Best Winter Tires ?

I've used two different types.....Firestone Winterfire studded and Bridgestone Bizzak WS-50s. The Blizzaks are much quieter due to the studs, but the Winterfires were cheaper and actually had better grip, mostly because ice is prevalent around here. In the snow the Blizzaks did fine, but on ice they're as scary as the OEMs.

 

I've used Nokian winter tires with great results. I've never used them on a Prius though. I used the Hakkapelitta studded tires on Honda Civic VX and the NRW studdless tires on a SAAB 93. Great grip! They a bit hard to find, I ordered online, but worth it in my opinion. The US website is out of date (nokiantires.com) so go to www.nokiantyres.com for more up to date info.

Good luck with whatever you end up using!

 

I got the Blizzak WS-50 with steel rims from Tire Rack.com. I like them. After getting them, I always tried to spin out and brake hard on the snow on some quiet streets and I couldn't. The Goodyear Integritys were useless in MN when it snowed. I remember being unable to stop at an intersection that had snow and ice. On that day I ordered the Blizzaks. A little more road noise than the stock tires.

 

Michelin X-ICE. No problems with them and they have been highly recommended by other threads on this site. Do a search on snow tires or winter tires and you should find lots of info.

 

Over the years, I've had experience with the following tires, which I rate/rank for grip only, not noise, comfort, etc. Some are no longer available:

1. Nokian Hakkapeliitta studded
2. Cooper Weathermaster ST/2 studded
3. Firestone WinterFire studded
4. Cooper Discoverer M+S studded
5. Yokohama Ice Guard 10 studless (My current winter tire)
6. Dunlop Graspic DS/2 studless
7. Michelin Harmony (Much worse ice grip compared to Graspic DS/2)

The Cooper WeatherMaster ST/2 studded tires are on my Dad's 2003 Buick LeSabre. Overall I find studded tires provide superior grip on glare ice but can be hard to live with (Rough ride, noise, sloppy handling, etc). The ST/2 is a good compromise but the LeSabre is a tame car anyway.

Next winter I'm going back to a studded tire. Ironically, due to our mild winter up until last week, we had *far* more icy roads to deal with. The Ice Guard provides - IMHO - better snow and ice traction than the Graspic DS/2.

But the standard and overly-sensitive "Traction control" on the Prius really limits your traction on slippery surfaces. It's not smart at all, it simply cuts power to both wheels.

My Dad's LeSabre has Traction control, but it actually works. If one wheel is on glare ice, and one wheel on dry pavement (Quite common this winter!), his car has no problems and can take off fine at a green light. The same conditions, my Prius will barely creep ahead with one wheel on bare pavement.

 

I purchased the Nokian Hakkapelitta studded snows for my first full winter with the 05 prius. I went with the Jayman (Thanks btw). I am impressed with their performance. This has been a very light winter so will hold back some, but I believe the performance of the Prius with the Hakkas is much better than my previous Subaru.

 

I think alot depends on where you live, and how many miles you drive weekly. Studded tires are great, but not a good choice if you log alot of winter miles as they will wear out. The tires with the special rubber compunds are also great, but the special rubber usually goes only 1/2 way down in the tread, where after that, it becomes like an all weather tire rubber compound.

The other factor is how severe your winters are. If you had in your profile where you live, that would aid greatly.

In average winters, the Goodyear Regatta II is a terrific all season tire that did excellent in most snow & some ice.(2004 Consumers Reports as a 2nd source, which is why I got them)

When it was icy, on my wife's car, I had Weathermasters studded. It was on all wheel drive Subuaru, but we call the car 'The Tank', because nothing stopped that car with them on.

The Weathermasters non-studded were also very good and had good wear.

I had early Blizzaks, non-studded that were very good, but with alot of miles, lasted only 2 seasons.

Echoing posters, go to online tire sites, like PriusChat supporter TireRack.com and see the real people, real life reviews from many more people than can reply here. Of course here, you get more Prius specific replys.

I just ordered Michelin X-Ices from Tirerack and they were just delivered to their local installer (I am thinking I may be able to get by without installing them this year, if thye lack of snow holds out... )

 

We have experienced about a 3mpg drop with the Nokain tires.
the better the grip the more the loss i milage?

 

oops., that's loss of milage.

 

That's in line with the Dunlop Graspic DS-2 I ran last winter, and the Yokohama Ice Guard 10's I'm running this winter. Folks who run Michelin Hydroedge and similar tires - or the Goodyear ComforTred - report similar mileage loss.

As far as winter tires, I feel the minor MPG loss is well worth the extra traction, especially when you consider how long and trecherous winter can be here.