Westerly5

Sorry if this has been asked previously, but wondering about what owners recommend for winter tires on the S2K? Looking more for brand/model as opposed to size/dimensions. Thanks in advance.

Chuck S

I guess that depends on your definition of "Winter tires" which is non synonymous with "not-Summer tires." You driving the mountain passes where you need studded tires or will All Seasons work in your area? Vancouver itself seems to rarely get below freezing not like the sub freezing temperatures mid-continent and in the mountain passes. And daily driving requirements are different from nice weather weekends. Hopefully you're not depending on a "summer car" to function all year in extreme climates.

-- Chuck

engifineer

I assume they mean actual winter tires, not no seasons or summers, but yeah, kinda need to know. When I lived in MN, I never drove the S2k in winter and not until spring rains got the salt off the roads. On my other vehicles I used to run Blizzaks and Some Michellin winter tires but I think stuff has changed in the winter tire world and I have not lived up north for a couple of years now.

Blizzaks use to the THE winter tire but a few others surpassed them. If you drive where there is ice and snow I 100% recommend real winter tires. There is simply no arguing against how much better they are in real winter climates whether it be ice or snow, or just -20 out! Other than Blizzaks the Michelin X Ice has typically been a good one. Dunlop has one out too that is supposed to be pretty good. And the Nokian Hakkapeliitta has sounded pretty good from friends I know that run them.

If you do not have ice and snow and just colder temps below 40, something like the Conti Extreme contact all seasons may be a good fit.

sam_spider

There were quite a few guys up in Chicago many years ago that used to drive theirs daily, winter time they used Blizzaks.

Westerly5

Hi Chuck,

There is one mountain pass to occasionally contend (mostly in Feb and March) with and I think they require us to have a tire with the snowflake logo on that particular area between Oct and April. I'll have to check again though if an all-season would be enough. It would be something I could mostly avoid though if the weather turned nasty but I have been caught out a couple of times and it just meant a very long commute but I'm okay with that, especially as it's only very seldom an issue.
Safety is my priority, for me and other drivers around me, I don't have to have studded tires though. Thanks.

Westerly5

Thanks engifineer. Yes, I'm hearing good things about the Nokians and the Michelin X Ice.Really appreciate your input.

engifineer

No problem! I still have Blizzaks for our Tacoma but since moving, only have put those wheels on when we drove to Keystone for snowboarding Where I live now I rarely have times where they are of use. They will get hard as a rock before I ever wear them out.

A lot of places do not allow studded tires anyways. Some mountain pass areas do or require chains depending on where you are.

I have to say though, that driving in big snowstorms in MN with Blizzaks on our 3rd Gen 4 Runner or our Tacoma was hilariously fun. The Taco does great with it, but the 4runner is an absolute beast in the snow since it has a center diff, making it a lot easier to drive in 4WD at road speeds. I modded it so I could disable traction control and would hoon like no other when the snow was flying. It would be fun to play in the snow in the S2k but they used so much salt in MN I was just not going to do it to that car.