground.

 

Is there any snow tire that is great in the snow and also relatively decent for the street? I know that I will probably just have to get winter and summer tires to satisfy my needs but I figured I would ask.

 

Not sure what you mean be "decent for the street".

I have the performance RFT Blizzaks on my Cooper S and the Studless Ice and Snow Blizzaks on our Cooper. Neither is going to match or even come close to the performance of my Dunlop ZII summer only tires. On the other hand neither of these Blizzaks is a poor performer either. Both have good grip in the dry and wet. The problem with trying to get "performance" from a snow tire is that the tread is made up of many small cuts and the tread is just not as "stable" as what you will get in a summer tire, so its performance will be lower. So there will be an adjustment in how you drive and how fast you go around corners.

Which tire do I like the best? Both are great in the snow, so this is relative from one to the other. However, the best would be the Ice and Snow (WS60) that we have on the Cooper. It has better snow grip than the performance RFT snows I have on the S. Would I switch tires on the S? Probably not as I want the RFTs for going skiing. The last thing I want to do is to need to change a tire or have to wait for a tow truck in a blizzard at 0 deg out. So I suffer with the ride (tolerable, though) and a bit less grip but still really good.

Tires are all about compromise and this is mine. Hope it helps.

 

I also went with the runflats for similar reasons. The loss of performance in a winter tire will be negligible, but when it hits -20 I will keep on cruising, for 50 miles, at 50 mph. LOL.

 

If your roads get plowed you may want to try Nokian WRG. It qualifies for the severe winter traction rating but can be run all year and dont wear out in summer. Have used them the last decade in the Chicago burbs on minivans and Subarus. I've given up on changing tires every season. The WRG is as good as performance winter tires in the snow and better than any factory all season in summer I've had. When the Dunlop Snows on the wife's justa mini need replacing she's getting the nokians like all the other cars we have.

 

I would look at the comprehensive testing done by Consumers Reports,[current issue] in which they rate many conditions, such as snow traction, ice braking, wet and dry roads, etc. They have a composite score for each tire. The Blizzak does very well overall but is edged out by the Hakkapeliitta R2, which ties it in all performance categories but is quieter and has lower rolling resistance. Tire rack does not carry them, local shops only, or go to Finland...
Also, the Michilen Ice came out on top of all of them. Since I deal with almost daily fresh snow and ice, I did not look for a tire like the Nokian WR2 which is good on various road conditions, but I went for the one that shines in the actual snow covered roads.

 

I've had Blizzaks before, and they're great in the snow and ice, but as mentioned
above, lackluster in dry winter conditions. This time around I got the Michelin
X-ice Xi3 in 185/65/15, and while they're not quite as good as the Blizzaks in the snow
and ice, they're not far behind, and they have better steering response and performance
than the mushy-feeling Blizzaks.

 

I've been very happy with the Michelin x-ice 3 as well. If I was doing it again I would probably get the runflat version. I run 17" in the summer and 16" in the winter, and the RFT will have stiffer sidewalls and likely have better steering response. I'm used to a stiff ride.

There were several times where I was the first car down an unplowed street, and pushing snow with the lower grille. I never had issues with these tires and feel confident recommending them.

Have fun,
Mike

 

Blizzaks for me. Yes they are not as good on a dry road, but are excellent on snow/ice & rain. To my mind giving up a bit of dry road grip for such good snow traction is well worth it. My .02.

 

I'm surprised nobody has yet mentioned (unless I simply missed it) the Hakka R2s - i.e. Nokian Hakkapeliitta R2 (google 'em).
Harder to find than the Blizzaks, but great in all WINTER conditions - snow, wet, dry, ice, etc. (but you'll definitely need another dedicated set of 3 season tires).
I've used the Bridgestones on two rear wheel drive BMW 3 series, and thought they were very good. Indeed, until I tried the Hakkas on a RWD SUV I thought the Blizzaks were great.
But the Hakkas are indeed game changers!
Try www.tiresbyweb.com

FWIW, though, the MINI will indeed be riding this winter on the Blizzaks that didn't sell with one of the 3ers, and which have now been re-mounted on a set of JCW R112s for the MINI.

Edit: Sorry TorchMINI - I did indeed MISS IT.

 

I have also heard good things about the Hakkas, but I'm a Blizzak guy. They've gotten me through many a winter snowboarding 20+ times at Breck in RWD BMWs. Currently have WS80s on wheels for both the GF's Mini and my M5.

I don't mind the poor "dry weather" performance, because I have multiple sets of wheels and tires. If there is no snow on the forecast, it's warmer, and I want performance, I take the 30mins needed to swap to the summer set.

 

Thanks for spamming!

 

Ive always had blizzaks for other cars and worked great.I was able to pick up some General Altimax Snow Tires for the R56. Used them last winter and definitely worked great in snow and ice. sidewalls are on the softer side so the car started "tracking" on some bumps.

 

Sooner or later, you were bound to own Generals, weren't you oeklm?

 

know me from e90post? (sorry to threadjack)

 

Though I am indeed an occasional participant over on e90, I was simply referring to the ubiquitous and decades-old General Tires commercials, i.e. "Sooner or later you'll own Generals". And it looks like you did!

 

HAHA Yeah... I got a full set for $180 picked up on Craigslist.

 

I also live in PA and have a set of Pirelli Scorpions and my friend has a BMW 335xi with blizzaks and i can definitely say the scorpions are far more responsive and handle better in the wet.

The scorpions got me through some serious snow last year, even where some SUV's and other four wheel drive cars couldn't go. Plus, as a person who likes good tires that are responsive and direct, these don't feel like winter tires to me.

One downside is they wear quickly. Just rotate them often!

 

Another vote for Pirelli. I live in CT and drive 40+ miles to work in all kinds of snow and slush during the winter season. I purchased a set of Pirelli Snowcontrol 3's and couldn't be happier. The are great traction in wet and slush and as long as the snow is below my floorboards I have no issues with snow. I'm going on my 3rd winter season and see little tread wear so far but I have always promptly taken them off once the weather warms up.