Winter Tires in the GTA?

Damien8 · Nov 24, 2009

Hey guys,

Looking to get my first set of winters for my 2006 TDI.

Wondering if anyone could suggest a good shop in the Toronto area to get some winter tires and steels?

Also, does anyone have a recommendation for a good tire?

Thanks in advance

yatzee · Nov 24, 2009

everyone has an opinion on winter tires. My personal favorites are the Nokian tires. They are also the only tire that still has a road hazard warranty.

Johhny04 · Nov 24, 2009

I recommend the guys at Steel Case Tire and Mags. Located at Woodbine and Steeles, in Markham.

EMSbyDay · Nov 24, 2009

Whereabouts are you? Call Gabe @ Hi Standard Tire ( 400 + steeles area ) 416-740-5029 They are a distributer as well so you save by cutting out the middle man. Be sure to ask for Gabe and tell him Kevin with the red A3 sent you. Awesome prices and fantastic service.

Toronto_Vento · Nov 24, 2009

Honestly, this is one of those things where you have to pick up the phone and call around. If you want to save a bit of money, you cna probably find a set of used winter tires with steel wheels on the Vortex. You can sometimes find low mileage tires and will save quite a bit of cash buying them used. I just took a huge hit selling all-season tires for my wife's car. Fairly new tires, but they had been sitting for a year, and ended up selling them for 1/2 of their original purchase price.

Sweeps · Nov 24, 2009

If you can find steel wheels, I have some basically brand new (1000km) Marangoni Ice 4E+ 205/55R16.
They are at my friends tire store in Woodstock.
$440 installed taxes in.

wolfsburg · Nov 24, 2009

I bought tires a few weeks ago from these guys...Also bought some there last year for anther car..Quite happy with the service, etc. You generally need to make an appointment at this shop
http://tires23.com/

Silver02TDI · Nov 25, 2009

PrecisionTuning, a vendor on this forum, also sells winter tires for great prices. You just have to get them installed somewhere else though (Crappy Tire, Wal-Mart, etc)

neon629 · Nov 25, 2009

I am in the same boat. lately i have been looking at the used sets on craigslist and the prices are pretty good. Just wondering if the off sets of the rims are a factor in purchasing new rims/steelies... is there a preferred range?
Are Audi rims compatible with my 2009 TDI?

Sweeps · Nov 25, 2009

neon629 said:
Are Audi rims compatible with my 2009 TDI?

As long as they are a 5x112 bolt pattern.
Most of them are.
Usually the offset's on the Audi wheels will be slightly lower, meaning the wheel will "poke" out of the wheel well more than the original wheels.
Most will still work though as long as you are OK with that.

Your OEM wheels (If you have the 16 inchers) are:
5x112, 16x6.5 et50.

neon629 · Nov 26, 2009

Thanks Steve,
The Audi rims i was looking at are et16. is that measurement in milimeters? i dont want my car to look like a monster truck =P
i guess i am more concerned about the wheel well being damaged when turning and going over bumps.

Do all 16 inch tires fit on all 16 in rims?
my tires are 205/55/R16
does that mean my OEM size is 16x5.5?

sorry for all the questions.

Sweeps · Nov 26, 2009

neon629 said:
Thanks Steve,
The Audi rims i was looking at are et16. is that measurement in milimeters? i dont want my car to look like a monster truck =P
i guess i am more concerned about the wheel well being damaged when turning and going over bumps.

Do all 16 inch tires fit on all 16 in rims?
my tires are 205/55/R16
does that mean my OEM size is 16x5.5?

sorry for all the questions.

There is no way the rims are et16. or at least I would highly doubt it.
generally speaking, 16 tires will fit on 16 inch rims as long as the tires are within the width range to fit on the wheel. For example 275 width tires will not fit on 6.5 inch wide rims....the tires are too wide.
Your OEM size wheel is 16x6.5, not 5.5.

Damien8 · Nov 26, 2009

EMSbyDay said:
Whereabouts are you? Call Gabe @ Hi Standard Tire ( 400 + steeles area ) 416-740-5029 They are a distributer as well so you save by cutting out the middle man. Be sure to ask for Gabe and tell him Kevin with the red A3 sent you. Awesome prices and fantastic service.

Thanks man.

Called Gabe, he know who you were right away.

Price was decent, nothing great. I'm going to do a little more shopping and see what I come up with.

Damien8 · Nov 26, 2009

Johhny04 said:
I recommend the guys at Steel Case Tire and Mags. Located at Woodbine and Steeles, in Markham.

Yeah, but they never ever ever answer their phone!

Even if you try top leave a message, the mailbox is always full.

I don't understand how these guys run a business!

streeker02 · Nov 26, 2009

Damien8 said:
Yeah, but they never ever ever answer their phone!

Even if you try top leave a message, the mailbox is always full.

I don't understand how these guys run a business!

Have you ever been there? Believe me, these guys are not sitting there ignoring your call. Busy as hell.

chaloux · Nov 26, 2009

yatzee said:
everyone has an opinion on winter tires. My personal favorites are the Nokian tires. They are also the only tire that still has a road hazard warranty.

Agree 100%

The entire Audi group my dad and I go ice racing with use Nokian Hakkapeliittas exclusively. I personally feel they are the best winter tire out there.

Driving to Ottawa from Muskoka on 118/other hwys, following my dad in an S6 with Hakkapeliittas, me with Dunlop winters in his second S6 (don't remember what, were pretty decent). I COULD NOT keep up, grip was brutal. We stopped for a while to clean the ice off the windshields and he suggested we swap cars so he could feel the difference. As soon as we arrived he said he couldn't believe it.

They aren't cheap, though.

Damien8 · Nov 26, 2009

I'm hearing good things about Gislaved Nordfrost 5 tires. Anyone have an opinion?

petea4 · Nov 27, 2009

I'm a big fan of Gislaved's. Great tire. OEM installed for Volvo's.

Run them on everything for a number of years.

Emil · Nov 28, 2009

Got tires from Tirerack.com. Shipped to Buffalo. Less than half the price.Received them for 2 days. Mounted and balanced( free)
Perfect service
Check them out.

blackchrome · Nov 29, 2009

Emil said:
Got tires from Tirerack.com. Shipped to Buffalo. Less than half the price.Received them for 2 days. Mounted and balanced( free)
Perfect service
Check them out.

For the amount of hassle of crossing the border, and coming back to save a couple bucks ($100-$200) is not worth my time. Even if it is, I think we should support our local businesses especially if they have paid to be a vendor to our beloved club. Having been in the automotive retail business for a number of years, markup on tires is marginal at best, unless you are a strictly tire outlet, like Goodyear Select, or Superior Tire, etc. So instead of trying to save $10-$20 per tire, why don't we help out our local club shops. I don't mean to flame, just wanted to remind everyone, myself included that without the vendors paying to advertise on this club, we wouldn't have one.

pnyknight · Dec 2, 2009

Silver02TDI said:
PrecisionTuning, a vendor on this forum, also sells winter tires for great prices. You just have to get them installed somewhere else though (Crappy Tire, Wal-Mart, etc)

IIRC I don't think Persaud was selling any tires this year? Or at least I didn't see any around in the shop. Good guy with a great business though.

Simply Tire is in the area around there as well. I got a set of Toyo Observe for just under $700. Good reputable shop, lots of recommandations from one of the mazda and audi forums. Search for them also on RFD

JettaSportTDi · Dec 2, 2009

pnyknight said:
IIRC I don't think Persaud was selling any tires this year? Or at least I didn't see any around in the shop. Good guy with a great business though.

Simply Tire is in the area around there as well. I got a set of Toyo Observe for just under $700. Good reputable shop, lots of recommandations from one of the mazda and audi forums. Search for them also on RFD

I've bought from them the owner's name is Aaron, good guy, not bad prices and usually has the tire in stock.

hvcl · Dec 4, 2009

pnyknight said:
Simply Tire is in the area around there as well. I got a set of Toyo Observe for just under $700. Good reputable shop, lots of recommandations from one of the mazda and audi forums. Search for them also on RFD

Thanks for the recommendation...picked up a set, was reasonably priced. Had what I was looking for in stock, in and out in a couple of hours as a walk-in.

Emil · Dec 7, 2009

Winter tires in GTA?

blackchrome said:
For the amount of hassle of crossing the border, and coming back to save a couple bucks ($100-$200) is not worth my time. Even if it is, I think we should support our local businesses especially if they have paid to be a vendor to our beloved club. Having been in the automotive retail business for a number of years, markup on tires is marginal at best, unless you are a strictly tire outlet, like Goodyear Select, or Superior Tire, etc. So instead of trying to save $10-$20 per tire, why don't we help out our local club shops. I don't mean to flame, just wanted to remind everyone, myself included that without the vendors paying to advertise on this club, we wouldn't have one.

Well Blackchrome I agree with you in general . If it was 10-30 $ per tire it would have been fine. When it is more then half the price( 80-90$ per tire)it is another story. If 400$ is not worth 2 hours of your time than you have a very nice job. Are they hiring where you work?

Winter Tires in the GTA?

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