Snow Tire Discussion

After much internet research I have concluded that snow tires do poorly on wet roads. Driving to the slopes in winter is still mostly on wet pavement. For my 07 outback I have decided on the Goodyear Assurance triple tread , it gets high marks for snow driving and top ratings for rain soaked roads and it stays on the car year round.

After much internet research I have concluded that snow tires do poorly on wet roads. Driving to the slopes in winter is still mostly on wet pavement.  For my 07 outback I have decided on the Goodyear Assurance triple tread , it gets high marks for snow driving and top ratings for rain soaked roads and it stays on the car year round.

Cheap snow tires do poorly on wet roads because the ruber is inherently hydrophobic. Good snow tires have used hydrophilic rubber since the mid 1980s.

If you are interested in a tire test, one may be downloaded here:

www.uploadjockey.com/redirect.php?url=aH...ZXJkYWNrLnBkZi5odG1s

You have to wait for a 30-second timer to run down before it allows you to download the doc (large PDF). Also, it's in Swedish, but you can still understand the data.

Interestingly, in the test, nearly all studded tires out-braked studless on wet asphalt. The best braking on wet asphalt was on studless tires that performed badly in snow/ice conditions. In other words, they were probably originally designed as "all-weather" tires.

I don't know about all modern studded tires, but I believe the Hakka 5s have a soft "pad" beneath each stud that allows it to retract some when it hits pavement, which makes them quieter.

Anyone sipe their own tires?

Is this an idea, that is past it's time, with modern rubber?

The Nokian WR and WRG2 (third generation) look promising. All-season tires, but Nokian gives them the snowflake (severe weather) rating. Has anyone had any experience with these?

A friend with some really bad cheap-o tires (scary wet-braking performance) brought them back to the tire shop and complained: they siped them for free. Now he has some really bad siped cheap-o tires that still suck in the wet. Meanwhile, I have no idea how you'd DIY sipe your tires.

The same friend has Nokian WRs on his wife's FWD VW Passat -- he is impressed by their performance but they were spendy.