Tires DUNLOP or GENERAL TIRE
Last winter I threw 4 Altimax arctics on my wife's CR-V. I was so impressed with them I put another set on my STi for this winter. I have used Blizzaks, Arctic Alpin and Toyo Observe snow tires in the past. The Altimax arcitcs are the best by far in deep snow. They are no louder than any other snow tire I have used in the past. They are quieter than the Arctic Alpin's by a long shot though. Those things are LOUD in the rain.
These were on my R32 (as shown) and only saw 5-6k on the roads, and were stored winters. That said, tires are more of a gimme than anything else. With the off camber/toe wear from a substantially lowered R you lose a lot of inner tread.
Another vote for the General Altimax Arctic. Got a set last winter and was pleased. Seems a good compromise for high speed drives too - a quiet tire with good grip. Made in Germany, FWIW.
I've run Dunlop Wintersport 3D's for going on 4 years. They're great in snow aswell as just on cold pavement.
Best bang for buck = General Altimax Arctic. It's outright won several winter tire comparisons (where a certain Nokian wasn't entered) and still was one of the cheapest entrants.
On my Passat 4Motion, I replaced a set of Michelin Exaltos with the HPs. To my butt, there wasn't much noticeable difference between them. For the price difference, I'd go with the Generals again hands down.
I have those Generals on my TDI. They're quiet, very resistant to hydroplaning, and have very good wet traction. I run them year round in the DC area. They are a light tire, which may affect their long term durability (potholes, and the such) They aren't performance tires, but they're very competent, and I push them up to, and often beyond their limits with confidence.
My Jetta had Altimax HP when i bought it. They rode very quiet and smooth, and helped return good fuel economy with a light foot. Not a sports tire but perfectly acceptable for normal driving.
I had a set of Dunlop SP Sport tires on the Sentra a while back. They were good in the dry, decent in the wet and sucked ass in the cold.
On my S2000, about 2 weeks ago had brand new Dunlop Direzza Z1 Star Specs installed by a local garage. A few days later, the driver's side rear tires was extremely low on air pressure, that I noticed after the car was pulling to one side during acceleration/letting off the gas pedal.
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