Christien

I need to get a set of winter wheels and tires for our 2001 Honda Odyssey. I searched here and found recommendations for both tires and the odd local place, and compared with Tire Rack. Both 1010tires.com and Tire Rack worked out to be within $5 of each other. $1200 for a set of wheels and Blizzak tires. Wheel choices from Tire Rack were all the same pricee ($100 per), all alloy, no steel available.

I'm not at all concerned about looks (it's a beige minivan, for chrissakes!) just safety. Does this sound like a standard price, or am I better off shopping the no-name brand wheels at Canadian Tire or some place like that? Are there other local shops to look at?

Now the question is, because the Honda's a company car thus all vehicle expenses are a writeoff, can I slip a set of RA1s in there without CRA noticing?

Thanks for any advice!

old man neri

There are a lot of tires made with the 'blizzak' name. Which one in specific are you looking at. For the van I would either get the Blizzak WS-50 or the REVO1.

Nine11

Blizzaks tire siping tread only goes halfway down into the tread. The tires are fantastic when new as the tread compound is softer/stickier and have the siping lines cut into them. Once you wear into the tread a bit, the compound is harder and the siping lines are gone. I have a set of WS60's I bought last year for our 2007 Odyssey. They performed flawlessly. A little squishy but this isn't a race car. Very impressed with the tire. I don't drive a lot so I expect the siping treads to be around for 3 or 4 winters. Then I'll just get a new set. If you drive a lot, the Blizzaks might be disappointing in how quickly they can wear out.

Have you looked into the Michelin X-Ice or the Nokian WR (year round extreme winter rated) tires?

old man neri

From what I have heard the Michelin X-ice is also a great tire. And yes, Nine11 is absolutely right, the tire is only good for half the tread. However, I think all winter tires are like this. You just can't go down to 2/32" with them like summer tires. I mean, they start off with a lot more tread and do you actually expect any tire to grip in snow when it only has 2/32".

But valid point by Nine11. Also, check you classifieds this time of year, you would be surprised that the amount of used winter tires for sale. A lot are crap but there are some great deals to be had by people who just traded in their vehicle but kept the winter tires that were only ever used for 1 season. It's what I do. I am willing to get used winter tires that have had only 3000km on them for 75% off and tax free. Maybe it's just me.

-matt

Nine11

The Nokian tires have full siping tread all the way down. I had a set of Nokian Hakkapeliitta Q's few years back on my Acura and I commuted for a whole year (2x weekly) to work (about 1000km/week) and those tires never failed me in the worst of driving conditions. I would have no hesitation to go back to them. But like the old man says, these tires really do have drastic diminished performance after a certain point.

Christien

All great info, guys - thanks! The recommended package from Tire Rack is Blizzak WS-60 (sorry, didn't know there were so many available!) with Sport Edition A7 wheels. Tires are $95 each, wheels are $99 each, total is $776 US, not including shipping/taxes/duty.

I haven't looked into any other tires yet, so I'll do that when I get a chance later today. Never thought of the classifieds, but it's worth a shot!

Turbodan

try costco?

The Stig

Chris,

I bought a set of winters this year from Kal-Tire in Etobicoke for my Ford. They were an off brand Tiger-something or the other. I'll check when I get home. They were very inexpensive and included balancing, rims and installation. You have to watch that Crappy tire will ding you for valves, balancing, disposal etc, etc. The rims were cheaper at Kal-Tire as well. They carry Nokian's too.

If I was keeping the car I'd spring for the Nokians. Only heard good things about them. I'll pm you the deets tonight.

I believe that tirerack will give you a landed all-in price to Canada if you work your way through the "shopping cart". They have a deal with UPS.

Good luck with the search.

PbPedis

Try tiretrends.com. Blizzak WS-60 + steel wheels comes to $924 and they are West so no PST on that.

I've purchased a couple sets of snow tires/rims from them in the past and have had good service.

Christien

I had a good experience with Kal Tire with the 944, but I didn't know they sold rims as well. I'll definitely call them. And yes, Tire Rack gives you an all-in quote, including shipping/PST/GST/duty. That was the $1200.

Tiretrends.com was slightly higher at $1275, incl. taxes and shipping for the same package. $965 for steel wheels and the Ws-60s.

Thanks guys!