I am contemplating putting some winter tires on my 2002 6 speed. As you might have read in another post my roommate and I were in a roll-over accident. I might stick with the Potenza All season stock tires, or change to winter tires. Not sure if I want to put in ugly rims for winter.

What do you guys us for winter IF not stock? I am in Western Canada.

 

The stock RE92s are horrible in snow (if thats whats on the 02s). Even the WRX guys with AWD complain about those tires, I can't believe manufacturers use them. It's not that much money, get a cheap set of steelies and some winter tires.

 

You gotta get snow tires for sure! No question! I live in Ottawa and the stock tires suck! We haven't got any snow here yet but its coming. What city do you live in? Btw I have some sets of brand new Nissan OEM 16"x6.5" rims for sale off 2001 Max. I'm putting them on my 2K1 with some Pirreli winter tires (225x60x16). Sold a set of the rims to TKL as well and he likes them.



They have chrome center caps as well. I didn't want my car to have crap rims on it for the next 6months either. Email at max@cwonline.com if you are interested?

 

I went with the Artic Alpins on 15" steel wheels, with covers, from the Tire Rack. The tires have a better snow tread and winter compound than the RE92s. And, they are narrower, giving far more traction.

I did they same thing, using 14" Pirelli snows, on my '92 G20 and I could go anywhere in Northern NY, Quebec, and Ontario with confidence.

 

Go to tires.com & get a set of steel rims with yokohama guardex 600 or 720's mounted on them. Great tires in the snow & will cost less than tirerack.

 

I've got Nokian Hak NRW's on my 2k2 SE w/6spd. Haven't tried them in the snow yet, but they sure handle comparably to the stock RE92's. I've got them on 16" steel wheels. I wanted to buy a set of the alloys off PhatGuy, but the place I bought my steelies from, aren't playing too fair with regards to refund price. Until I find someone that wants to buy the steels, I'm probably stuck with them. Car looks econo now. Attached is a pic of the tires/wheels on my Max.

Albert

 

Should I expect more vibration at high speeds (>60mph) with snow tires? My snow set clearly produces more vibration and I'm wondering if that's normal or if I should have them rebalanced.

I have Arctic Alpines (205/65R15) which I am surprised has such good reviews on Tirerack. Still do a lot of slippin' and slidin' in bad snowy roads but on plowed roads they are good. Dry and wet performance is pretty good too.

 

Winters are an absolute must. If by Western Canada you mean Alberta then you will be a menace to society by running the RE92's in the winter. For fun, wait for the first snow and just try to drive. If you have the auto (TC) you may get away with it but a stick will slip slide away!

As for vibration, I have not seen any problem. I would say make sure they get ballanced properly, reballanced if neccessary. I run 205/65/15 Blizzaks and they are not bad, still some sliding but only when I want to.

I have to agree with Javamax, the Arctic Alpins are as useless as **** on a bull.

 

I was going to get a set of Blizzaks and cheap steel wheels from tirerack.com for the winter. . . don't really care what it looks like for the winter. Been in Vermont alot lately and will probably need alittle more traction!

 

Blackmax, that is the best thing you can do. In our climates (NE US, most of Canada) it should be mandatory to have winter tires.

If you want to have some fun and if the tireshop gives them away, get the ugliest caps you can find! You know those fake wire wheel with huge center cap. This way when winter is over you will be happier to get them off.

 

Where do the other Canadians live? I am in Calgary and there were a lot of accidents this Friday and Saturday as we had our first dump and accumulation. As I mentioned in another post we were going to Banff in my friend's Malibu going 120 km and lost control. We ending up in the ditch doing head-stands. The necks are a bit stiff but we are lucky we didn't have serious injury.

I took th 6 speed out today and I didn't drive fast. I didn't have any slippage but I was driving like grandma.

I will look at see what the cost would be. I don't want ugly wheres so I will try to get some half decent wheels. In Calgary we get Chinooks so there will be times during the winter when it is +15 degrees and the roads are dry.

Phatguy, those look nice. I don't know if I want to spend too much. I would assume winter tires for this car is over $200 a piece? When I had my Supra the 225 50 16 cost over $225 a piece for summer performance tire.

I am kinda sad. The weather conditions do not allow me to drive athletically, and I won't be doing that for a few months. Besides, I get brown dirty slush all over the car. At least I have one coat of Zaino on it.

 

You might want to see about getting your tires rebalanced.

Well if you read the detailed reviews on the tires you'll find that Arctic Aplines do not have good deep snow ratings. They are not the kind of snow tires you want if you're driving on unplowed roads. However if you drive mostly on packed snow and ice and wet roads they are supposedly the best, or one of the best snow tires. I plan on getting a set of 4 on 15" steel rims for my 2002 when it comes in.

You might want to also keep in mind that even the best snow tires can't stop you from slippin' and slidin' if you're going too fast, or are too heavy on the pedal.

Stereodude

 

The Pirreli 210 I have are H-rated (210Km/hr) 225 16 60. These tires are better than my stock 17" ones on dry roads! You should be able to get them for $190ish/ea A good investment being in Canada for sure! They handle good on dry roads and you can still open your car up to 200+ vs V-rated at 160km. With about 5months of snow they are a good investment!

 

The Nokian Hak NRW's, Hak Q's or Hak 1's (without studs) would cost $146.95 CDN each before taxes to fit Phatguy's wheels. I have the NRW's on my car and they would fit Phatguy's wheels perfectly.

Albert

 

Winter is coming to Cleveland, and likely this week....so I just put my Borbet type B's with 215/60-R16 on this afternoon. I went with the 60 series to put just a bit extra rubber height between my rims and the large potholes we have here between Nov and April

If you have any chance of snow in your area, get the RE92's off the car - they are total garbage in snow. The first snowfall last season (approx 5") nearly totaled the my then new car - I couldn't get it to steer, brake or go forward very well. It did slide sideways very nicely on a banked road, though ( I liked the "menace to society" comment)

I was on the internet to tirerack.com that evening.