SP Winter Sport 3D

Hahaha. Im pretty sure these replaced the Wintersport M3. Which got GREAT reviews. These are supposed to be better. Im excited to get them on, and run in some white stuff. IM running some pretty agressive tread though. 235/45-17 on a 7.5 wide wheel.

Dooo Eeett.

 
3D's are decent winter tires. they're biased a bit toward performing better in most conditions (dry/wet roads) as opposed to heavy-duty snow use. Kind of like "super all-seasons." check out the tread blocks along edges of the 3D...those are big rounded blocks that improve grip and response on pavement.

most heavy-duty snows (blizzaks, michie xice, yoko ice guard) have knobbier edge blocks to improve digging thru deep snow, but tend to be a bit mushy on pavement. if you go with 3Ds, put on narrowest size that wil fit your rims and be within 10% of stock diameter.

 
I run the 3 M`s they provide a little better snow traction than the 3 D`s which do a little better on ice. Nothing compares to the Blizzacks, have them on my Outback, but my 3 M`s are quieter than my summer 050 A`s and the steering response is almost as good.
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Uh oh. Mine are WAY too wide. Hahaha.
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common misconception: if wider tires are better on pavement, they're better in snow too

wrong.

you'll know your 3Ds are too wide when you hit a slush patch and feel like you have water skis under the car instead of tires.
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narrower tires bite down thru loose snow & slush to harder surface underneath. on ice, a narrower tire has a more highly loaded contact patch to cling to whatever grip there may be.

as a general rule, snows should never be wider than stock size...better to go a bit narrower if you can find a size that's within that 10% of stock diameter.

on the LDR rally car, we run 205/65-15 gravel tires, 195/65-15 snows and would run 185s or 175s if we could find the size.

 
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Yah, i kinda new it when i bought them. But i was picking up a lightly used winter package for my car, and the price was hard to beat. If i was buying new i wouldnt have bought that size, but its what i plan to run for this year at least.

 
you'll know your 3Ds are too wide when you hit a slush patch and feel like you have water skis under the car instead of tires.
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nate, i keep a chain in my trunk, you can have me come pull you out of the snowbank with my winterforce equipped beast:p

 
Meh ill be good. I did fine with me RE92's last year.
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junk. my $94 a piece continental extreme contacts were 11tytimes better in snow

fyi 14ft tow chains rated for...i forget how much, but enough to unstick my 3/4 ton are only $40 at wallet world. much better than tow straps that break at the worst possible moment

 
Okay, so they seem to be decent ... would I be better going with the Blizzaks for $9/tire more?

How about these General Altimax Arctic for $20/tire less?

 
Heres my review of 3ds last year.

http://www.mainelysubarus.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1209

Like I mentioned, they are not a very aggressive tire. Lugs are too close together and shallower than they need to be. But all around they are good. I will be giving the Dunlops to my son and I have Firestone WinterForces on the way for my car.

I ran 3Ds all Winter, Summer and Fall this year. Still got approx 2/3rd left on them. Good nuff for the boys car that wont be moving much during storms. Just need enough traction to shuffle it around the driveway so the plow guy can do his thing.

 
Okay, so they seem to be decent ... would I be better going with the Blizzaks for $9/tire more?
How about these General Altimax Arctic for $20/tire less?
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All the dedicated ice & snow tires are going to be a big improvement over A/S tires. Checking Tire Racks comparison chart for winter tires

is a good info provider.
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I understand the dedicated snows will work better, I'm just replacing a set that I lent out to someone who had a flat and never bought new tires for their own car so now the tread is destroyed on mine. I was looking at the comparisons, but I don't always trust ratings like that.

It seems I'll probably be grabbing the General Altimax as they are close to the cheapest and seem to have the best rating out of all of the similarly priced tires.

Thanks guys!
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fyi 14ft tow chains ... much better than tow straps that break at the worst possible moment
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ahem. another fallacy. tow chains have zero stretch, and when you're bumping and pumping to get a stuck car out, a no-stretch tow tends to break stuff: tow hooks, clutches, drive axles, "tie-down eyes" (often hookend onto by mistake) etc etc

yes occasionally nylon tow straps do break (esp when flat-towing and the towed vehicle runs over strap) but that little "boing" factor as the strap stretches is key. when shopping for tow straps, go longer (15+ feet) rather than shorter and hold out for tow hooks that have carabiner-type retainer clips on em....much less likely to pop off towed/towing vehicle at the wrong moment and make un-stucking a car MUCH more of an adventure than needs be.

perhaps our resident Sweep Kings, Pedro and Ty Ty, can weigh in with more info

 
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