Winter Tires

Topic: Winter Tires (Read 1441 times) previous topic - next topic

Winter Tires

December 17, 2016, 06:24:17 PM

I'd like my Cougar to become my daily driver soon so I took it on a bad weather test today. It snowed last night and froze over some so I figured today would be a good day to see how it performed. Mind you I have a set of BFGoodrich Radial T/As on mustang turbines right now. The car did have some trouble on the steep back roads out here but not anything I didn't expect. I'm used to driving my 2wd ranger around in bad weather so I've gotten used to it. When I bought Michelin tires for my Ranger it was a night and day difference in snow when compared to the Goodyears on there before. Since I have a spare set of 10 hole rims for my Cougar I am now contemplating getting a set of winter tires for the car. I'd like to have 235/75/15 all around or similar. Any suggestions?

Winter Tires

Reply #1 – December 17, 2016, 06:41:27 PM

235's are about as wide as you would want to go. Ive heard snow tires make a big difference, but ive never driven in winter with them before. Dont get studded unless you are okay with swapping back and forth. Ive bought cars with studded tires, and they drove me nuts

Winter Tires

Reply #2 – December 17, 2016, 11:54:14 PM

For traction in snow, narrower is better. It has to do with the increased pressure per square inch increasing when the weight is the same, but there are fewer square inches. I'd recommend 195/70R15 as it's just about the same revs per mile as the stock tire size (and you now have 15's). However, there aren't many options in that size to choose from so probably 205/65R15. Also, in PA studs are not permitted, so a good honest studless snow tire is in order. I've had the best results in bank per buck with Blizzak ws80's. If you've got more bucks to bang with, you might get Michelin X-Ice. The Blizzaks are better with deep snow, but the Michelins have more siping and softer rubber, which makes them superior on ice. A word of caution, the Blizzaks like to be spun just a little and will dig, but the Michelins are almost useless once you break traction with torque. So consider what you're most likely to deal with on the daily. If you've still got your 14's sitting around, you can get Firestone winterforce for cheap in 195/75R14, they're noisy, have kind of py lateral support and you might have to spin the shiznit out of them in deep snow, but they're still way better than just about any all-season.

Winter Tires

Reply #3 – December 18, 2016, 07:00:25 PM

Thanks for the recommendations guys!

Winter Tires

Reply #4 – December 21, 2016, 11:51:52 AM

Yeah, snow tires make all the difference. Note that Blizzak tires are only winter tread for the first 50% - the rubber gets harder/allseason for the second half of the tread. It's always best to take the tires off when snow or ice isn't a concern, whether or not they are studded. You want all the tread depth you can get and keep for snow traction. Softer rubber will wear out much quicker than the harder all-seasons.

I've purchased three different used sets of tires this year, for various vehicles. Two of them were ipikes (one set studded, one set studless), and they perform well. My preference is studless, although studded will perform slightly better in smooth ice (black ice). Studded tires perform worse on dry pavement, so the few times they perform better don't really make up for all the times they perform worse.

Years back I had Blizzak WS70 on my Tbird for a couple hundred miles. The thing handled snow and ice on hills with no problem - braking, cornering, acceleration had little slippage. I had a fresh TL diff at the time. The car at the time performed much better than a subaru legacy with all seasons.

All season = summer and rain. Winter tires generally perform better in snow AND rain. Winters may not handle as well, but they can accelerate, stop, and hydroplane better in heavy rain.

Winter Tires

Reply #5 – December 21, 2016, 12:24:03 PM

I had first-generation Blizzaks on my old 87 Sport and drove that car in absolutely horrid conditions with no problems at all. There was only once when it wouldn't go forward, on about a 30% grade in a snow storm. I just backed it up a bit and stayed well back from the stop light. When I saw the cross traffic light's pedestrian hand start flashing I very carefully started to move. By the time that hand got solid and the cross traffic light turned yellow I had a decent head of steam, and when I actually got to the light it was green. Worked perfectly.

i agree with thefoeyouknow - 205 is as wide as you want to be, either a 205/65R15 or 205/70R15