Snow Tires

[richbyrne]

Has anyone looked into buying snow tires for the Highlander Hybrid? If so what did you find.
I thake frequent trips to Vermont and like to ski.

Rich Byrne

[tappel]

I didn't do an exhaustive search, but it seems the options are limited and expensive. I ordered a set of Dunlops through Tire Rack and had them put on today. The regular tires did fine in the 17" we got last Friday here in S. Vermont.
More on the way this Friday, so we'll see how the snows work.
Tom

[sawbert]

Last Friday's storm in Northern VT (only 4-5") gave me my first skidding experiences in the HH. The first time I missed hearing/noticing the skid indicator in the dash because my heartrate dramatically increased. Then I went to a parking lot to practice. I'm also seriously considering snow tires. Were there some other close runners up to the Dunlops?

Does anyone know if there is a indication of when the rear axle actually turns on in the 4wd models?

[shiloh]

It's my understanding that the VSC indicator comes on when any of the vehicle stablility systems activate and I believe that the 4wdi is considered part of that system. At least, that's how it appears to me. I mainly see mine illuminate when I'm going uphill on ice and only rarely have I been sliding, more when I assume that the rear axle has been activated.

Regarding the tires, I have the Michelins on mine and so far they've handled the snow and ice well enough for me. The Goodyears aren't rated as well in snow or ice at the TireRack site. The Michelins seemed to have a wide range of ratings at that site so I decided to try them for one winter (or if I feel that they aren't performing adequately I'll switch them out earlier).

[IHTR]

Originally posted by tappel@Dec 13 2005, 09:36 PM
I had a set of Dunlop Grandtrek SJ6 installed when we bought the HiHy in January.  So far we had about 2500 miles on them.  I sensed some vibrations at around 50 mph and got them rebalanced but the vibration is still there.  I wonder if anyone detected the same?

Thanks,

Terry.

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[firepa63]

I drove in snow on Maine roads with the original tires and had no problem. I recommend trying the originals first before spending the money for snows.

[mineralfarmer]

I've been running on Michelin Arctic Alpin snow tires form Tire Rack (they were on sale last fall!) and they have been fantastic. They are a 235 section width (vs. 225) whcih gives you a much broader selection of tires, and they just fit with no rubbing. Speedometer reads within 1mph of actual.