[meinstei]

I have a 2002 S60 AWD with 16" tires.
My car came with Michelin MXV4 Plus XSE Tires (205/55/R16)which I am pretty happy with for regular wet and dry driving.

However, I am still a big believer of putting Winter Snows on all four wheels come winter-time. I know that the AWD "helps", but my experience is that there is nothing like a set of true snows to get you through the "deep, white stuff". We live in PA and do a bit of skiing (driving up into the Poconos) and will encounter a reasonable amount of snow over the winter. I have also read articles in Car & Driver where they did some testing and basically came to conclusion that a FWD Car with Snows on all four wheels does about as well as an AWD Car with All Season Tires in the snow/ice. However, a AWD with Snows on all four wheels basically kicks butt against anything! I also like the idea that putting 4 snows on for 4 months a year prolongs the life of my regular tires a bit.

Well, now that I have you convinced (maybe?!), I am looking at my options on what to put on my 2002 S60 AWD for the winter.

I am not a fan of the Bridgestone Blizzaks because although they are awesome in the snow, they are WAY too soft for regular driving around town (which we will still do lots of) and wear out too quickly.

I was thinking of either the "Michelin Pilot Alpins" ($119 each at tirerack.com), which are a slightly higher performance version fo theirk "Arctic Alpins" and trade a bit of snow tractions for a lot better dry road drivabilty. My other option was the Dunlop Winter Sport M2 ($92 at tirerack) but I don't have any experience with these tires.

I am looking for anyone with any experience with snows on an S60 (I know the S60 AWD is too probably have had anyone drive in the snow yet). I also know that the Volvo Web site recommends a Swedish Snow Tire (don't remember name) but I don't know anything about it's cost or quality.

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

I am also going to post this in the "wheels/tire" forum as well.

Regards,

Michael

 

[SAFFRONV70R]

I have used Dunlop Graspic DS-1's since 1995.I used the Dunlop's first on the car that proceeded my Volvo, a 92 Nissan Maxima.Then put them on my brand new 1998 V70 AWD R.The tire is an outstanding bargin in a snow tire.The other tire I believe you are refering to is HAKKAPELIITTA..this is a real kickass snow tire.I used those on my VW GTI...harder to find..and a little pricer..but if you got the bucks its a great tire.I believe they're real popular with the ice racing set. The Green Diamond tires look promising too.I bought the Dunlops from The Tire Rack and recommend them highly as a source. The HAKKAPELIITTA tires are available from GREER ENTERPRISES in Wisconsin. Hope I gave you some ideas

 

[nyerinmontreal]

quote:

Originally posted by SAFFRONV70R:
I have used Dunlop Graspic DS-1's since 1995.I used the Dunlop's first on the car that proceeded my Volvo, a 92 Nissan Maxima.Then put them on my brand new 1998 V70 AWD R.The tire is an outstanding bargin in a snow tire.The other tire I believe you are refering to is HAKKAPELIITTA..this is a real kickass snow tire.I used those on my VW GTI...harder to find..and a little pricer..but if you got the bucks its a great tire.I believe they're real popular with the ice racing set. The Green Diamond tires look promising too.I bought the Dunlops from The Tire Rack and recommend them highly as a source. The HAKKAPELIITTA tires are available from GREER ENTERPRISES in Wisconsin. Hope I gave you some ideas

Just a small clarification. (I also posted on this in the S60 forum) The Swedish tires that Volvo typically recommends and resells are Gislaveds. The Hakkapelittas, which I mention in my other post, are from Nokian -- a Finnish tire company that was spun off from Nokia (the cell phone company).

Nokian snow tires are excellent. I've driven the NRW's for many years and have heard nothing but good things about the Hakkas, which are a more serious snow tire, but are less performant in other conditions.

 

[javadoc]

I recommend the Hakks. I won't use anything else. I've been looking for a recent comparison between the Hakks and other, more mainstream, snow tires such as the Michelin Alpins, but haven't found one yet. My second choice would be the Michelins, except you can't stud them, and no matter what a tire company says, there's no real replacement to studs on ice.