My Winter Wheel Package

[ice445]

I'm considering the Blizzak WS80 right now because mostly they are on closeout - there seems to be a newer model WS90, though it's like ~200 a tire. My father swore by Michelin's x-ice - but man ~200 a tire is a lot to swallow no matter how I look at it at either brand, unless I go Closeout Blizzak WS80 of course. But going closeout, older model I'm not sure I want to do that, I'd like to be in 'current' models of tire.

So the Continental VikingContact 7 winters have caught my eye, the price seems solid, (~170) and they look to be a 'new' tire so the latest like research and tech is in them. Being new is not always going to be 'the best' but I'm willing to bet they will perform very well. Has anyone run them here by chance last year? (I think they launched last year actually...) I kinda like the tread pattern too? If that's a valid reason as well.


I'd like to use some dedicated wheels also and not trash up my OEM non-Performance Pack wheels (as they look kinda nice even being an 18" Imo). So I'm looking currently at American Racing AR928 as they kinda give me a good vibe and are still near the bottom of 'wheel cost'.

Ugh .

I'm not sure, but I just know I should commit to winters, It'll give me a nice peace of mind, and also the idea of me potentially driving easily right by a struggling SUV or Truck (which could in theory happen as 4-wheel drive doesn't solve everything) would be funny to me in my bright green Mustang GT. lol

WS80'S are amazing tires, they just won't feel sporty. Especially in temps over 45f, they feel mushy when cornering. But their grip level in the snow and slush is exceptional.

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[Fly2High]

Just to post an update. My 275/35R19 have been pretty good in snow. I have even passed a few SUVs with all seasons that were slipping. Got really funny looks as I, a rear wheel V8 muscle car, passed them by with no signs of slip. I do religiously use snow/rain mode.

I decided to put the snows on a separate set of wheels. Since I already had the 275's, I used the chart to find the narrowest wheel that would still fit that tire. I ended up with the 19x9.5ET22 for the front and 19x9.5ET45 for the rear. I wanted to keep the offset as close to stock as possible. These wheels will allow me to go as small as a 245 or 255 if I so choose next time.

 

[samanosuke47]

I had ended up going with the Michelin X-Ice's which are a solid citizen of a tire.
I still have them on my stock GT wheels and will very likely switch back to them this winter season, even though, I fully expect them to be over kill here in North Carolina.

I just know I don't want to damage my Summer Nittos in the cold. lol Or... wreck either from cold hard tires.

 

[Fly2High]

I had ended up going with the Michelin X-Ice's which are a solid citizen of a tire.
I still have them on my stock GT wheels and will very likely switch back to them this winter season, even though, I fully expect them to be over kill here in North Carolina.

I just know I don't want to damage my Summer Nittos in the cold. lol Or... wreck either from cold hard tires.

I fully understand. My PP2 got squirrelly as soon as the temps dropped below 50 F. In the high 40's , the needed a couple miles of warm up and the Cup 2 were sort of OK. As we got lower, I had to swap them. now with two sets of wheels mounted, I just do a swap in Oct and April when I know the low temps are traversing the 50 deg line. PS4S that I have on now aren't as bad but they are not much better below 50 either. It is safe insurance to swap earlier than too late.

 

[samanosuke47]

I fully understand. My PP2 got squirrelly as soon as the temps dropped below 50 F. In the high 40's , the needed a couple miles of warm up and the Cup 2 were sort of OK. As we got lower, I had to swap them. now with two sets of wheels mounted, I just do a swap in Oct and April when I know the low temps are traversing the 50 deg line. PS4S that I have on now aren't as bad but they are not much better below 50 either. It is safe insurance to swap earlier than too late.

Yeah exactly that, when I originally made these posts in this thread (lol) I lived in Nebraska, I will not even try a summer tire in single digit winter days myself. I've since moved back to the milder east. For now at least. lol Had I been living Here in NC and was looking for a 'winter' option I'd likely just go with a High Performance All Season and call it a day.

But I'll wear these out probably and just 'deal with squishy' over winter, as what you described in my experience seems to be the Michelin X-ice's too. They are just 'soft' even in cold which is the point I do suppose. But winter shouldn't be too long here, and like mentioned once average is in the 55 degrees I'll swap my summers off for the winters and then yeah. I've got a lot of life on them, maybe i'll get annoyed and go to a high performance all season on those stock wheels but we shall seeee

 

[Superman112]

Any suggestions for a decent tire for the colder months but no snow just rain? I have a 2017 with the Odin supercharger kit on it. Currently running nitros 555R2s but need something to tide me over till it gets too cold out.

 

[T.O.Bullitt]

Anybody have experience with Hankook Winter I*Cept Evo 2 tires?
Picked these up together with the like-new 50th anniversary package wheels they came on at a really good price.
Online reviews for them are generally positive but can anyone tell me how good they are on a S550 Mustang?
Haven’t put them on yet, still another month or so before I do that. The pic of one of them on my Bullitt was taken when I was just making sure they would clear the big Brembos (they do).

 

[Bikeman315]

Any suggestions for a decent tire for the colder months but no snow just rain? I have a 2017 with the Odin supercharger kit on it. Currently running nitros 555R2s but need something to tide me over till it gets too cold out.

Although there are specific Ice/snow tires the high performance winter tire is the category you need to be looking at. Honestly they are all decent.
Here’s a good start….
https://www.tirerack.com/tires/types/perfCat.jsp?perf=PPW

 

[EFI]

Any suggestions for a decent tire for the colder months but no snow just rain? I have a 2017 with the Odin supercharger kit on it. Currently running nitros 555R2s but need something to tide me over till it gets too cold out.

The Michelin Pilot Sport A/S3+ I posted work really well in the rain.

 

[Jimmy]

If you're looking to save some money, I got the Nexen Winguard Sport in 2019 and have driven through two Canadian winters with them. I had X-ice's on my previous car and the Nexens don't seem any worse as far as grip in the snow.

 

[bellamor]

I just got a new set of wheels and tires. I always opt for the Michelin Xi3, because I am confident in its capacity to withstand snow and sleet. I consider it as one of the best winter tires because of its fantastic grip.

 

[Fly2High]

Anybody have experience with Hankook Winter I*Cept Evo 2 tires?
Picked these up together with the like-new 50th anniversary package wheels they came on at a really good price.
Online reviews for them are generally positive but can anyone tell me how good they are on a S550 Mustang?
Haven’t put them on yet, still another month or so before I do that. The pic of one of them on my Bullitt was taken when I was just making sure they would clear the big Brembos (they do).

I have not tried those tires but I would like to make sure we all are on the same plane when it comes to winter driving.

If they are the same width as stock, they will not be as good as narrower tires. In snow, narrower is your friend.

Look at the tread. The more and wider gaps and sipes a tire will have, the more snow it will collect which is desired. Snow sticks to snow better than rubber does. You want the tire to collect snow.

The more gaps and sipes, the less they will handle well. There is a reason track tires do not have gaps in the compound.

Coefficient of adhesion of snow vs dry pavement is about 4 times lower. It is about 3 times lower than wet asphalt. Drive smart. No winter tire in snowy conditions is going to give you the traction anywhere close to dry or wet conditions. Drive accordingly.

Will a winter tire designed for snow be better than most all season tires in the snow, probably. Some winter performance tires are designed like summer tires with few gaps and sipes(if any) and are just designed for dry traction in cold weather.

From looking at their website, these Hankook tires are cold weather performance tires not really meant for snowy conditions.

Below is the tread pattern of my Blizzak LM-32 tires.

This is your Hankook Winter I*Cept Evo 2 tires

You can see, these only have a narrow section near the outside of the tire (right) that is designed for snow. I have to guess my Blizzaks channels are wider still than those in the snow section of your Hankook. The inner part (left side in picture) channels look rather narrow and might not do so well in snow. I would suspect this tire to be for performance driving in cold weather tire than a true all cold weather tire which includes snow and ice not just cold temps.

If it were me, I would go REALLY, REALLY slow if I am caught in snowy/icy conditions with the Hankook tire and avoid snow and ice at all costs with them if possible.

As for low (below 50F) driving in dry or wet conditions, I think they might be good. Of course, they will not be as good as summer tires in warm conditions are. Still drive accordingly.

YMMV.

 

[Bikeman315]

I have not tried those tires but I would like to make sure we all are on the same plane when it comes to winter driving.

If they are the same width as stock, they will not be as good as narrower tires. In snow, narrower is your friend.

Look at the tread. The more and wider gaps and sipes a tire will have, the more snow it will collect which is desired. Snow sticks to snow better than rubber does. You want the tire to collect snow.

The more gaps and sipes, the less they will handle well. There is a reason track tires do not have gaps in the compound.

Coefficient of adhesion of snow vs dry pavement is about 4 times lower. It is about 3 times lower than wet asphalt. Drive smart. No winter tire in snowy conditions is going to give you the traction anywhere close to dry or wet conditions. Drive accordingly.

Will a winter tire designed for snow be better than most all season tires in the snow, probably. Some winter performance tires are designed like summer tires with few gaps and sipes(if any) and are just designed for dry traction in cold weather.

From looking at their website, these Hankook tires are cold weather performance tires not really meant for snowy conditions.

Below is the tread pattern of my Blizzak LM-32 tires.

This is your Hankook Winter I*Cept Evo 2 tires

You can see, these only have a narrow section near the outside of the tire (right) that is designed for snow. I have to guess my Blizzaks channels are wider still than those in the snow section of your Hankook. The inner part (left side in picture) channels look rather narrow and might not do so well in snow. I would suspect this tire to be for performance driving in cold weather tire than a true all cold weather tire which includes snow and ice not just cold temps.

If it were me, I would go REALLY, REALLY slow if I am caught in snowy/icy conditions with the Hankook tire and avoid snow and ice at all costs with them if possible.

As for low (below 50F) driving in dry or wet conditions, I think they might be good. Of course, they will not be as good as summer tires in warm conditions are. Still drive accordingly.

YMMV.

Good writup Frank but I think Hankook would disagree with you.

https://www.hankooktire.com/global/...ger-cars/hankook-winter-i-cept-evo2-w320.html

 

[Fly2High]

Good writup Frank but I think Hankook would disagree with you.

https://www.hankooktire.com/global/...ger-cars/hankook-winter-i-cept-evo2-w320.html

Funny, that is where I got my data. They do agree with me. Sure, they have a snow section but that is not always as good as a full tire designed for snow. They might very well perform better than the tread suggested but they are a jack of all trades with sections for doing different things.

My point was more to compare a tread pattern and not a specific tire. I guess it is possible that the other factors can offset that. I am not a tire engineer. Either way, I would be cautious with any tire in the snow.

Still, I wish you luck and keep us informed on how they perform. You might make me a believer and I'll get some too. Personally, for snow, I am a Nokian or Michelin fan.

 

[T.O.Bullitt]

If they are the same width as stock, they will not be as good as narrower tires. In snow, narrower is your friend.

Totally agree with this and so, in fact, the wheels and tires I bought are narrower than the stock wheels and tires on my Bullitt.
Also appreciate all your other careful thoughts and thorough analysis.
Note, though, that this was not my first choice of tires, or wheels for that matter, but was an excellent deal I found online that was close to what I was looking for and too good to turn down.
So after checking tire reviews (which put these behind, for example, Blizzaks, but ahead of several other winter tire options), I bought the set from a former Mustang owner at what I believe was a super price.
And they should do for my needs.
That's because the Mustang is not our only car. The other one, our main family car, is a CX-5.
And for that car I did purchase Blizzaks for the winter.
With the Mustang, the idea is just to keep the car available for second car duty on clear winter days, as well as to make sure it is reasonably capable in case severe weather is encountered on a longer trip. This includes our annual extended family Christmas trek to my father-in-law's in Quebec, where the winter weather is significantly more severe than where I live in southern Ontario.

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