[lishper]

Hi everyone,

I've had my Volt for a few months now and it's the first winter experiencing a car without dedicated snow tires. It's been a bit of a shock on how crappy the OEM Goodyears are with only 34k on them, so I'm looking to upgrade these to a nice set of all seasons that I can run throughout the winter, and then possibly next winter get a dedicated set of Rims/Snow Tires.

Any recommendations from anyone? According to Tire Rack, the Michelin Premier A/S looks to have the best winter reviews for the all season category, but we're looking at well over $700 for a set of 4 tires. I'm not opposed to spending that, but if the benefits of other tires outweigh those, I'm willing to consider them. I'm just looking for a great tire that will have good Winter abilities and also not kill my range. I'd like to hear more Volt specific recommendations.

Thanks!

 

[Steverino]

I got snow tires and wheels from TireRack for my first winter and never looked back. The car is awesome with snow tires. Maybe consider snows now and give yourself 3 months to consider whether you want to ride out the OEM's until they need replacement? My originals have more than half the tread left.

 

[Prohidium]

The oem's, when worn down, are pretty bad in the snow. I think you will find that most all seasons will be the same way. The original tires really seem to wear on the shoulders of the tire too making them really bad at biting in the snow as you only have the middle tread working for you. Having said that, the original goodyears, when new, were not that bad in the snow for me for the first two winters they were on the car. The last winter was brutal with them. I have dedicated snow tires now and am happy with that.

For non-winter tires, I went with new Pirelli Cinturato P7 a/s which also get decent reviews on tire rack for snow but I have no winter experience on them.

New tires of any kind though will be better than what you have now.

 

[lishper]

I could definitely go with snows right now, and I'm looking at a set of used snow tires with less than 5,000 miles on them. The problem being I don't want to keep swapping over tires on my stock rims, and that would mean buying a new set of rims (expensive) and stupid TPMS sensors right now. I guess I could swap them over right now and then in the spring, then next fall buy rims and new all seasons.

 

[gieso]

I agree, the stock tires are bad in the snow. I am now running the Michelin Premier A/S and am happy with the snow performance. They also have the side benefit of being a LOT quieter and much better dry road handling. I do see about a 4 mile per charge drop (~10%) with these tires. I have read on this site that getting the H rated version has a better rolling resistance than my V rated tires. V rated is overkill as the Volt tops out at just over 100MPH. H rated is 130MPH. V rated is 149MPH. I just got the version Costco had for about $650 (mostly targeted at MB and BMW class sedans). See if you can get the H rated version so you do not lose your EV range.

 

[Dutch]

Haven't run them in snow yet, just got them a little while ago but they are supposed to also be good in snow.
Continental True Contact Eco Plus running review.

 

[PilotAlan]

I put on Continental DWS06. It has the absolute strongest ratings for snow and ice performance short of the snow tire:
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/surve...let&autoYear=2014&autoModel=Volt&autoModClar=

They're also MUCH quieter, have much better dry and wet weather performance, more stable.
In snow, the Volt was unstoppable. I drove right through stuff that I only tried because by friend with his Jeep and towrope were right behind me.

Remember, the Volt has limited clearance. No matter how good your tires are, if you high center, you're done.

 

[Ron in Omaha]

I'll add a vote for buying your dedicated winter tires now. There's no such thing as an All-Season tire that's good in the snow when you compare them to winter tires. I have a complete set of rims and tires that I swap out twice per year in my garage. I have ultimate winter traction without compromise and it only costs me 30 minutes of time to bolt on the other tires and reset the TPMS system. My only regret is that my winter tires are on the aftermarket rims. I like the new rims much better so I wish I had the summer tires on them. I know, I could get them swapped, but I'm too cheap to go get it done.

 

[turboguy327]

All season? You mean 3 season tires? No "all-season" is any good in the snow. I have a tire machine so I swap mine out with snows on OEM rims. When spring/summer comes I'll pick up a new set of rims for the LRR tires.

 

[Joe67]

I'm hunting for a spare set of OEM wheels now, looking to go Blizzaks on my 2012.
Costco Canada sells black steelies all day long, not Costco in the US

 

[PilotAlan]

All season? You mean 3 season tires? No "all-season" is any good in the snow.

That's not a fair statement. The new generation of silica-based all-seasons are quite good in snow. Not as good as a dedicated snow tire, no question. But far, far better than the old "all-seasons" which got rock hard in snow.

I have managed many winters were in Colorado (where we know snow) using new generation all-seasons. If you choose well, they are quite effective. Now, if I lived at high elevations and was dealing with solid ice frequently, I'd get snows. But if you live somewhere with snow followed by melting and dry pavement, the new-gen all seasons work pretty darned well.

 

[Dutch]

That's not a fair statement. The new generation of silica-based all-seasons are quite good in snow.

PilotAlan, you sent me down a rabbit hole learning about silica-based tires. Wow, I had no idea at all.

Older article but very interesting reading... http://www.tirereview.com/silica-siping/

 

[PilotAlan]

PilotAlan, you sent me down a rabbit hole ...

Figured I'd share the wealth.... My wife laughs at how I get mildly OCD when learning something new. (Okay, more than mildly)
I go down rabbit holes all. the. time.

 

[lishper]

Thanks everyone for the advice. Ended up picking up a "used" set of Blizzak's with 11/32 left on the tread, so basically new. The Goodyears have 5-6/32 left on them, so i'll probably try and find another set of rims/TPMS for the Goodyears over the next few months, then use them until next Winter, and after another season of the Blizzak's I'll then replace the Goodyears in 2018.

 

[KenC]

PilotAlan, you sent me down a rabbit hole learning about silica-based tires. Wow, I had no idea at all.

Older article but very interesting reading... http://www.tirereview.com/silica-siping/

First time I had heard of silica in a winter tire was the Blizzak. Back then it was amazing how soft the rubber seemed in the dead of winter. Also, you noticed how less black the tires were. Now, all snows have silica in them and the color is slightly more gray. Before Blizzaks, we always got studded snows here in Maine. It was back in the mid-90s when we first got Blizzaks and silica.