X3 winter setup?

[eurogreek1]

I currently have 235/50/18 all seasons on my X3. I wanted to go to a true winter tire for the winter. Any recommendations for me. I live in Colorado and I leave the house really early before anything is really plowed. I want something very reliable. I went to Discount tire and they told me about the Hanacok tire. They said it only last one season but do very well in the snow. They run about $200 a pop. Any ideas?

[AzNMpower32]

Tire Rack is a good source for tires.......shop around on their website.

Well, there's basically three catagories of snow tires: the Performance Winter, the "moderate" winters, and the studdable/hard-core winter tires. The Performance Winter tires have very good snow/ice traction and will get the X3 through a foot of snow, and then some. At the same time, they'll provide reasonable highway comfort and wet/dry handling without killing steering feel. At the other end, the knobbier tires and studdable ones have superior snow and ice traction, but you're sacrificing normal condition grip and comfort.

I'm running on Pirelli Snowsport 210 which are a performance winter tire. Never gotten the X3 stuck, even though me and other folks have tried to do so in past snowstorms. Works well when you're in the dry as well. This winter will be their 4th season on our X3.

In the Performance winter catagory, I can recommend the Pirelli 210 Sottozero (the successor to mine and a bit improved). If you want something that's a bit tougher, then Continental has the ExtremeWinterContact.

[eurogreek1]

Just came back from costco and they really recomended the Michelin X Ice 2. They said its one of the best winter tires out there. Anyone know?

[eurogreek1]

anyone????

[JCL]

I have had good experience with Michelin tires, but don't know anything about the X Ice 2.

I am running the Dunlop Wintersport M3 and I am very happy with them. Dunlop now has the Wintersport 3D as well, and they are reported to be very similar. I bought two sets of four Blizzak LM60 snow tires for our two daughter's FWD vehicles last year. They perform very well, but I don't have any information on tire life yet, it is too soon.

[motordavid]

eurogeek,
No experience with that specific Mich tire, but I have run Blizzaks, (different species), for years in the winter,
and most recently ran 4 winters with Michey Arctic Alpins, (may now be discontinued). As others noted, do some
info hunting on Tire Rack for opins/ratings on specific brands/species.

My opin is that almost any well rated, dedicated winter tire will serve you well, esp. with X drive and reasonable
wheel/tire size. Will it make you bulletproof? No, but it will offer considerable traction and grip...as for "wear", you
should be able to get 2-3 seasons at least, from a set of dedicated winter tires, imo.

GL, mD

[JCL]

Originally Posted by motordavid

My opin is that almost any well rated, dedicated winter tire will serve you well, esp. with X drive and reasonable
wheel/tire size. Will it make you bulletproof? No, but it will offer considerable traction and grip...as for "wear", you
should be able to get 2-3 seasons at least, from a set of dedicated winter tires, imo.

I don't think that is necessarily true with the Hankook snow tires, as there are lots of reports of only one season's life due to the very soft tread compound. IMO, stay with winter tires that are from tire companies with lots of experience with winter tires (Dunlop Wintersport, Bridgestone Blizzak, Michelin, Pirelli), not tires that are Korean-made copies of other company's winter tires. There is a reason that the dealer promoting them to you is called Discount Tire.

[eurogreek1]

Thank you everyone. I decided to go with the Michelin Lattitude tires. I think thats what their called. They are for SUV's I was told and perform better the the Michelin X Ice 2. At least that's what Discount Tire said.

[motordavid]

Originally Posted by eurogreek1

Thank you everyone. I decided to go with the Michelin Lattitude tires. I think thats what their called. They are for SUV's I was told and perform better the the Michelin X Ice 2. At least that's what Discount Tire said.

I assume you mean the Michelin Latitude Alpin snow tires?
A newish winter tire from Michey...if they are anything like
the Michey Arctic Alpins I ran for 4 winters, (and they look
very similar), I think you will like them.
GL, mD

[Mentat]

Go with Dunlop/Continental/Pirelli/Michelin;
Don't use any oter cheap brand