don't tell that to some of the above who'd rather just cancel their plans and stay home or better yet, bobsled their way to their destination! If you learn how to drive your car sideways, why waste money on winter tires

I'm putting on my studded champiro Ice Pro tires on tomorrow. Never driven with studded tires before although some folks swear by them. Judging by the amount of studs lost on these tires I cannot recommend them. I'll snap some pix of the install.

P.S. just kidding, no disrespect intended

 

Staying home is actually great advice for those that can. I like to do stuff all year round and snow is not going to stop me.

I love to drive sideways, but that is either on the track or off road. Being able to slide it around still wont' help you when someone else loses control and you need to stop fast or find a way around them.

 

Unfortunately, in Quebec, most places don't let us off work for the four months of the year there is snow on the ground! I mean, if you live in a place were you get like two or three snow storms all season then don't bother, on those days call in sick at work and stay home but like I've said before, in Quebec winter tires are mandatory by law starting the 15th of december for the duration of winter!

Speaking of which, I'm very much contemplating installing a fumoto valve but I'm worried about all the hard chunks of snow/ice rubbing on the undercarriage. Of course I'll do my best to avoid them but those manoeuvres are often impossible to perform safely when driving in traffic... Anyone in Canada/hard winter country ever have a bad experience with a fumoto valve? They do stick out slightly from the drain plug so I'm slightly concerned.

 

I have a 2010 fit and I went the downsizing route. Bought a set of used american racing 14 inch and put a set of firestone winterforce tires 185 70 r14. still waiting to test it out in the snow because we haven t had any yet.

 

Was up in the Northeast Kingdom the last two days in VT (for those that know, up near the windmills) and I had to take the fit on some back roads (single lane through an oversized culvert to go under the highway). The Hankook all seasons did ok until I had to go up a fairly steep hill. fortunately, the base of the hill was only a few hundred feet from where I had to work so I hiked it. The snow was about 2" and moderately slippery. I wish I had my General Altimax Arctic on at that point as they would have had no issues going up any of the hills. The tires really do make a major difference.

I think i know what I'm doing this weekend... swapping wheels out.

~SB

 

I have some Continental winter tires on 15 inch steel rims on the 2011 Sport Fit. Don't like the tires at all and wish they would wear out so I can get another set. Going through a winter on a set of all seasons with the amount of packed hard snow and ice on the roads isn't worth the risk and a set of snow tires and rims will extend the life off the all season tires and allows me to run a dedicated set of summer tires instead of all season as well.

 

Today i went in to have the tires i purchased a week ago installed and it turns out that there are no Nokian Hakka R in the nation (175/65/16), messed up huh?
Kal tire offered me an alternative, yokohama ice guard ig20.
Im kind of pissed off because i drove almost 30 km one way to find out they dont even have them.

What would you do next?

 

Michelin Xi3 is what I'd go for.

 

Well you go online and check the inventories of Discount Tire, Les Swab Firestone and Costco in Bellingham WA across the border. Your $ is at par and there is lots to do and see. Plan your crossing time so you don't have a big wait at the border. Lots of good beer to be had AND it's cheaper at Happy hour! I was quoted for my 07 Fit 195 55 15 Blizzack WS6D (no studs) $584.08 and they are in stock at Firestone on State St. 360 738-1650 Enough info?

 

There is one thing you have to consider first, that if the tires are not made in USA or Canada you pay 5% duty plus 12% HST (British Columbia taxes).
Not to mention the state tax in Bellingham
Which btw i have already looked into, is not worth it. Thanks for the suggestion though i appreciate it..

I got quoted out the door, 1000 nokian Hakka R, which are no where to be found in Canada hahaha

 

Nah, they have Nokian Hakka Rs in Quebec, a bassist in one of my bands had them installed on his acura and he paid about 800$ for a set. Perhaps, there aren't any in the particular size you are looking for. I'd opt for Hakka 7s, they are available in studded and non studded form.

I'm running studded tires now and I must say, on bare concrete, it's rather easy to spin out the tires when you gun it in first.

 

I should correct myself when i said 1000$ out the door, this does include steel rims and everything in between (fee's, install and blah blah blah).
And it is a particular size that i am looking for, which is no where to be found.

 

I guess that price is not bad then. If you can't find that size and you are buying rims, have you considered getting smaller rims? I'm running 14" del sol rims with my winters. They look kinda funky but it's pretty good all in all and have the benefit of a mushier ride, which is nice since you get knocked around anyway in winter driving.

Here's an idea: find some winter rims on kijiji/craigslist or new or whatever, throw on some old tires that suck and have little tread left, drive down to washington state (or wherever you can get the tires), swap out the tires (dispose of the old) and drive back. It's not like the customs officer will ask you if you happened to change your tires during your trip. Oh yea, and don't forget that bottle of scotch/bourbon etc you bought at the duty free on your way back

 

Or stick a set of Michelin Xi3 on some steel rims and save yourself a whole pile of trouble. I've had Hakkas on two cars, but I have Xi2 on my Audi and Xi3 on my Fit. IMHO the Michelins are every bit as good as the Hakkas and they are way way easier to find.

Some of the Blizzaks get very good reviews but it's pretty common to hear people talk about them wearing out rather quickly.

 

Thanks for the info! I've read that Hakka's are pretty much the best but that X-ice are nearly as good but offer better bang for your buck.

I've long been wondering which was the winner of the X-ice vs Blizzak battle...

 

Shopping for winter tires can be a painful experience ... I know, I've agonized over which to choose on several occasions. On my last Subaru (an STI) I chose Hakkas ... they really failed to impress me. On my current Audi (BTW, it's pushing 420 bhp) I chose Xi2 and have been very impressed. With my Fit is was therefore a no brainer to go with Xi3.

But the above is my experience, and life's too short, so having discovered how good the Xi2's are on a 420 bhp car it was an easy choice for my Fit. And my next set of winters will be Xi4's!!!!!!

 

How is the tread life on the michelin xi3.
I choose the nokian tire for its high performance in wet and slushy conditions rather than full blown snowy conditions as i won't be in these conditions all the time in the city.

Like i said earlier in the forum, i had dunlop wintersport sp M3 but they don't make them in the size i want (or least most dealers don't or can't get them).

hearing that the xi3 performs better in snowy conditions rather than ice,snow,slush.

I know there is much to know about tires and people have their own opinions but so do reviewers. Others probably suffer as i am right now as far as what tire to pick.

Im essentially looking for a tire that has good tire life (even if harder tire tread) but mostly slushy, rain, ice conditions rather than driving on "snow".

 

The reviews I've read put he Michelin Xi2 and Xi3 right at the top of the heap, with them getting 3 to 4 years of use provided you take them off in the summer. I've ran Blizzaks, Nokian X and WR, Goodyear Ultra Grips, and one of the old style Michelin ice tires. With my experience with all of these, right now I'll call the Xi2 right there with the Hakkas. I have never experienced the Xi3, but sure would like to.

I installed the oem sized 15" 175/65R15 Michelin Xi2 because I caught them at a real good closeout price on TireRack. Nice quiet tire on bare pavement at highway speed. They sing a bit on wet pavement. The handling is excellent for a winter tire on bare pavement, almost lke the old Hakka WR 4 season tire. We have had one really good snowfall, about 5" of wet heavy icey stuff, and the Fit with the Xi2 handled it reall well. I tried the steepest, and I mean steep, hill in town but the darn Stabilization Control kicked in about 3/4 of the way up and killed my power. The hill had not been plowed at all. During the winter months most people go the long way around the hill to get to the other side. It is basically a travel at your own risk road in the winter time. I think I could have made it up if that had not happened. Stabilization Control cut the power from the engine and that hill was really steep and I had not power and once I stopped, that was all she told. Could not get started again and had to back down over a quarter mile to find a spot to turn around and drive the rest of the way down. That was not fun cause the snow was coming down so hard it cut down visibility. Have not had much snow on the road since, so will have to wait until we get some really good storms and comment later. But I found out one thing - If I have to go up a steep hill, turn off that lousy stabilization control, cause I can't play with the throttle and clutch to make it to the top!!!

 

Do you find that the xi tires very noisy, howling at higher speeds. I understand snow tired are louder that all seasons but I mean relatively louder?

 

Snow tires with studs are definitely louder, but provide awesome traction. However, it is overkill for my area where the roads are covered maybe 2-3 weeks throughout the year. Plow systems are great, so non-studded tires do wonders. I've even made it up to ski resorts on Hankook iPike snow tires in a snow storm (not recommended).

Having tried almost all snow tires, I really like the Hankook's. Cheap and effective.

BTW, I've not noticed any louder noise with the snow tires. Not much, anyway.