Winter Tires - Nexen vs Michelin - Worth 2x the price?

[TheRuthlessObliterator]

Hey guys,

I am looking for witner tires for my S650 GT with PP.

I initially thought of getting Michelin X-ICE Snow as they are the best rated winter tires. As I was browsing, I found Nexen WINGUARD SPORT 2 which has comparable performance as the Michelins at half the price.

Has anyone used Nexen WINGUARD SPORT 2s before? How are they in snow/icy conditions?

Are there any better tires for Mustangs? Suggestions are most welcome.

This is my daily driver and I live in Windsor, ON, Canada (Close to Detroit, MI). The witner's are not that severe compared to other parts of Canada.

P.S. Everyone calls the P-Zeros from the factory to be sticky but I had them slip at 50-60% throttle quite a few times. So, I am looking for better traction in Winter.

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[JamesAnd]

The P Zeros are a death trap.

The link below covers Nexen Winguard, depends how much you value stopping a few feet shorter for more cash.

https://www.tyrereviews.com/Article/2021-Auto-Bild-Sports-Car-Winter-Tyre-Test.htm

 

[JediMindTrix]

You'll definitely want to get rid of the P-Zero for the winters by us (I live near metro detroit on the other side of the river). Bridgestone Blizzaks have given me great performance with my S550. I'd recommend getting them mounted and balanced on another set of rims though (I used 19x9 S550 rims 255's all the way around) and you should be able to get 2-3 winters out of them depending on how much you drive.

Tire Search Results (tirerack.com)

 

[erocker]

Everyone calls the P-Zeros from the factory to be sticky

I hear nothing but the opposite. Anyways, pretty much any winter tire is going to work better in winter than an all-season or summer tire. I really don't see a point to buying the Michelin's for that price.

 

[highvoltage]

I’ve always seen pretty positive reviews of the Nexen winter tires. It was what i planned to run as A/S even winter rated weren’t up to par on my S550. But i was transferred to Los Angeles and has no use for winter tires lol

 

[TheRuthlessObliterator]

Thanks guys, can we take away from these feedbacks that it is safe/adequet to use nexen's for winters?

 

[Decio]

My mustang is hibernating for winter, but I just bought a set of Continental VikingContact 7 for my wife's Challenger. Seems like a good balance of handling, wet/snow performance and noise level according to many reviews. A $110 rebate from Continental during November 2023 and a low price from Discount Tire Direct put it over the top for me. Might be worth checking out.

 

[marcekb]

Thanks guys, can we take away from these feedbacks that it is safe/adequet to use nexen's for winters?

Maybe one other consideration. I just purchased the Michelin PS 4 A/S for the second Mustang in a row. They are not only a stunningly excellent tire year round, but I just ran them in the snow yesterday and today in northern Ohio. No issues whatsoever. Yes, it wasn't 6 inches deep. And yes, snow tires should be even better in any case.

But, depending on whether you want to run CUP2s or similar in the summer, where you might as well get winter tires then, these could save you rims and switching if you don't need that even higher performance summer tire.

 

[JediMindTrix]

Maybe one other consideration. I just purchased the Michelin PS 4 A/S for the second Mustang in a row. They are not only a stunningly excellent tire year round, but I just ran them in the snow yesterday and today in northern Ohio. No issues whatsoever. Yes, it wasn't 6 inches deep. And yes, snow tires should be even better in any case.

But, depending on whether you want to run CUP2s or similar in the summer, where you might as well get winter tires then, these could save you rims and switching if you don't need that even higher performance summer tire.

I can vouch for this since this is the other tire combo I have- no issues when these have been on and it snows.. Just got to watch for those temperatures.

 

[gruvyhudy]

So thos is a dumb question but do you go with 4 255/40/19 even though the stock back tires are 275/40/19 for winter tires?

 

[TheRuthlessObliterator]

So thos is a dumb question but do you go with 4 255/40/19 even though the stock back tires are 275/40/19 for winter tires?

I went with the stock PP sizes. 255F and 275R. I think it is okay to go 255 all around too, it's not that big of a difference in terms of traction or cost of the tires.

Nexen Winguards are pretty good. Never slid or skid even at full throttle in wet conditions. It was pretty good in slight snow but haven't had too much snowfall yet where I live but these tires show a lot of promise from the time I have driven on them.

 

[gruvyhudy]

Thanks for the response, I will go with 4 255s for winter

 

[509Mike]

The manual says that the pp tires are not to be run in temperatures below 40 degrees F. Replace all 4 tires for winter driving.

 

[TheRuthlessObliterator]

The manual says that the pp tires are not to be run in temperatures below 40 degrees F. Replace all 4 tires for winter driving.

The PP tires are a deathtrap. I sold them and got a set of winters and Nitto set for Summers. P Zeros were so bad with traction.

 

[horned-toad]

got a set of winters and Nitto set for Summers. P Zeros were so bad with traction.

P Zero -> anything, I get. but Nitto summers? Yeesh.

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