Snow tire and snow wheels question

jrm

Veteran Member
Joined
Jul 24, 2013
Location
Oregon
TDI
2013 Passat SE with nav (totaled)
I know its July, but I always plan ahead.
I plan on running 16" studless tires this winter on our new Passat as they are half the price of the 18's, I see lots of 16" rims from older Passat's on craigslist, what offset and width am I looking for?
What is everyone's favorite snow tire for wet thick tread packing snow?

Take care, Joe
 

Slater0239

Member
Joined
Mar 25, 2013
Location
Maytown, PA (Lancaster County)
TDI
2013 VW Passat TDI SE
This does not answer your question, but I have concerns with the stock tires. I live in Southcentral PA. Although we haven't had a lot of snow the last two winters, the winter before was rough. We usually get one or two Noreasters a winter that dump 12"-15" of snow. Living in rural Lancaster county, my area is prone to snow drifts as well.

My experience with the 2013 Passat tires bought in March is not positive. I had the same issue with my factory Xterra tires as well. On the highway during rain, the car/SUV has/had a tendency to pull.

I am not talking about going 80 MPH in a down pour, but slowing down to 50-55MPH during a normal rain.

I bought BF Goodrich A/T for the Xterra and noticed a huge difference. I am researching tires that will do the same for the Passat, but not effect the MPG negatively.

Any recommendations on a good all around tire for the Passat for snow/rain?
 

20IndigoBlue02

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 22, 2001
Location
Was North NJ, now SoCal
TDI
2002 Golf TDI-- deceased
B6- 16" are 7" wide with a 45mm offset. 215/55r16

B5 Passats 16" are 7" wide and 37mm offset

Which snow tires relevant to this thread? for a 215/60r16 size....
Firestone Winterforce are a great tire. Very loud and squirmy though.


Of course you have your Blizzak WS70 and Michelin Xice Xi3 (Studless snow & ice)

There's also the Hankook Winter I*Pike (sadly no General Altimax Arctic) which also gets good reviews for studdable tires
 

jrm

Veteran Member
Joined
Jul 24, 2013
Location
Oregon
TDI
2013 Passat SE with nav (totaled)
thanks for the reply's, most likely go the 215/55r16's as they are barly over $125 per tire :D

I have ran the following on my Civic's

1. Michelin Xice 1st generation- great quiet tire but not enough tread for the nasty stuff

2. Hankook Ipike studded, awesome tire- pushed snow with the headlights and never got stuck but they are super loud and I lost 10 MPG with them.

I am leaning toward the Michelin X ice 3rd generation as I really don't want my wife driving this new clean sexy car in the super nasty's anyway :p
 

Palouse

Veteran Member
Joined
Apr 28, 2013
Location
Idaho
TDI
2012 Passat SE/sunroof, DSG
My wife commutes about 170 miles, roundtrip, 3 days a week. The General Altimax Arctics that we installed never let her down! Reasonably quiet, great on snow--I mean really great-- and way above average on ice. Got them with wheels from Tirerack.
 

740GLE

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 19, 2009
Location
NH
TDI
2015 Passat SEL, 2017 Alltrack SE; BB 2010 Sedan Man; 2012 Passat,
Generals Artic Claws studded at 215-60-16 worked great on the passat this winter, pretty cheap tire for it's performance.

I can't spend the coin on blizzaks again (had them on th jetta for three seasons 25K and they are done).

I belive the rims i tossed on the passat at 17ET45 and they look pretty bad ass.
 

Dr. Raoul Duke

Well-known member
Joined
May 31, 2013
Location
Illinois
TDI
2013 Passat SE
This does not answer your question, but I have concerns with the stock tires. I live in Southcentral PA. Although we haven't had a lot of snow the last two winters, the winter before was rough. We usually get one or two Noreasters a winter that dump 12"-15" of snow. Living in rural Lancaster county, my area is prone to snow drifts as well.

My experience with the 2013 Passat tires bought in March is not positive. I had the same issue with my factory Xterra tires as well. On the highway during rain, the car/SUV has/had a tendency to pull.

I am not talking about going 80 MPH in a down pour, but slowing down to 50-55MPH during a normal rain.

I bought BF Goodrich A/T for the Xterra and noticed a huge difference. I am researching tires that will do the same for the Passat, but not effect the MPG negatively.

Any recommendations on a good all around tire for the Passat for snow/rain?
I had a very good experience with Nokians on my previous Passat. Excellent in both rain and snow

Dr Raoul Duke
"A Legend in his own Mind"
 

20IndigoBlue02

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 22, 2001
Location
Was North NJ, now SoCal
TDI
2002 Golf TDI-- deceased
If you're looking for a winter tire that doesn't dramatically kill mpg, then you need a Low Rolling Resistance Tire. Such LRR includes:

- Nokian Hakkapeliitta R2, WR G2 & WR G3
- Michelin Xice Xi3
 

jrm

Veteran Member
Joined
Jul 24, 2013
Location
Oregon
TDI
2013 Passat SE with nav (totaled)
I looked at all of those, and the tread blocks are just too small for nasty wet snow. Maybe the R2?? This is me in my 1985 diesel golf trying to leave for work at 5am on a snowy December morning back in 2006 needless to say I had to jump into my Toyota truck

 
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20IndigoBlue02

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 22, 2001
Location
Was North NJ, now SoCal
TDI
2002 Golf TDI-- deceased
I looked at all of those, and the tread blocks are just too small for nasty wet snow. This is me in my 1985 diesel golf trying to leave for work at 5am on a snowy December morning back in 2006
In your case... if you're using the stock (on a Passat S) 215/60r16... then the Firestone Winterforce will be a good candidate.

I had them on my old MK4. And I'm not kidding about it being loud.
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Firestone&tireModel=Winterforce

Can't really think of other snow tires that are knobby like the Winterforce.

If you're going 215/55r16... General Altimax Arctic is a solid choice also.
http://generaltire.com/tires/winter/altimax-artic#Specs

I ran these before.... great tire all around, but very squirmy in the dry

There may be Gislaved
http://www.gislaved-tires.com/gener...winter-tires/nordfrost-100/nordfrost-100.html
where you may have to hit up a Volvo dealer to order a set.

The General Altimax Arctic are actually re-labeled Gislaved Nord Frost 3
 
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jrm

Veteran Member
Joined
Jul 24, 2013
Location
Oregon
TDI
2013 Passat SE with nav (totaled)
Found some stock vw 16" 5x112 jetta rims on craigslist $100 bucks- will they fit ok?
leaning toward the Nokian Hakkapeliitta R2 that should bite ok and still give great MPG.
thoughts?
 

VernK

Veteran Member
Joined
Jul 31, 2012
Location
Kelowna
TDI
2012 Passat 2.5L Gas
I've used Hakka's for many years now and they have rarely let me down. We've got Hakka Rs on the Passat now.

Yours
Vern
 

20IndigoBlue02

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 22, 2001
Location
Was North NJ, now SoCal
TDI
2002 Golf TDI-- deceased
I've used Hakka's for many years now and they have rarely let me down. We've got Hakka Rs on the Passat now.

Yours
Vern
THe only time Hakka's have let me down is climbing the steep hills to my house... this is the RSI version. I should move somewhere less steep.

It takes a set of Spikes Spider Sport to get to my house
 
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Palouse

Veteran Member
Joined
Apr 28, 2013
Location
Idaho
TDI
2012 Passat SE/sunroof, DSG
Nokian's are fabulous--had unstudded Hakka's on my '99 Passat and enjoyed 4-5 trouble free winter seasons. They are quiet and function very well in the cold. Expensive though! My son had WR2s on his Subbie and ran them year round--it was the best upgrade he ever did to that car!
 

Ramairetransam

Veteran Member
Joined
Jul 14, 2013
Location
Upstate NY
TDI
2012 Passat TDI
studded general altimax is what i have run for years on my previous cars and that's what ill do on this b7 passat ,i hated the blizzaks . terrible stability at speed.
 

ColoradoDriver

Veteran Member
Joined
Dec 13, 2003
Location
Woodland Park, Colorado
TDI
Previously: 2012 Candy White Passat TDI SEL. Sold back to VW. Now: Only gas vehicles, including 2017 Passat V6 SEL Premium
Ran Michelin xice3 (18") last winter, and they were great or Colorado mountain driving.
 

KS_Jetta

Well-known member
Joined
Apr 30, 2006
Location
Central Kansas
TDI
2013 Passat TDI SE 6 Speed Manual
Ran Michelin xice3 (18") last winter, and they were great or Colorado mountain driving.
I used these on a BMW 128i and had no problems - on that rear wheel drive car - until the snow got above 6" deep. Then physics takes over. The mighty BMW was ground clearance challenged...
I liked the fact that they are LRR tires. My fuel economy went up when i installed them when compared to the stock Michelin Pilot's. They'll be on my short list this fall for my new (today!) '13 SE TDI.
 

20IndigoBlue02

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 22, 2001
Location
Was North NJ, now SoCal
TDI
2002 Golf TDI-- deceased
Thanks, I did start looking into these. Are they decent in snow/rain as well? It appears they are all season.
The Nokian WR G2 & G3 are all-season tires. You'll have to ask someone that has used them (G2) in terms of rain performance.

In Europe, they are marketed as a Winter-only tire. Supposedly, for the US market, they changed the compound slightly to make it an all-season tire.
 

Abacus

That helpful B4 guy
Joined
Nov 10, 2007
Location
Relocated from Maine to Dewey, AZ
TDI
Only the B4V left
I ran the Winterforce tires once and hated them. They are fine new but 1/2 worn and they're done whereas the others still have plenty of life left in them at that point.

I ran the Blizzak's until a few years ago and loved them, but couldn't live with their short lifespan.

I finally went to the General Altimax Arctics, studded, and haven't looked back. They wear much better and with the studs they are as good as the Blizzaks. I have them on all the cars now for winter and have not been sorry once.
 

TomB

Veteran Member
Joined
May 1, 2003
Location
Cle Elum, Washington/Las Vegas, Nevada
TDI
2015 Audi TDI Prestige Sport
I know its July, but I always plan ahead.
I plan on running 16" studless tires this winter on our new Passat as they are half the price of the 18's, I see lots of 16" rims from older Passat's on craigslist, what offset and width am I looking for?
What is everyone's favorite snow tire for wet thick tread packing snow?

Take care, Joe
Search is a wonderful feature of this site. This has been discussed in depth already. Please do a search in the future.
 

TomB

Veteran Member
Joined
May 1, 2003
Location
Cle Elum, Washington/Las Vegas, Nevada
TDI
2015 Audi TDI Prestige Sport
What's with the VWVortex MKIV forum response?
It is becoming my standard response now to all the newbies from Honda and Toyota who don't read the "read me first" thread asking the same questions over and over.

We had a complete discussion on this last winter and I contributed a lot to it so I don't feel like re-entering all that again and wasting disk space on the site when it is readily available for their viewing.

There was nothing new asked by the OP.
 

jrm

Veteran Member
Joined
Jul 24, 2013
Location
Oregon
TDI
2013 Passat SE with nav (totaled)
I did search, but overwhelming responses so I figured id light up a new one. sorry, iv been in your shoes over at my old vw idi forum. vwdieselparts
 

20IndigoBlue02

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 22, 2001
Location
Was North NJ, now SoCal
TDI
2002 Golf TDI-- deceased
It is becoming my standard response now to all the newbies from Honda and Toyota who don't read the "read me first" thread asking the same questions over and over.

We had a complete discussion on this last winter and I contributed a lot to it so I don't feel like re-entering all that again and wasting disk space on the site when it is readily available for their viewing.

There was nothing new asked by the OP.
Back when I joined TDIclub.... I was a noob that came from Toyota. However, people at TDIclub with open arms and had the patience for noobs, and much of the older folks still do, whether they are vendor or not.

If you felt this thread was a waste of YOUR TIME... why did you bother bother posting a "Search Noob" response? Some form of payback?
 

detroitmike

Veteran Member
Joined
Nov 12, 2011
Location
Take a guess.
TDI
2013 Passat DSG
This does not answer your question, but I have concerns with the stock tires. I live in Southcentral PA. Although we haven't had a lot of snow the last two winters, the winter before was rough. We usually get one or two Noreasters a winter that dump 12"-15" of snow. Living in rural Lancaster county, my area is prone to snow drifts as well.

My experience with the 2013 Passat tires bought in March is not positive. I had the same issue with my factory Xterra tires as well. On the highway during rain, the car/SUV has/had a tendency to pull.

I am not talking about going 80 MPH in a down pour, but slowing down to 50-55MPH during a normal rain.

I bought BF Goodrich A/T for the Xterra and noticed a huge difference. I am researching tires that will do the same for the Passat, but not effect the MPG negatively.

Any recommendations on a good all around tire for the Passat for snow/rain?
Just out of curiosity, do you have Hankooks on your car now?
 
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