Hankook snow tires

[inuvik]

The Dunlop Winter Maxx 2 is not a directional tire.

My older Cooper Weather-Master S/T2 snow tires on my Forester are not directional, which makes rotating them easy to do for an AWD vehicle.

Those Cooper Weather-Masters S/T2's are a beast of a snow tire.

[Fummins]

I learned some quirks about the car this morning. Traction works up to 80kph/50mph. It might work at higher speeds, I stopped there though.

I also learned the stability control works well at highway speeds 50-60mph. I hit some deep slush this morning while passing on the freeway. stab control/trac control light started flashing til i changed lanes minutes later. Basically had to hold it to the floor to keep it moving through the slush. There was no feeling like the car was out of control at all. Felt way better than our old junko armada that was insanely slow to react. I don't normally drive like a dumbass that rely's on systems like that but they can be handy when they work properly and not too intrusive. Like our 04 Armada that would hammer on the brakes and make you almost come to a stop if it slid sideways a little bit.

[Mark]

Those Cooper Weather-Masters S/T2's are a beast of a snow tire.

I agree. There are only two American tire companies & Cooper is one of them. Sadly, the Cooper Weather-Masters S/T2 are no longer made. Currently, they offer an Evolution Winter tire that is a directional snow tire. Cooper has changed their line up at lot in the past few years, but I am not had an opportunity to try any of the newer model.

Cooper is a mid-price entry tire company, but I've been extremely pleased with their tires over the years. They offer a 45-day free test drive with their new snow tires. Thus, they must feel confident in them.

Cooper doesn't sell a 165/65r14 tire. If they did, the Evolution Tour & Evolution Winter would probably be my tire of choice. They do sell those two tires in the 175/65r14 size.

Since my Mirage hits the road on most good days, my present snow tires on my Forester will last a long time. I've had them for 3 or 4 winters already, & they still look great.

I have a small hill to climb when I leave my driveway, & my house is on a dead end road with several homes on it. If the climb doesn't go well, I turn around & back the Forester out of the garage. It wouldn't matter what snow tires are on the front of a Mirage, because there is still no comparison to AWD traction of a heavier vehicle. It's night & day!

I agree with Fummins. Any snow/winter tire will be an improvement for a Mirage. I just know width makes a huge difference where I have to drive. I would take a cheap 165/65r14 snow tire over a more expensive wider snow tire.

My 1997 VW Golf with 195/65r15 snow tires was not impressive in snow, & that car is heavier & had more hp (115). That was a base model Golf. The upper trim levels had 205 or 225 width tires. Those would have been worst.

Skinny, cheap all-season 145SR12 tires on 1990 Ford Festiva opened my eyes to all this years ago. The Mirage is not as good & it has superior tires. I believe the width (even at 165) is the difference. If you don't have to climb hills, this may not be an issue for most.

In all honesty, I would have consider 13" snow tires, but larger brakes on the 2017+ Mirages prevent this. It's also better/nicer to have all tires be he same size. I don't hesitate to mix things up (summer vs winter tires).

[Fummins]

I like the coopers too. We ran them on the back of the mazda pickups. They have a similar tread pattern as the original blizzaks and bfg winter slalom I used to have on my 86 cutlass rwd in the late 90's. They were a great winter tire.