Hi all,

I'm looking into new tires for my 1984 240 GL and have hated the ones I currently have since I got them (BFG Radial T/A's 195/70R14 - which my bro acquired 2nd hand, barely used, & nearly free). So I thought I should do some research and hopefully come out with something I like better this time around.

Considerations:

~I live on the west coast of BC therefore they Must be good in the really wet on urban & highway.

~I can't afford to spend a small fortune on them-so no top of the line purchases for me.

~Since this purchase is coinciding with the first snowfalls of winter and week of subzero temperatures I'm wondering if it's worth looking into winter tires. Yes, we get snow here. We also get piles of rain-often on top of the snow which leads to slush, and freezing temperatures which then makes ice that melts during the day and becomes slushy again and then finally more rain making a super slushy mess for a few days. This is our winter fun for about 3 weeks to a month [on and off through Dec & Jan of course, not a month straight ]. Oh and there are also trips up the mountain for skiing and snowshoeing to consider. So...winter tires are looking pretty attractive at the moment, but do they deal with this sort of winter mess? Or are they made for normal winter packed snow conditions?


...tires are an important investment and after this last set I want to spend my money on new ones carefully.

If anyone has any experiences in these sorts of conditions I'd appreaciate hearing from you,
Thanks!

 

Well, you definitely need snow tires, the ones that have a SNOWFLAKE symbol on them, not just marked M&S. There are of course all kinds of brands and tread designs. Some people in the US NW opt for studded tires which are the best as far as traction on ice but have other drawbacks: ruin the roads, are noisy, and illegal after April 1. Plus, they may not even be allowed where you live. As far as brands and such, look for the best deal, it's hard to recommend one over another although there is no shortage when it comes to marketing claims, of course...

 

I highly recommend Toyo Observe G-02 Plus studless winter tires. I just bought a set for my 93 240 wagon. I used a set on a Subaru Outback for several winter seasons. I live in Oregon, and we're getting a lot of bad weather lately. The Toyos are incredible tires, I wouldn't use anything else. They're not cheap (I paid $365 for the set, including mounting and balancing), but they will last several years.

Luckily I recently bought a set of custom wheels and new tires for my 240, so I had the original steel wheels on which to mount the Observes. If you don't have an extra set of wheels for the snow tires, you'll have to pay to have them mounted every season. With extra wheels, you can swap the whole set of wheels/tires in about 10 minutes.The wheels are readily available on Craigslist.

The only thing you have to watch for with Observes is not to leave them on when the weather starts getting warm. You can, however, leave them on past the date that studded tires have to be removed, because the Observes cause no damage to the pavement like studs.