re: 164s Tire choice (long reply)

[bearbvd@domain.elided (Greg Hermann)]

>"Any words of advice from those who really drive their cars in snow?  I
>don't mean 'can make it home in snow' but rather ' 'willingly drives 200
>miles in snowstorm to ski powder'.  Just how good are these cars with 'all
>season' tires on them?  Michael?  Zach?"
>
>Hmmm, I can tell you which dedicated snow tires I'd never buy again:
>Bridgestone Blizzaks.  Don't believe the hype!!

Agreed the Bizaches are little better than useless.

Have not tried the Michelin or Pirelli ice offerings. Hakke NR-10's, with
studs are _VERY_ nice, as are Hakke N-1's with studs.

Have not tried the Hakke Q's (studless) or any of the Nokia high
performance all season stuff--of which they DO have a fair selection.

California's chain rules are little more than a sick joke. Flat idiotic! I
think the main intent of them is to force folks to drive too slow!

Most folks I know who do any serious amount of winter/foul weather driving
call typical "All-Season" tires "No-Season tires. They aren't much good for
anything--- Have NOT tried them, but suspect that the Nokia all-season
stuff might be a different story in this regard.

All of the Nokias are surprisingly good on gravel and dirt roads, for
whatever that's worth.

Armstrong Norseman radials are not bad for bigger stuff, but will not touch
the Hakkes. For REALLY big tires (medium truck), the Goodyear "G-124" tread
pattern is good. Microsiping is a wonderful thing on heavier truck tires.

(Comments based on 23 years living in Steamboat Springs, typically put at
least 45K miles/year collectively on a variety of vehicles, and have driven
trucks with a GCVW as high as 110,000lbs. )

Greg

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