"All Weather" tires?

[thatbikefella]

Hey all. It's nigh winter here in the great white north, and I'm looking at rubber for my somewhat newly acquired Subaru Impreza wagon. I just bought new rubber for our last car before we traded it in, (duh!), so it irks me a bit, but whatever. Anywho, I'm not completely opposed to running my Dunlop all seasons with almost new tread, but I really prefer a dedicated winter tire. The fact my wife will also be driving the car makes me want something better, as well. Ideally, I'd have a second mounted set, but we are siding the house right now, so I gotta keep it on the less expensive side, for now.

So, I've seen those slick Nokian all-weather jobbies. And I've seen the price. Suppose you gotta pay to play. That said, however, Hankook makes the Optima 4S All Weather tire, not an All Season, and it's only sold at Canadian Tire. Seems to have OK reviews, from what I can find. I like the thought of something I can leave on the car year round, has great grip, wears well and takes up less space in my shed.

As far as what the car is used for? We take it camping, snowshoing, xc skiing, fatbiking, canoeing, plus the day to day mundane tasks, although rarely commute with it. Mostly pavement, but a fair bit of gravel/dirt/grass. I used to rally race, but this is an automatic, just for adventure type stuff, so it doesn't need to handle like it's on rails.

Now then, has anyone got any experience on the Optimo tires? They ain't spensif, but it's enough for me to invest right now. Gotta save some change for the toys and trips. Thanks in advance!

 

[digitaldelay]

The Optimo 4S from CT would probably be fine. Have you looked at Nokian's Nordman line of WR (all-weather) tires? KalTire seems to carry them now and they are a little less expensive than the WGR3. One thing with KalTire is they have a lot of extra charges. A $600 set of tires is close to $1000, once you add stuff like 4-wheel alignment (which is mandatory to maintain the treadwear warranty). As for Canadian Tire, they are cheaper, but you get what you pay for. For example, I've still got some studs rattling around inside my winters from when CT studded them. :facepalm:

Jason

 

[BlindingWhiteTaco]

During the winter I use to run Bridgestone Blizzak WS-70 tires and loved them. I had to replace an almost new set of tires when some *** hat slashed them one night. They didn't have the WS-70 in stock so I bought the Michelin X-ice3. Very similar tire and I have been happy with both. Tirerack has the 205/55-16 WS-70 on closeout for $101 and the X-ice3 for $125. New WS-80 is going for $122.

From what I understand the Nokian tires have the sticky winter rubber compound full tread depth, but the Blizzak and X-ice do not. Their fancy rubber compound only goes %50 of tread depth, which last I checked means normal rubber at 6/32nds. However, when driving in snow, tires should be replaced at 6/32nds so I don't think it's that big of a deal.

If Tirerack has the WS-70 in your size on closeout that is going to be a good deal.

 

[libarata]

Kelly Explorer Plus have worked perfectly for my Forester, and very affordable, produced in the US.

 

[reachdean]

I've had great experiences with Yokohama IG52 and IG20s. The IG20s are a pretty tight block pattern, so best on icy as opposed to snowy roads. I had them on my old IMpreza wagon. On my newer (new to me) Forester, I got the IG52s, which are more open, and so better in snow. Pricing isn't as cheap as Hankooks, but Yokohama has a rebate program on their winter tires at present. You might find a good local price.

Having used Nokians, they're great tires, but I don't think they're worth the premium that is charged.

I never drove on Hankooks, but a few friends have said they're not bad, though none have raved about them.