hsv

G'day All:

This is my first winter with my 06 Goat. I have been running factory 18s and Bridgestone RE040's for summer, so I bought some factory 17s off of ebay for $300. I figured the 17s would give a bit more cushioning over the potholes during winter.

I was torn between Blizzak WS-50s and Dunlop Winter Sport M3s for winter. I know a lot of GTO drivers *swear* by the Blizzaks, but in the end I decided that if the snow was that deep that I needed that extra bit of snow holding capability of the Blizzak's then I would most likely just drive my wife's SUV. I ended up buying the Winter Sport M3's in 245/45VR-17 as I figured they had a nice compromise between handling and snow holding. (I've also heard good reviews about them on tirerack and here as well).

I ordered my tires from tirerack.com ($158/tire) and had them drop shipped to the local NTB for installation. Had everything installed yesterday and I am really happy with the way the whole package looks! The treads on these tires are amazing! I have no doubt they are going to grip well in the snow. Also looking forward to better handling in the wet and an extra 10mm of contact patch width per tire.

I'm also happy with the way the stock 17s look. I think I will have to revisit the 17s/18s thread again.

Now that I am all set, can't wait to try these tires out in the snow!

Keep you all posted on how they work.

Cheers,

HSV.

 

Wing_Nut

I've run Blizzaks on all my cars for years including a 2005 GTO. I always wondered about the Dunlops but never tried them. I can tell you that you give up a great deal of handling and stopping power on dry pavement in return for the Blizzak's grip on snow & ice. They feel like gummy bears when switching from summer tires.

hsv

I had heard the same thing about the Blizzaks. I was still *really* close to getting them. I'll let you know how I go with the Dunlops.

I haven't really had a chance to try them out in the dry as it was pouring with rain here yesterday so I didn't push too hard. Should be able to test them out a bit more tomorrow.

I have noticed that my summer tires have lost a *lot* of traction in the last few weeks as the temperature has dropped here (highs of around 50s these days).

hsv

It was a beautiful day for driving today (about 50 degrees maximum and sunny) so I pushed my tires a bit more than on the weekend.

I'm still getting used to them, but my strongest impression is that the rear is much more grippy than my stock summer tires! I notice it most when accelerating from a stop into a 90 degree turn. The tail kicks out, but much less and much more gradually than my 18/235s.

Might have to think about 245s or 255s for summer. Has anyone run 18/245/255s without fender rolling/cutting and without strut rub on an M06?

ZO6TrailblazerSS

How many of you guys drive your GTO throughout the winter? Do the M3's make a huge difference in cold weather?

hsv

G'day Z06:

A lot of folks here drive in their GTOs in the winter (a lot also garage them). It would be interesting to take a poll. If you do a search on Winter tires you will see posts from folks that drive their GTOs in the winter.

I can tell you that I have noticed a huge difference in handling just between my summer tires and the M3's in the cold and/or wet. I noticed in the last couple of weeks my summer tires starting to lose a lot of traction due to cold weather (around 40s/50s). The tires were also pretty useless in the wet. The M3's are *much* better and also have a much more gradual and progressive break away at the limit (not that I have pushed too hard yet). I can't wait to see how they go in the snow!

I would say that any sort of icy/snowy conditions and it's pretty much game over in the summer tires. Anyone else have any thoughts?

By the way... welcome to the forum! You are currently driving another favourite car of mine (Z06)!

Cheers,

HSV.

Wing_Nut

I drove my GTO every day thru 2 Pennsylvania winters. With dedicated snow & ice tires a GTO is very good in the nasty stuff. I used to look forward to snow because the GTO was so much fun. Front & rear steering, very controllable. The only thing to watch out for is snow deeper than about six inches. The car can begin to float on packed snow and lose traction.

With summer tires, you're a danger to yourself and others. I had Bridgestone Blizzak WS50's on mine but Dunlop, Pirelli, Goodyear, etc. all make something similar.

ZO6TrailblazerSS

HSV and Wing Nut, Thank you for the input and the welcome!! I was wondering how they were, the 6" mark tells me the limits which is what I figured. I currently have a trailblazer ss awd that I am considering getting rid of the get the goat (mostly for another 6-8 mpg's) Mass. hasn't seen many bad winters lately, knock on wood...