Winter Tires for Ontario

Primacy vs. Ice. Toyo gets involved

2011-12-29T19:16:00.000-08:00

Melting temperature of the salt-water mix varies from -7C to -29C depending on the chemical used. While spreading salt over the snow in hopes the latter melts and the water runs off the road is widely used as a snow removal technique, one would argue it is not the most effective one. Spreading salt over the roads to keep them driveable may be used in conjunction with knowing chemistry and checking the weather forecast.

Yesterday's snow removal operation in Ottawa ON was not very effective in my opinion. There was enough salt to melt all the snow, but the temperature dropped down sooner than the liquid managed to run off or evaporate. Starting at evening rush hours, through the night and continuing into today most of the roads including highways were covered with patches of ice.

Enough of good intentions. Michelin Primacy Alpin PA3 into its fourth winter does not amuse. Mind you it still behaves better than three-season tires. But occasional slides during braking and acceleration made me feel concerned. Just to add to my doubts, I happened to drive a minivan on brand new winter Toyo Observer GSi5 tires today. Again, same day, same roads, but different vehicle make comparison unclear, nevertheless first-time-on-the-road Toyo showed off 3 year old Michelin.

I'll keep watching and reporting back to you my readers.

CAA for Winter Tires

2011-12-19T03:53:00.000-08:00

CAA is paying service to its members reminding them of the benefits of winter tires. In traditional accessible manner the magazine makes few points: one is that it is not about snow in the first place, but about flexibility - non-winter tires get stiff with temperatures above zero and thus loose a grip.

Secondly magazine brings again the "expert" notion that two tires are not enough. Although it sounds like a common sense, experts suggest that all four winter tires will make your drive much safer.

And finally with elaborate image the magazine tells their members what they should be looking for: the snowflake sign. Don't get fooled by the "All-Season" marketing term, or the "M+S" sign. While the latter stands for "Mud and Snow", it does not make tires certified for winter driving.

So again, although it is not about snow, look for the "Snowflake" sign on the side of your tire for your winter driving.

Getting ready for the 2011-12 winter season

2011-11-20T06:36:00.001-08:00

I promised to update you on my experience with Micheline Primacy Alpin PA3 after past 2010-11 season, but the spring has come so fast - I've got my tires taken off, packed and stored in the garage. It was over with the winter. Now, after having the tires installed for new season, I am going to reminisce on the last one.

Chrysler PT Cruiser with Michelin Primacy Alpin PA3 installed.

Last winter offered variety of challenges, typical for Eastern Ontario: cold dry pavement, ice, fresh snow, mix of snow and salt, pretty much all you can encounter was equally represented.

The tires performed very well, except for two occasions.

First, highway entrance ramp that looked covered with fresh snow, in fact was covered with sheer ice under that innocent snow. I lost control for a moment, but managed to stay on the road. Have to keep in mind: going down the hill while making sharp turn is a challenging maneuver for the front-wheel driven car on a slippery road, never mind ice.

On the second occasion, I was driving on the back road in Quebec, where locals use beach sand to add traction to the compacted-snow covered surface. I don't think there is flat stretch of the road longer than 10 meters in this part of the world. Winding roads (my wife calls them "curly") run through the hills, going up and down, turning left and right. It felt slippery at some points, but not to the point of losing control.

I may attribute problems at both occasions in part to the vehicle design. Chrysler PT Cruiser has widened base, making it feel like driving a go-cart sometimes. It is an easy-to-spin car, but that puts more pressure on the tires (pun).

So here we go again. Tread depth has not changed much after 10,000 km of winter roads, it stays at about 1/4 of an inch, or 7 mm in the center. I hope it will get me through this winter.

Wish you all safe winter driving...

10 10 TIRES Educational Approach

2011-09-25T12:49:00.000-07:00

1010tires.com, arguably all-Canadian leader in online tire sales started new season with stating obvious - one has to use winter tires in winter.

Educational approach comes with colourful diagram. Inclining and declining lines cross at 7 degrees Celsius, temperature of flexibility loss for compounds used in summer and so-called all-season tires.

There are many drivers who have never tried winter tires, and this diagram is probably not addressed to that category. Hopefully there is small but clever group of the drivers appreciating science and common sense, willing to purchase a set of proper tires and move at legal speed limit regardless of the weather.

If winter tires don't become mandatory in Ontario some time soon, may be all the vehicles with no winter tires should be legislated to stick to slow lanes, leaving fast lanes to those able to move?

1 cm of Snow = 46 Car Crashes

2011-01-06T14:01:00.000-08:00

It would have been funny if it was not sad. As on January 4, 2011 the Weather Network reported 1 cm of snow accumulation , police reported 46 car crashes due to the weather conditions during morning traffic hours.

Who is there to blame? According to all involved, it's City of Ottawa negligently lacking on adding enough salt on the pavement to melt all the precipitation away. People on TV and in the papers complained about salt trucks being slow on moving snow off the roads. This is how one driver described his experience to Ottawa Citizen:

"My tires were spinning like mad. I could tell there was no salt on the road. I had no doubt about why I kept hearing about people crashing. I was just thinking, 'Geez, this is unbelievable. The roads aren't even salted."

If your tires are spinning like mad, my friend, your should buy yourself good winter tires. There is also public transit for those unwilling to invest in their own safety. 1 cm of snow should not even slow down the traffic, leave alone 46 crashes.

That same morning my wife went shopping in her Caliber equipped with Michelin X-Ice tires.

"Any problem on the road?" - I asked her after she has returned.
She said "No", and never complained about City trucks.

Read full report Transportation ministry denies response slow after Otttawa highways littered with wrecks during morning rush in Ottawa Citizen.

Winter Tires Nationally?!

2010-12-08T17:03:00.000-08:00

One could not have put it better than Jonathan Chevreau in National Post. All the reasons to use winter tires in the provinces like Ontario, Quebec and Saskatchewan, were presented in today's Financial Post, the section of the National Post. You'd be surprised, two out of many insurance companies are willing to give you a break on premiums if you switch your tires. According to the article, the winners are ... Bel-Air Direct and Desjardins!

Highway 401 was closed earlier today for four hours around London ON - area known for not getting used to winter tires. The reason - bad weather. Is it really? Southwestern Ontario drivers often shrug off the notion of switching to winter tires - it snows few times a year, and then it's gone in no time. That may be true. But do you really want to be a part of a multi-vehicle pile up even if it happens only few times a year?

It's time to call my insurance broker.

Read full story Winter tires worth the cost and effort by Jonathan Chevreau, National Post.

Update on Michelin Primacy Alpin PA3

2010-10-24T10:55:00.000-07:00

As I wrote earlier, I have got Michelin Primacy Alpin PA3 installed on my 2007 PT Cruiser two winters ago. Actually, more like one and a half, or three quarter. To round it up - two seasons ago. I promised you an update, so here we go.

The tires are stacked up for seasonal storage. The tread is evenly worn.

As promised, the tires are well rounded up for all applications. They are equally very good in all conditions: dry and wet cold pavement, wet snow, fresh deep snow, ice, mix of salt and slash, you name it. The tires have seen all possible weather conditions within last two winters in Ottawa, ON and made good impression. The comparison with the X-Ice from the same manufacturer confirmed that dry highway ride was significantly improved and felt practically the same as if the vehicle was equipped with all-season tires. Severe winter road conditions were better dealt with X-Ice tires though. Still Primacy winter tires made me feel very safe on the road. Last winter I was driving to work and back home outside of rush hours and was able to drive within speed limit upon any weather condition.

Minus-sizing added more comfortable ride and saved me few bucks. As I mentioned in the previous post, we have chosen X-Ice Xi2 for the second car, the Caliber. The main reason was that the second driver stays away from highways, but has to deal with back street driving daily, therefore the X-Ice seemed to be more reasonable choice for that specific case.

The tread wear is not significant after two seasons.

As for promised warranty - one tire grew a bulge the size of a navel orange. Pretty scary tumor, I tell you. The tire was replaced with no question asked at Costco. It cost me $30 to compensate for the bi-seasonal wear and tear. Not to bad overall.

Entire set is destined to be on the car in about a week. Stay tuned for more updates.

Upgrading the Michelin X-Ice

2010-10-18T15:07:00.000-07:00

Brand new Michelin X-Ice Xi2.

"Get your sleigh ready while it's still summer", - as the Russian saying goes. Here we go, enter the set of winter tires for the new to our household Dodge Caliber. Pursuing the best value for money I was torn apart by two major competitors on the tire market: by Bridgestone on one end with their Blizzak WS-70 and by Michelin on the other with their X-Ice Xi2. Hard choice considering that I have had absolutely positive previous experience with the predecessors of both models. I've been driving Mazda 626 on Blizzak Snow tires about 10 years ago. But the older sister of the Caliber, the Neon, was snowshoeing on X-Ice.

Both Bridgestone and Michelin were close to my heart having run away from all other manufacturers I had a pleasure to meet. The choice was finally determined by the power of habit: Michelin was the latest brand used, so we decided to stick with it. Keep reading.

As you can see, new tires make the car look and feel better, just like new shoes do the same to girl. Especially if you don't pay attention to rims. We decided to save about $500 and go with black steel general rims. If this post is being read by anybody in the industry, I beg you - paint them white, gray and aluminum please. Black is ugly, give us something else.

The stack of old Michelin X-Ice tires after 5-6 seasons.

Back to X-Ice. Above is a stack of four Michelin X-Ice tires: two were purchased in 2004 and the other two in 2005. All four tires were used on Dodge Neon every winter until spring 2010. Solid performance in all possible conditions: snow, ice, dry and wet pavement. Ontario provincial government never proclaims state of emergency based on road conditions - so the tires had seen everything that happened during 6 winters. There was still 6 mm of the tread left. Must be good for another Ontario winter.

Tread measure on Michelin X-Ice tire after 6 seasons past.

So the choice of Michelin X-Ice Xi2 for the Caliber was made. Stay tuned to updates. The winter is coming soon, I will share my experience with you.

2009 Season Opening

2009-12-20T09:45:00.000-08:00

17 vehicles pile-up on HWY416 in the early hours of December 14 - would the fog and the icy condition be adequate explanation for what had happened. Miraculously none of 60 people involved got seriously hurt. Good coverage provided by the Ottawa Citizen, including massive commenting by those who happened to be inside the mess gives you good prospective on driver's behavior and performance of their tires.

There were drivers who due to the higher quality winter tires had managed to escape rear ending, but got rear ended by some less fortunate drivers. As a wise Ontarian said, the cheapest winter tires beat the most expensive performance tires in winter driving conditions.

Braking distance comparison chart, source Government of Ontario.

Winter tires reduce the braking distance by 25%, as has been scientifically proven by the Quebec Government. From the first hand experience of using a various tires thorough the years, I can say this number grows significantly as the quality of the tires increases. So does your chance to survive on the highway.

Fragment of the photo by David Gonczol, The Ottawa Citizen.

Have a look at the Ottawa Citizen photo gallery of a HWY416 accident scene in Ottawa Citizen if you are still not convinced that winter tires are mandatory in Ontario. Don't wait for Mr. McGuinty to tell you so. Be smart for your live's sake.

Michelin Primacy Tires

2008-12-26T16:04:00.000-08:00

About a week ago I have replaced Michelin Arctic Alpin tires on my car with Michelin Primacy Alpin PA3.

6 mm (1/4") tread leftover on Arctic Alpin tires was still providing solid grip on icy and slushy roads. This particular model was considered a champion on the ice covered pavement. Yet because of not too aggressive tread pattern it was not the greatest performer upon deep fresh snow condition. It started showing especially with the tread wearing out.

So I went shopping, and my first choice was Michelin X-Ice Xi2. I have the first incarnation of the X-Ice tires on my other car. X-Ice is an overall good winter performer, it kept me happy for the last four years thus defining my choice naturally. Local dealer though ran out of my size in X-Ice X-2, so I was offered to look into the Primacy tires for a few extra bucks.

So here I am driving on Michelin Primacy tires. Having gone through the snow/clear/snow/rain/clear cycle within last week I have been very happy with the Primacy's performance so far. It showed off the very next morning after the purchase, during my routine morning drive along Ottawa River Parkway after the overnight snowstorm and still snowing. While most of the vehicles were moving cautiously slow, and one car was sitting in the snow bank along the scenery route, I have not had any problem going within speed limit and getting to work in time.

Driving on Primacy tires on clear pavement is a bit noisy, considerably noisier than driving on Arctic Alpin. But I have to say that driving on Primacy tires has the closest resemblance to driving on All-Season tires out of all winter tires I have ever used. The feeling of "driving on pillows" is clearly gone. Handling is very much improved.

I will continue my observations and probably get back with more feedback, but so far I want to congratulate Michelin with the job well done. One more superb product to improve safety and pleasure of winter driving!

Winter Tires for Going Green

2008-12-19T07:41:00.000-08:00

One of my favourite reads on tires, Wheels.ca offers the suggestion on the timing of putting your winter tires on:

"Traction loss on bare pavement for a typical all-season tire sold in Canada starts at about 7C. Anything colder and traction losses mount rapidly."

Pretty clear, eh? The article also contains some unexpected twist: how to stay green while choosing winter tires. Apparently Michelin claims being a champion in appealing to environmentally conscious segment of the market:

"The X-Ice Xi2 gets the "Green X" rating from Michelin, which means the rubber it uses is part of a line of tires that has lower rolling resistance and lower fuel consumption compared to a regular rubber. Michelin claims that if the world's vehicles were equipped with Green X tires, carbon dioxide emissions would be cut by 72.6 million tonnes."

Read full article on Wheels.ca.

Quebecers Hit The Deadline

2008-12-15T19:19:00.000-08:00

Today is the day winter tires in La Belle Province have become mandatory. Despite the rumours there was still enough tires for procrastinators. Actually while some sizes and models where sold out on Ontario side of the border, Quebecers still had a good choice of winter tires.

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation has covered the deadline approaching. One line though left me scratching my head: "The majority of Quebec drivers already have all-season radials...". The author really did not get it. Who nowadays does not have all season tires? This is what most of Canadians are using to drive through spring, summer and fall.

I liked Moltar's comment to the CBC article, it makes everything clear:

* A common misconception is that all season tires are really designed for all seasons. All season tires are one of the biggest lies in the tire industry. It's just a label for a tire. Means nothing. I can call it a Space Tire, but is it going to get me into space? Probably not...

* Another common misconception is that winter tires are only necessary for snow. The truth is that you need winter tires for temperatures below 5 C. Rubber compound used in non-winter tires is synthetic and loses the qualities under low temperatures become very hard and plastic-like. Ever froze a hose outside? Same deal. Winter tires are made of softer, natural rubber and are able to withstand lower temperatures retaining the soft qualities.

* Most people say that they don't get winter tires is because the tires are expensive. They are. But you are not replacing your summer tires. This is an additional set of tires, which you will replace at the end of the season with summer tires, saving your summer tires in the meantime. In the long run you are not overpaying. Don't forget to consider the savings from potential collision, auto repair, increased insurance costs, disability, etc... Also, don't buy the tires in November, get them during the summer, when they are cheaper. Save up during the year, just like you would save up for a major repair or body work.

* By not putting on winter tires you are putting yourself, your family and drivers around you in danger.

If you still don't believe the winter tires work, try renting a car in Quebec and test driving it for a day.

Full CBC article.

Supply and Demand

2008-11-26T15:32:00.000-08:00

Blessed are Ontarians residing near Quebec border. We are now able to rent cars equipped with winter tires.

I have inquired in a Gatineau, QC car rental, across the river from National Capital of Canada, what is the situation with winter tires? Again, there is two news, a good one and a bad one. Yes, such vehicles do exist, but they are very much booked for the season. All the minivans at one particular location are now booked until spring time. Full size cars are still available, but only at certain dates.

One would think free market economy must offer us what we want in abundance. Last few years I was asking for the car or minivan equipped with winter tires in various rental offices in Ottawa, ON with no success. How is that for a supply and demand concept?

Not Enough Tires?

2008-11-25T12:07:00.000-08:00

There is panic on tire market as mid-December deadline approaches, reports Canadian Press. Some sizes and models of winter tires have become unavailable while Quebecois sweep mandatory tires off the shelves.

Although it is never too late to get your vehicle equipped with winter tires, December 15 seems to be way too remote a date to put proper shoes on your car. By then many vehicles will get smashed and crashed.

Moral: don't wait till Quebec deadline strikes. You should have been driving on winter tires by now if you live in Ontario or Quebec, should not you?

The Canadian Press: Snow tires in hot demand as new Quebec law slides in.

RBC Insurance Is Looking into Winter Tires

2008-11-23T18:02:00.000-08:00

Bad news: 57% of our fellow Ontarians chose not to drive on winter tires. Good news: the number was reported by RBC Insurance, the company that bothered to look into the problem and pay for the survey.

There must have been enough people having smashed their cars and caused harm to themselves and others around to motivate insurance business to get their ass of the chair. Unfortunately they are still begging people to get smart and start using winter tires in winter. They should probably make one more step and offer incentives to those using certified winter tires November through March in Ontario.

Try to rent a vehicle with winter tires installed during winter season in Ontario. I challenge you to call your local car rental office and ask them if such an option is available. Please drop the info in the Comments, so it could save lives of some of my blog readers.

Read full RBC Insurance report.

RBC advice on winter driving (pdf).

Government of Canada Sponsors Winter Driving Video

2008-08-03T20:05:00.001-07:00

Government of Canada and The Rubber Association of Canada sponsored series of videos comparing winter driving on winter and so-called all-season tires.

One video demonstrates two front-wheelers, Toyota and Mitsubishi, one equipped with winter tires, and the other equipped with regular tires, making a stop and doing a cornering exercise. Good thing they put red cones on the road to imitate real obstacles, otherwise someone would have gotten hurt. To be fair, after the first run the tires were swapped between the vehicles, only to prove the truth: all-season tires don't belong on winter roads.

Another clip proves one of the deadliest misconception about 4X4 trucks being safe on all-season tires to be wrong. Two trucks coming to stop and doing cornering clearly demonstrate danger of using all-season tires in winter.

I hope tax payers money will work this time and save lives.

Watch Be Tire Smart! Videos.

Mandatory Winter Tires in Quebec

2008-04-27T09:23:00.000-07:00

10% of those driving on regular tires through the winter are responsible for 38% of accidents. Statistics provided to CBC by Quebec Provincial Task Force on Road Safety convinced provincial legislators to make winter tires mandatory. Good for them!

At least starting mid-November and through winter months Ontarians living within Quebec borders, or having to travel to Quebec may feel safer.

"As of Nov. 15, 2008, drivers will have to equip their vehicles with snow tires from that day each year through to April 15. The province estimates that 90 per cent of vehicles already use snow tires though an estimated 500,000 people rely on all-season tires." - read full report on CBC web site.

4x4 on All Season Tires in Winter

2008-04-24T19:26:00.000-07:00

It's thought that the SUV, or 4x4, equipped with original tires from the dealership is a solution for winter driving. Last winter I had to drive on daily basis two different Chevrolet Equinox LS AWD equipped one with TOYO, the other one with Bridgestone All-Season tires. Driving conditions varied day by day. But let me remind you that the winter 2007-2008 in Eastern Ontario has offered many opportunities to test your car.

All I can say about an AWD truck on so called All Season tires: I won't trade it for my old Dodge Neon equipped with 4 Michelin X-Ice.

Paul Williams with Canadiandriver.com writes about his brother's experience with KIA Sportage equipped with electronic stability control, anti-lock brakes and traction control, and in the end with nothing capable of stopping the vehicle on the icy intersection. There was a child on board.

Paul also describes tests Michelin conducted on the hockey rink in Toronto. As good as they are, Michelin All Season tires were not good enough to keep the vehicle under control on the ice, while X-Ice's did a good job.

I recommend all the drivers living in Ontario to read full article.

700 Bad Drivers on Sunday Evening

2007-12-02T09:53:00.000-08:00

700 bad drivers turned on the roads of Eastern Ontario on December 1st, 2007.

That's what police is saying: “As of Sunday evening, there had been 700 collisions on GTA highways and 230 mishaps on Toronto roads since the storm began”, - reports Toronto Star. “A lot of people like to blame weather, but a lot of people are driving, and only a few are getting into accidents, so is it the weather or is it the driving?” [police officer] asked. “People need to drive according to the weather conditions,” he said.

Read full story.

How the use of winter tires could improve their driving records? I personally have reasons to believe that the number of accidents could have been reduced at least in half.

2007 Season Opening

2007-12-02T09:37:00.000-08:00

New 2007-2008 winter season in Eastern Ontario started with the snowstorm on November 22. Hundreds of accidents, 2 of them fatal, all because of 1 to 2 cm of snow.
Both Ottawa Citizen and Toronto Star did not mention winter tires in their reports.

So Called ”All-Season” Tires

2007-02-14T09:24:00.000-08:00

On January 27, 2007 me and my family were driving rental Malibu from Ottawa to Toronto. It was snowing a bit, and the snow removal vehicles were busy shaking salt on HWY 401. To make it short - we totalled the vehicle. It span and hit all possible obstacles including black SUV that had just slowed down to exit highway.

After I left the car, I tried the pavement with my boot. It was not that slippery, but rather slushy. All-season tires installed on rental Malibu apparently did a terrible job. I know for sure that my Michelin X-ICE tires would have handled that pavement as if it was dry. Unfortunately rental places offer vehicles equipped with all-season tires.

People of Ontario should really start thinking and use winter tires during cold snowy Canadian winters.