# What winters do you use?



## Cruzncannada (Nov 21, 2015)

Just wondering what others are using on there Cruze and how they handle and your opinion, I just received mine, yet to put them on but it's still well over 8 Celsius.
Got a set of kuhmo wintercraft WI31 new for kuhmo so have to see how they go. My girlfriend has Toyo gsi3 not studded on her Cruze and she's had no complaints and good snow traction, low noise for snow tires.

Ive had mixed reviews with some of the top tier winters, my old civic with xice 3 did terrible in just about all conditions except dry and wet while my dad Rogue with the same does fine. 

Thanks for the input could help someone else make an educated choice based specifically on how winter tires do on other Cruzes.


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## boraz (Aug 29, 2013)

nokian hakkapeliitta 7 studded, 2nd winter on them


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## Tomko (Jun 1, 2013)

Nokian hakkapeliitta R2. Third winter. Wouldn't use any other non-studded tire. 

If I was allowed studs in my jurisdiction I would be using hakkapeliitta 7 or 8.


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## Cruzator (Dec 31, 2014)

I just put a set of Michelin X ice Xi3. So far, I love them. Nice a quiet, seem to have good traction, and the fuel mileage hasn't taken a hit.


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## 170-3tree (Nov 4, 2014)

Blizzaks.. Ws80. Love them.


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## Patman (May 7, 2011)

Haven't tried any snow tires yet, at least this year we have record breaking temps. supposed to be 70 today and not much snow since I bought my Cruze in the last 2 years.


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## goodwrch (Nov 30, 2015)

I sold Nokkian's for years, those tires are AMAZING!!! 
They blow Blizzak's away imo.


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## UpstateNYBill (Jan 14, 2012)

Ones made out of rubber...


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## money_man (Feb 25, 2014)

Xi3's. Will never ever buy them again. I do like blizzaks though and have had great luck with cooper weathermaster st/2's.


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## money_man (Feb 25, 2014)

Cruzncannada said:


> Ive had mixed reviews with some of the top tier winters, my old civic with xice 3 did terrible in just about all conditions except dry and wet while my dad Rogue with the same does fine. s.


This, Xi3's suck


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## Vetterin (Mar 27, 2011)

Altimax Artics. This will be the forth winter.


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## Cruzncannada (Nov 21, 2015)

UpstateNYBill said:


> Ones made out of rubber...
> 
> View attachment 172193


I almost bought those, look like Sailun wsl2? My parts manager talked me out of it but everything I've read said they should have been good.


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## GMmaniac (Aug 12, 2015)

last year, i had michelin pilot alpin that the dealer gave me when i bought the car, worst **** i ever had on a car, this year it's going to be a try with Nokian Hakkappelitta R2 since i used to have blizzak on my older cars..


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## UpstateNYBill (Jan 14, 2012)

Cruzncannada said:


> I almost bought those, look like Sailun wsl2? My parts manager talked me out of it but everything I've read said they should have been good.


Nope, good try at a guess though.

They are Winter Claw Sport SXi. I'm giving them a try, instead of the cheap Wally World tires with the old blocky tread I've gotten in the past. They were always good in the deep snow, which is all I really needed, but their prices were up this year so I shopped around.


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## dougc905 (May 24, 2015)

Have a set of Xi3 215/65/16 on steel wheels for my diesel cruze. They handled last year's snow, ice and low-low temps just fine. This year I was chasing a wheel balance problem that just wouldn't go away. Finally gave up and installed a set of Conti WinterContact Si 215/55/17 on the stock cast rims just last week. They are smooth and quiet. Can't say anything else because the weather is so warm all we have is rain.


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## Tomko (Jun 1, 2013)

dougc905 said:


> Have a set of Xi3 215/65/16 on steel wheels for my diesel cruze. They handled last year's snow, ice and low-low temps just fine. This year I was chasing a wheel balance problem that just wouldn't go away. Finally gave up and installed a set of Conti WinterContact Si 215/55/17 on the stock cast rims just last week. They are smooth and quiet. Can't say anything else because the weather is so warm all we have is rain.


Did you seek out a gsp9700 and a technician qualified to use it?


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## Vetterin (Mar 27, 2011)

Don't look like I'll even be putting mine on until sometime in January at the earliest and that's just fine by me!


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## dougc905 (May 24, 2015)

Tomko said:


> Did you seek out a gsp9700 and a technician qualified to use it?


No. But now that you've dropped the hint I will. Thanks


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## GlennGlenn (Nov 27, 2015)

Nokian Hakkas stud less!!!


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## BradSt (May 2, 2013)

Not sure how anyone can say the XI3s suck...I'm picky about tires, and look for very subtle differences, and I think they work exactly as they should. They aren't the BEST in deep snow, but they are very good in ice and a few inches of snow, while still driving well on dry pavement. I've got 2 winters on mine now. I waited to put them on this year, since it was so warm. I got caught in a snow storm with my OE Fuel Maxes. Came home, and swapped tires, and went back out, for a direct comparison. Absolutely unbelievable difference. When I have the Michelin's on, I can't ebrake the car sideways in the snow...The rear tires have too much lateral grip.

I've also driven a Cruze on Blizzak WS80s. They are better in deep snow, are louder, and don't handle as well on dry pavement. Very impressed with these ones also.

My top 3 choices last year were:

Blizzak WS80
Mich XI3
Nokian Hakka R2


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## money_man (Feb 25, 2014)

I can say they suck. I will never in my life buy another set.


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## Tomko (Jun 1, 2013)

money_man said:


> I can say they suck. I will never in my life buy another set.


Not to sound like a jackass - and I run nokians myself - but I've seen people running X-ice tires mounted in the wrong rotational direction.


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## money_man (Feb 25, 2014)

Not mine, put them on myself. If I wasn't in school right now I would be taking them off and selling them to some sucker that didn't know any better. Or I'd feel to bad about screwing someone ever and I'd just slash the sidewalls. They aren't worth the rubber they're made of imo.


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## chevrasaki (May 1, 2015)

I live in Tennessee I have no idea what anyone is talking about.

Honestly though, that's probably why driving here with any amount of snow and ice is so dangerous. Every single person in my city has bald all seasons, some of them have the steel bands showing.


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## Handles (Oct 8, 2012)

General Arctics. 4th season with them, so about 24,000 miles on them. They work quite well and depending on my driving/job situation I might keep them one more season. I've had blizzacks on another car and liked them a tad better, but that could be a car thing vs a tire thing.


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## money_man (Feb 25, 2014)

Blizzaks are pretty good but only for the first 40%, then they go downhill.


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## Handles (Oct 8, 2012)

money_man said:


> Blizzaks are pretty good but only for the first 40%, then they go downhill.


That's probably true of many/most winter tires. Tread depth and siping are the keys to snow/ice traction, as those decrease so does overall performance. That said I'm beyond 50% treadwear and with the 6" of snow we just got tuesday, no issues driving to work or around town.


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## MP81 (Jul 20, 2015)

Cruzator said:


> I just put a set of Michelin X ice Xi3. So far, I love them. Nice a quiet, seem to have good traction, and the fuel mileage hasn't taken a hit.


We have these, second season on them. Absolutely fantastic tire. I know plenty of people who have also run these and are also extremely happy. They've pulled us through snow higher than the car's ground clearance without issue.



BradSt said:


> Not sure how anyone can say the XI3s suck...I'm picky about tires, and look for very subtle differences, and I think they work exactly as they should. They aren't the BEST in deep snow, but they are very good in ice and a few inches of snow, while still driving well on dry pavement. I've got 2 winters on mine now. I waited to put them on this year, since it was so warm. I got caught in a snow storm with my OE Fuel Maxes. Came home, and swapped tires, and went back out, for a direct comparison. Absolutely unbelievable difference. When I have the Michelin's on, I can't ebrake the car sideways in the snow...The rear tires have too much lateral grip.


Yep - if there's enough snow to actually get the rears to slide (provided you have enough speed to where they will), you never have to worry about the fronts losing grip.

With the vendetta he has against these tires, you'd think Michelin pissed in his Cheerios. 

Far too many happy people with these tires for one person's blanket statement of "oh, they suck cause I said so" to be anything other than an anomoly.


On another note, if I eventually decide that I should also put winter tires on the Racecav, it'll likely be getting Altimax Artics, due to the fact they offer very solid performance at such a cheap price.


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## money_man (Feb 25, 2014)

If you have light fluffy snow, they're fine. If you live where I do and you get wet snow that packs and fills the tread of the tire, they're no good. It's probably just an Atlantic Canada thing because we're to close to the ocean and the snow gets stuck in the tread.


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## money_man (Feb 25, 2014)

Are you guys talking no hills and whatnot? My tires do fine for everything except my hill where I have to almost come to a stop and turn up the hill. However my all seasons are good for that too.


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## BradSt (May 2, 2013)

Sometimes I think some have unrealistic expectations. The XIce is still a compromise between decent dry manners and being better than an all season in snow and ice. It is NOT the best in DEEP snow, nor does it excel in thick, sticky slush. That's where a tire with larger, blockier tread comes in...but then there is a sacrifice to the dry pavement handling.

And I'm not defending them because I own them...I'm defending them because they are an excellent tire, and perform as they should, when used in their intended conditions. If I lived in an area that got large amounts of snow fall, then I'd probably have the Blizzak WS80s, as they are definitely better in deep snow.

I've yet to see a Michelin tire that is "junk"...From truck to passenger car to supercar.


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## money_man (Feb 25, 2014)

BradSt said:


> Sometimes I think some have unrealistic expectations. The XIce is still a compromise between decent dry manners and being better than an all season in snow and ice. It is NOT the best in DEEP snow, nor does it excel in thick, sticky slush. That's where a tire with larger, blockier tread comes in...but then there is a sacrifice to the dry pavement handling.
> 
> And I'm not defending them because I own them...I'm defending them because they are an excellent tire, and perform as they should, when used in their intended conditions. If I lived in an area that got large amounts of snow fall, then I'd probably have the Blizzak WS80s, as they are definitely better in deep snow.
> 
> I've yet to see a Michelin tire that is "junk"...From truck to passenger car to supercar.


Me either until the xi3's. There's no reason a no name brand is better than them. Michelin is my tire brand of choice, just not for winter driving.


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