Rating of winter tires for VAZ: recommendations for choosing

Any motorist should be extremely responsible when selecting and purchasing tires. Especially when it comes to winter kit. Often, people's lives depend on the behavior of the iron horse when riding in the cold season.

Cars produced at AvtoVAZ are still very common in the post-Soviet space. Therefore, the question of which winter tires are best to choose for installation on cars of this brand is still relevant.

How are winter tires different from summer tires?

It's no secret that even today there are vehicle owners who do not change tires for the winter. For a number of reasons: due to lack of money, time or laziness. Various excuses are being made:

mild climate;
rare trips in winter;
The car has all-season tires, that's enough.

Some people cannot correctly calculate the time to change tires, postponing this operation until the last minute. All this dramatically increases the accident rate on our roads.

Why is it important to take seriously driving a car in the cold season and timely installation of winter tires?

When producing tires for each season, special rubber compounds are used, so that the tires receive the performance characteristics that are necessary for their use in certain temperature ranges. This is explained by the fact that the properties of rubber, especially its elasticity, are directly related to the ambient temperature.

Summer tires are made from a material whose properties change at temperatures of about 4...7 degrees above zero. With negative values on the thermometer, the efficiency of tires sharply decreases due to deterioration in ductility and adhesion to the road surface. On stiff wheels, acceleration and braking are fraught with dire consequences. It should be noted that summer tires are much harder than winter tires.

The main difference between winter tires and their summer counterparts is not at all in the depth and type of tread (although it is rougher and deeper), but in the properties of the rubber itself, which is elastic in the cold and provides good grip.

Studded tires, which improve traction in certain situations, make sense if you often have to drive on country roads in winter. On the ice they behave much more confidently.

Important! Winter tires wear out much faster when used in summer.

On all-season tires you can drive at temperatures not lower than -7 degrees. And, if you compare their characteristics with the properties of winter tires, they definitely lose: the braking distance is longer, and the handling is worse.

As one might understand, there are no universal tires that can be used to travel at negative and positive temperatures. Therefore, if a car owner is responsible for his life, the safety of loved ones and other road users, it is necessary in time (before the onset of the first frost) to consider the issue of changing tires.

Important! Tires are replaced if their tread depth becomes less than 4 mm.

What to look for when choosing winter tires

Manufacturers today offer many models of winter tires. For every taste and income. The price, naturally, cannot but worry any owner of a car that needs new tires installed. But saving on this purchase is not recommended. First of all, you need to evaluate the performance characteristics of the rubber.

What is important for a car owner choosing a set of tires for driving on roads in winter:

Tire size. In this case, you should follow the recommendations of the car manufacturer. However, you need to understand that wider wheels are less effective in lateral drifts, and narrow ones are worse for getting out of snowdrifts. Regarding height: it is recommended to consider slightly higher options compared to their summer counterparts.

Load index. The higher this number, the stiffer the tire will be. But due to a more durable frame, it will be able to better withstand movement on roads with broken surfaces.
Speed index. It is necessary to estimate the usual speed of movement. If it does not exceed 100 km/h, there is no need to purchase tires with an index higher than K (up to 110 km/h).
Date of manufacture. Since the warranty period established by the tire manufacturer usually does not exceed 5 years, it is recommended to pay attention to this aspect.
Type of tread. Depending on the conditions in which the car is intended to be used, you need to choose the shape of the pattern. To overcome snowdrifts, it is better to consider a model with large-sized checkers. Small lamellas in the form of checkers are more versatile. The rounded sidewall increases the risk of skidding.
Presence of thorns. As already noted, they help when moving along the ice crust.

All the information necessary for the consumer is usually indicated on the tire itself (see photo).

What drivers operating vehicles in winter need to remember:

You cannot drive on both summer and all-season tires;
It is not recommended to purchase used tires;
You cannot limit yourself to installing winter tires only on the drive wheels.

It is also recommended to pay attention to tire pressure. How the iron horse will behave on the road depends on this. What pressure is in the tires of a VAZ car is not an idle question at all. Overinflated wheels have a smaller traction area but improve handling. If the wheels are not inflated, fuel consumption increases, handling deteriorates, but the area of contact between the wheel and the road surface increases. To make the car more stable on a winter road, it is recommended to lower the wheels by 0.1...0.2 atmospheres (compared to the pressure in summer).

The table below will help answer the question of how to find out the pressure in Lada cars and other models of domestic manufacturers.

Accordingly, if we talk, for example, about the VAZ 2111: what pressure in tires with a radius of 14 is recommended to be chosen in winter, then it is recommended to stop at 1.8...1.9 atmospheres on the pressure gauge.

If you want to save money, you can do the following:

purchase a winter set in the summer, when its cost is much lower;
since new products are usually offered at a higher price, opt for old, time-tested models (but not those that have been in storage for several years);
if in winter you plan to drive on asphalt cleared of snow, purchase tires with a finer pattern;
when deciding, for example, which winter tires for a VAZ 2112 are better, you can choose from a line of products from domestic manufacturers, many of whose models have good performance characteristics.

The best tires for VAZ cars

For those who are puzzled by the choice of the optimal tire option, the rating of winter tires for VAZ is interesting. There are several worthy model options for consumers with different financial capabilities.

Nokian Tires Hakkapeliitta 9

These studded tires, produced in the Russian Federation, can rightfully be on the list of worthy winter models.

The manufacturer produces models with a diameter of 14…21″, a profile width of 195…315 and a height of 35…70.

Tire advantages:

road stability;
good resistance to ruts and skids;
a large number of spikes (two types);
excellent car handling on snowy roads and ice crust;
large area of contact with the road surface;

However, even these tires have some disadvantages:

long braking distance on dry asphalt;
excessive noise when driving on a dry asphalt road;
due to the softness of the sidewall, poor resistance to impact loads;
a large number of defective products.

Of course, not everyone will like the cost of tires (about 7.2...7.5 thousand rubles), but in this case the price/quality ratio seems optimal. For example, those choosing winter tires for Lada Vesta are advised to take a closer look at these products.

Continental Viking Contact 7

The size range of friction tires is represented by tires with diameters of 14…21″.

Model features:

good behavior on an icy road (comparable to the handling of a car on studded tires);
excellent stability on snowy and wet roads;
softness (because of this, the rubber wears out faster);
the protector does not provide good water drainage.

Why shouldn’t those who solve the problem take a closer look at this option, which winter tires for the VAZ 2114 are better?

Nokian Hakkapeliitta R3

The products of the Finnish concern have characteristics similar to the Continental VikingContact 7. Comfort and safety on the road, good grip on the road surface (very slightly worse than that of a competitor) and excellent handling in all weather conditions characterize these tires, produced with a diameter of 14...21 inches. Some noise from the tires does not cause any particular discomfort.

Of course, the cost of the tires (about 11.5 thousand rubles) can scare off a potential buyer. But as compensation, it is possible (when purchasing tires from official dealers of the manufacturer) to receive free tire fitting.

Tigar Winter

Winter tires with an interesting pattern (without studs) are available in diameters of 16…19″, width 215…255 and height 45…65.

They are distinguished by:

budget;
good balancing ability;
excessive noise on asphalt surfaces;
not very high ability to overcome snowdrifts.

Is it possible to install R14 or R15 wheels on a VAZ 2109

So, you can install R14 wheels on VAZ 2109, 2108, 21099, 2114, 2115. The disk parameters should be 5, 5.5 or 6 inches wide and have an offset of 35-40 mm. You can also install cast or forged wheels with the same parameters. Other parameters of the disks: holes 4x98 mm, central hole diameter at least 58.5 mm.

In this case, it will be necessary to select tires of the appropriate size so that the overall diameter of the wheel remains approximately the same. Otherwise, when turning the wheel, the tire will touch the wheel arch liners or suspension elements, which, of course, is not what we want.