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Old 12-18-2009, 08:50 PM   #1
eatus ravenous
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Default what winter tires NOT to put on a wrx or sti

so I go through tire racks winter tire review and saw a extremely affordable winter snow tire . general altimax arctic . I read most of the reviews that included many wrx owners so I bit . drove to the local tire retailer and had a set of 4 installed . they looked aggressive as hell . so being brand new I expected some squirm but not as much as I got . I drove home and checked tire pressure and that was set at 35 psi so I inflated up to the limit of 44psi and drove it again seemed better but not to par at all when I got to work I checked it again and it was steady at 44 . I figured I would give them some time and let them break in . 5 days and 550 miles in I am driving at highway speeds and the car in front of me swearves to avoid something in the road ( a chair that fell out of some ass hats truck . I tried to swerve as well and found myself sliding wildly ( ON DRY ROADS ) these tires have so much flex it isn't funny . I feel to recomend these tires to anyone is a crime . plain and simple . before anyone tries to flame me I didnt try some crazy jerk of the wheel move just a plain quick lane change . I almost lost control of the car. I have since upgraded to the continental 790v which was recommended by the retailer and he didnt charge me anything to replace them even though they were more expensive . he said and I quote I have been getting allot of them back so much I am not going to sell them any more ( end quote ) just a warning to my fellow subaru owners avoid these tires like anthrax
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Old 12-18-2009, 09:08 PM   #2
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??

I've been happy with mine. I'm going back to 'performance' winter tire after these are worn out, just because I don't like squishy sidewalls. But I've driven pretty hard on the artimax's and they always responded predictably.

You sure your defensive highway manuver, wasn't the reason you went sideways and maybe not the tires? Just asking not trying to be a jerk. Maybe lifted off throttle and jerked wheel all at the same time?
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Old 12-18-2009, 09:11 PM   #3
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even the re92's didn't do what these tires did and those are far from optimal . I take no offense to your comment ( just a natural question ) but the answer is no .
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Old 12-18-2009, 09:13 PM   #4
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Winter tires don't work as well on dry roads, plain and simple.

I think the generals are good in the snow and not much else. This should have been pretty obvious from their designation as a studdable snow tire, rather than a performance winter tire.
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Old 12-18-2009, 10:41 PM   #5
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Just a tip; periods go at the end of a sentence. Your post is hard to read, and so I gave up.
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Old 12-18-2009, 11:00 PM   #6
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I have a set on my 08, they aren't the greatest on dry roads but they are great on snow and ice. But that's what i bougth them for, not to rip around on the dry roads.
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Old 12-18-2009, 11:21 PM   #7
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Yeah, sounds like you should've gotten a "performance winter" instead of a studless snow/ice type tire. The ones that are really good on snow and ice are VERY soft, to the point that on dry roads they can be dangerous if you're moving fast.

I have similar problems on my Blizzak WS-60's... they're great when its actually frozen, but you really have to slow down when its dry.
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Old 12-19-2009, 12:21 AM   #8
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??

Maybe lifted off throttle and jerked wheel all at the same time?

This is what happened.......and could happen with any tire.
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Old 12-19-2009, 01:01 AM   #9
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Maybe if you werent running a retarded 44psi on the street, this wouldn't have happened. And before you come back with some weak argument about autox and rallyx guys doing it, they only do it to prevent debeading the tire, which you will never experience just putzing around on the street.
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Old 12-19-2009, 01:20 AM   #10
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I running the general altimax arctic tires in a 215/65R16 size on my wifes 09 Forester with 34 psi front and rear. Neither one of us has a problem with them on dry pavement.
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Old 12-19-2009, 01:26 AM   #11
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i have these in the studded version on my car

no complaints
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Old 12-19-2009, 01:29 AM   #12
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44psi on snow tires?
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Old 12-19-2009, 08:20 AM   #13
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Well, when inflated at 35psi they were horrible at any speed . at that pressure even at parking lot speeds there was a steering input lag ( move wheel wait then car would move ) . maybe I should have mentioned that the last snow tire I ran was the cooper weathermaster ST2 which by the way did not have these problems . congrats to all that have these tires and see no problems with them . just remember that I had a panic situation and the tires let me down badly . I hope you all never have to avoid anything at highway speeds with these tires on your car period . I know how to drive I have been driving longer than some here have been alive so that isn't an issue . I didn't lift then turn . I powered through the abrupt lane change which should have induced push / under steer not wild over steer .

lastly to all of you that find it compelling to correct me for punctuation and have nothing to add in the way of constructive conversation . stay the FU%# OUT of my threads . period .
I personally find the altimax arctic not up to the task for a wrx that is all and anyone thinking of putting them on a wrx or sti should think twice .
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Old 12-19-2009, 08:21 AM   #14
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double posted for some reason ...
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Old 12-19-2009, 08:25 AM   #15
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Originally Posted by txl146 View Post
44psi on snow tires?
44 psi is the max rated inflation pressure for this tire so well within the manufactures recomendations
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Old 12-19-2009, 09:20 AM   #16
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well maybe its just me . just had the alignment checked and it is spot on . zero toe front and rear with -1.4 front and - 1.6 rear . zero thrust angle . and since I have changed tires the problem has gone away . so maybe I got a bad set . or I expect them to measure up to the coopers which they do not . either way they were horrible in my opinion .
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Old 12-19-2009, 10:37 AM   #17
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Quote:
Originally Posted by eatus ravenous View Post
Well, when inflated at 35psi they were horrible at any speed . at that pressure even at parking lot speeds there was a steering input lag ( move wheel wait then car would move ) . maybe I should have mentioned that the last snow tire I ran was the cooper weathermaster ST2 which by the way did not have these problems . congrats to all that have these tires and see no problems with them . just remember that I had a panic situation and the tires let me down badly . I hope you all never have to avoid anything at highway speeds with these tires on your car period . I know how to drive I have been driving longer than some here have been alive so that isn't an issue . I didn't lift then turn . I powered through the abrupt lane change which should have induced push / under steer not wild over steer .

lastly to all of you that find it compelling to correct me for punctuation and have nothing to add in the way of constructive conversation . stay the FU%# OUT of my threads . period .
I personally find the altimax arctic not up to the task for a wrx that is all and anyone thinking of putting them on a wrx or sti should think twice .
Ugh, that's what a real snow tire does; you've never driven on blizzaks have you? MAYBE if you did a little more research you wouldve bought a WINTER tire (like a dunlop wintersport) instead of a full-on SNOW tire. You DO know there's a difference right? One is specifically designed to get through snow, and the other sacrifices a little snow traction so it behaves a little more like an all-season tire on dry roads.
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Old 12-19-2009, 11:13 AM   #18
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Quote:
Originally Posted by eatus ravenous View Post
44 psi is the max rated inflation pressure for this tire so well within the manufactures recomendations
that is the max pressure, not the max cold pressure...you are far from being "well within the manufacturer's recommendation." you should not be putting that much pressure into your tires even though it helps stiffen up the sidewalls. snow tires have soft sidewalls, and the softness is needed for grip in snow and ice, so you want to be running much lower pressures when the bad weather comes.

at any rate, snow tires are soft and will have slower steering response than your other tires. high performance snows will improve your dry handling greatly. depending on where you are in MA, they might be a better choice than full snows.
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Old 12-19-2009, 12:35 PM   #19
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that is the max pressure, not the max cold pressure...you are far from being "well within the manufacturer's recommendation." you should not be putting that much pressure into your tires even though it helps stiffen up the sidewalls. snow tires have soft sidewalls, and the softness is needed for grip in snow and ice, so you want to be running much lower pressures when the bad weather comes.

at any rate, snow tires are soft and will have slower steering response than your other tires. high performance snows will improve your dry handling greatly. depending on where you are in MA, they might be a better choice than full snows.
max pressure cold at XXXX weight . right from the tire . tire pressures are adjusted when the tire is cold and YES the max pressure is what the manufacture puts on the tire . not what it grows to when hot . do some reading on tires before you spew all this crap you think you know about
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Old 12-19-2009, 12:38 PM   #20
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Ugh, that's what a real snow tire does; you've never driven on blizzaks have you? MAYBE if you did a little more research you wouldve bought a WINTER tire (like a dunlop wintersport) instead of a full-on SNOW tire. You DO know there's a difference right? One is specifically designed to get through snow, and the other sacrifices a little snow traction so it behaves a little more like an all-season tire on dry roads.
I have driven on REAL snow tires that did not react like the altimax arctic's . cooper weathermaster ST2's are winter only tires and come holed for studs . AKA studded or stud less snow tires they behaved as a true snow tire should have . advocate all you want for the generals but in my opinion they are crap for a performance car of any type .
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Old 12-19-2009, 12:51 PM   #21
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You might've gotten a bad set, everyone that I know has them, loves them. In every group there might be a few bad ones, good luck on your new choice.
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Old 12-19-2009, 02:43 PM   #22
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High pressure on snow tires is a good thing for dry road use. You can get better traction with lower pressure in an off-road situations where conformity outweighs handling precision.

Car control will be the other factor. Look into joining your local SCCA and getting some auto-x and rally-x events under your belt. Learn to drive the car hard and be comfortable around the limit. That will help out a ton in terms of knowing what you can do and actually maneuvering in emergency situations. Once you get comfortable with sliding, you stop caring about it happening.
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Old 12-19-2009, 07:12 PM   #23
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Originally Posted by Back Road Runner View Post
High pressure on snow tires is a good thing for dry road use. You can get better traction with lower pressure in an off-road situations where conformity outweighs handling precision.

Car control will be the other factor. Look into joining your local SCCA and getting some auto-x and rally-x events under your belt. Learn to drive the car hard and be comfortable around the limit. That will help out a ton in terms of knowing what you can do and actually maneuvering in emergency situations. Once you get comfortable with sliding, you stop caring about it happening.
I am no ken block but I am comfortable at the limit of my wrx . I can easily slide the car around when I want to push it . this is not a I am not able to control my vehicle. rather its a bad tire choice for the way I drive . I am comfortable at the edge but not when the tires let me down .
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Old 12-19-2009, 11:55 PM   #24
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Quote:
Originally Posted by eatus ravenous View Post
max pressure cold at XXXX weight . right from the tire . tire pressures are adjusted when the tire is cold and YES the max pressure is what the manufacture puts on the tire . not what it grows to when hot . do some reading on tires before you spew all this crap you think you know about

d000000000000d

you put too much pressure in those tires....just putting max pressure in a tire, offhand like that is a TERRIBLE idea....ESPECIALLY for snow tires

no doubt.....and the other d0000d was right....true 'snow' tires--what YOU bought are NOT dry pavement tires and trying to <AKE them do dry pavement isnt a great idea....that is for other tires that arent made for SNOW

you had poor results because you asked an elephant to wear ballet slippers....didnt work

the elephant is great offroad, though

Quote:
I am comfortable at the edge but not when the tires let me down .
you let YOU down.....the tires didnt do anything

ya dig???
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Old 11-25-2010, 07:25 PM   #25
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Bumping this old thread because I just put a set on my '11 and have nothing but praise on dry roads with these. I went with oem size 235/45 set at 35psi front and 33 rear. They don't squirm at all driving the same twisty roads I drove on the stock summer dunlops. Steering input feels the same as well. Unless you push these around corners doing twice the limit I think its incredible that I'm riding on a snow tire. No noise either to boot.

Maybe if I went with steelies with a high sidewall I'd find a day and night difference but being oem size I have nothing but praise to how they perform on dry roads!

In the snow I may have given up some overall deep traction going wider and with a smaller sidewall but I'll put money that these will far out perform any all season in the white stuff.
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