pkphilip

You better do it soon because it will be out of stock very quickly.

There are a few types of winter tires, some are better on ice, some are better on light snow, some are studdable.

If you insist in getting them locally, Costco is cheapest (free install, rotate.. etc). Canadian Tire is good when there is a rebate or special on them.

Check with 5zigen and see if he has any "promo", just PM him your tire size.

Many of us LYK here got them from US. I paid USD$115 each for my Blizzak LM-25 215/45/17 (yes, I need performance Winter). In Canada, the same tire cost around $175-$225 each + levy and all the crap.

Philip

pkphilip

How much I paid (approx) from buying at TireRack

Blizzak LM-25 215/45/17XL
Tires: 4x USD$115
Shipping: $43
TLC fee: 2x USD$3.75
Taxes: 12% of USD$460 (1:1.04) = $58
Install/Balance at Volco: 4x $25 + tax
Total:  $680

From 1010tires.com, the LM-60 replaced the LM-25 with better technology (that's what they always say... newer is better), cost CAD$229 each, times 4 = $920, not include install.

I check my tires every few weeks especially in winter, and the most I've lost is about 1-2PSI.

In Vancouver, we are not going to have feet of snow, therefore I rather have better dry/wet traction than deep snow/ice traction. I won't even drive if it is more than 2 inches of snow anyways. I would probably chain the tires if I have to, so i pick the Blizzak.

If you go for snow tires like the X-Ice, the tire is too soft and it feels very bouncy and not comfortable.

Philip

pkphilip

I do alignment once a year and each time only little needs to be adjusted.

I do mount/balance in Volco because they charge $25 each, they have 4-5 guys working on the same car all the time so you could be in and out within 1/2 hour. They are very busy now, so go there at 9am. I like them because they have experience with mounting pretty much all types of pessenger cars, including exotics.

Philip

pkphilip

Tire rotation is done by my dealer during service. Alignment, my friend just take my car to some shop (forgot the name, OK Tire I think) on Bridgeport and charge me $75.

I brought my car to Excel Tire for just bolt-on (winter <-> Summer), cash $20 :-)

Philip

pkphilip

I think many "unknown" name tires are made by the same OEM, like Walmart's "Marshall" is made by Kumho... whether the quality is good or not, I don't really know.

Philip

pkphilip

Same here!! Ugly stocks are for winter, sexy aftermarket for summer!!

Philip

pkphilip

TireRack is also out of stock on many odd performance sizes, but many regular sizes are still OK.

I have no problem driving in puddles in Richmond!!

Philip

pkphilip

Weather report says Dec 8 will start to snow.. I hope you all are ready!!

Philip

pkphilip

where are the snow!?

Hurry up! My snow tires are complaining...
ACC-HE 發表於 2009-12-2 15:39

With freezing temperature, you should see your tires work better.

Philip

pkphilip

Gosh, how much I hate driving with winter tires because they are so soft. But still, safety first.

Something we can all agreed on is that having winter tires does not mean driving racklessly. All of us who have winter tires are aiming for only one reason - maintain control of the vehicle in the worst weather.

You can "taste" the difference already by driving in early morning, the frost on the ground is good enough for "appertizer", with freezing temperature, AS and summer tires will turn into a piece of hard rubber (hockey puck). Your braking distance and control will be affected significantly.

I know that people demonstrate winter tires effectiveness by simply rolling/rubbing 2 different tires on ice, and obviously the winter tire will not slip as much... does this simple experiement mean something?

Philip