The SA has no grip! I need to replace the tires and have decided to go with winter and summer tires since I have 2 sets of wheels. The wheels are the stock sizes, 13s I think.

The car has an LSD so, so it should be acceptable for the winter roads and only is traveling as fast as 40mph for the daily commute, but will occasionally be taken on the freeway.

I have heard nokians are good, but can't find them in our size. So what do you guys have experience with that worked great?

 

Bridgestone Blizzaks

 

Toyo Observe G-02 moderately priced and very good.

Nokian are expensive but all the reviews are very good.

 

Unless your tires are completely bald, you need to re-learn how to drive in the snow. My all seasons aren't great but I've never had issues with them in the winter and this is their 4th winter. I've driven my FB, SA, FC, and Repu in the snow with no issues of losing traction with no added weight in the back. You just need to know how to compensate for the elements.

 

The need for snow tires vs all seasons mostly depends on how cold it gets where you are , not how much snow you get . All seasons work fine where is doesn't get below about 5 F . Below that temperature you need snow tires that are made of a softer rubber that doesn't get hard as a hockey puck . If you need snows , We have goodyear nordics on the protege and they work fantastic at traction and even more so for braking

 

Also throw a couple 80lb bags of concrete mix in the back. Just make sure to tie them down so they can't shift on you. Doing this alone helped me out and I'm open diff...

The slack jawed mechanics around here refused to weld my diff and suggested I put a couple rags in there? This would tangle up inbetween the gears and act as a make shift posi lock. I just rolled my eyes at them and walked out quickly...

Still I wonder if this would work as long as you didn't stress it.

 

If you want an inexpensive tire that works really well and studs are legal where you live,Cooper makes a good tire.I forget the model # but the pattern consisted of small blocks.They worked very well here in Colorado where the roads can be covered in ice for long periods.

 

I Ran last season with Dunlop Sp4000 tires. They were rated M&S but were not true snow tires. The only issues I had was getting traction from a stop on Ice. Even with 130 lbs of weight in the back those tires would not grip.

If you have a lot of Ice where you are (We have a lot of black Ice) then Snow tires are a plus as they are designed to soften up when the temps drop instead of the regular tires that become hard as a rock in lower temps which causes the tire to lose grip in Ice when traction is needed.

The key as Firebird has stated is how you drive in these conditions. Feathering the throttle when first taking off is a must in these conditions to avoid slippage. Also braking is the most critical. Allow a lot more distance and slowly apply the brakes, if you start to slide in Ice then back off of the brakes and slowy reapply.

 

I will agree though that if you live in the great white north where temps will regularly see below 0*F, snow tires are a good investment. Fact is though, no matter what kind of tire you have or how much weight you have in the back, ice is ice. Nothing get's traction on ice

 

My Blizzaks mad me forget it was winter...some areas are now making winter tires a law for winter.

Url

 

Yokohoma AO34 Snow/Ice tires are good depending on what kind of conditions we are talking about.

 

blizzaks are best followed by michelin x-ice which are both still available in our size i do believe.

 

The GoodYear Ultra Grip 7+ is one of the very best non studdet snow & ice tires out there.

I have used them on our daily driver and also on our historic rally car - great traction. Even the front wheelers were impressed.

The better the LSD works the more fun you will have in the snow.

Ah yes, a little additional weight out back does not hurt

 

I am using Dunlop sp winter sport m3 tires on my speed 3
when I drove an rx7 in the winter I just used all season radials plus about 120#of weight in the rear of the car.

 

blizzaks...

 

 

Now "that's" a snow tire

 

nice to see another MN rx7 buddy

sorry i drive my buick in the winter with all season goodyears so i couldnt help ya

 

Take pics before the accident..... for insurance purposes..

...

Despite how bad a joke that it's it's almost a good idea. I am sure the iceX is about as good as your gonna get. Minus chains and spikes and not driving at all.

 

Ha! I have many a picture! I went with the Toyo observe. The tires on the car are driveable, but snow tires make a difference. Here in MN we haven't been above zero on many days this year.

I have been driving my beater 89 FC for long trips which has some cooper snow grooves on it. So the SA has only seen maybe 10 farily short trips below 40 mph this winter.

I know how to drive in snow quite well. I have driven my FD on my Yokohama Advan db in a blizzard. Retarded, I know, but my other car was dead that day. The tires glass in these low temps on the SA it seems. Seriously, it is cold this year. the high of 18 degrees felt warm today on my drive to uptown.

Rx7fitz, where in MN are you? I was in elk river, but am temporarily in Princeton.

 

As a fellow minnesotan I highly recomend you throw the idea of using your 7 in between the months of december to march, lol. My FB has been in the garage since the first week of december. With this warm spell lately I've been thinking of pulling it out for a few rips. We got some snow in october once for like a day or two and it was all I could do to keep my car on the road, this is with Cooper all seasons.

 

I know, I should not drive any 7 in the winter. I had a 91 protege that I wrecked and got rid of. I have now fixed up my totalled FC that I think has a coolant seal going too for use in the snow. My nice 90 FC, the SA and the FD are all in hibernation at this point... The FD has been hibernating for 2 years :-) I just get caught up with the SA and FCs then don't have $$ for my FD.

The white S5 FC I am driving has a loud exhaust, mismatched color side mirrors, some underbody rust, a suspected failing coolant seal and crappy paint. So I am not too worried about the salts. I drive carefully and the snow tires on it help.

 

I doubt the legallity of these. But they would be a great help on some of the county roads around here! that is one serious snow/ice tire!