Quebec passed a law this year mandating the use of winter (snow) tires on all wheels. We have been advocates of the use of winter tires, and have had sets mounted on rims for years.
The dilemma was having a new car (Celine's CSX) when the law was passed, which meant jockeying for whatever tires we could get at a decent price given the sudden demand.
After shopping around (early, while there was a decent choice) and getting quotes for the usual Michelin X-Ice, Toyo Observe, Bridgestone Blizzaks and Goodyear Ultragrip hovering around $900, including steel wheels, mounting and balancing, we went shopping "off-market" for the secondary brands.
These included Kelly Snowtrakkers (I have the Wal Mart house version of these on my Mazda6 and are quite happy with them) and store brands from Canadian Tire, but both of these were still hovering around $100 per tire at the size we needed (205/55 x 16).
On a hunch I went to the local tuner shop (Docteur du Pare Brise) and the owner recommended Triangle Snow Lion at $80 per tire. The design appeared to offer the right combination of quietness and ride comfort, with asymmetrical tread blocks of varying size and a lot of heavily siped surface area. This design also promised good performance on ice. We were a bit reluctant to go with an unknown (to us) tire that was made in China, but a quick search on Google turned up generally positive experiences.
At first the tires seemed a little squirmy, but this was due to underinflation. Dry road performance was nearly identical to the stock Goodyear RSA four seasons, but were surprisingly quieter and a bit softer riding, almost Michelin-like. Wet performance was equally impressive.
Our first winter storm came with freezing rain, which gave us an opportunity to test performance on ice. Traction on the Acura was a bit weak, but braking and control were superb. Following this we just received a foot of snow, which gave us a chance to test performance on different conditions including loose powder and hard packed under cold (0 degrees F, or -18 C).
Quite simply, these tires perform better in the cold and on snow than any winter tire we have owned, and would not hesitate in buying them again. They provide excellent traction and control on snow, where othere cars on our street have been spinning tires to get out of snowbanks, the Acura managed to get out of our driveway with no fuss or hesitation.
Of course this is the first winter, and it remains to see how long they will last and how they will perform in a couple of years with some wear on them.
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