Wheel theft doesn't raise much of an eyebrow in Montreal. As you'd expect from residents of the car-theft capital of North America, Montrealers would be far more surprised to learn that a set of wheels was jacked, but the car they were attached to wasn't. So it's fitting that when Quebec became the first Canadian province to require winter tires on all vehicles, the (carbon) black market responded by stealing them off individual cars and selling them back to their countrymen. This is probably not what Maclean's meant in that contest where they invited readers to complete the sentence "As Canadian as...," and the winning entry was "As Canadian as possible under the circumstances."
The new law isn't without merit: 90 percent of Quebecois run snow tires, but the cheapskates who don't are responsible for more than a third of winter accidents. Those of you living in the sun belt may not understand how anyone can spin off into the median at speeds slower than the average treadmill, but if you live where it snows, you should really be thinking about upgrading to winter tires.
I have the TS 810s pictured. Great dry/wet performance, decent snow/ice grip.
Good write up. I wish it were mandatory or I got a discount on Ins. or something around here. Even with a light dusting yesterday I saw a few cars off the road. Both on no-seasons.
"Studded tires are the way to go if you need to trek anywhere that angels fear to tread. Even Montreal. Just be sure to invest in a set of wheel locks first."
Wes, studded snow tires are banned in Quebec. Besides, while Canada is the car theft capital of North America, Winnipeg is first on the list for 2007 (1932 per 100,000) with Montreal 7th (646 per 100,000). Las Vegas is number one in the US at 1310 per 100,000.
I had Dunlop Wintersport 3D's on my 92x. They were excellent.
I have Wintersport 3D's on my S4, love them.
I'm most surprised by the Goodyear Triple Treads I just put on my Allroad. They're almost as good as real winter tires in the snow we're having in Michigan.
I used to run Semperit winter tyres, when you could still get them. They were perfect for Detroit. Last year it was Dunlop Wintersport M3s, which were ok, but not as good as the Semperits, which are currently in the hands of a certain automotive writer.
This year, I have whatever was stock for snow tyres on a 2006 Jetta - I think Michelin Pilot Alpin Sport?? Not sure, but they are pretty good. Handling is very good for a winter tyres, ice performance is unknown yet.
I have taught a lot of people about winter tyres over the years. I was able to convince my sister to start using them in Utah - she was amazed at the difference over her regular no-seasons. No duh!
Reliability is relative. Compared to a British roadster, all Volkswagens are reliable.
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I have a set of Blizzak WS-15's (older versions) on the Miata. They've got less than 500 miles on them, have been stored in a garage since new, and look brand new - decided to give them a shot, as they were tough to turn down for $125 mounted on new steel wheels. I'm interested to see how the older snow tire design compares to the newer compound Blizzaks I've used in the past.
I have Hankook Ice Bear W300's on the Mazdaspeed 3 and I like them a lot. I actually first used them on the Miata. Not the most extreme winter tire but NJ has very mild winters and they behave a lot like an all season in the dry which is perfect for me. Mike
"Ferraris are serious cars for serious people who drive around wearing a serious expression. The Gallardo can do serious, too. It has Audi electrics and Audi engineering. But as you careen towards the next bend on a wave of extraordinary sound, half blinded by your own upholstery, you’ll be making the noise of a howler monkey and wishing you were naked" The one and only Jeremy Clarkson
Also worth a mention are the interesting Q Celsius 'retractable' studs, which allow you to use studded tires temporarily when you actually need them, and turn them off when you're done.
Quote »
Q Celsius tires contain retractable studs for icy roads that are deployable via remote control. Manufacturers Qtires (reference to Q from James Bond?) have posted an animated video showing how the tires apparently work.
"Studded tires are the way to go if you need to trek anywhere that angels fear to tread. Even Montreal. Just be sure to invest in a set of wheel locks first."
Wes, studded snow tires are banned in Quebec. Besides, while Canada is the car theft capital of North America, Winnipeg is first on the list for 2007 (1932 per 100,000) with Montreal 7th (646 per 100,000). Las Vegas is number one in the US at 1310 per 100,000.
Modified by CBJ at 11:09 AM 11-25-2008
Studded tires are allowed on all vehicles below 3000kg between Oct 15 and May 1 in Quebec.
Don't need no stinkin' winter tires....I've got Quattro.
Yeah! Stopping is for losers.
I've got a set of Dunlop SP Winter Sport 3D on the STI this year. So far I've been impressed. IMO, you can't really go wrong with Blizzak, Michelin Ice-X or Winter Pilots, Nokian, or Continentals. If you drive in snow,make the investment for some winter tires, you won't regret it.
Quote, originally posted by Jrod511 »
One of these days I'm going to break my computer screen punching you Corbic.
I have has WS-60's for two seasons now. EXCELLENT tires but they are prone to center wear, make sure you run them at lower pressures than you normally would. I ran 34 psi last year and have DRAMATIC center wear on the tire. I think this is a design issue? I noticed they redesigned the WS-60 very quickly and joined all the center tread blocks to be a continous strip in the middle, most likley to solve this center wear issue I have noticed.
I've been using winter tires since I bought my first car in 2000. Two cars later, and two sets of winter tires later, I would never look back.
Pirelli, Nokian, and now Conti Snow tires... they've all been amazing.
AND, if anyone thinks the cost is higher to run two sets of tires? It's only very marginal, since of course, your other tires aren't used for several months out of the year, every year; as such, last much much longer.
*Edit - I even have my parents (long time non believers) converted this year.
has anyone used Kumho KW17 tires? i have 195/55/15s mounted to my car right now, they're fine in the rain but the snow won't hit for another month or so, so i'm curious as to how good they'll be.
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