EV Winter Tires recommendations

[markboris]

Use tyre reviews on YouTube to get the best explanations and objective rankings for tires.

I really like Jonathan's review's on Tyre Reviews. I trust everything he says and does because I believe he really knows tires.

For the last couple of years in his Ultra High Performance Winter tire test (not to be confused with his Winter tire test), the Michelin Pilot Alpin 5 tires have come out on top. There are two different catagories of winter tires, the hard core Winter tires and UHP winter tires. UHP winter tires are a little less aggressive in the snow (not as good as Winter tires) but they are better usually better in the wet and much better dry handling, noise and comfort.

I purchased a set of the Michelin Pilot Alpin 5 tires last winter and used them with great success. Like most other winter tires, you barely knew you were driving in the snow. As far as dry performance, I was amazed how well they did compared to my summer Pilot Sport S5's. Now, these UHP winter tires are no summer tire but they handled much better than I had expected. Steering was much more vague and they were more noisy than my summer's.

A month ago when I put my winter wheel/tire setup on, I noticed starting around 60 mph, a slight droning noise which increased as I drove faster and stabilized at around 75. It would come and go depending on the road surface. I absolutely do not remember this when I had them on my car before and thought it was very strange. I had the tires checked for proper balance and they did not need any rebalancing. To check that I was no imagining this, I remounted my summer wheel/tire setup and no drone whatsoever.

I thought I could maybe live with the slight drone but one trip back and forth to the airport (2 hours each way) I realized I couldn't. Maybe it's just these tires on this particular car that is causing the noise, but I don't know. In any case, I just purchased the previous UHP winter tires that Jonathan had recommended as number one which were also Michelin's previous tire to the tires I am running now. They are the Pilot Alpin PA4 NO (Porsche spec tire) and there is no drone. Not only that but the tires are overall quieter than the Alpin 5's but what really stood out was the steering response. It is very responsive which is what I like and might even be more so than my summers. They handle great in the dry (for a winter tire) and are a bit more firm than the Alpin 5's. Now all I have to do is test them out in the snow which won't be too long since it's been dumping the last couple of days up at the ski resort 45 min away. ?

Alpin 5's after one winter's use:

Aplin 4PA NO before mounting on wheels.

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[silverelan]

I really like Jonathan's review's on Tyre Reviews. I trust everything he says and does because I believe he really knows tires.

For the last couple of years in his Ultra High Performance Winter tire test (not to be confused with his Winter tire test), the Michelin Pilot Alpin 5 tires have come out on top. There are two different catagories of winter tires, the hard core Winter tires and UHP winter tires. UHP winter tires are a little less aggressive in the snow (not as good as Winter tires) but they are better usually better in the wet and much better dry handling, noise and comfort.

I purchased a set of the Michelin Pilot Alpin 5 tires last winter and used them with great success. Like most other winter tires, you barely knew you were driving in the snow. As far as dry performance, I was amazed how well they did compared to my summer Pilot Sport S5's. Now, these UHP winter tires are no summer tire but they handled much better than I had expected. Steering was much more vague and they were more noisy than my summer's.

A month ago when I put my winter wheel/tire setup on, I noticed starting around 60 mph, a slight droning noise which increased as I drove faster and stabilized at around 75. It would come and go depending on the road surface. I absolutely do not remember this when I had them on my car before and thought it was very strange. I had the tires checked for proper balance and they did not need any rebalancing. To check that I was no imagining this, I remounted my summer wheel/tire setup and no drone whatsoever.

I thought I could maybe live with the slight drone but one trip back and forth to the airport (2 hours each way) I realized I couldn't. Maybe it's just these tires on this particular car that is causing the noise, but I don't know. In any case, I just purchased the previous UHP winter tires that Jonathan had recommended as number one which were also Michelin's previous tire to the tires I am running now. They are the Pilot Alpin PA4 NO (Porsche spec tire) and there is no drone. Not only that but the tires are overall quieter than the Alpin 5's but what really stood out was the steering response. It is very responsive which is what I like and might even be more so than my summers. They handle great in the dry (for a winter tire) and are a bit more firm than the Alpin 5's. Now all I have to do is test them out in the snow which won't be too long since it's been dumping the last couple of days up at the ski resort 45 min away. ?

Alpin 5's after one winter's use:

Aplin 4PA NO before mounting on wheels.

Glad to hear you're a fan of his too!

If I spent more time in the snow, I’d go with a pure winter tire. Since I’m only up in the mountains a few times a year for skiing, I just stick with my CC2s. They’re competent enough in snow but give up quite a bit to a true winter tire for ice traction.

I’ve driven a set of the Alpin 5 and absolutely loved them but they’re a lot of tire for someone like me.

 

[GreaseMonkey]

I’ve been a fan of Michelin x-ice and had used them for two winters on my ‘22 premium. Now that I have the ‘24 GT, I get front tire slippage when I gun it. We have not had any snow yet to test how they go to cruising speed, but expect them to handle just fine.

 

[tuminatr]

I have run many sets of winters x-ice, blizzak, arctic claw, nokian, and my current favorite the Wintrac Pro. I live in a city that gets plowed but drive my car for work and have been all over ND, MN, WI, SD, MI, IL, SD, and sometimes a drive to NC,SC for winter break.

One other note is in the Midwest snowbelt the states have started to sipe the roads in the direction of traffic flow. This makes directional tires extremely unstable.

This winter I decided to try the Quatrac Pro+ it's not a dedicated winter it's an all weather but so far so good. We just got freezing rain and they performed well.

 

[markboris]

I have run many sets of winters x-ice, blizzak, arctic claw, nokian, and my current favorite the Wintrac Pro. I live in a city that gets plowed but drive my car for work and have been all over ND, MN, WI, SD, MI, IL, SD, and sometimes a drive to NC,SC for winter break.

This winter I decided to try the Quatrac Pro+ it's not a dedicated winter it's an all weather but so far so good. We just got freezing rain and they performed well.

You threw me off there Brian because you changed your avatar. ?

 

[tuminatr]

You threw me off there Brian because you changed your avatar. ?

Lol, a little Monty Python Knights that say Ni for the holidays. Enjoy

 

[DanoiZ]

Any experience in the group with EV dedicated winter tires? Any experience in the group with Nokian Hakkapeliitta R5 EV tires?
Thx

A little late to your post, but I’m running the R5 SUV version on my GT (non-PE) on 18s. I’m on my 3rd season with them and I love them. My wife just picked up a 24 Premium and she’s running X-ICE on it. Don’t have a lot of experience with the Michelins, but they feel similar to my R5s. I live in Northern Utah and have driven in all kinds of snowy and icy weather on the Nokians and have never been disappointed. The car is a tank in snowy weather. From what I gather from the interwebs, the EV is basically the same tire as the SUV with a foam insert and maybe a little more silica for better rolling resistance, but there are some disagreements. I haven’t noticed any real hit to range, so I’m not sure if the extra cost of the EVs are worth it as the SUVs are super quiet. Granted, taller sidewalk and thinner tread may help. As others have said, check out Tyre Reviews on YT. It is best source if you want to go down the tire rabbit hole.

 

[bluebomber]

Late add to this thread with my winter experience.

This is my 1st winter with MMe. Live in Pennsylvania. Never had to buy winter tires before (drove Ford Edge last 13 years) but with the standard primacy all seasons was sliding at every stop sign any time there was a dusting of snow. Put on a set of Michelin x-ice and performance substantially better, don't have to worry about it any more.


March Update: I replaced original all-seasons today and got TPMS fault, no readings from any tire. Any ideas on what I screwed up?

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