i agree with the good detailing part but come one people in the chicago area!!!! we used to have 70+ inches a year and it actually stayed wouldnt you prefer there to be snow on the ground when its cold. cus after this week of rain its only goin to freeze back up. not to menchine i like winter.

 

The factory Goodyear RS-A tires are crap in winter.

Are these the tires they stick on all new Montes? Or was it just certain years or models? Like the LS versus the SS?

I ask cause my '06 still has the factory Goodyear tires on it.

 

I will be going with Kumho Ecsta ASX
That is once I get my new wheels of course!

 

Wow guys i cant help but to feel sorry for you guys that are stuck in cold rain and snow!! wish u guys would live further south like i do well i live wayyyyy south haha temp. for the last3 weeks have been up in th 85's with alot of sun and a hint of wind... so my monty has been out playing and hauling *** for a little more than 3 weeks hehe... because i love driving in the rain and cold weather but cold here for us is at around 30 haha so my monty loves this weather in south south texas!! hehe hope weather warms up for everyone

 

The LS got touring tires. The SS got performance tires. It's probably just a matter of opinion and personal taste, but the W-rated performance RS-A`s that came from the factory on my Monte were crap in rain and snow. But then again, I don't think performance tires were meant for winter in the first place.

I'll give the RS-A's the benefit of the doubt, and say they're not meant for winter driving. But in the middle of a summer rain, I shouldn't be spinning my wheels with the slightesttouch of the gas pedal when taking off at a green light. And the ABS shouldn't have to kick in when stopping from 30 MPH at a red light. In my opinion, the RS-A`s were going to cause an accident on my Monte.

I also had horrible luck with the factory RS-A`s on my 99 Grand Am GT. In addition to the exact same problems I experienced with them on my Monte; I also had the mis-fortune of getting a bad batch of RS-A`s on my Grand Am. It only affected the 99 model year and GM offered to buy the tires back at the cost of new tires, minus the amount of mileage that they had been used.

If anyone is wondering what the issue was, it involved the bead. I was told by the Pontiac dealership and a local tire shop, that the beads were not made right. It caused the bead to not make a good enough seal with the rim. The bead would actually move around on the rim and make noise. Most noticable at lower speeds. And because of the bad seal, the tires leaked air.

When I bought my Monte and noticed that they came with RS-A`s, I decided to give them another chance. But after about 8 months of poor traction and almost getting into a few accidents, I decided the RS-A`s needed to see the business end of a rubber recycler.

The Toyo`s I got now are much better from spring to fall. Not all that spectacular in winter. But next winter I'll be using real snow tires on a second set of rims. Better traction and I'll be saving my Dale Jr rims from the ravages of salt and winter roads.

 

The LS got touring tires.

I think I read in the '06 information the LS, LTs (1,2,3) and LTZ got these tires as well.

So, they're crap too?

 

I don't know. I was only mentioning what the 6th gens got, since that's all I had the info for. Not sure about the 2006 & 2007.

But a touring tire is going to be a different tire compound to give a softer ride. So it's possible the tires on the LS may not be as bad as the tires I had on my SS.

This is one of those "duh!" moments, but I can only speak for my experience with the RS-A`s. Others may have had better results than I did.

Or they were smart enough to not try and use a performance tire as a snow tire.

 

Age old FWD vs RWD in winter? The FWD is easier, but if you know how to handle a RWD in the snow then you can do just fine, plus it's much easier to hit the gas to slid around a turn or correct a slide then it is to hit a parking brake that's on the floor.

Bridgestone Blazzak LM-22 is the tire that I currently have for winter, pretty much awesome other then the wear factor and cost.

 

I don't know. I was only mentioning what the 6th gens got, since that's all I had the info for. Not sure about the 2006 & 2007.

2006 Impala/Monte Carlo information states the LT's and LTZ's with 17 inch wheels got Goodyear LS1 touring tires.

Whatever those are?