jaystizo

.. this comment from Discount Tire's site

http://discounttire.epinions.com/auto-review-478A-B96C536-3A38BF0D-prod1

Not that I don't live in Canada but can any Canadians or non-Canadians back this up.

I'm starting to pull my hair out trying to decide which tire to get.

Jay

ex-quattro PETE

For 22 inches of snow, you'd be better off getting the Q-rated Arctic Alpins. There's always a trade-off. In this case, it's a trade-off between good deep snow handling and dry road handling. More of one = less of the other.

I was perfectly happy driving my Pilot Alpins in a couple of inches of snow. Never got a chance to run into anything deeper last winter, but if I do, I'm not expecting them to be outstanding. That's not why I bought them.

See my review of Pilot Alpins in the User Reviews section, if you haven't already.

4kq

The artic alpins have NO cross-grooves. The pilots do. If you are going to actually be pushing snow get some tires that are designed to perform in snow.

RKA

I bought LM22's, which were fine for the weather we see down here in Philly, but my observations were very similar to the review you quoted, when the snow and ice hit the ground. Imho, they really didn't provide enough snow/ice traction to be called a winter tire, however dry road handling was awesome.

Prior to that, I had a '95 Integra that i outfitted with Yoko Guardex 600's. Terrible wet/dry handling, hydroplaned like crazy, however in snow and ice, the car was a billy goat! It was the first experience I ever had with a tire that could actually grip on ice!

I think both of the tires I mentioned above fall on either extreme of the range of winter tires available to you. What you need to do if find out how much dry road handling you are willing to trade off for better snow and ice handling. That decision should really be made based on the weather conditions you expect to encounter during the winter months. If you call Eddie@The Tire Rack, he can assist you in finding a tire suitable for your conditions. That's probably the best advice we can offer you, when purchasing winter tires...talk to someone knowledgable.

jaystizo

I called up Eddie and ordered a set 215/55-16 Dunlop Winter Sport M2's for my 02 Avant instead. I plan on taking many trips to Tahoe once it starts snowing.

Ted K

Don't agree at all. I have them on both cars and like them.

Eddie@Tirerack

They are pretty decent overall, but the Dunlop M2s or the Blizzak LM22s will be a bit better in wet & on wet/slushy conditions, as well as an advanttage to the LM 22s on some icy conditions, from having driven them last year in our testing on them.

Here is some feedback on the PAs from our site too.

call me if I can help!<ul><li><a href="http://www.tirerack.com/a.jsp?a=AR4&url=%2Fsurvey%2FSurveyComments.jsp%3Fa dditionalComments%3Dy%26amp%3BtireMake%3DMichelin% 26amp%3BtireModel%3DPilot%2BAlpin%26amp%3BcommentS tatus%3DP">PA reviews</a></li></ul>

Innovator

Check out the Nokian (WR) H or V rated.<ul><li><a href="http://www.nokiantires.com">Nokian Tires</a></li></ul>