The 3 most popular inexpensive winter tires I've seen are
Cooper
General
Firestone
I haven't used Firestone' offering, but I can recommend you steer clear of Cooper and pick up a set of Generals. I mounted a set of my wife's FXT last season and was impressed enough at how capable they are that I ordered some for my WRX this year. They aren't as good as my previous Continental Ewc on dry pavement, but are even better in deep snow.
Don't get cheap tires! Just think, they will last about 4 years, that's a very long time to have poo on your shoes.
Edit: holy crap, Generals are almost half the price of some Nokians, that is awesome.
the Altimax Artics perform outside their price range. I got mine for $340 shipped! A set of Conti EWC or Michelin x-ice 3 would have cost almost double and all I'm giving up is some dry traction/cornering. As long as you know this going into the purchase and don't drive stupid these tires are more than you'll need. My wife commuted several days in some of the worst storms we had last year and said she never felt unsure if she'd make it there or not.
I ran the Generals on my WRX as well. These are a good choice for winter...budget conscious or not.
They're a little roly-poly on the dry pavement, but you'll get over it.
Yea I had generals on my last wrx. Worked well in the snow. Honestly with awd you don't need the most expensive winter tire unless you live/drive in the mountains
The problem with the cheaper tires is not just braking and cornering (for which AWD will not aid traction on snow and ice), but also for dry traction as well. I had some Federal's on my V6 Altima for one winter and they were absolutely awful in normal conditions, felt like the sidewalls were made of Jello. I had xi3's on my WRX out of the dealership in April and they felt pretty decent in Spring weather.
just bought a set of these: Tire Details - Discount Tire Direct, this is my 1st WRX and 1st experience w/ winter driving, hope i made the right choice ... the guy at Discount Tire said these were 3rd rated tire behind the super expensive Michelins
I just got some Michelin X-Ice Ix3 they say they have low rolling resistance and a higher speed rating than most other tires. So you won't destroy your gas mileage.
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