Winter Tires

europachris wrote:It came WAY before Obama. It came about from the Ford/Firestone pissing match way back when Exploders were rolling over from underinflated tires. Obama has nothing to do with it.

I am pretty sure smitty is refering to the Needing sensors in the winter tires.

Yes the TPMS mandate happened before obama, but not being able to install aftermarket wheels without the sensors happened last year, that would have been on OBAMAs watch.


Eric

europachris wrote:It came WAY before Obama. It came about from the Ford/Firestone pissing match way back when Exploders were rolling over from underinflated tires. Obama has nothing to do with it.

The MANDATE was issued by the NHTSA under OBAMA's WATCH in 2011:


From Rick's link:

But after looking up my file in the computer, they determined that my winter wheels didn't have the needed tire pressure monitoring system (TPMS) sensors, so they refused to mount my winter tires. When I protested, they presented a press release from the Tire Industry Association stating that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) had issued a ruling in 2011 clarifying that tire stores can be held liable and fined for "knowingly [making] the TPMS system inoperative"-for example by installing winter tires that their own records show don't have TPMS sensors.

Smitty, I stand corrected.

So what happens if you show up with loose wheels and tires? Tell them they go on your haywagon at home.

SMITTY wrote:The MANDATE was issued by the NHTSA under OBAMA's WATCH in 2011

Morons. All of them.

I agree 100% rberq. These pricks can't give it a damn rest for 30 seconds. Always got to legislate some bullshit that *censored* all us working class folks. *censored*!!!!

When the money finally dries up, I'll make it my duty to provide each and every member of congress a '00 GMC Jimmy to depend on for survival.

Hankook Winter I*Pike Price: $88
Summary
The Hankook Winter i*Pike is a studless winter tire. T speed rating. It has a directional tread pattern. - Check that the tire is installed to rotate in the direction shown on the sidewall.
See model overview $88

I put these on my LUV WITH studs. For a rear wheel drive pickup it did very well in the last snow storm. I also carry chains and a shovel just in case. I haven't taken them out of their bag yet. I should put a bucket of course coal ash in the back as well.

I have a 4 dr Nissan Titan 4X4.

It came with BFG's, Long Trail or Rugged Trail, can't remember. Either way they didn't last long.

Next set was the Dunlop Radial Rover AT. I've owned several sets of these and liked them. Best wearing tire I've ever owned. They don't make them anymore.

Next was a set of General Grabber HTS all season highway tires. No good in snow and only got 20,000 miles out of them.

At that time I picked up another set of rims. They had Blizzak DMZ3 (?) on them at about 75% tread life. I ran them all year long and got about 15K before they hit the wear bars. They were pretty good in snow.

I did more research and now have general grabber AT2's on. They have the snowflake emblem and come w/ 16/32nd tread depth. They also have the softer compound on top. I've owned the truck over 8 years, and this is the first year I have been able to safely keep it in 2wd when it snows (for the most part), so I'm pretty impressed with them. Can't wait to see how they wear.

According to the latest Consumer Reports winter truck tire reviews, the best top six tires were as follows:

1). Continental Extreme Winter Contact.
2). Nokian R Sport Utility.
3). General Altimax Arctic.
4). Michelin Latitude X-Ice XI2.
5) Yokohama Geolander i/T GO72.
6). Bridgestone Blizzak DM-V1.

I just bought a Land Cruiser which has a weird size tire, 275/60R18, and Continental is one of the few manufacturers that make that size tire. However, I read bad things about their quality control. They might engineer a great tire, but the quality control and manufacturing department are sub-par according to online reviews.

WOW - if anything is better than these Blizzaks, they must rival a snowmobile for snow traction! Can't believe they're 6th ... and Firestone Winterforce didn't even make the list!! I'd have to see it for myself to believe it.

Big thing with these dedicated winter tires is the first layer with all the sipes - once that's worn off, the tires don't perform much better than a regular all-season. When new, these things are unreal in snow & slush .. and even ice. I watched a guy lose control, fishtailing all over the road trying to keep up with me in a snowstorm. I had no idea I was on glare ice ... (doing 45mph!) until I saw the guy almost crank a pole. When I hit a corner, it finally started to slide, but I just let off the gas a bit, then lightly reapplied, & it straightened right out. The tailgater was history by that point.

I've noticed that Tire Rack ratings haven't made a whole lot of sense in the last few years.

The Dunlop Radial Rover AT used to be rated a top tire in the 90's. I had super great experience on several sets. They wore like Iron, went well in snow, and handled great. As new models came on the market, they slipped down the scale until they were no longer available. Too much of a coincidence for me.

For years it was also the best price game in town, even with the shipping and mount/balance added on. This year I bought my first set of tires that were cheaper than buying from tire rack. It was a mile from my home.

Still a great site overall. For info, and food for thought, ratings, customer reviews, tire specs, etc. I still use it.

Tire wear is on the upper end of the scale for me, and I find that not a whole lot of people I talk to actually know how many miles they get out of a set when they say they last a long time.

The thing with Tire Rack is that their ratings are based on people's reviews -- hardly accurate or scientific. I go by looks of the tire, and what I gather from reading comments all over the net, and on their site. It's worked pretty good for me in the past.

What happens on Tire Rack is you get people who put the wrong size tire on, then never check the pressure ... nor do they ever think ball joints , shocks, & tie-rod ends ever need replacement, burn thru the tires in 2k miles, then write up a long rant about how the tires suck! Then that particular tire gets a bad rating because people are too stupid to do maintenance.


I take the 'Rack's ratings with a grain of salt. I'm not familiar with Consumer Reports methods of testing, however.

SMITTY wrote:I take the 'Rack's ratings with a grain of salt. I'm not familiar with Consumer Reports methods of testing, however.

Yes, You have to get a good feel for who's writing on the rack. I read one review where a woman said they left for a trip in the middle of a snow storm with new tires, the car spun out, they turned around , went home, and got rid of the tires. Sounded a little extreme for me.

Also hearing soo many people getting over 50,000 miles out of a set. My brother in law got 60K out of one set on a toyota, it was the suv version of the Tacoma back in the 90's, just can't remember the model right now. Anyway I guess some people actually DO get that kind of milage. But If I've EVER gotten 25K I considered that a real winner LOL.

CR testing appears fairly scientific, but I often can't find a rating for the tire I'm interested in. Might go see if mine are on there now that you mentioned them

Joe

I have the Michelin Defenders on my Honda Odyssey. They have been excellent and last seemingly forever. Michelin rates them for 90,000 miles of wear and with 278 customer ratings on Michelins own website giving the tire 4-1/2 stars, the tire must be good.

I have almost 180k on 2 sets of tires...
the factory set...
and a set of toyo's
must be all that sand on The Cape...
Not winter tires but...
If you are only getting 25k they better be snows...