Hard Core Winter Driving.

[Lost]

Do 17s clear GT calipers?

Nope.

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[Ehdrian]

For whatever it's worth, I live in Edmonton, AB. To most Americans, may as well be the North Pole. I have been driving my GT as a daily driver in the snow since December 2014 without issue. My car does have the block heater option, but have never actually used it. If you have the premium options, which include the snow/wet mode, you'll be laughing.

 

[N123456]

I don't think I've ever seen a test where Michelin winter tires out perform Blizzaks (I'm sure I'll quickly be proven wrong).

In my opinion, after 16 years of winter driving in a very heavy snow state, both Blizzaks and Ice-X tires are a bit over priced for their performance. If you're going to drop that kind of cash on a winter tire, go with Nokians.

Otherwise, grab a set of General Arctic Altimax tires and never look back. They'll be half the price, which will allow you to affordably swap them out every two years rather than three. 1-2 year old Generals will perform far better than 3 year old Blizzaks.

Here ya go :cheers:
https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/testDisplay.jsp?ttid=181

I got the pirelli's after looking through this test and the other reviews online.

 

[BmacIL]

Which Michelins are you comparing them to? The XIce3s will last longer, provide a tiny bit more of traction, quieter and will give him a longer warranty. They have always been reviewed better than the Blizzaks.

Not saying that the Blizzaks are a bad tire but the Michelins outperform them by a little bit plus I am sure they will last a season or two more than the Blizzaks.

Either way he will not go wrong.

Here you go, the WS80 was ahead of the Michelin in almost every objective and subjective area. To be fair, they're both very close so you cannot go wrong with either, but to make a blanket statement like only Michelin or Nokian and never anything else is willfully missing the whole story:
https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/testDisplay.jsp?ttid=193

 

[White_GT_CS]

For whatever it's worth, I live in Edmonton, AB. To most Americans, may as well be the North Pole. I have been driving my GT as a daily driver in the snow since December 2014 without issue. My car does have the block heater option, but have never actually used it. If you have the premium options, which include the snow/wet mode, you'll be laughing.

I'm in Edmonton as well.

What tires are you running in winter?

 

[Bravo]

Here ya go :cheers:
https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/testDisplay.jsp?ttid=181

I got the pirelli's after looking through this test and the other reviews online.

My advice: Don't put performance winter tires on anything that isn't AWD. I made the mistake on my GTI using Dunlop Winter 4D tires (which are rated very well according to this article). The tires were good during the first winter, very average during the 2nd, and downright dangerous during the 3rd.

Peformance Winter tires are basically an all-season rubber with a winter tire tread pattern. Cornering is better, but forward grip is lost.

If you're going to drop big money on winter tires for a Mustang, go with either Nokian Hakkas or Blizzak WS80s, which will run about $170 a piece.

 

[ForYourOwnGood]

My advice: Don't put performance winter tires on anything that isn't AWD. I made the mistake on my GTI using Dunlop Winter 4D tires (which are rated very well according to this article). The tires were good during the first winter, very average during the 2nd, and downright dangerous during the 3rd.

Peformance Winter tires are basically an all-season rubber with a winter tire tread pattern. Cornering is better, but forward grip is lost.

If you're going to drop big money on winter tires for a Mustang, go with either Nokian Hakkas or Blizzak WS80s, which will run about $170 a piece.

You either drive too hard or run them when its too warm and wear them the hell out, performance snow tires are much softer than all seasons. My Alpins did 2 seasons on a GT500 and one on my car and still work perfectly.

 

[BmacIL]

My advice: Don't put performance winter tires on anything that isn't AWD. I made the mistake on my GTI using Dunlop Winter 4D tires (which are rated very well according to this article). The tires were good during the first winter, very average during the 2nd, and downright dangerous during the 3rd.

Peformance Winter tires are basically an all-season rubber with a winter tire tread pattern. Cornering is better, but forward grip is lost.

If you're going to drop big money on winter tires for a Mustang, go with either Nokian Hakkas or Blizzak WS80s, which will run about $170 a piece.

Agreed here.

I've had those Dunlop Winter 4Ds on a different car and they were decent in the first winter but not very good in the 2nd. The WS80s on my Mustang were simply amazing in the 1st and 2nd winters, and just very good this past winter. They're down to about 3/32 now so that's why and they're done. I put ~25,000 miles on them, so I'm pretty happy with the wear given their purpose.

 

[Hack]

I've had the same set of Blizzaks on my Mustangs for the past 4 years and they are still working well. Granted I don't drive every day in the winter with the GT350, but they were dailys when I still had the 2015 GT.

 

[Bravo]

You either drive too hard or run them when its too warm and wear them the hell out, performance snow tires are much softer than all seasons. My Alpins did 2 seasons on a GT500 and one on my car and still work perfectly.

While they are softer than A/S tires, the rubber compound is closer to an A/S makeup than a true winter snow tire.

Because the rubber compound on winter performance tires is more firm, you fully rely on tread depth to get you moving forward. The good news is that they wear slightly better than true winter tires. The bad news is that at half tread, they will not perform as good as true winter tires at the same tread depth.

I have about 100,000 miles of winter driving under my belt, using everything from budget winter tires, to nice winter performance tires, to top of the line winter tires. If your goal is to simply get home safely during the winter: High End Winter Tires > Budget Winter Tires > Performance Winter Tires. Every time.

Now, if you run Blizzak WS80s, you might not have a ton of fun getting home, but you will get home.

FYI - Tire Rack tests are a good starting point, but they miss out on some tire brands like Nokian as they aren't able to distribute those tires. In independent tests, Nokian tires win nearly every time.

 

[Joe B.]

I haven't used snow tires in years and never put them on the front. I might give the car to my daughter, so are fronts really necessary? She at 38 has only ever driven FWD.

 

[Bravo]

I haven't used snow tires in years and never put them on the front. I might give the car to my daughter, so are fronts really necessary? She at 38 has only ever driven FWD.

A set of 4 winter tires of equal quality is a must. There is a myth that you only need winter tires on the two wheels being powered, but that only solves one of the many issues that come with driving in the snow.

Snow tires maintain traction in every direction. They help you get moving, help you turn, and most importantly, they help you stop.

A lot of people will put two snow tires on the front of a FWD vehicle, which will help them move, but fails to keep the back end of the car tracking properly. It also hurts stopping distance significantly.

So yeah - 4 decent winter tires and she'll be good to go.

 

[BmacIL]

I haven't used snow tires in years and never put them on the front. I might give the car to my daughter, so are fronts really necessary? She at 38 has only ever driven FWD.

Yes they're necessary. Almost all of your braking and all your steering is done by the front wheels. Match the fronts and rears and the car is easy and safe to drive.

 

[Hack]

I haven't used snow tires in years and never put them on the front. I might give the car to my daughter, so are fronts really necessary? She at 38 has only ever driven FWD.

It would be interesting to try it. On your Mustang that you are considering giving to your daughter you might be ok with just rear snow tires. However, I would highly recommend not cheaping out and doing all 4. I remember as a kid driving my dad's El Camino with rear studded tires and an automatic transmission. Now this was in the days of carburetors (high idle), but it was difficult to stop that car in slippery conditions because the rear tires had too much traction and the braking balance was biased toward the front. A modern car with anti-lock brakes probably wouldn't have as much of a problem. If your Mustang has a manual transmission - even better. However, losing steering under braking is not fun at all.

 

[VinnAY]

I drove the Xi3 in 245/45/19 but only had to contend with 1-2" of snow at a time, in Kansas City is more about the temps than snow/ice. I always only felt OK on the Xi3 but I wasn't loving it. I didn't have any sand or weight in the trunk though. I spun it out a few times with my A/S on the car. Id really prefer not to have this car for snow and ice but it's pretty infrequent in my area so sometimes I just call in to work and stay home if it's shitty in the morning.

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