Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General General Good, long-lasting inexpensive tires

Hi guys.
I'm going to relocate to Canada for a couple of years and I'm taking my '98 SE with me.
What tires would you recommend for harsh cold climate like Canada? Don't forget summer happens there, too.
I need some all-around tires capable of withstanding good mileage and providing good grip on both clean asphalt and snow.
Any suggestions?
Thanks.

Where in Canada are you going? Not everywhere in Canada is harsh...

It rarely goes below freezing here in Victoria. Half the rain of Vancouver or Seattle...truly this is paradise.

I presume you want some performance all-season tires.

I have owned the following tires...Michelin XGT H4, Dunlop D60A2, Firestone SH30, Bridgestone Potenza RE88 (summer), BFGoodrich g-Force KDW (summer), Goodyear Eagle GS-C (summer) and Michelin Pilot Alpins (snow) all on either the SVT or the Isuzu.

If you're looking for all-round performance biased towards wet (not too much snow) and treadlife, look at the Firestone Firehawk SH30. Stunning wet traction. Do not confuse with Firehawk GTAs that are apparently crap. Treadwear of 460 for a performance tire is EXTREMELY good.

If you want more performance, and possibly better snow traction (but not better wet traction), Dunlop SP5000.

If you want cheap and decent in all areas, Dunlop SP Sport A2 or Yoko Avid H4.

If you want premium high performance all-season, Bridgestone Potenza RE950 (not cheap).

Personally, my next set of tires will be g-Force KDWS.

Hope this helps.
Kerry

What was that...I couldn't hear you. The sleigh dogs were barking too loud outside my igloo!

Seriously, my buddy had the Dunlop 5000's and loved them. Kerry's suggestions are all decent. Buy the best you can afford. Cheap tires are not worth it in the long run.

Remember...Keep your stick on the ice!

Cheers

Trust me..those two previous guys don't live in the "True North Stong and Free'.I live in Ottawa , and we do get real winters here in the Ottawa Valley.The BF Goodrich Blizzack and Michelin Alpin are serious winter tires. Currently I have the Sears Roadhandler T Plus made by Michelin.Its an all season tire and I have been quite compfortable zipping around with them for the last 100,000 kms.Canadian tire puts out the Motomaster SE, which I used for 130,000 kms on an 89 Sable ,after the factory set needed replacing, plus another set of the same for another 110,000 kms before I retired the car at 325000 kms .Tire air pressures were checked every couple of weeks or so in order to keep up with the outside temperature.
Ideally, seasonal tires are the way to go, but, most people are running all-season tires up here.
The greater Toronto area , probably has a similar winter as has Boston.Ottawa, is more cold and damp. Winnipeg is just plain cold in the winter (Wintterpeg).
Canadian people are always warm.

alberta gets relativaly long boring snowy winters, i have a full set of nokian hakkapalita Q's for winter on the stock rims, and 17" rims with falken ziex tires for summer, i wouldent want to drive winters here without good snow tires.. too much of a pain really

I've used both BF Goodrich and Crappy tire brand tires and I've found that any good quality all season tire will work in Edmonton weather, 7+ months of winter and the rest is a mixed bag of rain and sun!

With all season tires I've learned that as long as you drive slower for the snow and don't drive like an idiot you will be just fine.

When I lived in BC one winter, I drove up a steep hill passing a 4X4 truck as it slid into the ditch and I watched at the top of the hill as he dug himself into the ditch even more by flooring it! I was driving a FWD car using Crappy Tire brand tires and I drove slowly and evenly up the hill with no problems. The truck had large deep tread tires and he drove like a fool fast and recklessly and got stuck because of it.

Stephen

whoa, another edmonton ceg'er

cool, send me a pm

As previously stated it will depend on where you are going. In snow belt regions, hard to beat seasonal tires.
Here in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) all season are OK since the snow is removed/melts quickly. I personally use Canadian Tire LXRs, which is one step up from the SEs mentioned in a prior post.
If you can wait you'll probably save money by buying here even for name brand (also, warranty on US bought tires may not apply for the two years you are in Canada)

p.s. Can you believe 20 years ago I travelled to Boston to see how they handled major snow storms. Nowadays Buffalo, N.Y. is where the snow comes, and comes.

You guys in Canada have to remember that some people in southern New England think that Nashua, New Hampshire is like the Arctic!
My wife and I are looking forward to our vacation in PEI next month. I don't think we'll be taking our boots with us!

Thanks guys!