I drove an 04 Tiburon with them and it was a bit sketchy compared to blizzaks.

$437.30 shipped for 4 more blizzak ws-50s and I get a $50 american express gift card for buying closeout tires.

I could go for the Hakkapeliittas but I won't get those until I get a new car that I know I'll have for a while (i.e. a winter beater). I don't want to risk buying them now and having them not be the right size.

I should start another thread just for snow tire stuff.. but I don't think there's enough snow people on here :P

p.s.: avg iowa snowfall (annual) is 32 inches. Rochester average (30 year avg) snowfall is 95 inches (also annual). it's a bit different here lawl

 

snow?

 

this stuff:


p.s. blizzak WS-50s 195/55-16 on stock wheels in that pic

and no, that isn't a snow bank.. that was that day's snow, pic taken Feb 14th 2007

 

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*note* immediately following this expedition, i went to a heated spray and wash and steam cleaned the underside of my car

 

Come on guys we're supposed to be reviewing tires in here. Threadjack over yet?

 

do not buy michelin pilots A/S , there a newbie and from my experience ( all 4 were out of run) their crap! so they replaced them with michelins energy mxv 4 plus which i never heard of, told me their tires used on jaguars, lexius & high end luxury cars ! and well i'm not sure their worth $170. (i did not pay for the huge difference in tire cost, full replacement baby!) so wet traction not great, seem to drift, snow, i guess i'll find out soon enough, dry traction awesome, corning, still kicking mustang *** in sharp s-turn! & tire 205s on oem rims, l think they look sweet on, but so did my other 2 set of tires!

 

^^What kind of car do you drive?^^

Let's try to stick to a common format, fellas. It facilitates readability:

Tire:
Size:
Vehicle:
Dry performance:
Wet performance:
Snow/ice performance:
Noise:
Harshness:
Longevity:
Aesthetics:
Value:
Other comments:
Overall rating:

 

sorry, I my car is bought new, "05 mazda 3s. first set that came with my car where Toyo's, my car ate them up in 11,000 (cupped and feathered) so don't go with them either!

 

Tires: Hankook W300 ICEBEAR
Size: 205/50-16
Value: Great as far as I'm concerned - $107
Comment: Only driven on them for 100km's. Felt like I had super power steering leaving the installation bay. Smooth ride and very confident at city speeds. Over 100km's (60mph) they are a bit noisier on concrete highways. Little more sidewall flex than stock rubber but thats too be expected, they are a high performance WINTER tire, not an all season so rubber is softer. Price is excellent. The softer rubber helps with the TEIN S, a bit more comfort. Will post back when I've actually their performance in snow but for whats considered a snow tire its actually quite a forgiving tire on dry cold roads.
I'll post up some pictures tomorrow to give someone an idea of how they look on stock wheels, oh and they fit nice in the wheelwell, don't see any issue with rubbing.

** Update - After checking the tire pressure they were not exact and the tire guy did say check them when I get home just to make sure they are even, they were a bit off and one was 8psi less, so after putting them at 38psi cold they ride much better, not as soft.

 

2nd Update - Hankook Icebears W300's

Well after riding on these tires for approx. 2 months now I've really grown to love these tires. If I lived in an area that had more snowfall I might consider looking at the more aggressive W409 due to its edge cutting sidewall. But if you live in an moderate area that sees more wet roadways that actual snowpack these might be the ticket.

Firstly you don't even realize your rolling on a full winter tire, the ride quality is second to none and noise is minimal. Handling is excellent all around and very good traction on fresh snowfalls. Stopping is fantastic and stop and starts are flawless even in very snowy conditions. Of course like any driving its the driver really because any tire can spin like crazy. The only thing I have noticed is the rolled tire sidewall tends to not bite when turning in snow covered roads that have not yet been plowed but its this rolled edge that gives the tire its high performance feel during those wet and dry days giving you the illusion its an all season tire or even dry tire. On lightly packed roads you can actually feel the sipes gripping and on heavily rained roadways unbelievable.

Really amazing tire I actually don't think there is another tire that matches it's performance due to it's cost. Highly recommended.

 

I have to admit that the IceBear W300 tires are fantastic. It's my second year running them and they still perform awesome. After about 20K miles on them they show very minimal wear and still perform like new in the snow. Shasta is right about the loss of grip in turns, but there's not much you can do in the slush when you got FWD and no weight

EXCELLENT tire for the price. Also highly recommended.