I have a 2012 Fit and wondering what winter tires you have for your fit.
I am stuck between, dunlop sp winter sport m3 and Nokian Hakka r 88, winter tires.
I had a pair of dunlop m3 for my 97 acura cl and loved them.

I've been doing research and information suggests to downsize the tire size. So, 175/65 r15 seems to be the "downsized suggestion". Any suggestions?

I live in Vancouver but will be doing northern driving where severe snow conditions exist.

 

For my 2010 Sport, I have a set of Blizzak 185-55/16 these are the same size as the factory tires. For my daughter's GD Sport I went down one size to General Altimax Alpins, 175-65/14 per recommendation of Tire Rack. Both of these setups work very well in the snow.

 

Stock tire size blizzaks here on my GE Sport. Not sure if they are really necessary here in Illinois but i do too much driving to take the risk.

 

Ws60's on my 09. On my 12 I'm running dws. I feel like I posted like 20x already. Search!

 

I have been running snow tires on every daily driver car I have owned since 1995 when I bought my first set of Bridgestone Blizzaks (I think they were the first or second generation ones). I have have also had Michelin X-Ice and General Arctic Altimax tires. I have had a few sets of Blizzaks but grew tired of the rapid wear with perfect maintenance. They also seemed to wear in the center more than the outside edges on all my vehicles, as if the pressure was low, which it never was. When they were new, they had very good traction, but that changed as they wore. With that being said, they are still extremely popular and many people love them.

I had a 2009 Civic SI that I decided to replace the worn Blizzaks with the General Arctic Altimax do to the stellar reviews and excellent price, and have not looked back. To me, this is an excellent tire in the snow, and wears very good. I just bought a set of steelie rims and a set of General's in size 185/70/14 for my 2012 Fit. I highly recommend them, and will buy them as long as they are made. Of course, as with any dedicated snow tire, handling and braking will change...big time.

 

I'm a long time Nokian WR user, but they don't make anything that fits the Sport model, I would put a set of Nokian WRG2's on my Fit in a nano second just for their wet weather performance, but no such luck

 

Always been a Nokian Hakkapeliitta guy for years now. But they are hard to find and expensive around here. And around here we often plow our way through later in the evenings when it comes to the county and town maintained roads. Anyway, this being the first winter for the Fit, I did some research and searching around. Found a really good deal on the highly rated Michelin X-Ice Xi2 tires. Michelin has come out with a new replacement and Tire Rack had a real deal (closeout) on the X-Ice Xi2. Picked the up for only $74.00 each plus shipping. Got them in the stock size for my 2012 Base - 175/65R15. There are some fantastic reviews out there on this tire, including this one by Sean Phillips at about.com. He calls it very close between the Nokain Hakka R and the Michelin X-Ice Xi2, but says the Michelin, "to have made a tire which performs extremely well in winter conditions and still retains the joi de vivre of a Michelin summer tire is an accomplishment worthy of note." And the Michelin is suppose to be one of the longest lasting winter tires on the market.

 

I want to add two things to my previous post.

1. The General Arctic Altimax tires are actually rebadged Gislaved Nord Frost 3 tires. I guess the Scandinavian drivers like them. They are made in Germany (at least most of them are)

2. My first chance to really use them was during my 1300 mile round trip to Marquette Michigan in December of 2010. Lots of snow, and lots of steep hills in Downtown Marquette. Tons of lake affect now too. I had no problems and felt very confident in a lowered Civic SI.

 

I live in salt lake, it can snow here. I was not planning on buying snow tires, wanted to try out this vehicles traction control first. In theory it should do pretty well in snow already.

 

If you have the oem Dunlop SP31 A/S on it, your going to want to get some different rubber all the way around. Everything I've read says the SP31's are useless and even dangerous even with the traction control. They say we will be lucky to get 30,000 miles out of those tires.

But that was my research and not my actual experience. But a couple years back, I drove a new Caddy STS with traction control and all season tires. It scared me to death. Would have felt much safer in my old Jetta TDI, no traction control, with Nokian Hakkas snows all the way around. Go over to Tire Rack and read the reviews on the different tires.

 

Not a big fan of so-called traction control. It has never helped me when braking or turning, which concerns me the most in winter driving.
White knuckle slides towards stop lights ain't my cup of tea. Reading the reviews on the Fit Sport's Dunlop 7000 tires regarding snow performance is horrid too.

 

I don't know, we will see this winter season as it's my first with this 2012 Fit Base I just bought a couple months ago. If it's sketchy, I will get the winter tires. You guys should check out you tube videos displaying the function of the stability assist in action. It's not something that is every working for normal driving, but looks amazing when ice or snow is involved. Saw one video of a normal looking sedan with it on or off, it was the difference in letting the vehicle drive up a ramp that was completely frozen with ice on it.

 

I personally wouldn't place my confidence in traction control over, all 4's, quality winter tire.
The same winter tire on one car will respond differently on say the Fit.
I can't recommend the dunlop sp winter sport m3 enough, 5 seasons on my 97 cl.

Some people say the Nokian Hakka 88 r are great tires, but others are saying they are okay. Were they recently bought out or has quality in them diminished?

A tire such as the blizzak i hear is good except for the tire life, which 3 seasons you would be considered lucky.

 

I'm running Continental ExtremeWinterContact in 195/60 r15 -- I went to winter tires because the first winter I had the car, with the stock Dunlops, I took a corner at what I thought was a reasonable speed (in hindsight not) and ended up in a snow bank :-/. It's alright for a dusting of snow, but if the snow is deep enough so that the tire can't hit the road, it's a bit dicey.

As an aside, I have stability and traction control on my Fit, and while they help, they're definitely no replacement for winter tires. Both those technologies help you make the most of the available traction, but if there's not a lot of traction to begin with, they can't do much.

 

Good winter traction is still all about good winter tires. Normal winter tires work well for traction in the snow, not on ice. But studless winter/ice tires are fantastic on both snow and ice! And we all know that ice can be a killer. And today most manufactures recommend winter tires all the way around if you have front wheel drive. And I know what happens when you only have them on the front. It was a real Tilt-A-Whirl ride, and not at the amusement park. Was only slowing down for the railroad tracks that were on a s-curve. Good thing no one was around me.

 

I concure 100% that real traction in the snow is about snow tires. VSA/ABS/traction control is almost useless if the tire itself has poor grip. Once you use snow tires its almost impossible to go back.

 

will see how DWS does. i hope i dont have to run snow tires in the snow again. i hate tread squirm. it's a rubbery ride.

 

True. But man does it make spring nice when you get to put new shoes on the Fit and it feels like it handles on rails.

 

true true.

 

I run the General Altimax Arctic on Integra 15" alloys for the winter. The Generals are a tad taller than stock which is handy in the winter.

~SB