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#1
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2014 Snow Tires
Looking for snow tire recs for the SVX. Has anyone used
Bridgestone Blizzak LM32, WS70, or WS80's on their SVX. How about Michelin X-ice or Goodyear ultragrip's. Any other recommendations? |
#2
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Re: 2014 Snow Tires
I use Goodyear ultra grip on all my cars. This is my fourth year on the SVX and they still have pleanty of thread on them.
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Father of 5 sons and 1 daughter Subaru SVX for fun Hyundai Veracruz for the wife. Susuki SX4 for my older son Ford Ranger for work Mercedes Benz Sprinter for vacation trips, EZ GO Golf cart for driving kids around gated community. |
#3
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Re: 2014 Snow Tires
If you drive on a lot of cold dry roads or in icy conditions, Yokohama W Drive is a nice high performance winter tire. In heavy snow they don't have very big lugs for grip.
I did make it down a 1/2 mile long unplowed driveway with about 6-8 inches of snow yesterday. The belly pan was dragging all the way. |
#4
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Re: 2014 Snow Tires
The Ultragrips are getting great reviews online. Haven't tried them personally but they might be the next set on the Legacy. My friend burned out a set of X-Ice in 2 years, but I wouldn't consider that normal as he thinks he's Ken Block and also drives them year round (including a 4000 mile trip from Toronto to New Orleans last August, with a stop at the Tail of the Dragon). He did win the RWD class at our Snowkhana last year with them. My parents have had X-Ice's on their Forester for 2 or 3 years now and love them.
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Chris 92 Ebony Mica LS-L "A Rolling Restoration": 223,250 KM - Sleeping 2007 STi 6MT, Stance GR+ coilovers, PWR Rad, JDM hood badge, svxfiles 6000K HIDs, JDM Clear Corners, $15/15 min mod, $20/20 min mod, Energy Swaybar Bushings, Hella Supertones horns, Gold STi BBS rims, Group A lightweight crank pulley, A/C system removed, Custom header-back exhaust, Hybrid carbon/metal rear sway bar, restored headlights with CCFL halos 2008 Subaru Legacy Spec B - Diamond Grey Metallic - Sold 2020 Ram 1500 Longhorn - Red Pearl |
#5
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Re: 2014 Snow Tires
During the snow storm in Febuary, I drove about 5 miles through unplowed roads as high as the bumpers with no problem. Was it the tires or was it the all wheel drive? or both
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Father of 5 sons and 1 daughter Subaru SVX for fun Hyundai Veracruz for the wife. Susuki SX4 for my older son Ford Ranger for work Mercedes Benz Sprinter for vacation trips, EZ GO Golf cart for driving kids around gated community. |
#6
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Re: 2014 Snow Tires
I bought hankook i pike studded snows the day after buying the svx. They still have most of the tread after several years of winter only use. The only time I got stuck I plowed so much snow under the car I was high centered. Took a few minutes and a shovel but wasn't a big deal to get out. The snow was so deep it was harder to open the doors.
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Current Stable: 1992 SVX 1979 K5 Blazer Cheyenne 1956 Plymouth Belvedere - Daisy 1967 Chevy C20 1953 Chevy 210 1969 Plymouth Satellite 1949 Chevy Thriftmaster 1959 Chevy Apache 1951 Chevy Stepside 1969 Chevy Camper Special 1978 Ford F150 w/ stroked 460 1986 Volvo 740 turbo wagon 1999 GMC 2500 Creep Van 1994 Impreza Outback |
#7
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Re: 2014 Snow Tires
Yeah, I saw some of the very positive reviews. You can probably write one with all of the miles you have on them. How is the handling/ride comfort/road noise? I have a bias toward not losing too much in the way of handling. I agree with you in that the combo of snows and AWD is a killer combo.
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#8
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Re: 2014 Snow Tires
Don't know what type of winter driving is in PA. If you get lots of freezing rain and black ice I'd go for one of the new design "ICE" tires like Michelin Ice-X. They have 2 one is better in snow, the other better in heavy rain as it clears more water from the sipes. (Ice-Xi3) My dad just put a set on his car. Reviews say the are better on ice than studs until you get to ultra cold high arctic type weather. I have studded Nokian Hakapolita which I am thoroughly satisfied with. Great in deep snow.
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Peter ART Cryogenic/Slotted Rotors, Stainless Steel Brake Lines, PWR Radiator, Tranny cooler, Stebro, Earthworm's Poly Differential/front & rear swaybar bushings, Koni Inserts and Mychailo SVX Sport Springs all 4 corners, Indigo Blue paint. Liquid Silver Wheels. |
#9
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Re: 2014 Snow Tires
Icy, slushy roads, fairly frequent 2-4 inch snowfall, with the occasional large storm is typical of Southcentral PA. I hadn't read about these so I'll check them out
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#10
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Re: 2014 Snow Tires
My daughter has the Michelin X-ice on her 97 Honda Accord. It was almost undriveable in winter weather until we put those on. Always wanted to try the Nokia's but nobody sells them around here. Probably don't have enough deep snow around here to warrant buying them anyway
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Carpe Diem 1994 LSi Laguna Blue 93K 1996 LSi Ebony Pearl 84K 1997 LSi Polo Green 56K 1997 LSi Polo Green 17K 1992 Liquid Silver 206K (parts) 2009 Legacy GT Spec B 46K 2000 Volvo XC70 201K |
#11
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Re: 2014 Snow Tires
Anyone driving with the Continental ExtremeWinterContact's? Good reviews , in general. Really like to have opinions on the same car that I'm looking to put them on, though
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Carpe Diem 1994 LSi Laguna Blue 93K 1996 LSi Ebony Pearl 84K 1997 LSi Polo Green 56K 1997 LSi Polo Green 17K 1992 Liquid Silver 206K (parts) 2009 Legacy GT Spec B 46K 2000 Volvo XC70 201K |
#12
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Re: 2014 Snow Tires
Quote:
With the SVX on Blizzaks I was able to push through snow deeper than the headlights. Pulled itself out of this mess just fine:
__________________
Chris 92 Ebony Mica LS-L "A Rolling Restoration": 223,250 KM - Sleeping 2007 STi 6MT, Stance GR+ coilovers, PWR Rad, JDM hood badge, svxfiles 6000K HIDs, JDM Clear Corners, $15/15 min mod, $20/20 min mod, Energy Swaybar Bushings, Hella Supertones horns, Gold STi BBS rims, Group A lightweight crank pulley, A/C system removed, Custom header-back exhaust, Hybrid carbon/metal rear sway bar, restored headlights with CCFL halos 2008 Subaru Legacy Spec B - Diamond Grey Metallic - Sold 2020 Ram 1500 Longhorn - Red Pearl |
#13
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Re: 2014 Snow Tires
That's a crazy amount of snow. Which Blizzaks do you have? How is the handling/ride/noise on drier roads?
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Carpe Diem 1994 LSi Laguna Blue 93K 1996 LSi Ebony Pearl 84K 1997 LSi Polo Green 56K 1997 LSi Polo Green 17K 1992 Liquid Silver 206K (parts) 2009 Legacy GT Spec B 46K 2000 Volvo XC70 201K |
#14
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Re: 2014 Snow Tires
I've always opted for "high performance winter tires", H-rated rubber. My conditions are very much like Harrisburg PA since I live towards Allentown PA
Blizzak LM-22's were my go-to tire but they don't make them anymore, so whatever they replaced it with. I currently have a set of Pirelli Winter Sottozeros on the STi and they're also doing quite well. I'd like to try winter Michelins some time because I really like their summer rubber, but I need to wear out some tires first! I find that the H-rated winter tires give me very good control in cold + dry and cold + wet/slushy conditions, which is where I find myself far more often than on true snow covered roads. When I do encounter snow the tires + AWD get me anywhere I need to go, and keep me out trouble too. When the tires get down to the first wear bars I run them year round to get my money's worth.
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1995 Caterham 7 Twincam 2002 Porsche 911 targa -- now with FSI 4.0L power! 2007 BMW 328i Cabriolet 2012 Tacoma 4wd v6 Access Cab 2013 Mercedes E350 4Matic Wagon 2005 STi - totaled after 10 great years 1994 SVX LSi 5spd - sold but not forgotten 2000 Legacy GT 5spd sedan - gone after 150K miles of bliss Last edited by wdb; 12-20-2014 at 04:24 PM. |
#15
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Re: 2014 Snow Tires
I think the Bridgestone replacement for this tire is the Blizzak LM-32, which is a V-rated tire. These high performance tires with the stiffer sidewalls (contributes to better steering response?) do make sense with the type of winters that we have. I'm sure that you give up a little traction, as compared to some of the "deep snow" tires but, I'm biased toward retaining as much steering response and other handling characteristics as possible. Having the AWD + LSD should make up the remaining difference in snow traction. These and the Michelin X-ice are certainly expensive though.
I'm exploring some less expensive options before I pull the trigger (Continental, Goodyear Ultragrips, etc). Quote:
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Carpe Diem 1994 LSi Laguna Blue 93K 1996 LSi Ebony Pearl 84K 1997 LSi Polo Green 56K 1997 LSi Polo Green 17K 1992 Liquid Silver 206K (parts) 2009 Legacy GT Spec B 46K 2000 Volvo XC70 201K |
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