Winter tires!

superhatch

It's about the time when I start thinking about my winter setup. I've got a set of 14"s in the basement that I'll be throwing some General Altimax Artics on but I have a few tire size choices.

I noticed the original 14" tire for the RT was 175/70/14. I'd like a little more tire than that so I think I'm moving up to a 185, which has two choices: 185/65 and 185/70. The /65's are a +0 so that's my first choice. Can anyone think of any reason going with a /70?

absolutetinting

I have 185/65-14 winter ipike. Love them. I had them on my ek, now they'll even be better w/ rt4wd.

doitdub

I'm rockin old school BFG Winter Slaloms and they rock. New ones coming out this fall too.

suspendedHatch

Thinner tires do better in the snow.

Michelin Xice2 are excellent. I had them on my EG hatch with LSD and it absolutely killed on the snow and ice. They don't make them in the size I need for the wagon, so I got some General Altimax RT. It should do just fine since it's 4WD.

quarters

I roll on STUDDED I*Pike's. Nothing slays winter conditions like studded tires. It's funny watching 4x4/awd's slide down the hills around here because they think 'oh i'm 4wd, i can do anything.'

The_Head

I thought original tire size was 185/70 R14.

Anyways, I got some Blizzaks on Enkeis for mine (old pic) 195/55 R15. They are really nice.

superhatch

I've had Blizzaks, and Snowsport 210s on other civics. The Blizzaks were awesome tires, but you pay the price for them too. The Snowsports were really soft and were almost out of tread before the end of the snow season. I have put on the Altimax Arctics on two vehicles now and think they perform as well as the Blizzaks. The price difference between the Generals and Bridestones is 17/tire at a 185/70/14 which isn't a ton, but makes the purchase worthy of consideration.

In WI you can't run studs unless you are a postal worker. My dad is a rural carrier and ran them for one season and didn't really like them. They are great if you have hard pack on the roads all winter, but on dry roads (most of the winter driving here in WI) starting, stopping and turning are all compromised because you're riding partly on the studs rather than the full grip of the tire.

suspendedHatch

I'll second that. I'd take the Altimax over the Blizzaks. But the Michelin Xice2 kills them both.

I'm not a fan of studded tires but then again, they're not needed here in Salt Lake. With the Xice2 I was able to park in frozen gutters and take off with no slippage, much to the consternation of my coworkers at the repair shop I was working at at the time (thinking they'd have a good laugh on the San Diego boy).

The_Head

Just because I posted that I run Blizzaks does not mean I thought they were the best. I just happen to have Blizzaks. This set of rims/tires are leftover from a different car that I sold nearly 2 years ago, a 1992 Integra. I've never owned a set of winter tires before these. I just got by with all season tires.

superhatch

^ Gotcha.

I don't think I can ever go back to all seasons after running winter tires in the snow. I will check out the pricing on the Xice2 for my set this winter!

nerdariostomp

I enjoyed my set of blizzaks for sure. They were only 40 bucks for all 4, but they were nice as hell and I drove on them after winter for a bit and they held up nicely. I'd buy em new again if I had to.