the winter tire thread

[amykathleen]

we still dont have winter tires. we were going to buy some last year but procrastinated and by the time we were ready to buy (after they went on sale), they were all sold out (canadian tire nordic ones).

any suggestions on brands for this year? i remember last year the nordic ones were a hit.

also, they sell winter rims at canadian tire for $55. are these probably going to last a lifetime?? or are they made from crap that rusts and what not? might as well buy winter rims at the same time.

they have a 6 yr warranty on the michelin xice tires at costco, but they are for $138 for the 15" echo ones. whats the usual lifespan of winter tires (less then 3000km/year)?

~Amy

[gECHO]

Last year I bought a set of Nokian Hakkapelitta RSi and rims for my 05 Echo. I really like the tires but they were pretty expensive, about $120 each I believe. The only problems I had were with the tires rubbing against snow built-up in the wheel wells, but that probably wouldn't be limited to just that set of tires. A problem I had with the rims is that the toyota hub caps didn't fit quite right.

When deciding between the Canadian Tire winter tires and the more expensive kind you should probably think about the kind of winter driving conditions you typically encounter. If you will be dealing with soft snow, most winter tires will probably perform similarly. Here we don't usually get frequent snow fall, but when the temperatures drop to -25 the existing snow becomes rock hard and behaves a lot like ice.

Any winter tire will be better than the factory tires.

For a set of rims you might be able to save some money by planning ahead. Now might be a good time to drive out to an auto wrecker and get some used rims instead of buying new ones. Maybe even a set of factory Toyota rims. Or if you are planning to buy alluminum wheels now or in the spring you can use your existing rims for snow tires.

[Pars]

I've been running the same old tired Nokia Hakapollita 1 for the past 7 years and I'm gonna put them on my new Yaris (which will means it'll be on it's 8th winter). Very nice tires, saved saved my ass tons of time. When my shocks and tires were newer (3 winters ago), I used to drag race every 4X4 off the stop light (in the snow/slush) and usually won. On the turns, even the Audi's on snow tires were hard pressed to keep up with me (at the time, I was driving a nicely tweaked 98 Civic Hatch).

I remember a wicked snow storm, where there was almost half of foot of snow on university ave (toronto) and I had a wild shoot out with an Audi RS6 (which was also packing snow tires). On 3 of the stop lights, one of the lane was taken up by a Police curiser, but he left us alone, since we basically disappeared on him by the time he crossed the stop light, but caught up when we were stuck at the next stop light. I guess he couldn't pull you over for having a good winter setup and knowing what to do with it.

[Hajoca]

CTC Nordic ice tires are pretty good if you were using them for hiway commuting, and alot of wet dry pavement.

The rims from canadian tire are multifit. Search Hubcentric here in the forums. Get proper oem fit rims, and not the generic ones. Not because of rust but for proper fitment.

You may want to get the 14" tires and rims to save some money.

Originally Posted by amykathleen

(canadian tire nordic ones).

any suggestions on brands for this year? i remember last year the nordic ones were a hit.

also, they sell winter rims at canadian tire for $55. are these probably going to last a lifetime?? or are they made from crap that rusts and what not? might as well buy winter rims at the same time.

they have a 6 yr warranty on the michelin xice tires at costco, but they are for $138 for the 15" echo ones. whats the usual lifespan of winter tires (less then 3000km/year)?

~Amy

[amykathleen]

When deciding between the Canadian Tire winter tires and the more expensive kind you should probably think about the kind of winter driving conditions you typically encounter. If you will be dealing with soft snow, most winter tires will probably perform similarly. Here we don't usually get frequent snow fall, but when the temperatures drop to -25 the existing snow becomes rock hard and behaves a lot like ice.

glad i dont live in saskatchawan..

Nokian Hakkapelitta RSi and rims for my 05 Echo.

ive never heard of this brand but will check it out. thanks

You may want to get the 14" tires and rims to save some money.

i like my 15's (want to look ganstah )

CTC Nordic ice tires are pretty good if you were using them for hiway commuting, and alot of wet dry pavement.

The rims from canadian tire are multifit. Search Hubcentric here in the forums. Get proper oem fit rims, and not the generic ones. Not because of rust but for proper fitment.

pretty much we just drive around the city. not much highway at all, and when we do make trips on the hwy, we travel when there's no snow on the ground.

what do you mean by oem rims? and is hubcentric a brand name?
they have rims at the toyota dealer for $70, but im not sure if these are the normal looking rims (like what i have now) or winter ones. maybe i'll get hubby to call the junk yards and see what we can find. rims are pretty safe to buy used?

~Amy

[Hajoca]

The centerhole has a dimension, the multi fit wheels have a center hole way too big, in order to fit many different hubs.

The center hole helps keep the wheel centered and prevent vibration.

[amykathleen]

for the nokia ones, is kal tires the only store that sells them? cant seem to find them anywhere else. and is the hakkaeplii RSi the same as hakkarplii 1?

http://www.kaltire.com/retail/tires/...&men=4&type=PW

~Amy

[T2000]

My bro has a 07 Yaris sedan and he's getting winter tires Micheline X-ice put in next week by Toyota. Micheline has a rebate of $40 - $60 depend on the tires, the X-ice one should be very good. If you have steel rims now, maybe you should just get the tires and have a tireshop install them, seem like a waste to have 2 set of steel rims unless you have alloy now or plan to get them later.
Hubcentric is the measurement of the middle hole of the rim so generic rims will have them fit to most car therefore you may need to get it fit properly or you won't be able to control your car properly. You better off getting rims either from a junk yard that belong to a Yaris or any toyota that has the same hubcentric dimension or get new one, it will save you headache later on. Sorry for the long post, hope it help

[quadraphonic]

I've heard mixed reviews on centerbore fitment. Really, with the wheel bolted in properly, I can't see why a larger centerbore would have any impact on driving at all.

[Pars]

Originally Posted by amykathleen

for the nokia ones, is kal tires the only store that sells them? cant seem to find them anywhere else. and is the hakkaeplii RSi the same as hakkarplii 1?

http://www.kaltire.com/retail/tires/...&men=4&type=PW

~Amy

Here's their website http://www.nokiantyres.com

The Hakka 1 are usually studded (mine wasn't since studded tires aren't legal in Ontario), the RSi are perhaps a better compromise for all conditions while, the Hakka 1 (if they still make them) is a more extreme setup. I doubt you'd go wrong, regardless of which model you choose.

Your personal preference should play a big factor. Here in Toronto, in the city,the roads are usually clean, so deep snow isn't a big issue if you're not traveling outside of the city. In this case, the tires ability to handle ice would be a priority instead of deep snow traction.

In my case, since I'm doing a lot of high speeds, the snow tire's side-wall will have to be fairly stiff in order to maintain stability and turning response. Also, since the Yaris does transmit alot of outside noise (it is a very light car), a quiet tire might also be a priority.

[amykathleen]

more on my winter tire saga:
i think im going to go with the new rims (wheels), dont want to take a chance. in the echo manual it's says not to get used wheels. do they have to be purchased at the toyota dealer, or do regular tire stores carry the rims that i need? might as well get something nice because i'll probably own this car for a long time. just to make sure, if i get the rims and winter tires, i dont need to balance them each time i switch from all-seasons to winter tires?

also, i need the rustproof undercoating. should i get that after i get my new tires or does it not matter? i also need an oil change. it sucks that i have to go to 4 different places to get all this work done (tire store for tires, meineke for oil change, toyota dealer for wheels, and then maaco for undercoating )

also, i decided not to get the xice tires because of reading negative reviews on them online.

~Amy

[T2000]

I say get the rims from Toyota that way you know it fit the car for sure maybe you can make a deal with them if you get both rims and tires and also an oil change there.
No you don't have to re-balance the wheels if you have winter and all season on separate rims, you can even change them yourself when the season change just like changing spare tire
I got my rust proofing at Krown when I switch over my winter tires but you can rust proof anytime. BTW I run Canadian tire Ice trac on my Camry for 6 years now and they still good, certainly more than 3000km. Good luck with your winter tires quest

[BenG]

Originally Posted by amykathleen

more on my winter tire saga:
i think im going to go with the new rims (wheels), dont want to take a chance. in the echo manual it's says not to get used wheels. do they have to be purchased at the toyota dealer, or do regular tire stores carry the rims that i need? might as well get something nice because i'll probably own this car for a long time. just to make sure, if i get the rims and winter tires, i dont need to balance them each time i switch from all-seasons to winter tires?

also, i need the rustproof undercoating. should i get that after i get my new tires or does it not matter? i also need an oil change. it sucks that i have to go to 4 different places to get all this work done (tire store for tires, meineke for oil change, toyota dealer for wheels, and then maaco for undercoating )

also, i decided not to get the xice tires because of reading negative reviews on them online.

~Amy

Getting the wheels at Toyota will ensure you get the right wheels. Take those wheels to a tire shop and get your tires. Probably save a few bucks and have more selection on what tire to get.

Now, you don't necessarily need to balance your wheels and tires each season, provided that you're sure that all the weights are still on both sides of each rim, and that you haven't gone and hit the wheels against any curbs or anything hard.

Get your wheels at Toyota when you get your oil changed...that will save you one trip.

[amykathleen]

$980 something later my winter tire journey has ended. i got the $70 rims from toyota and the $146 (with balancing) nokia hakki RSI tires. thanks for everyones input

~Amy

[Pars]

congrats snow tires.

Let us know how it works out. I'm considering getting the same setup, but waiting for my tire-guy to give me the thumps up or down on my old Nokian Hakka 1, since they're 9 years old.