Snow tires question, is this a good deal or no???

[02SILVANT]

I found a shop through ebay and they have 2 sets of used winter tires, one is Continental ContiWinterContact and the other is Bridgestone Blizzak MZ01. Both sets have about 8/32 of thread dept. They are willing to give up either set for $350 Shipped to my door.

Is it a good deal or no, and if it is a good deal which set should i go with? I mean they both seem very good tires but is Conti or Blizzak the way to go???


here are the links:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/4-Bri...Q5fAccessories

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/4-Con...Q5fAccessories

[02SILVANT]

36 views and not one reply, im guessing its not a good deal!

anyone.....

[vdubstreets]

brand new is anywhere from 11-10/32 depending on the tire. so they have about 80-85 percent tread left.

probally those tires brand new are around 500-550. i would say 350 is a not a bad price but not amazing either. I picked up a set of conti's same tread for around 200 bucks but they were 235's. It really comes down to what you want to spend and how long you wanna look around . I would do a quick search in Craigslist before you hit the Bid key see if you can find someting local.

[02SILVANT]

^^^I totally agree with you on what you said. But i have been searching on CL for a month now knowing winter season is coming up. Again i might just pick up all season tires for my stock 17's just because i will be using them just to go snowboarding since we dont get much snow here in town during the winter.

I will just have to keep looking around.

thx for your input

[fitch303]

im just going to buy snow chains, why spend the extra money when it only snows for 3 weeks out of the year. Maybe something to look into?

[02SILVANT]

I've thought of chaings but i dont think its a good idea for several reasons. I currently run 19's with summer tires. My 17's are laying around with bald tires. My car is very low and i dont think throwing chains even on 17's would be a good idea. Plus i took my car last winter with my stock 17's and sport summer tires on the snow and it was a ok. So i thought i would grab some used winter tires for the 17's since i would only need to use them while going up to the mountain and not locally.

Hope i didnt confuse u too much!

[gtimart]

Hum, I thought brand new meant around 13/32 inch for snows. That's what I've always seen. Anything under 5/32 will ride like crap in snow so at 8/32 they have less than half their life left. I just changed a set of Nokians out because they were at 7/32 and I considered it wasn't enough. But then again, I live where it really snows

Blizzaks ave very good at first but deteriorate quickly . Because of that I'd go Conti in your two choices. If you want very good winter tires, go Nokian or Gislaved but be ready to shell out the cash.

[02SILVANT]

^^^I dont need anything fancy because like i said where I live it doesnt snow in the winter. Only when i go snowboarding which is almost every weekend. Once i hit the mountain thats where there is snow.

but thx for ur input!

[102487thedude]

i live up north and i dont think it matters what tires you have as long as you are fourwheel drive. i run KDW's all winter and they are ment for the street only but yet i still make it through over a foot of snow upstate NY. and have never had a problem. so i say dont wast the money.

[02SILVANT]

^^^ Im really thinking about picking up some used all season tires for like $150 or $200 just to have them on my 17's.

[LampyB]

my problem with this is that you should be getting new snow tires with 50% treadlife left to ensure enough traction in snow. paying $350 for 8/32 tread is paying more than 50% of the new cost, for less than half the life of the tires remaining. this sounds really confusing, hopefully you understand what i'm saying. tires don't hold their resale value, so honestly i wouldn't pay more than $300 shipped for these tires.

[02SILVANT]

^^^Nope not confusing at all in fact very logical thinkng. thx.

[gtimart]

i live up north and i dont think it matters what tires you have as long as you are fourwheel drive. i run KDW's all winter and they are ment for the street only but yet i still make it through over a foot of snow upstate NY. and have never had a problem. so i say dont wast the money.

I don't agree with you. AWD will get you moving in the snow even with crappy tires. However for steering/stopping you're gonna need good tires.

[onceover]

I don't agree with you. AWD will get you moving in the snow even with crappy tires. However for steering/stopping you're gonna need good tires.

sure do. id rather drive a FWD car with all seasons than a quattro on summer tires...

learned that the hard way.

[SeKKeY]

dont you guys have chain control? im pretty sure those guys check for AWD AND at least M+S rated tires

[road_tripper]

why not buy some new 16" 205-60 tires and steelies for just a few dollars more?

that way you don't have to ride all week on half-worn winter tires. just swap before/after hitting the slopes; leave'em on a few extra days if you'd like!

I've got general altimax arctics which are great: cheap and work really well in the snow, slush and ice.

also, all the winter tires get really noisy and have anoying vibrations once they wear down a bit (after one season?). So those ebay tires might be loud and worn unevenly.

but maybe that doesn't matter to you...

[gtimart]

not sure there will be a lot of 205 tires with extra load capacity? I'm sporting 215 wide on 16 inch alloys for winter. Don't put steelies on such a nice car

[102487thedude]

I don't agree with you. AWD will get you moving in the snow even with crappy tires. However for steering/stopping you're gonna need good tires.

i drive in the snow alot mostly driving upstate while it is snowing becuase god finds it funny to do that to me and i can tell you it doesnt matter what tires u use i have had snow tires as well and i never noticed a diffrence and as far as braking goes. in the snow when braking as long as ur ties are not studed with metal spikes your car will stop in the same distance no matter what tire. it also depends on how well you can drive ur car.

my house upstate is at the top of a mountain and i have passed all types of cars and suv's with all types of tires and i always get up the mountain with no problem i wish i could say the same when i took my grandma's FWD honda with snow tires out in the snow.

If you think FWD is better than AWD you are saidly mistaken.

[gtimart]

thedude, I'm not saying FWD is better. I also agree that the way you drive has a great influence, although the current stability programs help a lot there.

However, if what you said was right, why would racecars use a race compound ? The compound has a huge impact on adherence, hence on braking distance.
There are tests to prove that under 7 degrees celcius (44F), a winter compound will have more adherence than an all-season/summer tire. The tests prove it, I'm not inventing this.

If you don't feel you need snow tires, that's okay with me.

[102487thedude]

thedude, I'm not saying FWD is better. I also agree that the way you drive has a great influence, although the current stability programs help a lot there.

However, if what you said was right, why would racecars use a race compound ? The compound has a huge impact on adherence, hence on braking distance.
There are tests to prove that under 7 degrees celcius (44F), a winter compound will have more adherence than an all-season/summer tire. The tests prove it, I'm not inventing this.

If you don't feel you need snow tires, that's okay with me.

what you said is only true if there is no snow on the ground. but once there is snow it dose not make a diffrence.
and if he wants the snow tires by all means get them. just from experince i say it is a wast of money.

[a2gtinut]

ask for DOT (day code) number from these tires.

[02SILVANT]

Thx for all the inputs guys!

Im still gonna look around for 17 inch used winter tires that arent used much i guess. And i will run them to the mountain and then see how they act up on the dry road around town for a week. If its too annoying then i will swap out with my 19's for local driving and 17's with snow tires when i hit the slopes!!!