Fiesta ST Winter Tires, Lets hear what you think

[Schwoby]

Michelin Ice-X for the win. Turned my ST into a little tank.

 

[TyphoonFiST]

Michelin Ice-X for the win. Turned my ST into a little tank.

What size?

 

[Schwoby]

What size?

185/65/15 on black steelies. Detroit freeways in the winter are no joke. It's like trying to drive through a war zone that just got carpet bombed. I had 3 blowouts my first winter on the stock 17s which is why I changed sizes. Not one since...

 

[M-Sport fan]

Wow, you went even more side wall than I did with my General Arctic 12s in 195/60-15!
Do they rub at all (high steering angles, bumps/compressions, corner bumps, etc.)??

 

[TyphoonFiST]

WELP....The Nokian Hakkapeliitta put all the other tires for Winter i've owned to shame. Finally got some Deep snow in Mn. Saw two cars a Scooby-Doo and Terrain go right in the wall on the way to work right in from of me. Both AWD...The little Blue Turd just cruised on past. Stopping power is alot better in the snow than expected but ill contribute that to the Tread depth of 11/32 New. Acceleration ...there is minimal slip but keeps on trucking even being lowered on un-plowed roads in 6+ inches of The lords dandruff. The only grip i have is they are Noisier on pavement that the others.

 

[unspankable]

I don't think you should go bang for the buck for winter tires this is one area where you get what you pay for and there's nothing better than Hakkapeliittas. Seriously.. they are wild

 

[Schwoby]

Wow, you went even more side wall than I did with my General Arctic 12s in 195/60-15!
Do they rub at all (high steering angles, bumps/compressions, corner bumps,

The 185-65 is only 3mm taller than 195-60 so the difference is negligible. Occasionally rub on hard compression. There is an intersection by my work that has really bad crowns you have to cross over and sometimes make me rub

 

[M-Sport fan]

I don't think you should go bang for the buck for winter tires this is one area where you get what you pay for and there's nothing better than Hakkapeliittas. Seriously.. they are wild

Yes, one can practically climb ice walls with those donuts, as long as the snow is not so deep that you are high centering!!

They ARE that amazing!
(I had them on my Mk2 GTI 16V, and they got me through working the Maine Forest WINTER Rally, way back when that existed, on unplowed forestry roads, sometimes even starting on an uphill with an open diff!)

 

[Intuit]

Sounds like you're cursing someone when you use the name of that tire. What if someone told you, you smell like a Hakkapeliitta... or referred to you as a Hakkapeliitta... scrunch up your face and call the person sitting next to you a Hakkapeliitta and see what their initial reaction is... (note: be prepared to duck)

 

[M-Sport fan]

The actual manufacturing company name is Nokian.

But yeah, I've gotten some very inquisitive looks when I told someone the model name ("Hakka WHAT??").

 

[unspankable]

Sounds like you're cursing someone when you use the name of that tire. What if someone told you, you smell like a Hakkapeliitta... or referred to you as a Hakkapeliitta... scrunch up your face and call the person sitting next to you a Hakkapeliitta and see what their initial reaction is... (note: be prepared to duck)

It's so fun to say

 

[2stock4u]

As recommended on this forum, I bought 195/55/16 winter tires. And they were a huge mistake on almost bone stock ST. If the roads were even and no potholes or icy snow/slush/whatever covered roads they would work, but there is little to no room.
I had terrible winter with those and I am selling them along with current 16" rims.

Can you guys give me an exact information on what steelies to buy? I have to endure real winters 6 months a year (I hate it) so my choices are limited to likes of Hakkapelitta R5, Viking Contact 7 or Goodyear Ultra Grip Ice 2.
185/60/15 is the size intriguing me the most. Is the pitch circle diameter the same as on summer tires, 4x108?

Cheapest 15" steelies I have found are 60 euros each 6x15 4/108 ET0 B63.3
Add Hakkapeliitta R5 to that + shipping, it'll be around 660€ without labour.
Would this be correct?

 

[unspankable]

As recommended on this forum, I bought 195/55/16 winter tires. And they were a huge mistake on almost bone stock ST. If the roads were even and no potholes or icy snow/slush/whatever covered roads they would work, but there is little to no room.
I had terrible winter with those and I am selling them along with current 16" rims.

Can you guys give me an exact information on what steelies to buy? I have to endure real winters 6 months a year (I hate it) so my choices are limited to likes of Hakkapelitta R5, Viking Contact 7 or Goodyear Ultra Grip Ice 2.
185/60/15 is the size intriguing me the most. Is the pitch circle diameter the same as on summer tires, 4x108?

Cheapest 15" steelies I have found are 60 euros each 6x15 4/108 ET0 B63.3
Add Hakkapeliitta R5 to that + shipping, it'll be around 660€ without labour.
Would this be correct?

Before purchasing any tires/wheels always check Will they fit and enter the stock setup and your new setup to see what the differences are

 

[M-Sport fan]

As recommended on this forum, I bought 195/55/16 winter tires. And they were a huge mistake on almost bone stock ST. If the roads were even and no potholes or icy snow/slush/whatever covered roads they would work, but there is little to no room.
I had terrible winter with those and I am selling them along with current 16" rims.

Can you guys give me an exact information on what steelies to buy? I have to endure real winters 6 months a year (I hate it) so my choices are limited to likes of Hakkapelitta R5, Viking Contact 7 or Goodyear Ultra Grip Ice 2.
185/60/15 is the size intriguing me the most. Is the pitch circle diameter the same as on summer tires, 4x108?

Cheapest 15" steelies I have found are 60 euros each 6x15 4/108 ET0 B63.3
Add Hakkapeliitta R5 to that + shipping, it'll be around 660€ without labour.
Would this be correct?

Yes, those 185/60-15s or a 195/60-15 (especially the Hakkas or the Contis) are what I would go with in your land.

But I would probably spend the coin and put them on some Speedline 2118 gravel rally wheels, just for the looks, strength (with lighter weight than the steelies), and 'authenticity'. (We can get them here for ~$235.00 USD a wheel here in the states, but in rally white ONLY.)

 

[SteveS]

As recommended on this forum, I bought 195/55/16 winter tires. And they were a huge mistake on almost bone stock ST. If the roads were even and no potholes or icy snow/slush/whatever covered roads they would work, but there is little to no room.
I had terrible winter with those and I am selling them along with current 16" rims.

Can you guys give me an exact information on what steelies to buy? I have to endure real winters 6 months a year (I hate it) so my choices are limited to likes of Hakkapelitta R5, Viking Contact 7 or Goodyear Ultra Grip Ice 2.
185/60/15 is the size intriguing me the most. Is the pitch circle diameter the same as on summer tires, 4x108?

Cheapest 15" steelies I have found are 60 euros each 6x15 4/108 ET0 B63.3
Add Hakkapeliitta R5 to that + shipping, it'll be around 660€ without labour.
Would this be correct?

195/55R16 is 23mm taller than the original 205/40R17. A 195/50^16 would only be 5mm taller than OEM and would have worked. Nokian does make the Hakkapeliitta R3 in that size.

I use 185/60R15 snow tires on 15x6 Motegi Racing MR115 wheels. But an ordinary 15x6 4x108 steel wheel would be fine. You can also put a 195/55R15 on and they would be 3mm shorter than OEM. Nokian makes that size too.

 

[Snrub]

Used alloys are so cheap for our cars, I don't see the point of steel wheels.

 

[Snrub]

As recommended on this forum, I bought 195/55/16 winter tires. And they were a huge mistake on almost bone stock ST. If the roads were even and no potholes or icy snow/slush/whatever covered roads they would work, but there is little to no room.
I had terrible winter with those and I am selling them along with current 16" rims.
...I have to endure real winters 6 months a year (I hate it) so my choices are limited to likes of Hakkapelitta R5, Viking Contact 7 or Goodyear Ultra Grip Ice 2.
185/60/15 is the size intriguing me the most. Is the pitch circle diameter the same as on summer tires, 4x108?

Could you describe the issue you encountered? Is the "room" issue you mentioned because you went with a 1" too tall tire? Around 23.5" is the standard tire diameter that fits our car.

I run Viking Contact 7 195/55/15 on alloys. They work fairly well in winter conditions, but if I was to do it over I might try Blizzak WS90 on 205/40/17 to see if the dry responsiveness was a bit better.