First impressions - studded snows (215/50R-17 General Altimax Arctic) transform this car. Even my Subaru Legacy, a car I built into a dedicated winter vehicle with 185 series pizza-cutters, doesn't grip like this chassis does. Impressed so far and very happy.

 

i understand the concept of running narrower tires in the winter, but most people in the states aren't driving in the snow 24/7, at most your driving for a few hours until it turns into salty water. I run the factory size during the winter with no problems, and i'm not sacrificing the contact patch in dry weather, when I'm doing most of my driving, just my 2 cents...

 

I'm running factory size winter tires as well. It really doesn't snow here in WA all that much, but when it does I'm am going to be better off than without them. Everyone thinking of buying winter tires should definitely give the Continental Extreme Winter Contacts a try. They performed brilliantly in snow and ice this winter. #1 on Tire Rack for a reason. Those boys do some serious testing and pretty much do all the work for us. That is why I only buy tires from them!

 

I recently mounted some Michelin X-ice 225/45/17 and they are fantastic. Tire rack has/had them on closeout, paid ~500 shipped to my door.

 

Yeah Michelin tires are really great!

 

I run the stock 235/45/17 on Hankook winter ipike w409's and find the ride is great and the tires grip awesome in the snow. I've never been stuck before!

 

I've been running 225/45/17 Dunlop wintersport M3's for the past 2 years. They have treated very well so far.

 

It's my second season on 225/45/17 Hankook W409 ipikes. I give them an 8/10, especially when you consider price.

When I first put them on the dry road handling was terrible. After a few thousand miles they're much better handling in the dry now. You almost have to break a winter tire in for road use. When they're brand new you're riding on the tips of all the sips and studs. They suck except in the snow and ice.

The snow and ice handling is awesome. I have yet to get stuck and I took my car up some scary stuff I probably shouldn't have.

Taller sidewalls are much better in winter conditions. The flex that is inherent in taller sidewalls helps with traction while at the same time increasing clearance for deeper areas and protecting the rim from unseen objects below the snow.

I'll probably stick with 225/45 in the future. It looks good on the car while still performing well. They don't look like big goofy winter tires. They look sporty.

For more serious winter areas 215/50 IMO is the preferred size.

 

I was very close to going 225/45/17 and was even considering Dunlop M3's at one point, but based on reviews on 1010tires decided to go with the ipike. I looked everywhere on Evom with no luck finding a review on the ipikes so I just decided to take the jump and try them out.

You're correct about having to break them in, before they grip well on dry surfaces. The only issues I have so far are they are a bit loud and not the best in wet/rainy weather.

How is your experience with them in terms of tread wear? I've only used them for around 1000 miles and I am curious to see how long they last.

 

I don't put a lot of miles on my evo. It's my weekend and after work cruiser. I only have 22,000 on it. I'm definitely getting a 3rd season out of these. I'd estimate I have about 6,000 on the ipikes. Close visual inspection shows wear to the tips of the sips and a slight amount of wear to the tread but nothing out of the ordinary and the tread is still very deep. I run fairly aggressive alignment and it wears my summer tires unevenly but my winters seem to somehow avoid being unevenly worn. I was surprised by that when I swapped them out last year. I guess the reduced width helps along with them being a higher mileage tire in general than summers.

I don't have a lot of other tires to compare them to except some much older nokians I had on a different FWD cars. I do love the ipikes in the slush and rain though. They seem to resist hydroplaning well for me.

I agree that they are noisy. Sometimes I think I hear phantom problems with the drivetrain only to realize it's the tires. I only paid $105 ea for them from discount tire on special. Since getting them I have no worry of not being able to get around in bad weather. That's for sure. In fact I welcome the challenge since I have yet to get stuck.

I spent the day today driving around on yesterdays 5" of snow getting rained on. They performed beautifully.

 

After a lot of snowfall and lots of driving i absolutely hate the General Altimax Artic
not good in very deep snow and not too good on ice too
stay away from 235/45/17 for real winter driving like we have here.

 

i just swapped out my g-forces for bridgestone blizzaks 255/40/17 on my stock 17x8's and they grip well. even with all of the storms that slammed the east coast i had no issues

 

This is the first time I heard a bad review about these tires. What do you mean by deep snow? I'm not how much snow you get in Montreal.

I was looking at getting these tires for winter and some occasional ice racing.

 

Agreed.

I ran the Generals in NH (deep snow) in my SVTF. No issues. Evo can plow and high-center.

Ice racing is a different ballgame. Those guys/gals go nuts with studs and more or less claws I'd look at high performance snow tires (130+ high speed rating) if going out for some fun ice runs.

I'll be testing Dunlop Graspic DS-3 tires this season on my RA.

 

Looking into some winter tires for the evo to get me up and down the mountain this winter for boarding. I'm looking at the Continental ExtremeWinterContact, I was just wondering if a 225/55r17 would fit or whether I should just drop the extra money for the more lo-pro tire at 225/45r17. Thanks for any input you can give me.