Winter tires. Please share impressions of what you are using.....

[SyntheticAtmosphere]

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I got all excited when I saw the pic of the XR4Ti, thinking you had one of those too

 

[scotman]

I had some involvement with several of them in the mid 1990's. We prepared one for ice racing. I can't say that I have any "excitement" about working on or owning one today. They are heavy and underpowered with the added disability of a clutch disc that is too small given the weight of the car. The result of that being a car that will use up the clutch very rapidly if you like to do performance driving or track events.
The independent rear suspension is also massively heavy. My friend and I decided to sell off all but the ice racing Merkur, which we only ran in a rubber to ice class. Running the studded class would have smoked the clutch just like road course use did.
So, don't lose any sleep about not having a Merkur!
In day to day use, the wait for the turbo to spool up was about as exciting as a long, wet, fart.

 

[SyntheticAtmosphere]

Back to some winter rubber fare...
Im running Hakkapeliitta R5 up front @ 100%, and previous gen. Firestone WinterForce @ 50% in the back. I had Firestones all around but punctured a tire and had to replace a pair. Good thing because these R5s are superb. I have had older gen Hakks before on other cars and loved them. I will be replacing the last 2 Firestones before next winter with another pair of R5s for sure.
On my wifes CX-5 I have the luxury of AWD. I have been running "All-weather" tires. The previous set were Nordman(alternate Nokian brand) WR XL for SUVs. They performed quite well however had a dismal UTQG and wore quickly. I now have Bridgestone WeatherPeaks and they are performing stellar with the unusually mild yet messy winter we are currently experiencing. The Weatherpeaks have been said to compete against the Michelin CrossClimate for performance abilities. CrossClimates are last years market leader performing above the rest for the category. Neither WeatherPeak or CroassClimate are a budget tire tho and cost accordingly.

 

[scotman]

I have had a set of Hakka’s as well, in the past. They are stellar but not very easy to find a retail shop that sells them. I found a shop that specialized in Saab and Volvo that stocked them.

 

[SyntheticAtmosphere]

Ive purchased my tires from blackcircles.ca for the BS WeatherPeaks on the CX5 and Yoko Advan Apex for my Mazdaspeed6. I purchased the Yokos during the pandemic when stock on summer performance rubber was bleak. They pull from a various manufacturer warehouses to make a set, sometimes you receive 1 tire 1 day and 3 a couple days later. Date codes for all tires have been current as some discounters sell "day old" tires.
I then find a local installer to load the rims (Hopefully I will have a tire machine in my new garage).
I like to research the tires I want, not just purchase whats available or suggested by the tire dealer. This usually involves some leg work on my part for sure and I get odd reactions from tire dealers when they try to suggest alternatives, lol.

 

[Handy Andy]

I like to research the tires I want, not just purchase whats available or suggested by the tire dealer. This usually involves some leg work on my part for sure and I get odd reactions from tire dealers when they try to suggest alternatives, lol.

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