Great post! Thanks for the info. So how does one go about "balancing" tires?

 

Unfortunently you need a spin balancing machine. Considering they cost several thousands of dollars, you need to go to a repair shop. One thing that some places try to "upsell" on is road force balancing, but that is not normally needed unless you have a real issue. Normal balancing is fine.

 

I still don't think it necessary. We have snow, ice, slush, and all that nasty stuff here, and I get through it just fine on all season tires.

The only thing that would stop me is really deep snow, deep enough to bottom out, but winter/snow tires wouldn't make any difference there.

 

safety is for people who can afford it. anyone can 'get by' with shitty tires. just dont have the confidence level or consistency as those that are prepared.

ive driven the 09 GE in deep snow (deep enough to scrap bottom) with WS60's. it didn't get stuck. meanwhile, a FWD suv got stuck so i had to pass him/her. clearly it was their all season tires that just couldn't 'get by' this time.

snow tires > all season tires (especially the ones that came with the car)

 

I'm 100% confident in my driving abilities, and have no need to waste money on another set of tires. That's not because I can't afford them either.

I've gone through snow where I was scraping bottom as well, and had no problem with the "shitty tires" as you call them. The deep snow I speak of is where it is higher than the bottom of the car, and the car settles down on it, or is completely blocked by it. Tires don't matter in that scenario.

It's all in the drivers ability to handle the vehicle, and road conditions. Around here, the roads are full of over confident and over cautions people. You either see them in accidents, or they are holding up traffic.

 

ROOARR! hahaha. i guess you dont have much snow where you live. then you can get by with a/s tires.

 

On my subaru (99 outback) I ran Nokian WRs. That was enough for the type of snow we get here, and with the AWD I had no problems getting out of the driveway. When it did snow I had no problems with the suabru, it was so well balanced and predictable that taking corners, sideways, at speed.

When that car died (spund a bearing...) I ended up with a 97 civic. I puts snows (altimax arctic, with studs, 185/65r14) on so I could claw my way out of the driveway (steep, up to the road) in the mornings. For the 2010 winter, I was glad I had them, lots of snow that year.

Last year, 2011, we had 14" of snow on october 29th (early for NJ!) And I got caught out in that storm with my dads 2007 outback with goodyear trippletrads. While the all seasons were "adiquit" that is all they were. I could get arround because I actually practice foul weather driving (drifting in snow covered parkinglots is fun too! I reccomend getting the feel for your car and tires) and the AWD was the only reason some of the hills here were possible.

I sold the civic when I bought my fit (2011, april) but kept the snows because they fit the fit. Though I have no reports on the fit in the snow because the only snow we got last year was that 14" storm in october. I actually put my summers on in the second week of febuary 2012!

 

Not quite sure why you think it is a waste of money. it's not like the all seasons get used up when the snows are on. I run my "summer" tires 25% - 33% longer because i have snows for 3-4 months on the vehicle. I also get places better and safer in the winter and there have been a number of times where I have gotten through snow-covered areas where other vehicles with all seasons couldn't get through. Snows give you more than just traction to move forward, they give you much better lateral grip in the snow so you don't slide off the road which is usually the biggest issue, especially here in VT where the roads have a tendency to not go straight.

There are major benefits to snow tires but not everyone actually needs them. in areas with higher snow fall, I'd recommend them. Just my $.02

~SB

 

Perhaps I misread your comment but I don't think it makes any sense. A proper winter tire has nothing to do with "driving ability". That would be like saying "I'm a good driver, so I can drive a chevy pinto, why bother getting a porsche". Just look at F1 drivers; could you imagine one saying, let's skip the treaded tires on a rainy day, I'm confident in my abilities to win the race with my slick tires anyway, I'll just drive better.

A previous poster mentioned "AWD made the steep hills possible". That's an example of someone who truly understands winter driving. If you have a heavy rear load on a FWD vehicle and need to get up a steep hill covered with packed snow with all season tires, it's probably not gonna happen whether you are david coulthart or not whereas a granny driver in a Yaris will be able to overcome the hill. Why would you prefer a horrid driving experience to good traction on the basis that it's a "waste of money"?

I mean if you get snow and ice for 3 weeks a year then don't bother, but in Quebec, winter tires are a basic necessity and has been required by law for the past few years.

I would also caution the attitude of being over confident in icy conditions. Maybe you don't get black ice in ohio but if you tried taking a corner at 30 Mph and hit a patch of black ice with all seasons on, you'd probably end up doing a 360 and hitting the curb! Just because you don't see it doesn't mean it's not there and you'll only realize once its too late. No amount of corrective steering can save you if you hit a patch of ice with too much speed. I

 

ive got a set of michelin x-ice xi2's and LOVE them. Great FE, no noise, great grip.

 

I had a set on a Toyota Sienna once, good tire. They felt very sure footed in our crap Ohio weather. Just too rich for my blood these days though lol.

 

I have a 2010 Sport and I would have been happy to get the stock tire size or downsize one size, but Tire Rack didn't have wheels to fit those sizes. I ended up with 195/65 15 inch Continental ExtremeWinterContact's. They don't stick to ice quite as well as the Blizzak's I've had before, but they're much better in the wet and dry between storms. not too pricey, either. Certainly much better than the OEM's in snow.

Cheers!

 

I bet that looks good. Integra alloys are like gold around here. Stupid prices or none to be found. Lucky!!!

 

The integras used the same lug pattern as civics up through 2005 so any 15" alloy/steel wheel and many 14" alloy or steel wheel from an integra or Civic should fit just fine. The civic and Integra wheels should be readily accessible. I searched every day for about 5 minutes on CraigsList for integra and civic wheels, rims, etc.. It took me about 3 weeks to find a set of wheels I liked that were close enough for me to drive. There were plenty of options but I was picky and ended up with Integra Mesh wheels:


~SB

 

Just chimed in to say those look great on a GE. Definitely better than steelies.

Obviously no snow in the neck of the woods where I come from, so carry on

 

As derek244 says, you'll need a spin balancing machine for this so your best bet is to go to a tire or suspension shop. Once the wheels are on the machine, the technicians can see where a wheel needs correction. They do this by putting tin snips to a band of wheel weights and then putting them to the inside of the wheel barrel/rim. The process is repeated until the spin balancer registers zero correction needed.

Hope this helps!

 

Interesting discussion. I grew up and lived a large slice of my life in Michigan, and have lived in Alaska. I now live in the mountains of SW Virginia. I've *never* used snow/winter tires and have yet to ever be stuck in the snow in any vehicle I've ever owned, including two Civics and an Accord (which I bought in Alaska). This sounds like a thread started by a shill for tire manufacturers!

 

I think it depends allot on the topography where you live and the kind of snow you get, and how well your local roads are maintained. For instance, even though it's in Alaska, Anchorage is quite flat. So if your route allows it, statements like yours can be true, now add a steep hill throw in a little off-camber for fun then add snow/compact snow/ice/black ice with front wheel drive and any old tire you want..that could get sketchy quickly. No hills and relatively flat topography...easy squeasy. I've found that getting around in the Cascade Mountains is easier than in Seattle when it snows, mostly because it's colder and the roads stay "crunchy" so you can actually get traction on them. Location, location, location?

 

Well, I've lived in the Appalachian Mountains of rural SW Virginia for 15 years, with two Civics the whole time, and have never had any problem with all weather tires on either of them. It's not unusual to see a 3000' altitude change within 5 miles around here, so I wouldn't hardly call it "flat" (flat is one thing we don't have). Never had a lick of trouble. I think honestly it's more about driving ability than what kind of rubber is on the rims.

 

Last year when it snowed here I was dropping into the Green River Valley on an off-camber road, with AWD and fresh set of Nokian WRG2's. I was doing the smooth, steady, leave room, maintain momentum, brake early and I still ended up with the worst case of Butt-Pucker I've ever had driving in the snow, the road was covered with black ice then covered with snow. The snow..even though my tires had excellent traction on the snow, the snow just slid on the black ice, so in the end I was just going along for the ride, even though I had the experience and all the proper tools.