Tire Question

Hello,

Have begun looking into winter tires for my son's 2005 Accord (6 cyl.)

He has finally come to the conclusion that all-weather types really
don't work out well in the winter up here in Boston, and he is now
willing to switch from the normal summer tires to a true, winter tire.

Nokian Tyres were mentioned to me with a very strong recommendation.

Have to admit that I know nothing about them.

Any opinions on them would be most appreciated.

There are certainly many other brands avail, such as Goodyear and Michelin.
Also, apparently, other foreign (Japanese ?) brands.

Any thoughts on any of these for a true winter tire ?

He does a lot of highway type driving going to and from work.

Ice really scares him, so would be looking for something "good" on ice
as well as snow; hopefully with a decent service life.

Much thanks,
Bob

 

There are probably as many opinions as there are tires, but I grew up
in Boston, now live in the Sierra Nevada, and lived in Germany for
seven years. So I have seen snow.

I have, for the last ten years (and have gone through two sets, on two
cars, my wife and I have twin Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredos) used
Michelin LTX (light truck) MS (mud and snow) tires. We now have a
2010 Honda Pilot Touring and it came factory-equipped with the exact
same tires. One of the reasons why I chose this car. They know what
tire to provide, and they are not cheap, so I knew that they knew.

Otherwise, there is no tire that is "good" on ice. Even four-wheel
and all wheel are exactly the same as two-wheel when you step on the
brakes. All four wheels slide, no matter what. Only chains work.
And now they have very small chains (which I carry) but have never
used. I can (and have) driven up to Lake Tahoe (Echo Summit is 7000
feet) in a snowstorm with the highway blocked by the Highway Patrol,
with chain controls, and they always let me through without even
mounting the chains. And they use a flashlight to check what tires
are on the vehicle.

The Michelins (two sets on two cars) have lasted over 80K each car. I
replaced my wife's, even though they had usable tread, at about 100K,
on the odometer, because I just could not believe that they could last
that long and not have some problem.

Also I have no association with Michelin. I am a 72 yr. old retired
army colonel, once raced an XK-140 Jaguar at Laguna Seca, toured an E-
Type across Europe, now driving a lot slower. Oh, and I had a Honda
Prelude once, which almost got me a speeding ticket, in Dallas. But
that's another story.

 

....because he hasn't looked into or tried the Nokian WR.

 

The only thing that is really good on ice is studs. If you do not
want studs go with Michelin X Ice. Awesome tire on ice.

 

Hello,

Thanks for advice; appreciate it.
Everyone seems to say Nokian, so that's probably what we'll get him.

One question:

With their "special" Silica infused rubber, how do they last on dry
pavement, summer, usage ?

Pretty much as long as most all-weather tires, or are you paying a big
penalty in life of the tire ?

Thanks again,
Bob
------------------------

 

No penalty to pay in my experience.

They're an expensive tire, and that's for a reason...