Blizzaks are great in soft snow and hardpack. I have the same model tire for my Touareg. They are gummy like rubber erasers, with piles of sipes, but the super grippy part of the tread will only last about 15-20K miles.

I also notice mine are slightly louder , but not annoying so. They do NOT perform as well as my Pirelli Scorpions on dry roads. Blizzaks are NOT a dry weather tire.

 

I went through winter on my OEMs last year... not fun.
I hope to get 3 - 4 winters out of them, I'd be happy with that.

 

You don't do many winter miles then?

 

Not much, I only do about 5k miles in winter driving (Dec. - Mar.).

 

Installed winter rims and tires from Tire Rack today. Ride quality is surprisingly good for a winter set. More cushioning than the 19" Everest, but you really feel it get squirrelly with sharp lane changes. Road noise is noticeable until the wind noise drowns it out, and I'm ecstatic to report there is zero shaking. So far I'm happy, we'll see how it performs when the snow and ice hits the pavement... I'm ready for old man winter !!! Rims: Rial W10X 18" x 8" Tires: Bridgestone DM-V1 Blizzaks

Nice looking rims. I received my 18" pkg with the DM-V1 last week. It's been a warm December here in Boston. Was kind of waiting to mount them on the treg. But I think I will have to this weekend.

 

Thanks Henney. I know what you mean, we had a few inches of snow here in New Jersey over the last few days, so I figured it was time… don't want to get caught off guard. Which rims did you get with your DMV1's?... pics??

 

Vredestein Wintrac Xtremes are awesome tires.

I have 12k miles on mine and are still going strong - I drove them thru the summer and now that we've had a few snows, they are still great.

 

What size Wintrac's you're using?

I have a '14 TDI Lux and am considering putting the winter tires (Hakka R2, Vred Wintrac 4, or Blizzak DM-V1) on the stock 19" rims and getting some Victor Zehn or Hartmann 20's for the summer.

I normally buy all my wheels and tires from Tire Rack, as it's close to me, with great fit advice, but they only sell the 265/50-19 DM-V1's. It looks like both the Hakka R2 and Wintrac 4 are available mail order from Waukegan in 255/55-19 which is probably close enough.

I'm in NE Indiana with typical snow/slush and some ice, but other than last winter's craziness, not huge amounts of snow.

Just wondering if the Wintrac or Hakka are really that much better tires vs just going to Tire Rack for the Blizzaks and be done with it?

 

We are on our second winter with the 20 inch Michelin Latitude ice x and I love the way they work in ice and snow and even wet roads. I drive dry roads also with no problems.

 

Pirelli Scorpion Winter. First 10 inches of snow in Totonto today and performing great.

 

Installed today!

 

Nokian Hakkapeliitta 8 SUV Studded. Best tire I've ever used on winter roads.

 

I left my "summers" on a little later this year, they're Falken STZ05's 20's. We have a pretty steep driveway and I can tell you I was shocked at how poorly the tires gripped the snow. even just allowing the vehicle to coast down the hill with the hill decent on, the vehicle was struggling to keep it straight.

switched to the hakka R's and not even the slightest slip. Every year I've got people telling me winter tires are simply a marketing ploy, but I can tell you it's unreal what a difference they make.

 

switched to the hakka R's and not even the slightest slip. Every year I've got people telling me winter tires are simply a marketing ploy, but I can tell you it's unreal what a difference they make.

I hear this same argument all the time. I usually suggest they take a run on snow/ice in dress shoes vs winter boots and let me know how it works out for them...

Those that have never driven on winter tires have absolutely no idea that you can get grip close to wet conditions on snow/ice.

 

any more pictures of that rear end with what i'm suspecting to be a quad tip setup?

 

If we don't get some snow soon, I'm putting the OEMs back on!

OP= boss looking set up..Bravo Zulu

 

NickM, Santrooper,

I absolutely agree with you, Snow tyres in winter in the north is a must. Anybody who says different does not know what they are talking about, at all and should keep their nearsighted opinions to themselves. People like that should stay at home and out of the way, if that is the mentality of people who think that snow tyres are a marketing ploy. If there is no snow or ice then, yes, it is a marketing ploy, but if there is snow and/or ice then it changes the scene totally. I get infuriated when I hear comments from drivers who live in their own little world... OK, phew... I am calm now... whooosaaah!

 

NickM, Santrooper,

I absolutely agree with you, Snow tyres in winter in the north is a must. Anybody who says different does not know what they are talking about, at all and should keep their nearsighted opinions to themselves. People like that should stay at home and out of the way, if that is the mentality of people who think that snow tyres are a marketing ploy. If there is no snow or ice then, yes, it is a marketing ploy, but if there is snow and/or ice then it changes the scene totally. I get infuriated when I hear comments from drivers who live in their own little world... OK, phew... I am calm now... whooosaaah!

Nice one!

We don't get much snow but when we do, which car do I take out of choice in up to a foot or so of the stuff?

No, NOT the Touareg, but my wife's little front wheel drive pocket rocket on its winters!

I especially enjoy chewing past Range Rover owners stuck on their big, fat, slick summer tires!!

 

An added benefit to running dedicated rims and snow tires in the North is you keep your nice rims looking good because they are not subjecting to the salt and sand used on the roads in the winter and you extend the life of your more expensive "summer" tires because they are not on the car 5 of the 12 months. In my case the 19" Michelin's are $300 each, the 17" Cooper snows are $110 each, that is easy math for me.
12 years ago when I meet my wife she had never driven a car in the winter with snow tires, now she would never (or anyone else in family) drive a car in winter months without snow tires.
A large AWD vehicle like a Tahoe or Suburban will get going from a standing start in snow without snow tires very well but take once going they are challenging to stop quickly and keep on the road in slushy or icy winter conditions.

 

We see that every time it snows in VT...

Going up the mountain road (where it's two lanes up one lane down), there's the conga line of every SUV known (with NJ well represented...ahem), nose-to-tail, trying to eke thier way up, as I (safely ) blow by in the passing lane on full snows.

 

Whatever.......
These conga lines must be invisible to people who are on all seasons. The only vehicles I see having problems going up a mountain road in snow are rear wheel drive. I do not know what tires they are on since it is hard to read the sidewall in the dark while I am driving. I have 30 years in Audis and have never been stuck or had an accident with all seasons.

If I lived in VT I would put snows on my Touareg.

 

We purchased 19" Yokohama snow tires about month ago based on previous positive posting on CT. They have been terrific! Excellent handling. Great traction over snow packed mountain passes and icy conditions. I understand some tires don't handle well in sharp cornering. They are an excellent option.

 

On 17" wheels, I know the suggested size is 235/65/17 108 or higher XL rate
But would you put 245/65/17? The tire , Pirelli Scorpion Winter has a 111H rating and good price.

Thanks

 

You'd be just fine. The 245/65/17 is about 29.5 inches overall diameter. That's actually spot on for a T-3. That's actually the same diameter as a standard 265/50/19 tire from the factory. I'm running tires a little larger diameter than that (30 inches)without issue.

 

I'd like to point out that I have no issues with my Cooper Discoverer AT3s so far and I have been out on freezing- dry, icy, and snowy conditions for the last few months. I have a Subaru Outback as well which runs winter tires and I have run winter tires on all of my previous sedans. I certainly wouldn't discount the benefits of having them, but I can say with certainty that my 3 ton AWD Touareg does just fine with All Terrain tires. Also, I'm sick of using tires that only last a couple of years.

 

I love the AT3s on my GMC 2500, but I don't find the tires very capable in winter conditions. Yes the grip is good in deep snow, but not very good when trying to stop on a snow covered road. They are MUCH better than any other non-snow tire I've been on. The capability of the Touareg's drive system certainly helps in the grip space. Hard to beat the best AWD system on the face of the planet.


It all depends on your driving conditions through, if you're going through snow only a few times a year the AT3s are excellent...if you're snow covered with freezing temps for the better part of the winter, then I'd still go with snow rubber.

 

On the topic of effectiveness of winter tires, I recently read that since the province of Quebec legislated mandatory use of winter tires in 2008, accidents during the mandatory winter tire period are down almost 20% - and more importantly - accidents with severe injury are down nearly 40%.

HUGE numbers from a safety perspective.

 

Here in British Columbia, they have changed the winter tire requirements for most of the highways this year. Until now, from October 1st to April 31st the requirement was for passenger vehicles to have either winter rated snows (with the snowflake rating), or carry (and use when required) tire chains. The highway requirement now, for the same time period, is either winter rated snows, or M+S rated tires. No mention whatsoever of the carriage of chains allowing the use of summer, or all season tires!

 

LoL Handles it perfectly!! Nice video too..

 

I have been playing around with the treg on ice and snow lately. Only on ice covered with dry snow do the car slip easily.

Light fooling around gets handled by the awd system.

Some more fooling triggers the orange light on the dash and what I believe is a reduction in power.

Only on ice with snow on top and excessively turning and acceleration will trigger the red lamp on he dash and German engineering decides some braking is in order. And then the fun stops and the car stays on the road.

Braking is another story all together. Acceleration on snow and ice is very good, but the ABS kicks in when trying to get the speed down again in anything harder than normal breaking.

 

Acceleration on snow and ice is very good, but the ABS kicks in when trying to get the speed down again in anything harder than normal breaking.

And this is where I find good winter tires make a huge difference, sure a Touareg with summer tires will get going no problem on snow or ice, but a good set of winters at least in my case, changed abs from coming on to not even a hint of a slip on ice.

 

I ended up with the Nokian Hakka R2 SUV in 255/55-19 for my T3. So far, they're great in the light snow and ice we've had. Very happy!

 

I've got the same exact tires on my 2012 TDI for the winter set. You made a wise choice.

 

I recently just put on a set of 235/65/17 XL Conti ExtremeContact Winter. Only put on about 50-75 miles, so can provide any real feedback yet.

We had about a 1" here in the city. It works fine, no slipping or anything.

 

Reposting this from my thread about winter tires as more of a "hey neighbor" to the two Boston area owners (henney30 and agravadr) I see here.

18" Pirelli Scorpions on Type 19 black MSW rims. Now just waiting for some snow (today's dusting doesn't count).

 

i love the black on black! hi neighbor! yea it was a tease! we need some snow asap! i'll be making a trip up to sunday river in a couple of weeks. hopefully i will see alot more snow there