I'm shopping around for winter tires (Rochester NY, hooray) and I came across the Hankook w409. It looks like a directional tire with a great tread pattern for water drainage. And it's CHEAP right now- 48.99 with free shipping. But it's studdable, which worries me since I have no intention of studding the tires, and I hear generally that studdable tires need studs to get the best performance.

http://www.discounttiredirect.com/direct/findTireDetail.do?cf=false&sw=true&cs=185&pc=11206&rd=14&ar=70

 

I drive like a granny, so performance isn't as much of a concern as snow and ice traction and road noise. Anyone used these, or any other "budget" snow tires? I know tires aren't something to be cheap on, but I drive to the grocery store once a week and take an occasional road trip to Vermont or DC, so how the tire handles over long stretches of heavily salted and wet road is more important to me than serious snow traction,though that certainly comes in handy when I finally get to Vermont... On a related note, is dropping 5% in sidewall size a major problem? Tirerack has Pirellis in 185/65/14 which I'd jump on in a heartbeat ( I love my current Pirelli allseasons), but I'm worried about other problems beyond a slightly off speedo and a slightly lower ride height.

Kelly Magna Grip 185/70/14 S. Cheap. Worked great here in S. PA and showed very little wear after one season. They also ride and handle in non-wintry conditions similar to A/S tires. $250 total installed.

 

PS- I put Hankook H725 Mileage Plus on this car for summer and am very pleased with these as well. Also approx $250 installed.

Kelly Magna Grip 185/70/14 S. Cheap. Worked great here in S. PA and showed very little wear after one season. They also ride and handle in non-wintry conditions similar to A/S tires. $250 total installed.

 

PS- I put Hankook H725 Mileage Plus on this car for summer and am very pleased with these as well. Also approx $250 installed.

I only started looking because I got quoted $90/wheel for the Magna Grips installed! Guess I need to find some better tire shops...

For the last couple of winters we've used an older set of Hankook studdable snow tires, without studs, with good results. Got them used with low miles for under $100 and figured it'd be worth it to try them out.

 

http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=25955

 

I don't have a lot to compare to but they seem to be noticeably better than all season tires in the mix of snow and slush we get around here.

 

Steve

For the last couple of winters we've used an older set of Hankook studdable snow tires, without studs, with good results. Got them used with low miles for under $100 and figured it'd be worth it to try them out.

 

http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=25955

 

I don't have a lot to compare to but they seem to be noticeably better than all season tires in the mix of snow and slush we get around here.

 

Steve

 

Thanks for the input. I went ahead and ordered what may well be the most absurdly named tires ever (the iPike????). http://www.discounttiredirect.com/direct/findTireDetail.do?cf=false&sw=true&cs=185&pc=11206&rd=14&ar=70

I'll report back once they're installed. My current all-seasons are a wreck, so I'll have a good month of light dry weather and rain driving to test them out before the slush hits.

I've only seen tests of the W404. They performed poorly. But any "snowflake" snow tire is better than worn A/s's.