Snow tire recommendations

I've read some good reports on this site of the Michelin X-Ice...I bought the Artic Alpin, mounted them on some original Prius alloy wheels I found on e-Bay (you can buy a set of 4 for less than Toyota charges for a single wheel, they're from a dealer whose customer switched rims when buying the Prius) and I've been happy with them so far, but not enough snow here to really test them on deep snow-covered roads. They were $75 mounted & balanced...the rims came with original trim rings, lugs and valves so no need for additional valves.

wildplaces

 

I think the Arctic Alpin was replaced by the X-Ice. Folks I know who have used the Alpin seem to like it.

The Michelin Arctic Alpin wears well and is very easy to live with. It may not have quite the deep snow or glare ice performance of a Bridgestone Blizzak WS-50, a Nokian, or a Dunlop Graspic DS-2 winter tire, but it will be better than an all-season tire.

 

The dealer I bought it from (a local wholesaler) told me its better on ice than the others you mention, but not as aggresive in deep snow.

wildplaces

 

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The 11/05 Consumer reports listed the Michelin X-Ice as #1, especially for areas with bad winters.

It's 2nd overall choice, & #1 for areas where winters were not severe, was the Viking SnowTech, by Continental Tire. The price for these are about 1/2 that of the Michelins

Other top picks were the Blizzak WS-50s and the Goodyear UltraGrip Ice

 

I've had a winter on my Michelin Xice now and just got them back on for this year. I can detect no mpg drop due to the tires. MPG gets as good as ever on the warmer days.

I still like them except on ice when I wish I had studded tires. On snow they are great and on dry roads or in rain they are closer to regular tires than any snow's I've had before.

They seem to be wearing well too.

Last year I had trouble twice. Once in an icy flat intersection. I got across it really slow.

The other time I was going up a hill and stopped to see If I could get going again. (No one behind me.)
I couldn't!

I backed down and then went up the hill. This was a steep hill I used to avoid in winter in my previous car.

So wet ice is the only real problem.

Tires are very quiet too.

 

I just ordered the Blizzack Revo-1's from Tirerack.com. I'll let you know how they are once I get them, put them on and we get some snow!

 

I have Goodyear TripleTreads. Live at 9600 feet in the Colorado foothills and we have had three snows and the car handled great. I don't use a snow tire because we can get snow from Sept through June and I don't won't to have a snow tire on that long when it is usually sunny and dry. My feeling is if it snows more than a foot the car won't go over it anyway and I will be taking the 4Runner. The Prius however with VSC is much better in snow than the SUV. I just couldn't make it skid!

 

What effect, if any, have you seen on mpg? I understand the X-Ice has very low rolling resistance, which seems inconsistent with traction. I just installed a set of Michelin Hydroedge treads...great in snow, but lousy on mileage.

 

My wife called me and thanked me for getting the Blizzak Revos from Tirerack.com.
The winter performance was flawless especially compared to the stock tires.
It looks like there is a 3 MPG hit but that could just be the cold weather.

Blizzak Revos mounted on TireRack.com alloy wheels get a thumbs up!

 

I got my winter treads at the Tire Factory. Four steel wheels, tires (Nokian Nordman 1), mount and balanced, $751 and change delivered to my door.

We live in Western NY south of Buffalo in the hills and get dumped on by lake affect snow. These are by far the best winter tires I've had and will get them again for sure. As for the MPG hit I'm not sure but I don't really care that much because if you can't go, all the MPG's in the tank won't help you a bit.

Steel wheel description; 15X6.5 5"100 Sport Edition F2. It's a very nice wheel.

As for the regen braking warranty thing, there looped. Why would they even say that.

 

I agree that the Integrity tires provide little traction, especially after a couple of years. Mine were practically bald after only 24K miles. :angry:

I recently put Hydroedge tires on my Prius. They certainly improved traction. The traction control/ASC light rarely comes on, although I've noticed some tire slip when starting from a dead stop on slick pavement. The downside is that I believe they have adversely impacted mileage. Cold weather and adverse road conditions no doubt contribute to poorer mileage also. According to Consumer Reports (Nov '05), there are other all-weather tires that have lower rolling resistance and, therefore, should not impact mileage as much. The Hydroedge was rated by CR as good to excellent in most performance categories except noise (fair). I suspect that more aggressive winter tires would be noisier and impact mileage even more than the Hydroedge does. Among all-weather tires, CR rates Goodyear Assurance TripleTred highest, though only fair in ice braking. The Michelin X radial ranked second, but scored a good rating for ice braking and an excellent rating for rolling resistance. It rated very good to excellent for most other performance categories.

According to CR, winter tires perform better in general on snow and ice, but fare poorly on dry or wet pavement. An all-weather tire might be a better choice, unless you live where snow and ice are prevalent.

 

I went for Blizzak WS-50 from tirerack.com. Two to three days before delivery. Does anyone actually use a torque wrench to install, or just keep tightening until the lug wrench and bolt make that high pitched squeal.

 

I have been watching this with some interest. OK here is a question. I have always had 2 sets of tires, summer and winter, in the past, at least until I drove a SUV with mud and snow tires. So here it is. I still have a my Ford Explorer, but it has over 100k on it and will not last forever. I can drive it for now but plan to keep this car for a while. The question is this, next year, or the year after, should I get snow tires, as I have done in the past. I really need to get around in the winter 24/7. When the Beast dies would you get 2 sets or just all weathers. We get little snow here but when we do they do not clear it well for several days. Opinions?

 

Well, I don't know. My neighbor has over 150K (well over by now) on his Explorer and it's still going strong.

Anyway, my $.02 on the tire issue is, well, it's a non-issue unless you get a LOT of snow. I haven't had problems with either the Integritys or the ComforTreds on my 04.

 

Added Michelin X-Ice this year. What a difference as we've had 4 storms and lots of lake effect. Now it's much better than the white knuckle driving on the OEM Integrity's. And to top it off I didn't lose any gas mileage. Since the X-Ice is metric, it is rated for 51PSI, but I haven't been that crazy. Kept it at 42/40. Now its just a job at keeping it clean.

 

I replaced my stock tires with Nokean Studded all the way around.
My Prius out drives my AWD Highlander with BF Goodrich Aii Terrain tires on snow and Ice.
A great addition I put them on the stock alloys. I'll have the stock tires put back on in April.
I would rather my wife drive the Prius than the Highlander.

 

I put on the snow tires yesterday(Blizzak WS-50). Car is "softer" going over bumps. Makes a hum at 60mph...now just waiting for a big snowfall. My wife said she'll only drive the Prius instead of the AWD Sienna because she believes in snowtires so much...she's Finnish...she's been to the town of Nokia, Finland!

 

I put Michelin X-Ice snow tires on my wife's Prius a few weeks ago. We now refer to it as The Tractor. Nothing stops it and we've had some interesting snowfalls and lots of ice this year.

However, my experience on the highway is less than satisfying. I hate the OEM Integrity tires and come spring, I plan to switch to 16" wheels and new tires. I hoped that the Michelin snows would feel better at highway speeds, but they really don't. I would call the highway ride "squirrely". I feel like I'm constantly working to keep the car on track. I also have the BT Tech stiffener on this car. I'm starting to think that it's the car and I'm wondering if I have an alignment issue.

 

My Prius with Michelin Xice snows is more stable on the highway than with the oems,
but less than with good summer tires.

Tracks just fine.

 

Mongo, helpful comments. Where do you live that has interesting snowfalls?

How many miles do you have on the snows now? I have found that it takes a while for brand new snows to "settle in", perhaps due to wearing off those little rubber "whiskers".