New Tires/Snow tires?

[kenw]

I have an '05 9-7X with 42K on it now. Its about time for new tires. The originals were great in dry weather, but horrible in the snow. Thankfully, in the two winters I have owned the vehicle we have not really had any snow to speak of. In what little we have had the truck behaved like it was traveling on banana peels. Perfomance tires don't always perform on snow.

So the question is...has anyone replaced their original tires with something that performs better in ALL seasons? Did they detract from the handling of the vehicle if you did? Has anyone put on a designated set of snows? I hate to do that in an all-wheel drive vehicle, but it seems like I may need to.

My 9-5 Aero wagon was terrible in the snow with the regular performance tires. Once I put snows on it became unstoppable! I wonder if it's the same with the 9-7X?

Thanks!

Ken W.

[chiller]

as i recall the only "performance all season" tire that is rated for severe snow conditions is the nokian, its a finnish company

[chiller]

nokian WR

winter rated W speed rated tire...i think W is 168+mph speed rated...but also rated for snow conditions...

http://www.nokiantyres.com/suv_product_en?product=610502&name=NOKIAN+WR+SUV

[kenw]

I used Nokian's on my Aero wagon and they gripped like a cat on velcro. They were snow specific though. I also have studded Nokian's for my mountain bike -equally as awesome.


The WR's are listed as a 4 season tire. Any feedback out there on this tire????

[chiller]

i have one friend who uses the wr's on his car and he loves 'em...

however i bought a 2nd set of 97x rims for use as snow rims, so I'll be looking the next few months for ice/snow tires...i find that almost anything you get will chomp thru most snow (provided you don't slide off the road) but its the ice traction that gets you...my 2 picks right now are either the pirelli ice/snow or else the hankook ice bears...

michelin has one that fits our but my friend with an mdx doesn't like it much, his comment was that it was better then nothing...he didn't shop around just went to the dealer and asked for winter tires to be put on and they put those on for him...

[Saabfan334]

I just ditched the factory dunlop 5000's with 37k on them. Felt like banana peels with half of an inch of snow. I did the research and almost went with Goodyear Fortera Tripple Treads, but they are on national backorder. Got the WR's put on today...255/55/18. They are simply awesome. We just got about 7 inches of snow and on the way to the dealership with the dunlops I fishtailed everywhere. Was scared I would get stuck in my driveway. On the way back the roads weren't plowed and I felt like I had studs on the tires. I could stop the car hard on snow covered streets with no anti lock brakes going off...unlike before. They look sharp, have a 50k warranty, have the severe service emblem, and the best thing is that they are all season so you can leave them on all year round. I wasn't sure about this but found out they are made of harder rubber for all seasons vs just winter tires that would get chewed up if left on during summer. I would suggest these tires if this is what your looking for. I hope they last. The only think I would check into is if you plan to tow a boat or something I'm not sure what the rating on them is...they seem a little soft, but work great for me!

[chiller]

i got the pirelli scorpion ice/snow, the rubber is a bit softer then your nokians, harder rubber is better for lasting longer but isn't necessarily as good in colder temps...trade off a bit that's all...