# Cruze in the cold and snow!



## XtremeRevolution (Jan 19, 2012)

I decided to take the Cruze out to see how it would do in some real snow. We have a ~500 foot gravel driveway and got a lot of snow recently. I measured just over 9" when I went out with the Cruze, but I took the 4x4 Toyota pickup out before that to lay some tracks first and the front crossmember did a bit of plowing too. The driveway is a bit of a PITA to maneuver around because the tires are constantly digging through snow. You kind of feel like you're in a boat when you try to maneuver into a parking spot. The Blizzaks do an excellent job of digging down and scooping the snow under them to get better traction. Didn't have any issues getting around even while plowing through a good 4" of snow with the front end.

Starting had no issues here. It was -13 degrees F (-25C) and I have AMSOIL SS 0W-30 in the crank case. Sounded just like it does when I start it in 30 degree weather. Car got up to 110 degree operating temp within 3-4 minutes of idling with the heat on max, fan on 2nd level, and recirculate on. Air was blowing warm enough to keep me comfortable for the 15 or so minutes I was out. I can confidently say the AMSOIL Coolant Boost made a big difference. 

Anyways, I'm sure you're waiting for the pictures. You can't see it too well, but there's a One.Four sticker on the hood as well.


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## Robby (Mar 1, 2013)

Interesting, 
I noticed the warm air out of the vents (I predominatly run in bi-level) very soon after startup as you describe.

Becomes fairly respectable heat in 5 minutes or so.....not burn you hot but reasonably warm.

Rob


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## brian v (Dec 25, 2011)

Yeah that looks like the typical drive in the chicago land area ...
And yes folks the cruzen does real well in this stuff as long as you know what you are doing and you let IT Warm up a tad bit longer , Before starting out on your commute .


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## Blue Angel (Feb 18, 2011)

I don't think I'd have such good luck with my car being lowered!

"Look Ma, a snow lower grille block!"


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## SkidooSteve12 (Jul 5, 2012)

Blue Angel said:


> I don't think I'd have such good luck with my car being lowered!
> 
> "Look Ma, a snow lower grille block!"


It would look like this! 



My tracks in my driveway.


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## NickD (Dec 10, 2011)

Cruze could use a tad bit more of ground clearance. Could solve this by moving down south. First vehicle I had where I couldn't use my 52 year old oil changing ramps, had to buy new ones. Headed south wouldn't solve this.


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## gmenpg (Oct 22, 2013)

My cruze did absolutely horrible this winter. I felt like i was driving a go kart. I slid everywhereeeeeee.

But it was most likely the stock tires on it.


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## spacedout (Dec 7, 2010)

gmenpg said:


> My cruze did absolutely horrible this winter. I felt like i was driving a go kart. I slid everywhereeeeeee.
> 
> But it was most likely the stock tires on it.


Tires make a huge difference in the cruze, there is also a big difference in how each model handles. I have driven the LS & 1LT 16in firestones, the 17in ECO goodyears and the 2LT 17in continentals in the snow, but not the 18in LTZ michelins. 

Of the ones I have driven the 16in firestones are the best preforming stock tire in the snow, but thats mot saying much. Braking is still horrible with the firestones, but traction off the line and cornering is far superior.


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## celesin (Jan 21, 2014)

So what branded tires do you guys recommend? I have the 2013 LTZ and it isn't great in the snow but I think I did alright this winter considering how much snow we had and PA's inability to plow at the right time.


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## Blue Angel (Feb 18, 2011)

celesin said:


> So what branded tires do you guys recommend? I have the 2013 LTZ and it isn't great in the snow but I think I did alright this winter considering how much snow we had and PA's inability to plow at the right time.


Blizzaks, X-Ice or Hakka R's are all great tires. Do a little reading up on price/availability and take your pick, hard to go wrong. Lots of reviews to read through on Tire Rack for the X-Ice and Blizzak, you'll need to search around for reviews on the Hakka R. There are cheaper winter tires than these three, but in most cases the reduced price will come with reduced performance.


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## warplane95 (May 29, 2013)

spacedout said:


> Tires make a huge difference in the cruze, there is also a big difference in how each model handles. I have driven the LS & 1LT 16in firestones, the 17in ECO goodyears and the 2LT 17in continentals in the snow, but not the 18in LTZ michelins.
> 
> Of the ones I have driven the 16in firestones are the best preforming stock tire in the snow, but thats mot saying much. Braking is still horrible with the firestones, but traction off the line and cornering is far superior.


I drove the firestone in 10cm of snow.... Horrible!! 

I drove my cruze in 30cm of snow with my nokian, no complain.


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## warplane95 (May 29, 2013)

Blue Angel said:


> Blizzaks, X-Ice or Hakka R's are all great tires. Do a little reading up on price/availability and take your pick, hard to go wrong. Lots of reviews to read through on Tire Rack for the X-Ice and Blizzak, you'll need to search around for reviews on the Hakka R. There are cheaper winter tires than these three, but in most cases the reduced price will come with reduced performance.


No no no, the hakka r2 is the best winter tire in 2013, x-ice is second.

http://globalnews.ca/news/983023/winter-tires-do-you-really-need-to-buy-the-most-expensive-brand/

http://tires.about.com/od/buyers_guide/tp/The-Top-10-Dedicated-Snow-Tires-For-2013.htm

http://winter-tires.pmctire.com/enw/tire-info/evaluations-winter-tires.tire


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## Bullet (Aug 9, 2013)

Nokia has been always the best available tire brand for us here in Northern Europe. The factory started to make rubber boots, then these tires and finally mobile telephones. I can remember the first couple of years in my youth I drove a car with very worn summer tyres also during winter and it was a big investment to buy winter tires which were of course Nokians. No any other available then. Later others also came and made a competition and reduced prices. Now I believe tyres are only left from all Nokians here in Finland, rubber boots are made in Estonia, phones are nowadays made by Microsoft. The only thing they can't easily change is the place itself, the municipal of Nokia close to Tampere in Finland.
Saying all that, I use Nokian tires with studs in winter time and they seem to be quite ok. I have no any basis of comparison from about 25 years because I've used only 4WD vehicles with same AT tires around the year from 1987.


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## NickD (Dec 10, 2011)

With a 57*F day yesterday, the ice finally melted off my driveway and our road. Now I have to be retrained how to drive on a solid road after putting up with this five months. 

Can't beat the power of the sun.


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## MassCruzeLTZ (Mar 30, 2014)

Lmao. I put snow tires on the front only. This is at Mount Snow Vermont for some snowboarding. Coming from New England, driving in this is the norm and a lot of fun if you know how!!


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## money_man (Feb 25, 2014)

MassCruzeLTZ said:


> Lmao. I put snow tires on the front only. This is at Mount Snow Vermont for some snowboarding. Coming from New England, driving in this is the norm and a lot of fun if you know how!!


Looks like a Canadian summer day


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## Merc6 (Jun 8, 2013)

Snow? You guys still have that? LOL we may get it again a week or so, we just get random rain storms the second you think of washing a car or BBQ setup. Hopefully next winter my Subaru will be running and I can try out some of these snow tires mentioned.


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## spacedout (Dec 7, 2010)

warplane95 said:


> I drove the firestone in 10cm of snow.... Horrible!!
> 
> I drove my cruze in 30cm of snow with my nokian, no complain.


Of course a real snow tire will preform better, however my comparison was of the stock tires, of those the firestones are much better than the rest. 

For an all season the Firestone preforms very well, only issue I really had with them was very poor braking with anything beyond light pedal. I had no issues driving in 8-12 inches of snow with the firestones, traction and cornering were all predictable and controlled.


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## spacedout (Dec 7, 2010)

MassCruzeLTZ said:


> I put snow tires on the front only.


This is actually really dangerous, driving down a hill your rear tires are now more likely to come around your front end as the front as much better grip. When replacing two tires or just putting on a 2 snow tires they should always go on the back for better stability. 

Sure you loose the traction enhancements of the snows, but really you should be putting them all the way around your car.


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## nebojsa (Jan 3, 2011)

How many people actually use recirculate air during winter , or should you use it during winter.


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## jblackburn (Apr 14, 2012)

spacedout said:


> Of course a real snow tire will preform better, however my comparison was of the stock tires, of those the firestones are much better than the rest.
> 
> For an all season the Firestone preforms very well, only issue I really had with them was very poor braking with anything beyond light pedal. I had no issues driving in 8-12 inches of snow with the firestones, traction and cornering were all predictable and controlled.


Really? Mine are terrible. I have 0 braking traction and they spin ridiculously easily. 

I've definitely had much better all seasons. 


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## warplane95 (May 29, 2013)

spacedout said:


> Of course a real snow tire will preform better, however my comparison was of the stock tires, of those the firestones are much better than the rest.
> 
> For an all season the Firestone preforms very well, only issue I really had with them was very poor braking with anything beyond light pedal. I had no issues driving in 8-12 inches of snow with the firestones, traction and cornering were all predictable and controlled.


What, 12 inch with the firestone? I spin like crazy at 4inch. At -35 my Nokian do the job pretty well


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## NickD (Dec 10, 2011)

jblackburn said:


> Really? Mine are terrible. I have 0 braking traction and they spin ridiculously easily.
> 
> I've definitely had much better all seasons.
> 
> ...


Same here, snow tires without studs are far worse than all seasons, and that snow isn't snow very long, but packs down to ice. Do not get the traction with those stubby tires you get with all season.

Of course, if you were the only one driving on a snow covered road, snow tires were better, this is rare. So when studs went, so did my snow tires. Also what else went, being able to go to wrecking yard and picking up a couple of steel rims for two bucks each.


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## Blue Angel (Feb 18, 2011)

NickD said:


> Same here, snow tires without studs are far worse than all seasons, and that snow isn't snow very long, but packs down to ice. Do not get the traction with those stubby tires you get with all season.
> 
> Of course, if you were the only one driving on a snow covered road, snow tires were better, this is rare. So when studs went, so did my snow tires.


Nick, are you saying you've had better luck driving in snow with all seasons than you have with dedicated snow tires? That doesn't make much sense... what kind of snows were you using? Studs are the way to go if you can use them, but not many places allow them.

i bought some cheap Semperit snows for my first Saturn (hey, I was a broke student!) and they were terrible, but those were very cheap tires. I then started using X-ice and I've been very happy with them. The set on my Cruze is my third set on as many cars, and they're working really well on the wife's 3-Series also.


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## SnowBlindLTZ (Jan 4, 2012)

Blizzaks all the way, adding mine was night-and-day change!
View attachment 72017


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## Blue Angel (Feb 18, 2011)

warplane95 said:


> No no no, the hakka r2 is the best winter tire in 2013, x-ice is second.


None of the "reviews" you linked to actually based their ratings on performance testing.

When I was researching winter tires back in the fall there were very few tests on either the Xi3 or the R2. Several respected winter tire testing groups in Northern Europe had done some testing on both tires (I guess they were both available there first?). One test I read had both tires rated as "A" class winter tires, the highest rating. I found a few tests where the Xi3 was ranked 1st place, and I found a few that rated the R2 as 1st place.

Here's an example of a Finnish review that ranked the Xi3 1st:

Tekniikan Maailma talvirengastesti 2013 | Talvirengastestit | Rengastestit

The top list of 10 tires are all studded designs, and the lower list of 7 tires are studless. If you use Chrome it can translate the page for you.

For the record, I didn't say the Xi3 was the best tire, I simply said the Xi3, R2 and WS70 are all great tires. My PERSONAL choice was the Xi3 after having a set of Xi2s that I was happy with, and also the fact that I was able to get the Xi3 about $40/tire cheaper than the R2. I had also read about some QC issues with early R2s that made them out of round when mounted on a wheel (turns out the rubber bead was not slipping into place properly when the tire was mounted), and I didn't want to have any issues.

Another key reason I liked the Xi3 was it's LRR design, which according to the Tire Rack's testing ( http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/testDisplay.jsp?ttid=180 ) allowed the tire to have the least impact on fuel efficiency out of the four tires they tested. Note, their full winter test data is not published yet, and they unfortunately do not sell/test Nokian tires.

I'm sure there are areas where the R2 may be better than the Xi3, but there may be areas where the Xi3 is better. The fact they rank so close to each other across multiple tests tells me that they're both EXCELLENT tires. Given the reasons I listed above, I chose the Xi3.

My PERSONAL reason for getting the Xi3 over the WS70's was because of the relatively fast treadwear rate of the Blizzak's porus outer tread. I've read great reviews on this tire, but my previous Xi2s lasted so well that I didn't want to chance buying a tire that wouldn't last as long.

Once again, all three tires are great choices as far as I've been able to read. Pricing, availability and personal preference will all come into play when selecting a tire. I don't think you can lose with any of them... they will ALL be far better than whatever all-season tire came on your car.


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## warplane95 (May 29, 2013)

I hate the fact i'm not a 100% english... i cant argue.

i'm from north of N.-B. and I haven't see any problem with my Hakka R2 (only pay 750, michelin xi3 was the same price). 

When I buy my hakka r2 alot of people say the Xi3 have a problem with a soft sidewall.


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## Blue Angel (Feb 18, 2011)

The Xi3 does have a soft sidewall, but it's not that noticeable unless you're really tossing the car into a corner. In normal driving they feel fine.

I got my 215/55-17 Xi3, mounted and balanced, for $800 + tax - $65 mail in rebate. The cheapest price for the R2 I was able to find was $225/tire and that didn't include mounting and balancing. I'm happy with the Michelin, and I'm sure the Hakka is a great tire also.


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## warplane95 (May 29, 2013)

I got my hakka r2 for 755$+40$ for balancing at my gm dealer. The michelin was 220$ per tire


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## Psychomidgit (Jun 9, 2013)

That looks like Alaska, the firestones were terrible for me so I put studded tires on. After that it has handled very well.


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## spacedout (Dec 7, 2010)

Psychomidgit said:


> That looks like Alaska, the firestones were terrible for me so I put studded tires on. After that it has handled very well.


The real sad part is its the best tire for snow that comes standard on the cruze. Yet the firestone has some of the worst braking snow performance I have ever experienced, you really can only use 1/8-1/4inch of the brake pedal before it just set off the ABS. really need to plan your stops. 

I had no issues what so ever in the heavy wet snow we usually get here when it comes to traction and stability.


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## whitelt (Oct 10, 2013)

I drive nitto's winter tires on my cruze lt 1.4t and its handling nicely. to the one saying that they had problems driving the cruze on the stock tires in the snow, that's because they are not snow tires lol, any 4 season or summer tires are going to drive like crap in the winter.


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## Blue Angel (Feb 18, 2011)

warplane95 said:


> I got my hakka r2 for 755$+40$ for balancing at my gm dealer. The michelin was 220$ per tire


What tire size?


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## money_man (Feb 25, 2014)

My Goodyear assurance tires were great in the last two storms


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## warplane95 (May 29, 2013)

Blue Angel said:


> What tire size?


215/60/r16 (same as the firestone)


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## Blue Angel (Feb 18, 2011)

OK, that explains why you got such a good price! Mine are 17" mounted on my Eco wheels. I did not price tires in 16" sizes, so it's possible the price difference would have been less.


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## mattjt21 (Jul 12, 2013)

I've bough hankook ipike's for about 4 vehicles now. For about 100 a tire, best bang for the buck. Never had a problem.


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## Psychomidgit (Jun 9, 2013)

To whitelt: yes I'm aware, lol. But I used to drive my mustang Bullitt year round here on it's BFG summer tires and had better stability than these do. Granted these tires were fine until the winter. Also, AK roads are fully covered in ice so here is a little different than most other places I've been.


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## GregoryD (Aug 11, 2013)

Hi,

I am from Canada and we had one of the coldest winters here in at least 15 years. IT went way below 0F this year with a lot of snow and ice, including an ice storm. My 2013 Cruze Eco w/6spd manual, handled very well in the cold climate. I installed Michelin Xi3's P21560R16's and didn't have any issues. The stock all seasons were all over the place, but that is to be expected from an all season tire. Very smooth starts, even in very, very cold temperatures. I was also impressed with the interior heating system. It warmed up the cabin very quickly with a setting of fan2 on recirculate. I did have to let the engine heat up a bit for smooth shifting, using the stock manual transmission fluid, again to be expected in such cold conditions.


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## OldWhiteChevy (Mar 5, 2013)

I'm so glad that I found this thread; it's pretty interesting to me because winter performance is one of the biggest disappointments I've had with my '12 LT.

I live in snowy western NY and my Cruze is the pits when it comes to slushy, loose snow. I'm amazed at the alarming fishtail tendency this car has when accelerating in snow. It's not as bad as my old rear-drive '95 T-Bird but it's close. And the StabiliTrak system does practically nothing unless you really mash the pedal in order to provoke some wheel spin. By comparison, my old '04 Malibu V-6 was incredibly surefooted in all kinds of weather, even with its OEM Bridgestones. I never once felt the need for snow tires in that car, but it looks like I might have to get some for the Cruze, even though it's a PITA and additional expense.


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## upstatecruzer (Nov 24, 2012)

I drive my '13 Eco 6m all winter, but never without my Michelin X-ice and I have 47K on the car presently. This winter, I drove interstate three different times when it was nearly impassable. With proper speed and gear, I never had any problem getting through big snow and ice. And for stopping, the Michelins can't be beat. And there are many hills on the Eastern NY interstate. For a car it's size, with the Michelins, I think I can get through anything--as long as the front dam will clear it. And I'm a veteran of NH snows with '90 Honda Civic, so I've driven in some bad back road conditions. The Cruze with the tires is definitely intrepid. Without the treads and rubber compound, I would fear for my life on snow and ice. It's not the tread that makes a snow tire the best, it's the ability for the rubber compound not to harden in those crazy temps, thereby helping the treads do the work.


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## Blue Angel (Feb 18, 2011)

OldWhiteChevy said:


> I never once felt the need for snow tires in that car, but it looks like I might have to get some for the Cruze, even though it's a PITA and additional expense.


If you plan to keep your Cruze for 3-4 years or more, your investment in snow tires will pay off handsomely since you'll be spreading the tire wear over two sets of tires. Your all seasons will last nearly twice as long before needing replacement, and you'll have all the benefits of a proper tire for winter conditions.


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## leftandright (Apr 9, 2014)

well, cold weather is most likely gone for this season down here. But when it was still somewhat cold out (had just got the car), I could swear that my '13 Cruze would output some heat from the vents pretty quickly, as if there might be an electrical pre-heater that kicks in until the engine warms up. Can anyone confirm whether this feature is on the Cruze?


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## jblackburn (Apr 14, 2012)

leftandright said:


> well, cold weather is most likely gone for this season down here. But when it was still somewhat cold out (had just got the car), I could swear that my '13 Cruze would output some heat from the vents pretty quickly, as if there might be an electrical pre-heater that kicks in until the engine warms up. Can anyone confirm whether this feature is on the Cruze?


Negative. Only the diesel has em. The 1.4T will heat up very quickly above 2000 RPM or jumping straight onto a highway. And pretty quick in 40+F weather.


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## Colt45 (Jan 4, 2014)

Agreed Blue Angel. Take it from a Canadian.....winter tires are necessary and are cheap in comparison to an insurance claim or injury. My favorite tires for winter are General Altimax, and Hankook iPike 409's. Blizzaks wear too quickly for me and are useless at 50% tread. If you have severe weather and laws allow you to stud them, then do it. Even the cheapest set of winter tires with studs will make a huge difference.


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## GregoryD (Aug 11, 2013)

As a result, both sets of tires will last twice as long. The tires bead can get damaged by repeated mounting and the super light rims on the ECO model trap snow and can go off balance in winter conditions (not sure about rims on other models, If anyone has experience please feel free to add your 2 cents so to speak). I would recommend mounting your winter tires on cheap steel rims, that way if you do happen to "curb it" you will only break a cheap steel rim and you will keep the bead on the tire in good shape. This setup will extend the life of all your tires to their maximum.


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## Sunline Fan (Jul 29, 2012)

GregoryD said:


> the super light rims on the ECO model trap snow and can go off balance in winter conditions (not sure about rims on other models, If anyone has experience please feel free to add your 2 cents so to speak).


I only had a problem with my Eco wheels once in the snow- my street had been plowed and I had to drive/sled through the snow bank to get out. Some snow fell into the rear wheels and because it was so cold, it kinda stuck on there and threw it out of balance at highway speeds. I reached in, pushed it out, and it was fixed. It was stuck toward the back, so I don't think it was anything unique to the wheel design. Granted, I don't recall having that ever happen with my 18s the previous winter, but we didn't have nearly the same snow conditions.

I do love running the Eco wheels- because they are forged, they are MUCH stronger than a typical cast aluminum wheel, and I have no worries about hitting smaller potholes in the early spring. In fact, the yahoos at Discount Tire who mounted the tires for me didn't put good weights on when the balanced them, even though because they are more perfect, they didn't require much weight. When I took the tires off (for the first time this spring), I noticed that almost all the little stuck-on weights have fallen off. Had I not noticed it then, I wouldn't have noticed. The forged wheels are that good.


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## Blue Angel (Feb 18, 2011)

I've had good experience with the Eco wheels in winter also. I've had lots of snow in them but never noticed an out of balance condition. I must be honest though, up until this spring I've had indoor heated parking so any snow accumulation would melt out of the wheels five days a week. Next winter I'll be parking outdoors, I'll see if anything changes.


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## Sunline Fan (Jul 29, 2012)

Blue Angel said:


> I've had good experience with the Eco wheels in winter also. I've had lots of snow in them but never noticed an out of balance condition. I must be honest though, up until this spring I've had indoor heated parking so any snow accumulation would melt out of the wheels five days a week. Next winter I'll be parking outdoors, I'll see if anything changes.


I park in the outer spot of an attached garage. It isn't heated, but it usually stays at/above freezing in the winter. With the real extreme cold this winter, it did get colder in there and the snow didn't melt like is usually does. That snow situation happened when the wheel/car was really cold after having sat.


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## GregoryD (Aug 11, 2013)

Hi,

Well, now that Ive had a few seasons with these rims, i still stand by the "get steel rims for your winter tires". The aluminum rims "DO" collect quite a bit of slush/snow in a thaw by day freeze, by night scenario. And they can collect snow in a "deep snow" (snow belt in Ontario) scenario.


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## XtremeRevolution (Jan 19, 2012)

GregoryD said:


> Hi,
> 
> Well, now that Ive had a few seasons with these rims, i still stand by the "get steel rims for your winter tires". The aluminum rims "DO" collect quite a bit of slush/snow in a thaw by day freeze, by night scenario. And they can collect snow in a "deep snow" (snow belt in Ontario) scenario.


That is definitely something I haven't had a problem with on the winter tires. 

I'm still running the same Blizzaks I did when I first put winter tires on the car.


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## GregoryD (Aug 11, 2013)

Oh yeah? i have some questions then for u. Because Im curious why such a difference. Where do you live? and what tires did they give you.


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## GregoryD (Aug 11, 2013)

exact model and size please


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## XtremeRevolution (Jan 19, 2012)

I run the OEM steel wheels from GM. The tires I'm using are the Bridgestone Blizzak WS70, in 215/60/16 size. I live in Northwest Indiana, near Chicago.


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