New Here, 2011 Yaris in Snow/Winter Driving/Northern New England

[wjsVT]

New Here.

Wondering how a 2011 Yaris might drive/handle snow/ice in winter driving conditions in Northern New England?

I'd consider purchasing four wheels and winter tires?

Need nothing fancy for wheels, just function. Any suggestions?

Any suggestions for winter tires (not All Season)?

Thank you.

[SailDesign]

I use General Altimax Arctic snow tires. Stock size on the stock steelies. Perfection.
Yaris drives like a champ in the white stuff.

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=General&tireModel=Altimax+Arctic&partnum=865QR5AMAXA&vehicleSearch=false&fromCompare1=yes

[Hershey]

Blizzak WS 70s' . Very good in winter . Hear good things about tires above as well .

[thepartsmancometh]

Conti Extreme Winter Contact on the stock steelies (15"). they were AWESOME last year, and we had a few serious (12" plus) snow storms. Drove through a white out on xmas eve when the roads were unplowed, no problems.

[rick996]

I also use 15" Continental Extreme Winter Contact. They work great. The only problem I've had was when from a stop sign I had to make a 90 degree turn up a steep hill from a dead stop. It wasn't the tires but the traction control throttling down so I lost speed and had to back down the hill to try again. I turned the trac control off and had no problem accelerating up the hill.

[PopsCar]

Im here on LI NY and my car was just fine on the Steelies and Original tires this past winter. Surprisingly I still have a lot of thread life left on the tires considering I have 14500 miles

[poorsh2]

Get snow tire and you cant go wrong. Not to be confused with all season tires.

[enviri]

I use dunlop graspics on MR2 spyder rims and i drive like an a-hole during the winter :)

keep in mind also that my frame clearance is about 3 1/2 inches too. playing with fire over here in CT.

[MUSKOKA800]

Michelin X-Ice work like a charm on my lowered Canadian sedan.

Note: stock Goodyear LS were white-knucklers on only 1/4" of snow. How they rated them all-seasons is beyond me??? All-season in Central America ONLY! They are good in rain.

[fnkngrv]

I am selling my OEM wheels with winter tires mounted on them if you want to PM me you might be surprised at what I am willing to do for you for price.

[OldYarisGuy]

Shoed the card in General Altimax Arctic with studs. It's a light car so I get all the traction I can.

We had a TON of snow this winter. Only once did I trade out the day and drive my 95 Tacoma 4X4 instead of my Yaris.

[dingbat]

Nokkian Hakkapalitta 5..... FTW!!!

Yaris kicks-ass in the snow with good tires on.

[A-Dingo-Ate-My-Baby]

Michelin X-Ice work like a charm on my lowered Canadian sedan.

Note: stock Goodyear LS were white-knucklers on only 1/4" of snow. How they rated them all-seasons is beyond me??? All-season in Central America ONLY! They are good in rain.


This ^ is absolutely correct about both tires.

[Lil Abner]

I've got Pirelli Winter Carving Snow Tires, and they are awesome. To be honest, there are a LOT of good snow tires listed on this page. Really, just find what's on sale/clearance right now (mid-summer) of these listed. I put mine on some cheap 14" steelies, and run no hub caps in the winter.

[SeriousBlack]

Live in Vancouver - not a lot of snow (like Seattle) but when it does, its chunky and wet and reeeeeeaaaaallllll slippery.

Do NOT get Goodyears because when it's dry they will generally wear to nothing and be useless when it snows or rains. Look for a winter tire that performs well in both snow and rain (wet roads). Stay skinny on width - much better traction that way. Best to just put your stock rims on winters and invest in some wider rims/wheels for spring to fall.

The Yaris is very very good in the snow with good winters on.

[yarisAP]

Just wondering if anyone knows where is the best place to buy Michelin X-Ice winter tires in toronto

[WeeYari]

^ If you're a lucky, diligent soul with good timing...Kijiji

[SailDesign]

Nokkian Hakkapalitta 5..... FTW!!!

Yaris kicks-ass in the snow with good tires on.

Or General Altimax Arctic - same tire at 35% of the cost (or close)

[Lil Abner]

discounttire.com and tirerack.com are good choices...

[cali yaris]

^ So is Micro Image. I can usually match or beat Tire Rack's prices.

Please support support YW vendors!

[Lil Abner]

^ So is Micro Image. I can usually match or beat Tire Rack's prices.

Please support support YW vendors!

I honestly didn't know you sold tires! I've never seen anything on your site mentioning it. Then I agree, ask you for a quote! :thumbsup:

[A-Dingo-Ate-My-Baby]

what I have found is:
yes you can get a cheaper snow tire that has the same or similar grip characteristics
as a higher priced tire

but

sometimes those cheaper tires are more likely to be:

hard to balance
lousy on the highway
low mpg results

so if you only city drive any old cheap snow tire will work. but if
you want to be able to drive everywhere and get decent mpg and decent
high speed balance, sometimes expensive is worth it

[A-Dingo-Ate-My-Baby]

^ So is Micro Image. I can usually match or beat Tire Rack's prices.

Please support support YW vendors!

and Tire Rack, who sponsors this forum, is not a YW vendor ?

[yarisAP]

^ If you're a lucky, diligent soul with good timing...Kijiji

I might be lucky, hopefully it fits... don't really know much about cars, the ones i found were 185/65/R15. I have a 2007 yaris sedan

I also saw one with this size: 195/65/R14

[Kal-El]

I also ride on Conti Extreme Winter Contact's.

Excellent after 2 seasons so far and they're not even showing wear. Kinda surprised since winter tires wear much quicker than standard tires.

Makes the Yaris feel invincible in snow. I've mentioned before that I leave my wife's Jeep Wrangler at home even when it snows. Why? Because the Yaris actually feels more sure footed and is more fun to drive in the snow with the winters on. The Jeep's high center of gravity makes you feel tippy in the snow.

I find it highly amusing that so many people feel they need SUV's for winter driving. They're always the ones you see in the ditch on the side of the road/highway, LOL. Their big mistake is that they don't put winter tires on because, well, "it's an SUV". :rolleyes:

[403RS]

Living here in Calgary, having a jack-of-all-trades winter tire is essential.

We get heavy snow, then a chinook hits and melts everything into a giant slurpee, then the cold kicks back in and everything turns to a sheet of ice.

Tried a few brands over my driving career, but honestly the best I've had were just the basic Goodyear Nordics (on steelies of course)!

http://valuecanuck.files.wordpress.com/2010/11/goodyear-nordic.jpg