CX-9 vs. MDX

Few tires, regardless of tread pattern, without studs are gonna do much for you on a sheet of ice.

Actually there are several dedicated winter tires on the market now that do an excellent job on ice.
 
I seriously doubt any tire would do well when all four corners are on a sheet of ice w/o studs.

Spoken like someone who hasn't tried any of the high tech snow tires that have come out in the last 10 years. Your opinion is really irrellevant, because it isn't based on any facts or experience.
 
Spoken like someone who hasn't tried any of the high tech snow tires that have come out in the last 10 years. Your opinion is really irrellevant, because it isn't based on any facts or experience.

True True.... i was the exact same way.. "No way ice tires make that much of a difference". Until I went cough Curling cough (for a work Staff party; I swear), it made me think. The sweepers put on this rubber shoe that literally sticks to the ice. This is how they stay controlled. Then I started thinking about tires.

My brother bought some cheap winters for his MS3. The first time I drove it, I noticed a huge difference vs all my other cars. We drove side by side in my AWD CX7, and he beats me everytime from a stop, and stops much quicker than I do. Different cars, different tires yes, but in winters, I beleive!!

You really have to try it first before judging them!
 
Spoken like someone who hasn't tried any of the high tech snow tires that have come out in the last 10 years. Your opinion is really irrellevant, because it isn't based on any facts or experience.

I guess you must have a crystal ball hidden under your bed. Otherwise I don't know how you would come up with that conclusion.

My experience with dedicated snow tires came in a set of Michelin Pilot Alpin back in 2001. At that time, they are about the only set of snows that are H rated. You are more than welcome to search about the performance of these Alpins if you like. I had them on undoubtedly the best AWD system to date, on a quattro A4.

Don't presume to know everything.

Though I didn't have any issues going anywhere from a couple of inches to a full blown 8" snow storm back then, I'm not naive enough to think any studless snow tires will be any good when all 4 corners are on a sheet of ice. I would like to see you go around a corner at 35mph on a skating ring in your car.

If you have any reference or articles on any cars with your advanced set of tires on a sheet of ice, do share it. I would like to see it.
 
Last edited:
I vaguely remember watching a TV show where they were testing cars with snow tires in an ice hockey rink. Those cars looked pretty controlled to me.
 
Wow, I think that video says it all. Granted they were only going 10 miles an hour, but it definitely shows how much of a difference it makes. Nice find.
 
That rink is the exact conditions we have because the plows run right away, or the snow is packed quickly. Very seldom do we have to actually drive through piled snow.

I'd like to see that test between different A/S tires, like the Duelers, Latitudes, and Paradas. That would be interesting.

Here's what we drive on in winter...solid ice

.
 

Attachments

  • Town Snow 1.webp
    Town Snow 1.webp
    40.1 KB · Views: 231
  • Town Snow 2.webp
    Town Snow 2.webp
    39.2 KB · Views: 239
  • Town Snow 3.webp
    Town Snow 3.webp
    40.2 KB · Views: 230
I guess you must have a crystal ball hidden under your bed. Otherwise I don't know how you would come up with that conclusion.

My experience with dedicated snow tires came in a set of Michelin Pilot Alpin back in 2001. At that time, they are about the only set of snows that are H rated. You are more than welcome to search about the performance of these Alpins if you like. I had them on undoubtedly the best AWD system to date, on a quattro A4.

Don't presume to know everything.

Though I didn't have any issues going anywhere from a couple of inches to a full blown 8" snow storm back then, I'm not naive enough to think any studless snow tires will be any good when all 4 corners are on a sheet of ice. I would like to see you go around a corner at 35mph on a skating ring in your car.

If you have any reference or articles on any cars with your advanced set of tires on a sheet of ice, do share it. I would like to see it.

The 2001 Alpin was far from the best ice tire available in 2001. It was just an average snow tire compared to the Blizzak and Nokian Rsi. Michelin has since added the X-ice2 to their line-up which is an excellent tire. The actual ice gripping high tech tires make a huge difference. No, they don't make the car indestructable, but a remarkable difference. I know you haven't used any of these tires because your attitude would be different if you had.
 
The 2001 Alpin was far from the best ice tire available in 2001. It was just an average snow tire compared to the Blizzak and Nokian Rsi.

I'm not familiar with the Nokian, but I renember looking at the Blizzak at that time and I believe their model at that time was WS-50. Not H rated for sure.

Are you seriously telling me a Blizzak WS-50 was a better tire than the Pilot Alpin?? Check what tires are recommended for Porsche for winter driving back in 2001, will ya?

Did you even buy any snow tires back in 2001 to even try to argue with me?

I'm a proponent of having snow tires, but please don't kid yourself and others. More harm are done when people buy these snow tires and wonder why they spin out on black ice. Taking a turn at 10mph is very different from going around a ramp at 35mph.
 
Look at Mazda3 getting into it to defend his point. Go dude!

When I was researching tires, I read a story about a company in Alaska whose home office in sunny California decided to save money by switching from studded tires to Blizzaks or Winter Duelers. They too were skeptical until they tried them and have had no problems with traction with the non studded tires. The non studded winter tires also perform BETTER in dry conditions than studded. Saved the company a huge amount of money not having to keep buying new tires.

They also reduced the destruction of their roads, which is one reason a lot of areas are outlawing studded tires in favor of winter specific tires like the Blizzak.
 
I'm not familiar with the Nokian, but I renember looking at the Blizzak at that time and I believe their model at that time was WS-50. Not H rated for sure.

Are you seriously telling me a Blizzak WS-50 was a better tire than the Pilot Alpin?? Check what tires are recommended for Porsche for winter driving back in 2001, will ya?

Did you even buy any snow tires back in 2001 to even try to argue with me?

I'm a proponent of having snow tires, but please don't kid yourself and others. More harm are done when people buy these snow tires and wonder why they spin out on black ice. Taking a turn at 10mph is very different from going around a ramp at 35mph.

I've been using snow tires on my cars for 20+ years. In case you didn't notice I live in western Canada. The Alpin was recommended on the Porsche because of the higher speed rating and the stiffer side wall. The Blizzak had FAR superior ice gripping capabilities. Where I'm from people don't take their Porsche's out of the garage in the winter and no one drives over 100 MPH with the road conditions we have from November to March. H rated snow tires are pointless here, we need the superior ice/snow capabilites. So, yes I'm saying in 2001 the Blizzak WS-50 was a far superior SNOW tire than the Pilot Alpin. I've used numerous different snow tires over many years, I know from experience, not from a survey on a Porsche drivers website.
 
It is useless to argue further. My criteria at that time was geared more towards performance, thus my choices were limited to the few H rated tires available, the Pilot Alpin being one of them.

Again, you are making a lot of assumptions, from saying I've no clue about snow tires to the Alpin being "far from the best". All based on your own presumptions and your own preferences.

If you are all for trekking around in 8" of snow (just about the clearance I have in my previous car), all day every day, I guess the Blizzak WS50 might be better. For me though, in my driving conditions, I prefer the "far from the best" Michelin Pilot Alpin.

Like I said, NO snow tires that I know of is going to save your a$$ going 35mph around a corner on a sheet of ice on all 4 tires. Of course, this is coming "someone who hasn't tried any of the high tech snow tires that have come out in the last 10 years".

With your superior knowledge of over 20 years, please share with us what snow tires can I use on my vehicle allowing me to make a turn on a sheet of ice going a slow poke 35mph?
 
Last edited:
So are you choosing between a MS3 and CX-9? B/c they couldn't be more different cars. But, I do own one of each, and they are great cars. I prefer the MS3...it's a real sports car...but the CX-9 is a better family car.
 
I seriously doubt any tire would do well when all four corners are on a sheet of ice w/o studs.

Spoken like someone who hasn't tried any of the high tech snow tires that have come out in the last 10 years. Your opinion is really irrellevant, because it isn't based on any facts or experience.

What I said earlier.

I think both sides have made their point. I'll leave it at that.
 
My brother bought some cheap winters for his MS3. The first time I drove it, I noticed a huge difference vs all my other cars. We drove side by side in my AWD CX7, and he beats me everytime from a stop, and stops much quicker than I do. Different cars, different tires yes, but in winters, I beleive!!

If the MS3 was shod in A/S as opposed to summer tires, there's no reason why a much heavier car like the CX7 will out accelerate the MS3 since both cars have the same/similar HP and torque.

As far as stopping goes, I'm sure the MS3 brakes is as good or better than the CX7 since it is a sporty hatchback afterall. Being lighter, assuming the same brakes, it'll stop quick quicker also.

Now, do the same comparison with snow tires on the MS3, the results will be compounded further. No surprise the MS3 with snow out accelerates and stop faster than the CX-7.

Btw, to the topic at hand, if the similarly equipped MDX is within a few thousand as the CX-9, I would probably picked the MDX instead.

I have a loaded 08 GT minus the tow and entertainment package which I purchased for a little less than $32k (before TTL). If the MDX w/ tech package was $33k, I would have chosen than instead.

I had an 08 MDX for an extended weekend at one time and didn't quite like the "feel" of driving it and thought the ride wasn't as plush. Normally that's a good thing but this was going to be the family car.

When I sat in the CX-9, it feels much better driving it, but the ride is very jarring. Even more so than the MDX. I knew it before buying, but can't justify spending like $6k more for the MDX. Hopefully with new tires in the future and having a toddler (from an infant now), we won't mind too much.
 
Back