winter tire help

[yaris2010RS]

Okay, so its been a few years since Ive driven the Yaris in the snow and since then weve changed the snow tires.

I recall my driving experience great in the snow, that was on cheapo tires, 14" steelies and 175's. The tires on for this winter are on 15" steelies and are 195's. I feel like there is a lot of float in the snow but my last 3 vehicles in the winter were 4wd suvs.

Wondering what everyone elses experiences are. the car in the snow stops great with the 195s but accelerating and turning are dead. I know tires themselves can make a big difference but whats everyones thoughts on the width of tire?

[kimona]

^^^ From my experience (driving in Montreal winters for many years), narrower tyres work much better.

I'd probably run 175/65/15's.

[Thirty-Nine]

I run 185/65/14 Hankooks on my Yaris. It's been great in the snow. Granted, mine is lowered, so I'm not going through lots and lots of snow. And frankly, we don't get much snow in Portland; they're mostly for cold weather and slick spots.

I have run the Hankooks in snow going over the Coast Range in Oregon, and they were great in 185s.

My impressions:
http://www.subcompactculture.com/2010/11/review-hankook-winter-ipike-w409-tires.html

[dogsridewith]

Real happy w/ 185/65-14 Kumho Solus TA-11 set on circa 1990 5.5 inch Miata rims for summer. Tall 175/70-14 Yokohama IG52c winter treads on stock 5 inch steel rims now.
Both inexpensive, quiet and green rated (supposedly efficient.) And both solve the too-small-circumference speedometer error of the stock 175/65-14's that came on base Yaris models. (Mind of Toyota)

[KimmoKekki]

If studded tyres are allowed go for Nokian Hakkapeliitta 9 !
If studded tyres are not allowed, then go for Nokian Hakkapeliitta R2 !
With these you won't run in problems !

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[tmontague]

The age old recommendation is narrower means you get down to the pavement quicker and therefore grip better. Although this is true, it applies to only a limited circumstance.

Winter tires can be subgrouped into either a snow or an ice tire based on tread design. Many are both, but they are all now called winter tires to avoid average customer confusion. For conditions that most people travel in across the GTA, an ice tire is ideal. With this set up a wider tire means a larger contact patch and more friction to improve stopping and traction.

If you live up north and are constantly driving in deep snow then a snow tire is probably best and narrower is likely the better option to get down to the ground and find grip.

Either way a wide or narrow ice or snow tire will handle much better than an all season in the winter

[atomic_hoji]

^^^ for a dedicated winter tire (no studs allowed most places in Ontario) the Hakkapeliitta is great - if you can find it in the right size and available.

I like my Michelin X-Ice XI3s on the Yaris so far in the base 175/65R15 size - vs buying snows in the 195/50R16s size that came stock. Having tried running wider snow tires on prior vehicles I found the same issue that you're describing and that you end up worse off trying to push snow around with the wider surface area. Unless you're on plowed roads all the time I've had the best luck sticking with the narrowest stock size offered; no rubbing or handling issues, but keeping with the skinny snow principle.

-- Adam

[yaris2010RS]

Thanks everyone.

Yep, in Ontario no studs. (that being said I did see a car with studs on year in Mississauga)

So the car came with a set of oddly worn cheap Chinese 175/65r14 snow tires and I threw those on today and they definitely preformed better then the 195/60r15s that we carried over from the last car. tested both one after the other on the same route in the same conditions but the Chinese tires still did not preform as well as I remember. I think ill toss the Chinese tires on for the next little while till I can afford some new tires.

I find it so strange that the 195/60r15s are so bad on the yaris, they were amazing on the Cavalier they came off of. No traction control, No ABS but that car had no understeer compared to the yaris on the same tires.....

[tmontague]

Keep in mind the yaris is a very light car and is built from factory to be an understeering pig

Likely why narrower tires seem to perform better than wide. On corners getting low in the snow give a some cornering grip

[Freedomage]

My winter tires are Hankooks and those have been very good for 2years(30k kilometer) but I look forward to buying NOKIAN WR D4! google it so you can see how it performs.

[IllusionX]

I've always been on 195/60R15, and indeed, the narrower tielrs work better. Miss the time I ran on 185/65R14

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[malibuguy]

The narrower the better. But I drive aggressive so I run stock size 185/60-15 General snow tires on my Yaris. They are pretty good. I really like the Continental Winter snows but they dropped our size. Another favorite is Firestone Winterforce I have them on my wifes forester in stock size, they are good for real snow fall. Her spark Ive done a -1 set up on Cooper snows which do extremely well. She gets around very well in the snow.

[thebarber]

i found 185's the best for handing when its dry and performance when its snowy.

that said, i have 175-65-14's on the silver echo and 185-70-14's on the gold one for an extra 1/2" of ground clearance (its also lifted 1"/1.5" f/r on scion xb suspension)

https://i.imgur.com/Dsx3fCw.jpg?2

[Rigaud]

Thanks everyone.

Yep, in Ontario no studs. (that being said I did see a car with studs on year in Mississauga)

So the car came with a set of oddly worn cheap Chinese 175/65r14 snow tires and I threw those on today and they definitely preformed better then the 195/60r15s that we carried over from the last car. tested both one after the other on the same route in the same conditions but the Chinese tires still did not preform as well as I remember. I think ill toss the Chinese tires on for the next little while till I can afford some new tires.

I find it so strange that the 195/60r15s are so bad on the yaris, they were amazing on the Cavalier they came off of. No traction control, No ABS but that car had no understeer compared to the yaris on the same tires.....

In Ontario, studded winter tires are permitted between September 1st and May 31st for drivers in northern Ontario, which includes as Algoma, Cochrane, Kenora, Manitoulin, Nipissing, Parry Sound, Rainy River, Sudbury, Thunder Bay, and Temiskaming. Below these areas, the use of studded tires could incur a fine. For drivers from outside of Ontario, studded tires can be used while travelling in the province for up to a month. During this period, the only acceptable studs are Scandinavian-made lightweight studs.

[KimmoKekki]

Okay [emoji106]
Yep those light weight studs are only legal studs to use here too !
Spike tires are only for rallying and ice racing

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