snow vs. winter tires

Post by **SkiDork** » Nov 30th, '06, 11:52

Stormchaser wrote:
SkiDork wrote:OK, so...

Hakkas or X-Ice?
"Quality" life of the hakkas is prob 2x the michelins. do they cost 2x more?

not sure. Lemme check.

Dr. NO · Post by **Dr. NO** » Nov 30th, '06, 12:25

Stormchaser wrote:
SkiDork wrote:OK, so...

Hakkas or X-Ice?
"Quality" life of the hakkas is prob 2x the michelins. do they cost 2x more?

Is that because the Hakkas become harder as they wear, thus reducing their ability for traction? I know the Blizzak is very soft for about 25 K miles then lasts another 40K due to the hard rubber base.

Post by **SkiDork** » Nov 30th, '06, 12:43

is that Mr Moose in your sig pic?

Dr. NO · Post by **Dr. NO** » Nov 30th, '06, 12:53

SkiDork wrote:is that Mr Moose in your sig pic?

Take a closer look. It is a Race Volunteer we all know and love.

skiadikt · Post by **skiadikt** » Nov 30th, '06, 12:59

Dr. NO wrote:
SkiDork wrote:is that Mr Moose in your sig pic?
Take a closer look. It is a Race Volunteer we all know and love.

is frau sehr aware of this?

Post by **SkiDork** » Nov 30th, '06, 13:10

it ain't finn....

Dr. NO · Post by **Dr. NO** » Nov 30th, '06, 13:21

SkiDork wrote:it ain't finn....

Gotta be. nobody else dresses like that. FINN? where are ya. Is that you or someone else?

Anyway it is plastered on the KSC Voluteers board.

Post by **SkiDork** » Nov 30th, '06, 13:22

that is not finn.. I'm positive.

It's some dude.

Stormin_Aussie · Post by **Stormin_Aussie** » Nov 30th, '06, 13:33

SkiDork wrote:that is not finn.. I'm positive.

It's some dude.

I think Finn's jacket is all red.

Geoff · Post by **Geoff** » Nov 30th, '06, 14:10

SkiDork wrote:Here's a question (hopefully Geoff sees this one)

I have an opportunity to get a set of 4 snows plus rims (b-day/xmas gift)

Would it be better to get:

1) Michelin X-Ice from Costco to take advantage of their lifetime tire/rim switch deal

or

2) Go for Hakkas from another tire vendor, but sacrifice the lifetime rim switch deal?

i.e. are the hakkas SOOO much better than the Michelin X-Ice's that its worth sacrificing the rim switch deal?

I've never run the X-Ice. The studded Hakka SUVs on the Mountaineer have 3 winters (30K miles?) on them with tons of life left. When I bought them, they were really the only option in a studded tire with lots of siping cuts. You're not going to want studs. I'd think the performance between the Hakka SUV (not studded) and the X-Ice will be similar since they have a similar amount of siping. Consumer Reports rated the X-Ice #1 so it's not going to suck.

Either tire is going to be far better than your stock tire on ice and that's where heavy SUVs need the most help to get safety margin cornering and braking. I'll bet the X-Ice is far cheaper than a Nokian so I'd shop on price if I racked up the miles you do going to Killington every weekend.

Post by **SkiDork** » Nov 30th, '06, 14:13

Geoff wrote:
SkiDork wrote:Here's a question (hopefully Geoff sees this one)

I have an opportunity to get a set of 4 snows plus rims (b-day/xmas gift)

Would it be better to get:

1) Michelin X-Ice from Costco to take advantage of their lifetime tire/rim switch deal

or

2) Go for Hakkas from another tire vendor, but sacrifice the lifetime rim switch deal?

i.e. are the hakkas SOOO much better than the Michelin X-Ice's that its worth sacrificing the rim switch deal?
I've never run the X-Ice. The studded Hakka SUVs on the Mountaineer have 3 winters (30K miles?) on them with tons of life left. When I bought them, they were really the only option in a studded tire with lots of siping cuts. You're not going to want studs. I'd think the performance between the Hakka SUV (not studded) and the X-Ice will be similar since they have a similar amount of siping. Consumer Reports rated the X-Ice #1 so it's not going to suck.

Either tire is going to be far better than your stock tire on ice and that's where heavy SUVs need the most help to get safety margin cornering and braking. I'll bet the X-Ice is far cheaper than a Nokian so I'd shop on price if I racked up the miles you do going to Killington every weekend.

cool. Yeah, you're right. Althought it would be nice to have studs it's just not practical. So I'll look into the price differentail between the hakkas and the michelins.

What about the "free tire rotation/switching" deal at Costco? Is that only worth it if you on;y have one set of rims and actually require remounting? Or is is still worthwhile even to have them switch the rims with the tires on them?

Stormchaser · Post by **Stormchaser** » Nov 30th, '06, 14:37

SkiDork wrote:
Geoff wrote:
SkiDork wrote:Here's a question (hopefully Geoff sees this one)

I have an opportunity to get a set of 4 snows plus rims (b-day/xmas gift)

Would it be better to get:

1) Michelin X-Ice from Costco to take advantage of their lifetime tire/rim switch deal

or

2) Go for Hakkas from another tire vendor, but sacrifice the lifetime rim switch deal?

i.e. are the hakkas SOOO much better than the Michelin X-Ice's that its worth sacrificing the rim switch deal?
I've never run the X-Ice. The studded Hakka SUVs on the Mountaineer have 3 winters (30K miles?) on them with tons of life left. When I bought them, they were really the only option in a studded tire with lots of siping cuts. You're not going to want studs. I'd think the performance between the Hakka SUV (not studded) and the X-Ice will be similar since they have a similar amount of siping. Consumer Reports rated the X-Ice #1 so it's not going to suck.

Either tire is going to be far better than your stock tire on ice and that's where heavy SUVs need the most help to get safety margin cornering and braking. I'll bet the X-Ice is far cheaper than a Nokian so I'd shop on price if I racked up the miles you do going to Killington every weekend.
cool. Yeah, you're right. Althought it would be nice to have studs it's just not practical. So I'll look into the price differentail between the hakkas and the michelins.

What about the "free tire rotation/switching" deal at Costco? Is that only worth it if you on;y have one set of rims and actually require remounting? Or is is still worthwhile even to have them switch the rims with the tires on them?

Purely a convenience factor for you. Takes about 15 minutes to switch 4 tires with your standard jack. Most places would charge you $20 each time your swap if you had someone else do it. 2 switches per year X 3 years on the tires = $120 in tire swapping fees. If you're gonna pay someone to do it, its probably still worth it. If you're just gonna do it yourself, save the beans for 3 demos...

Geoff · Post by **Geoff** » Nov 30th, '06, 14:40

SkiDork wrote:
Geoff wrote:
SkiDork wrote:Here's a question (hopefully Geoff sees this one)

I have an opportunity to get a set of 4 snows plus rims (b-day/xmas gift)

Would it be better to get:

1) Michelin X-Ice from Costco to take advantage of their lifetime tire/rim switch deal

or

2) Go for Hakkas from another tire vendor, but sacrifice the lifetime rim switch deal?

i.e. are the hakkas SOOO much better than the Michelin X-Ice's that its worth sacrificing the rim switch deal?
I've never run the X-Ice. The studded Hakka SUVs on the Mountaineer have 3 winters (30K miles?) on them with tons of life left. When I bought them, they were really the only option in a studded tire with lots of siping cuts. You're not going to want studs. I'd think the performance between the Hakka SUV (not studded) and the X-Ice will be similar since they have a similar amount of siping. Consumer Reports rated the X-Ice #1 so it's not going to suck.

Either tire is going to be far better than your stock tire on ice and that's where heavy SUVs need the most help to get safety margin cornering and braking. I'll bet the X-Ice is far cheaper than a Nokian so I'd shop on price if I racked up the miles you do going to Killington every weekend.
cool. Yeah, you're right. Althought it would be nice to have studs it's just not practical. So I'll look into the price differentail between the hakkas and the michelins.

What about the "free tire rotation/switching" deal at Costco? Is that only worth it if you on;y have one set of rims and actually require remounting? Or is is still worthwhile even to have them switch the rims with the tires on them?

I don't know about Costco but at BJ's, you get free tire rotation whcih you can use to swap winter and summer rims & tires. They'll mount new tires with new valve stems for free once when you buy the tires. If you don't have spare winter rims, they'll charge you the mounting fee every 6 months. Tire people claim it's bad for a tire to mount and unmount it many times. I don't know if that's true.

Check Tire Rack for snowtire & rim packages. It might turn out that their shipping charges are cheaper than your stupidly high sales tax. I live in New Hampshire so I don't need to care about sales taxes. You could also run over to BJ's Wholesale in West Lebanon, NH and buy your X-Ice there if you're a BJ's member.

Post by **SkiDork** » Nov 30th, '06, 14:44

I'm gonna check BJ's (which I'm a member of) for the cost on X-Ices, prolly go with that solution. They don't sell rims, right?

Post by **SkiDork** » Nov 30th, '06, 15:07

OK tire dudes - I'm looking at TireRack and right away I have a question:

I know I want narrower. TireRack offers 16" and 17" for my vehicle. I want 16" right? Or what do i want?

Here are the options (tire AND rim packages)

Choose current vehicle tire size(s).

16" Recommended: 245/75-16

16" Alternate: 265/70-16

17" Recommended: 245/75-17

17" Alternate: 265/70-17