Tires Firestone or Nokia
I would personally recommend that you get a tire like the Nokian Hakkapelita R3 or R5. They are by far the best winter tires I have used.
I've driven about 200 miles on my new Weatherpeaks on my stock Subaru Outback. I was shocked with how good the tires performed in the downpour. On very wet roads with massive puddles, the Weatherpeaks felt like my old tires did on completely dry roads. Grip was fantastic. No slipping at all. Even when I hit really large puddles at speed I didn't hydroplane. The tires do feel slightly "softer" in the turns when its dry than the stock tires but they still feel great...and are a much smoother and quieter ride overall. Even on dry roads I feel like the car has better control.
Nokian WRG4’s are better than both in the snow.
225/55/17 are nokian entyre 2.0 which are "grand touring" all seasons i think they are more for cruising and comfort than sport and grip. Sadly they don't make them anymore (thanks Putin's war) and I'm about down to the 2/32 wear bars, I'll have to source another grand touring all season, i got about 40-50K out of them no complaints other than they got a bit loud in the past 10-15k.
Notably less road noise than the fire Stones I had before and pretty good grip. I'm happy with them.
For my SE in PNW:
~April until ~October: Stock 16” victory + stock hankooks. Great range and fine in spring/summer. No complaints until it gets cold.
~October until ~April: A second “refurbished” set of 16” victory spoke + nokian wr g4. Not enough winter for proper winter tires. They are great when it’s cold and wet, did fine in slushy melting soft ice. When the weather is nice these are way too noisy and reduced range is noticeable.
I have two sets of wheel and one set has Nokian Hakkapeliittas on them. Run them from about Nov 1 to Apr 1. And it’s really fun on snow days to be the only small car among a crowd of pickups and SUVs.
The ice performance of studless snow tires is undeniable. But if you live in an area where winter is mostly rain and powdered snow. Without much icy roads or compacted snow. Nordic winters are not for you. Stick with performance winters or all weathers. The rain performance just isn't there.
I have them, studded. They’re a fantastic winter tire. Best winter tire I’ve ever run. I’ve tried blizzaks, Goodyear Nordic ice, Michelin x ice, and some crappy Chinese brands.
This is my first year on them and they perform well on sheer ice, hard packed snow, slush, and everything in between. Highly recommended.
I’m getting Nokians. Brand new they were okay in the snow. Not good but okay. After 13k miles and a rotate the first snow was really sketchy.
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