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Winter Tires Toronto?

4K views 24 replies 11 participants last post by  cocal 
#1 ·
Folks,

Are any of you using winter tires on your truck? I am currently running 255/50/19 Michelin Latitude HP's but unsure of buying a separate winter set up.

Thanks

GSD
 
#3 ·
I was researching 19" winter tires to swap out the Pirelli's I have now. Very hard to find 19s. So I'm going to either by used rims (17s or 18s) and put winter tires on those. Lots more choices in those tire sizes. Then each season I can do the swap myself. I may even be tempted to buy a tire/wheel package from Tire Rack with the TPMS sensors built in. Expensive, but complete and easy (Road Force balanced too).

My current all season Pirelli's are terrible in snow.
 
#5 ·
I'm using Bridgestone Blizzak DM-V1 winter tires on the stock rims (255/55R-18).
 
#7 ·
I picked up a set of Blizzak's for my '06 ML 350, couldn't be happier. So much better than all-seasons. I'd been driving big circuits (Toronto -> Montreal -> Ottawa -> Algonquin Park -> North Bay -> Toronto) for 4+ years, and the first winter I had the new tires, I couldn't believe the difference. I'll never go back to running on all-seasons in the winter again. The side benefit is that this round of rubber (new all-seasons & winter tires at the same time) should last me another 8 to 10 years now that I'm not putting on so many miles.
 
#8 ·
Never had a 4matic before. Always FWD or RWD cars but now that I have a 4Matic GLK 350, I wonder how it's going to behave on snow or ice.

Anybody can share their experience? Since FWD drifts from the traction wheels, I'm used to responds accordingly when I drift on on ice but what to expect from a 4Matic?
 
#11 ·
I would go with the Hakkas anytime over Blizzaks. The latest R2s have beaten the Blizzaks on ice.
The R2 tread is softer, but as durable as the Blizzak.

I got sick of switching so I use the Nokian WRG3 on the wagon and WR SUV on the MLs. Both are fully snow rated and also all season.
They last about 55k miles on the ML and about 50k miles on the wagon.
 
#13 ·
I started with Nokian in about 93-94 and have not looked back. Glad to see other Nokian lovers on the forums.
A W163 owner that now has a W164 named Stewart here from Boston had the Nokia WR SUV tires on his W163 and loved them.
I am not what he has on his W164.
 
#15 ·
I'm running Pirelli Scorpion Winter tires 265/45R20 for a couple of seasons now.
 
#16 ·
I was greeted with 2 flats last night on the '05 E320. With the car on jack stands I took the wheels to the local Nokian rep and ordered a set of WRG 3's. Salesman had never heard of those tires before and was curious why I would want them. No winter tire switching was the perfect answer for him. Also the 4 - 5 day delivery is enough time to get the front end work done on the CDI (ball joints, control arms, maybe brakes etc).
 
#17 ·
I think you will be pleased.
I just installed mine (4 of the G3s ) and then 4 WR G2s on my daughter's ML320 all on the same day. They did not have the G3s in her size, but I got the G2s on closeout for $115 apiece. My friend lets me use his shop when the lift is unused on weekends.
I clean the sealing areas on the wheels to smooth. Respray the inside sealing area of the wheels with Wurth silver wheel paint and then mount the tires. I hate using the black tire sealing glue a lot of shops use. A clean installation should not need a sealing glue. If your car has TPMS the sensors will reset after you hit the buttons on the steering wheel and dash. I try to keep the same wheel on the same corner of the car to avoid TPMS oddities.

One hint. If they are not balanced using a Hunter Road Force machine you should have them balanced again in 400-600 miles. It sounds like a PITA, but the results are impressive.
 
#18 ·
No TPMS on this car, unfortunately. I will get them balanced like you say. I like the idea of this all weather tire due to crazy warm spells during the winter that could damage a cold weather tire. Down here we don't always stay freezing but still get enough snow to justify a good tire.
 
#19 · (Edited)
Being a tad bit farther north we can get snow that stick on our unpaved 500' driveway for weeks and our location is very rural. So I can't plow the driveway down to the gravel without ruining the gravel and eating up scraper bars an the plow/farm truck. We also can not count on the village or county to get all the roads cleaned up. It just turns into hard pack. So the WR series of tires has been a real time and money saver for us. I can't tell you how much better I feel having my daughter on new WRs for this winter. It is only her second winter driving and she would use the ML430 that already had the WRs on it when it snowed last winter.
Drifting on the open roads around the farm fields is probably worst thing we face and they can be plowed and re-drift every hour to two feet tall across the entire road for three days. The ML and the WRs make easy work of blasting through those drifts.

I high sided the ML430 on a 30" drift once and that was the only time it was stuck in 15 winters. It has also pulled Surburbans with plows out of ditches in low range with the WRs and 2 inches of fresh snow on the road. We keep 12,000lb tow straps in each ML just in case.
 
#20 ·
Nokian tires

One thing of note about Nokian WRs is that they are one of only two all-season tires that carry the Transport Canada snowflake symbol, which means they are legal for use on BC and Alberta high-mountain highways between October and April, which require the use of either winter tires or chains. (There may be other jurisdictions with this rule, but out west is the only area I know about.) I've never heard of anybody being ticketed for driving on all-seasons, but it's nice to know you're legal!

I have 20-inch Nokian full winter tires on my ML. Noticeably better than the Pirelli Scorpions I ran previously.
 
#21 ·
That symbol is becoming accepted as international. It will also allow an AWD vehicle with that symbol to drive through passes in the US in snow when normally chains or snow tires would be required. They are impressive in the snow. They work better than the Pirelli snow tires I ended up with last year while swapping an old Beetle for a Golf A3 chassis.
 
#24 ·
You are correct. I don't like the phrase "all-season" either, and Nokian does call the WR "all-weather", but since the WR has the snowflake symbol, Transport Canada thinks it is a full-fledged snow tire which to my mind is about as all-season as you can get! I ran them for over 50,000 miles, summer and winter, and never came close to getting stuck. I have full-on winter Hakkas on my ML and can climb the side of tall buildings in a blizzard.

BTW, Nokian does sell what they call an all-season tire, the Rotiiva.
 
#25 ·
Yes Nokian makes outstanding tires, I have the WR on my wife's Outback and am considering using them on my Benz, but I don't drive it much in the winter and when I do it's in the city. I have on it Contis DWS and they do the job for me. For me the Hakka are the ultimate winter tire.
 
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