Best tires for Boston winter use exclusively?

[*Will*]

Hi!

I'm lucky enough to have two cars to use so I'm going to fit one with a setup that will be used only when the summer setup on the other car isn't appropriate. I know the Hakkapeliitta R3 comes very highly recommended for snow conditions, but there also seems a lot of time that snow isn't on the roads in Boston. I'd love to hear the advice of the New England driving experts on which tire would be best for me to go for on my S4 - set up for winter season use only.

Thanks!

[drift194]

The Bridgestone Blizzaks work really good.


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[*Will*]

The Bridgestone Blizzaks work really good.


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Yeah - thanks. I think that’s right. Do you have any experience comparing those - dedicated winter/snow tires - to all-weather (as distinct from all-season) tires like the Nokian WR G4? I have read that the all-weather option performs close to as well in snow but a lot better in cold but dry/wet conditions, and it seems to me that we get a lot of cold dry or wet road days in winter (as opposed to snow days).

[drift194]

I run a dedicated snow tire but this year I got the WRG4 for my girlfriends car based on the reviews. I’ll probably buy myself a set after I use up all the tread on my snows tires.


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[delz05]

Hakka's and Blizzaks on my cars... (SQ5 and S5)

[makisupa]

Hakka R3s on mine (2013 Allroad)


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[Acejam]

My Blizzak LM-32’s have been great.


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[grovlet]

I've run both of these on the S4:
Michelin Alpin PA4 (Currently)
Pirrelli Winter Sottozero 3

Both are excellent - not really sure I prefer one over the other - they both are great in snow and deliver excellent dry road performance..... The 2nd being an important item most folks forget in winter - as often the roads are dry - so you still need a tire to perform. They will not deliver summer tire performance but probably 85-90%....

I have NEVER had good luck with Blizzacks delivering dry performance - and IIRC the Hakkas are only rated to 118 top speed - so if you do any high speed runs....

[rsfpc05]

I’m leaning towards the WR G4’s for my setup in a couple of weeks

[dimonblr]

Nexen Winguard Sport 2 has been awesome for me. Sort of a 'budget' winter option.

[EvolutionArmory]

Any snow tire with a half decent rating will be fine. Let’s face it, our roads get plowed pretty quick so it’s not like the majority of us drive on packed snow or ice for too long. Any of the top 5 rated snow tires should be GTG. Buy the major brand tire you can get the best deal on that has good dry handling too because you’ll be driving on dry roads more than wet ones.

[Seabeelt]

We run Michelin all season on our Allroad and they work very well

[sthulin]

I just put the Michelin Alpin 5 on the RS, so we'll see how well this does around MA.

[Munster_Paul]

I'm a Michelin through summer and winter kinda guy- PS4 when its warm and Winter Sports when it's cold- both 20" - worth the $$
Wifey runs Blizzak's on her Velar and they are also great.

Any another member said on here any dedicated winter set up for NE is going to work

[tkdmatrix80]

Dunlop Wintersport 3D on 18's on mine used them on my 2011 and 2016 S4. Love them all around. Summers I'm on Firestone Firehawks on 19 flowers

[AllroadCorbin]

Honestly you really don't need an intense Snow tire in boston. Sure we get clobbered now and then but generally speaking, its not often. Additionally, its really not that cold here. Winter daytime temps are 30s and 40s. A severe duty snow like a Hakka turns to goo above 40 haha. I had michelin x-ice on my allroad and theyre great in the snow but when its 40-43 and dry (most of the time) they're pretty terrible lol. Handle like total shit. I had Alpin PA2s before and they were incredible. Just about as good during nor'easters....but you still felt comfortable doing 90mph down the highway on the increasingly common 45 degree winter days. If you are doing constant trips to northern VT, NH or ME for skiing, then perhaps theres a better case for an X ice or Hakka. But even then, an Alpin will suffice.


FWIW I'm not a Pirelli fan but I drove a new SQ5 with the Sottozero's and I was pretty impressed. Reminded me a lot of the Alpins

[AForced4]

I have Nokian WR-G4's on for 1000 miles and love them compared to Cont DSW06's. Very quite and great in rain but it hasn't snowed much in PA.

[*Will*]

Thanks for the feedback everyone. I went for the Nokian WR-G4's and they have been fantastic so far - as far as I can tell that is. I wouldn't count myslef as an expert driver by any means. I went for these over the Hakka's based on the feedback that the Hakka's are excellent in snow/ice but suffer in the dry/wet in comparison to the WR-G4's. And seeing as 90% of the time here in Boston it's dry/wet rather than snow/ice on the roads, I went the direction of the WR-G4's.