Winter Tires
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Offshore24
Member
- :
- 06 M3 GT Black
using Dunlops.
Hmm. Never heard of those tires.. Please let us know how they work out!
UPDATED: Ahh.. Studded. Wish I could run those. Illegal here (Minnesota).
I'm running Goodyear Eagle UltraGrip GW3's on 16" steelies. Except for their propensity for picking up pea-sized stones, I absolutely love 'em!
And, yeah, definitely better than A/S tires, especially the OEM Bad^H^H^HGoodyear Eagle RS-A's... (puke)
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I don't think I will be getting them studded. Road noise annoys me.
Did you get your tires? I'm thinking of getting the same...
Do they seem pretty good?
mazdaman007
Location: Ottawa, ON
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- 2010 Mazda 3 GT 4 door
Running General Altimax Arctics on 16" steel rims, very happy with them. Here's my review that I submitted to TireRack.com
"Vehicle: 2009 Mazda3 GT 4 door
Tire size: 205/55R16 (unstudded)
I bought these tires after researching them online and finding numerous positive reviews and then I saw the latest Consumer Reports winter tire test that rated them 2nd overall and that clinched it. These tires are rebranded Gislaved NordFrost 3's made in Germany by Continental (Continental owns both the Gislaved and General Tire brands).
I've used many winter tires over the last 20 years (Bridgestone WT-02, Michelin Alpin, Blizzak WS-50, Dunlop Winter Sport M3, Blizzak WS-60) and price independent these are without a doubt the best overall with the WS-60 a close second. When you factor in the price of these versus the WS-60s it's not even close.
They have very little noise, ride is excellent, actually even better than my all seasons as I went from 205/50R17 to 205/55R16 for the winters on separate steel rims. If somebody dropped you into the car and asked what type of tires it had you probably would never guess they were winter tires. Of course, not being performance winter tires you do give up some dry traction (most noticeable on the on-ramps) but they are the least "feeling" winter tires I have owned with the exception of the Dunlops, however the Dunlops did not inspire the same level of confidence as the Altimax when the weather turned nasty. They are very stable on the highway and do not exhibit some of the “mushiness” that affects many winter tires. I can't comment on wear as I've only had them 3 months however if I get at least 3 winters I'll be happy. I only managed 2 winters out of the very soft WS-60s and once the multicell compound wears away on those (55%) you are back to a standard winter compound negating a good portion of their ice traction.
Deep snow, packed snow and ice traction are all very good with the Generals, I have to really slam on the brakes to even engage the ABS. Backing up a sloped driveway after a freezing rain storm I did not slip once. Unlike snow tires of old, wet traction is also very good with no sense of hydroplaning on the highway. When starting there is minimal wheel spin and cornering is also very good. They cannot change the laws of physics but you would really have to be an idiot to get into trouble with these tires.
The only fault (not really a fault) is that they are so good they can make you overconfident and almost forget you are driving on snow.
How much do I like them ? I installed them on all 3 of our cars. Nuff said."
"Vehicle: 2009 Mazda3 GT 4 door
Tire size: 205/55R16 (unstudded)
I bought these tires after researching them online and finding numerous positive reviews and then I saw the latest Consumer Reports winter tire test that rated them 2nd overall and that clinched it. These tires are rebranded Gislaved NordFrost 3's made in Germany by Continental (Continental owns both the Gislaved and General Tire brands).
I've used many winter tires over the last 20 years (Bridgestone WT-02, Michelin Alpin, Blizzak WS-50, Dunlop Winter Sport M3, Blizzak WS-60) and price independent these are without a doubt the best overall with the WS-60 a close second. When you factor in the price of these versus the WS-60s it's not even close.
They have very little noise, ride is excellent, actually even better than my all seasons as I went from 205/50R17 to 205/55R16 for the winters on separate steel rims. If somebody dropped you into the car and asked what type of tires it had you probably would never guess they were winter tires. Of course, not being performance winter tires you do give up some dry traction (most noticeable on the on-ramps) but they are the least "feeling" winter tires I have owned with the exception of the Dunlops, however the Dunlops did not inspire the same level of confidence as the Altimax when the weather turned nasty. They are very stable on the highway and do not exhibit some of the “mushiness” that affects many winter tires. I can't comment on wear as I've only had them 3 months however if I get at least 3 winters I'll be happy. I only managed 2 winters out of the very soft WS-60s and once the multicell compound wears away on those (55%) you are back to a standard winter compound negating a good portion of their ice traction.
Deep snow, packed snow and ice traction are all very good with the Generals, I have to really slam on the brakes to even engage the ABS. Backing up a sloped driveway after a freezing rain storm I did not slip once. Unlike snow tires of old, wet traction is also very good with no sense of hydroplaning on the highway. When starting there is minimal wheel spin and cornering is also very good. They cannot change the laws of physics but you would really have to be an idiot to get into trouble with these tires.
The only fault (not really a fault) is that they are so good they can make you overconfident and almost forget you are driving on snow.
How much do I like them ? I installed them on all 3 of our cars. Nuff said."
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It was going to be either these or the nordics from canadian tire. I went with the Ice Pros since Fountain tire is right beside where I work and canadian tire is packed on weekends. I am fairly happy with them but I have nothing to compare them to. They do perform much better than the stock Toyo all-seasons. Still they slip on a very icy sloping intersection coming out of my neighborhood, but I am not at all surprised and I am sure others do too. I will get 2 or 3 winters out of these and then upgrade.
DetroitSP23
Member
- :
- 05 Mazda 3 SP23 5 door
My thoery is, unless you do a lot of snowy mountain road driving or get a lot of ice you don't need a high end snow tire. Most any snow tire will give you the performance improvmeent over an all season; assuming manufacturing quality is good. I have Pacemark Snowtrakker's and they are great.
My biggest problem is steel rims getting bent.
My biggest problem is steel rims getting bent.
djltoronto
Member
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- Mazda 3 Sport
I have Continental Extreem Contact All-Seasons that work well with all of the snow we get here in Michigan's Upper Penisula. I wen't with agressive all seasons to save some money and it was a good choice. I don't know how much performance I would get from full snow tires.
djltoronto
Member
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- Mazda 3 Sport
Apparently that particular tire stands out in the crowd of all seasons..
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/testDisplay.jsp?ttid=124
DetroitSP23
Member
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- 05 Mazda 3 SP23 5 door
2 of the 3 times I don't even know. Doesn't take much with steelies.
nice right up, makes me feel even better now... i was a TAD hesitant going from the gislaved's (installed on the car now, but about to the death) to the general's (got them for a STEAL and wasnt sure the gislaved's would make it all winter) but if they are the same tire than i cant wait for 4-5 more years of solid winter driving...
and yea the gislaved's did make it thru the winter and even passed the yearly inspection last month... hahaha
murraymazda
Member
i have sold many general artic tires 205/50r17. customers seem to like them. my customers have told me that they are really good tires. i'm in the north east btw.
Installed General Altimax Arctic at the beginning of winter. Downsized to 205/55R16 on steel rims to save cost of 17" and to get a little better grip. Love these tires. They are actually rather quiet for snows and gave me great traction in what little snow Maine had this year. Never had a problem. They are studable but I didn't bother as I don't have much back road driving. They look great with no visible wear after one season.
mazdaman007
Location: Ottawa, ON
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- 2010 Mazda 3 GT 4 door
I'll second that about the great tire wear of the Altimax. I just took the tires off after about 12,000 KM and by the looks of things will easily get 4 winter seasons out of them. I don't how they've managed to combine great traction, good wear and low noise in one winter tire. Normally you have to give up at least one of those attributes on a winter tire. My opinion of them has only gone up now that I've used them 1 full winter. (2thumbs)
