New Winter means new gear!

[Bridgecity]

^ Thanks for that reference to the Tirerack test, hadn't seen that one.  Been focusing too much on the Tyre Reviews channel, which might not make much sense because the many of the tires he tests aren't available here, haha.  I guess I just like his vids.

[Blueprint]

Looks great!

It's been so warm out I haven't even considered putting the winter tires on.

Yes it has been quite mild indeed.  My wife and I were out in our T-shirts and jeans for a walk just last week! 

Here in Quebec however, the law mandates a hard date for the changeover.  Winter tires are mandatory from December 1 to March 15 inclusively. 

I am never pressured by the law, myself.  I've been using dedicated winter tires for about 30 years voluntarily.  I usually get my tires changed anywhere from Oct 30 to Nov 15.  I've seen what happens when drivers are caught unawares by the capriciousness of Mother Nature.  Nothing quite like that heart stopping sensation of hitting the brakes in slush and sliding toward that intersection and a very red light to make you vow to never get caught unprepared again.

The worst day to be out driving is the first snowy day of winter.  It's as if we are suffering from collective amnesia with regards to driving.  For Montreal, that day is this Thursday and going into Friday.  Several cm of snow are due that day, starting just around evening rush hour Thursday and finishing just before morning rush hour Friday . 

I am so happy I'm retired.

This week's presser is on SUMMER tires    ... but for once I'm returning it midweek as I'm flying off on vacation on Friday.

I completed the tire swaps on the four family vehicles last weekend, so we're good.

[random006]

Would be interested to hear your opinion on the IcePeaks if you go that route. 

I expect I'll be happy with them, as I was with the WS80's, DM-V2's, and WS-90's I've had on various vehicles.  Like every other Blizzak generation, they're basically dominating all the winter tire tests, so I doubt I'll be disappointed.

I had the WS-80s and found them to be very good in straight line stuff, both stopping and starting.

Lateral traction, however, was another story.  Turning caused the Crosstrek's rear to slide out on more than one occasion. As well, the car kept shifting in and out of snow ruts caused by other vehicles. This was seen mainly in fresh snow during a storm.

Hence the switch to the Michelins.

[Gurgie]

The IcePeak walked away with the snow test in the latest Tire Rack test. It wasn't close. They deducted points for the wet and handling, so it didn't finish first overall.

I will be getting a set of IcePeaks for the Passport since I prioritize snow traction. The Viking 8 seems to be the best all arounder, and the X-Ice the best for dry conditions. All are good tires.

Like you GA, I am going with an 18" vs 17". 17" feels too small on an SUV that came with 20" stock. Nonsense I know, but here we are. I've been surprised how little options there have been for used wheels and tires. I'd figured with the Pilot, Ridgeline and Passport all using interchangeable tires and wheels there would be more. And most of what I do fine isn't far from new pricing.

I ran 17's on my Passport. Had the BF Goodrich Winter TA KSI's on there & they were fantastic for our Ottawa winters. Awesome in the snow!! Did quite a few drives to Tremblant in snow storms and they never let me down, and were always surefooted.

[Tortoise]

Yeah, I seem to recall that traction wasn't an issue when passing on the drive to Tremblant!

[Stodge]

At some point I'll have to work out the best winter tyres to get for Vancouver Island's winter climate. It's probably less about deep snow and more about slush (short term), ice and standing water.

[Fobroader]

At some point I'll have to work out the best winter tyres to get for Vancouver Island's winter climate. It's probably less about deep snow and more about slush (short term), ice and standing water.

Wouldn't an all weather tire with some deeper treads work on something like that?? I know in the late fall/early spring around here I always wish I had my all terrain KO2s instead of the studded Hakkas as in deep slush the all terrains are much better handling it.

[Stodge]

At some point I'll have to work out the best winter tyres to get for Vancouver Island's winter climate. It's probably less about deep snow and more about slush (short term), ice and standing water.

Wouldn't an all weather tire with some deeper treads work on something like that?? I know in the late fall/early spring around here I always wish I had my all terrain KO2s instead of the studded Hakkas as in deep slush the all terrains are much better handling it.

Possibly. I think winter tyres with the mountain/snowflake symbol are mandatory, so I'm not sure what that covers yet. Haven't looked into it yet.

[Tortoise]

You can get all weather tires that have the mountain/snowflake symbol. That seems like the best option for Vancouver Island.

[RRocket]

You can get all weather tires that have the mountain/snowflake symbol. That seems like the best option for Vancouver Island.

Did someone say All Weathers? I'm probably the poster boy here for this genre as it's all I've bought for my year round cars for the last several years. All have been Mountain Snowflake.

To date, these are what I've bought:

-Michelin CrossClimate (Prius)

-Bridgestone Weatherpeak (Prius)

-Vredestein Quatrac (new version, Prius. These were new when I sold the car to GBA. Still on the car)

-Vredestein Quatrac Pro (Audi TT, Audi A5, Audi S8)

-Vredestein Quatrac Pro+ (put on BZ4X today)

All of these tires have won or finished near tops in All Weather tire testing, either from Tire Rack or Autobild in Europe.

As you can see I'm a fan of the Vreds in particular. I was absolutely shocked by how unstoppable they were with AWD in deep snow. The Audi TT in particular could easily maintain forward progress with these while dragging the undercarriage in deep snow. Even from a dead stop. But also the wet weather performance, ride quality, quiet and the overall sporty performance in dry. Thede are easily the most high performance oriented in the dry driving like a high performance all season tire. I immediately noticed quicker turn in on the BZ today with these. I'm not sure if their European design and market focus played a hand in any of this.

I REALLY wanted to try the new Goodyear WeatherReady (made in Canada!) as they are a new top pick. But I just couldn't source a set. Likely due to me waiting until November and the odd tire size (235/50/20). Sourcing the Vreds was likewise very difficult this year. Apparently, there were only 4 left in the country and nobody seemed to know where they were! I found out after the fact that thesee are now discontinued as the new Quatrac Pro 2 is about to be released. So only remaining stock was left while waiting for the new Pro 2 to drop.

So yea, I like all weathers and won't be going back to dedicated winters. I still think that for some, dedicated winters might be better. But the testing numbers were often close to winters (maybe 8 feet worse braking, a second or two track time, a second slower in accelerating, etc) that I couldn't appreciably tell the difference. Like, I mean I could a bit but it was never enough for me to say "I wish I was on winters!" I never even remotely felt unsafe or anything similar in any situation.

And they seem to be getting better and better.

[Stodge]

Geez I must not have been paying attention to the market for a while as I've never heard of Vredestein.

[RRocket]

Geez I must not have been paying attention to the market for a while as I've never heard of Vredestein.

Mostly a euro band that has only become widely available in the last few years in North America.

One of the unique "quirks" of this company is they hire out the aesthetic design of the tires to famed design house Giugiaro Design, responsible for some of the greatest car designs.

In addition, they've used ItalDesign for some of the aesthetics and are responsible for the aesthetics of the new Quatrac Pro 2

https://www.italdesign.it/en/project/vredestein-quatrac-pro-2/

[Tortoise]

I really like the Vredestein A/S tires on the Golf and wouldn't hesitate to get them again.

I've never really considered all weather tires, mostly because the worse it's snowing the more likely I'm driving to the ski hill.

Also, I figured they would wear faster in the summer, so it would end up being a wash with respect to cost.