Tires, Again

[Mass. Wine Guy]

I need to replace the tires on my 2015 Golf and my 2003 Jetta wagon before it starts snowing. I’ve had a set of Toyo Celsius all weather (AW) rated tires on one car. They’ve been very good the last few years but are wearing down with poor snow performance. I don’t want separate sets of winter tires. Just year round AW tires.

Does anyone have real world driving experience with these in snow, sleet, rain?:

Vredestein Quatrac
Goodyear Assurance WeatherReady
General Altimax 365 AW
Nokian WRG4

 

[Nickmk7]

I have heard very good things about continental extreme contact DWS

 

[Mass. Wine Guy]

I used Contis in 2001 and on for a few years. Treadlife seemed to take a drastic plunge. Not sure I’d buy them again.

 

[JM Popaleetus]

Quatrac Pros

Replaced the Continental PureContact LS on the Golf. Loved them so much I then replaced my mom and dad's aging WRG3 and WRG4's respectively. They live up to the hype on TireRack and Consumer Reports.

If you get a lot of snow, I'd go with Michelin's CrossClimate 2's (or snow tires). But if you want phenomenal wet/dry that's still severe-service/snow rated. The Quatrac Pros do not disappoint.

 

[Nuje]

Around us (west coast Canada) where we get lots of rain and occasional snow through the winter, the Michelin Cross-Climate are a great tire.
I view the Conti DWS06 as more of a "DW" (disregard the S(now) part of the model name) once you get past the first 10K km or so.

 

[DivineChaos]

I was debating on those. Se good?

 

[Mass. Wine Guy]

The Cross Climate 2 tires get sensational reviews. I could see them for the 2015 Golf, not so much for the Jetta. The engine is in great shape and the body is basically sound. Just not sure how many more years I’ll keep it.

Can anyone suggest the best, most rock bottom priced online tire source?

 

[nathanso]

Walmart

 

[The Tortoise]

If you don't drive the Jetta a ton, just go with a cheap set of winters and run them year round.

 

[Mass. Wine Guy]

It’s my daily ride.

 

[GolfSW98]

General Exclaims from walmart work great for me

 

[tdidieselbobny]

I bought some General Altimax RT43's last December (2020) for the '15 GSW. They handled decent enough in snow that I didn't switch over to snow tires last year. Have yet to drive in snow with them this winter so far to see how they are with about 20k on them. I like the Altimax RT43 because they're NOT a directional tire, can rotate them on all 4 corners. Not sure if they still make them....

 

[Mass. Wine Guy]

I’m leaning toward the Altimax RT43 or a Quatrac variant. Oddly, CrossClimate 2 doesn’t come in 195/65/15.

 

[bigsexyTDI]

The RT43s are not even a comparison to the Celsius you have now. Why not a new set of Celsius?

 

[Mass. Wine Guy]

I meant the all weather, mountain symbol version. Maybe Toyo would be the thing. But since I got them, many more AW tires are on the market.

 

[Mass. Wine Guy]

I don’t suppose it’s ok to just replace the front tires if the rear tires still look quite good? It’s the 2015 it’s Toyo.

 

[tdidieselbobny]

Unless you mount and balance yourself. Most tire shops won't sell mismatched tires, especially winters.(Well, at least the ones in my area)-or you take the pair in off vehicle to get the new tires installed. Then they recommend to put the newer/more tread ones on rear...plus it depends on if they are directional or not....

 

[Mass. Wine Guy]

Ok. Complex enough for me to skip it.
Thanks.

 

[DivineChaos]

I bought some General Altimax RT43's last December (2020) for the '15 GSW. They handled decent enough in snow that I didn't switch over to snow tires last year. Have yet to drive in snow with them this winter so far to see how they are with about 20k on them. I like the Altimax RT43 because they're NOT a directional tire, can rotate them on all 4 corners. Not sure if they still make them....

I had a set of those on my echo. Really good tires. After 40k, not so good.

 

[IndigoBlueWagon]

They still make them. I have them on 4 cars. Like them a lot.

 

[bigsexyTDI]

I don’t suppose it’s ok to just replace the front tires if the rear tires still look quite good? It’s the 2015 it’s Toyo.

That is what I would do. I have never seen a shop insist on a full set and not sell pairs...

 

[Zak99b5]

I’m leaning toward the Altimax RT43 or a Quatrac variant. Oddly, CrossClimate 2 doesn’t come in 195/65/15.

They make CrossClimate 1s in that size. I want to buy a set.

 

[Zak99b5]

Sorry—CrossClimate+. $138 each on tire rack

 

[Mass. Wine Guy]

Any thoughts on Firestone Weathergrip?

 

[tdidieselbobny]

I don’t suppose it’s ok to just replace the front tires if the rear tires still look quite good? It’s the 2015 it’s Toyo.

If you wanted to get pair of the same tires you're replacing, then replace the 2 tires only. I tend to only like to keep the same brand/tread type on my vehicles...

 

[Mass. Wine Guy]

They still make them. I have them on 4 cars. Like them a lot.

This is why I’m very curious about the all weather version.

 

[NewTdi]

Just installed General Altimax RT45 2 tanks ago and I am impressed given the price point. Very quiet, mileage does not seem affected and grip is very good in the bad atmospheric rivers we have been experiencing. I would definitely buy them again.

 

[pedroYUL]

Any thoughts on Firestone Weathergrip?

These are garbage on ice and deep snow (at least in my Passat, multiple winter seasons). At some point I'll run them year round to change to WRG4, those I had for a few months in an Audi A4 and they have pretty decent winter performance.