I have installed Pirelli Winter Carving on the HCH and increased the psi to 40. We had in the Montreal area more or less the same weather than Toronto. I feel very safe with these tires and would recommand them. I will not talk about my very poor mpg of the last 3 tanks it's not the topic of the thread.

bye,

PierreM

 

An Update,

I've been driving along with snows, and while our ride has improved alot since we've got them, the back end of the car still moves back and forth whenever we hit an ice patch or "lumps" of snow on the road...ie those ridges that plows leave across the road when doing driveways.

Anyone else have this problem...on pavement its fine, but slips around when on ice. It tends to make the car jerk left - its not uncontrollable, but I don't think its all that normal.

oh I owe an apology to Canadian Tire Corp.....crappy tire is a term our family has used for them for years - no reflection on the quality of thier goods...no idea how this started hehe.

 

It sounds like you are describing "fishtailing", but that only really occurs in RWD cars.

I have not had this sensation happen in our HCHs.

You do have four snow tires, right? Not just on the front?

Ian

 

Yup, snows on all four corners.

 

You can get "fishtailing" on a FWD under certain conditions... it's not a true fishtailing as there is no power slide occuring. It's more a slide due to poor traction and weight shifting.

You would think that in a FWD car you would want the best tires in the front. While this does improve traction this isn't the safest move. You want your best tires in the rear to prevent the case where your rear wants to spin out.

What happens is that your fronts have good traction and better braking then the rear. If you happen to be going around a corner and slowing down, the rear still wants to go forward and cannot slow down as fast as the rear and there you go... fishtail effect.

By moving the better tires to the rear, you avoid having a situation where your fronts track better and you essentially have an anchor (in the rear) and understeer (in the front). This is what you want and most car manufacturers build in understeer (into the car itself) on purpose because all you have to do is let off the gas to get out of it. Which to most comes naturally.

 

I'm in Toronto too and got Michelin X-Ice tires from my Honda dealer. I really notice a difference in stability in the snow. The stock tires are really summer tires. Do they even claim to be all-season? After this weekend's storm, I'm really glad I got them.

No, I've had no rear end instability. what is being described doesn't sound normal to me. Maybe a 3rd party garage should check the alignment.

 

Okay, this is a long shot, but when I put our Blizzack WS-60s on, I was surprised to see they were directional tires. If your fronts are in the right direction and your rears in the wrong direction this could cause your rears to hydroplane on the slush.

At any rate, it's not normal and if it makes you feel unsafe you should get a second opinion.

Good luck.

 

You might want to add some additional weight to the back of your car. Though the battery should be heavy enough, try adding a sand bag or two to the trunk. See if that helps. I know your mpgs will suffer, but it is better then causing an accident.

 

Did you apply for the $100 Michelin winter tire rebate?

That is one of the reasons why I like to buy The Michelin X-Ice as well at the dealer. I got the rebate last year for my O6 and this year's for my wife's 07.

Glad to hear they're working well for you.
Side note: It appears the Michelin X-Ice are the only tires that really work well in the extreme cold of Thompson in Manitoba.

Cheers;

MSantos

 

You may have something there with your theory. I noticed that my Nokian Hakkapeliitta snow tires have directional markings on them too. What you say makes sense, because if the tires were to be put on facing the wrong way, the treads would not work the way they should.