green diamond tires

[stiller fan]

anybody hear of green diamond tires??? they're imported from iceland or scandanavia (sp?)...they're re-treads i think, maybe brand new, but when they do it, they put these carbide granuals throughout the tire itself, giving the tire extra traction. they're supposedly legal in all 50 states, grip like studs, but once they wear out, more granuals embedded evenly with the tire replace them, giving you the same traction. supposed to be awesome in the snow, but wasn't sure if i wanted to buy them or not...

any thoughts??? :confused:

[Inspector1]

Had never heard of them before.. Here's a link for others to see their products.....
http://greendiamondtire.com/index.html

I1:)

Look's like a decent tire...

[princess]

Never heard of 'em..... Here, I'm not so sure they'd be legal though.....all retreads are supposed to be illegal. They're pretty picky about it.

I remember as a kid I'd see treads all over the roads when traveling south. They'd just melt & fall off! The desert gets pretty nasty!!

[stiller fan]

bump...

an excerpt from Washington DOT...

Innovative tires
European manufacturers have also released a new alternative to the
studded tire. The Green Diamond Tyre Company of Iceland has
developed a revolutionary alternative to the studded tire in which hard
granules are distributed evenly on all the wear-surface of the tire. These
granules provide better traction in slippery conditions without the road
wear and noise emission of studded tires. Introduction has already
started in Canada where several thousand of these tires have been on
test scattered around the east coast during the 1999-2000 winter
season. Increased volume is anticipated in North America.
------------------------------------
giving it more thought....i was browsing over there, and they said that they only last about 10-20k miles....is that about average for a snow tire? i know that's way too low for a regular touring/all-season one.....

[Inspector1]

Here's a little reading for you...................

http://www.snowtire.info/

Enjoy
I1:)

[Inspector1]

Hey stiller fan,

I'll let you know how they work out. I just ordered a set of Icelanders today so hopefully they will arrive this week!!
We may get some snow here for Turkey day so I figured I better get it in gear:D

I1:)

[stiller fan]

cool....they're calling for snow in pit too, but only snow showers (prob won't stick)....

thx, I1!!! :)

[Accord9404]

I recently bought 4 Blizzak WS50 for my Accord 2k4 from Tire Rack and I'm sure that I'll get many opportunities to try them out here in Maine.

[Inspector1]

Ahhhh Santa UPS man just dropped them off.:banana: :banana:

Gotta go check out the new shoes;) ;)

I1:)

[Inspector1]

Cool 13/32 tread to start the inner 2/3 with the heavy sipe is snow and outer 1/3 with straight rib multi season...
Hopefully I can get these mounted in the next week or two.

I1:)

[princess]

They LOOK like they'll hang on pretty good!:thmsup:

[Accord9404]

Interesting tire pattern.
Please let me know how you like them.

[my1staccord]

I1 have you had a chance to drive on the tires yet? just wondering how noisey they are.

[Accord9404]

I just read an article in Road and Track Mag. that 32 psi is a good all around tire pressure for most tires.

[stiller fan]

just don't use that for your compact spare... :eek:

[Inspector1]

Originally posted by my1staccord
I1 have you had a chance to drive on the tires yet? just wondering how noisey they are.

No they are still sitting in the garage.
Hopefully next week on a slow day:rolleyes: I'll swing by my friends shop and get them mounted.. :)
I am going to save my Indy 500's for the spring and summer they still have 6/32" all the way around.
I am really wondering how the GD's will wear:dunno:
The manufacturer recommends running a couple hundred miles to wear off the rubber and get to the grit.. My guess is the noise will change. I'll post how they do when I get them on the ground:thmsup:

I1:)

[Inspector1]

Well they are on the car, and yes they do sing somewhat... only noticeable with radio off... I only drove about 50 miles so we will see.. They seem to track real well(we had some 50 mph wind gust today) and they cut thru the water on the road..
The noise is less evident then some of the Capitol tires that a lot of Toyota dealers are putting on used Camry's.
They balanced out pretty well also. no more than 1 oz per side on 2 and less than 3/4 oz on the other 2. I had him use stick on weights since they will be changed out in less than 5 months.
Cornering is comparable to the OE MXV4 Michelins. Not as good as the Firestone Indy 500's..

I'll keep you all updated as the miles go by ;)

I1:)

[stiller fan]

really looking forward to your report once it starts snowing....and how they really perform....:yes:

[Inspector1]

Ok here's another update....
since the top layer of rubber is gone and the carbide chips are showing these things grip like your on rails on wet roads.....
The sidewall flex is more evident than my INDY 500s ..
I drove a road today that is extremely curvy and it was raining pretty hard. It seemed like I could not break loose on corners and I would have never pushed my summer tires this hard.. WOW:shock:
At 75mph on highway in downpour not even a hint of hydroplaning.
On a take off from a stop on about a 45 deg incline on a hill at full throttle/wet road the traction control didn't even think of kicking in
Needless to say if these perform in the snow like they do on wet roads I will be very happy with my choice!!!!
Come on snow I'm ready for you:D :D :D

I1:)

[stiller fan]

i1,

you should be able to test them out monday....take it to a parking lot to try them out...pit is expecting 2-4 maybe even 3-6 by tomorrow night.... :jumping:

[stiller fan]

ok i1, i know that you got snow...pit is getting 4-8 inches by tomorrow night....how's the tires running??? :D

updates please!!! :banana:

[Inspector1]

Yes we have some cover on the grass but none stuck to the roads
Just wet.......

I1:)

[stiller fan]

looks like you gotta drive in the grass then.....:lmao:

[Inspector1]

There is only about a 1/2" on roads this morning.. We need more to really determine how bad these shoes are!!!! I took into a snow covered lot at the pool.... Just like driving on a slightly damp road..WOW!!! Crampons for the car!!!! :D

I1:)

[anysia]

gee, maybe i need some of those to help keep me from peeling tire in the snow when i get my car back! i do enough of that on dry roads on a sunny day! :lmao:

eh, but i've never used winter/snow tires in the past..... why start now?! :eek: :D

[Inspector1]

I never ran snow tires before this season. So this is new to me also.. But taking and picking my kids up from school(40 miles a day) I feel more comfortable with these... I am also on the road quite a bit so it's also nice for me!!
From the performance so far I doubt I will be disappointed with the investment!! 4 tires shipped to my door..$420 Mount and Balance $20 .. security when driving on slick roads..priceless

I1;)

[anysia]

Originally posted by Inspector1

From the performance so far I doubt I will be disappointed with the investment!! 4 tires shipped to my door..$420 Mount and Balance $20 .. security when driving on slick roads..priceless

I1;)

true....

with my 70+ mile daily commute it would be nice for the extra security, especially with my lucky streak. hopefully soon i won't be going quite so far though! :)

[stiller fan]

i1,

get a chance to try those diamonds out yet? i know that pit got 1-2 inches of the white stuff over the past day or so....

sorry for bugging you so many times....just wanted to hear from a fellow cord driver to see how they really react in real-world conditions... :D

[Inspector1]

No significant snowfall yet:dunno: I heard Cleveland had almost 9" last night...
Watching this new one brewing in Texas heading our way:eek:
It looks like I may find out how well they really work on Weds ;)

I1:)

[Inspector1]

Well I am very impressed. Drove thru a few 18" snow piles, icy roads. Traction and braking are great!!! Well worth the investment..:thmsup: :thmsup:

I1:)

[Inspector1]

Monday and Tuesday were great test days, due to the fact that several streets have yet to be plowed and contain anywhere from 10"-18" of snow ruts. The snow and ice has not stopped my Honda!! "These are Great" !!!!!!!!!!
I can only imagine what they would be like on a actual 4WD vehicle..

I1:)

[Inspector1]

Here's a pic at 2000 miles... The carbide grit is easy to see in the tread now..

I1:)

[princess]

I'm really happy they're working like you'd hoped!!:thmsup:

[stiller fan]

definitely buying me a set for next winter... :yes:

[OwAce]

now my question is are these tires worth the price?
i know you can get blizzaks ws 50s for cheaper at tirerack.
these things in the 16 inch size are 100-120, while the ws50s are 90-100.
youd think that retreaded tires would be cheap, more in the 50-80 dollar range.

[stiller fan]

but, you must remember here that these aren't your run-of-the-mill retreads....there is significant technology in these tires, putting carbide granuals into the tread. plus, i beleive that they last 40-50k miles...correct me if i'm wrong. :)

[BenjiBoy650]

If that is a picture of the tire after 2000 miles, it doesn't look like it could last 40-50K. And those tread blocks look kinda big for snow tires, I thought that they were supposed to be small and there were supposed to be lots of them?

[Inspector1]

At the 3500 mile mark they have between 11-12/32" on front and
12/32" on the rear. Considering they had 13/32" new and with the wear off characteristic's designed into the tire(top coat of rubber over carbide) they should last close to 40k.
In my experience with tires the 1st 6-7/32" of tread tends to go faster than the last.

Ben,
I thought the same thing about the pattern, But if you note the squiggly lines in each block. They are like little grippers when you run your hand across them... It's hard to explain but they work like a charm.

The best explanation of the sound they make while driving would
be a close to a SUV Mud/Snow tread tire..

I1:)

[anysia]

i need a set of these on my car NOW. not tomorrow, NOW.

my tires were horrible today! on packed snow i could control the car, on slush, heck no.

(don't get me started on the accident in the area of the highway with black ice this afternoon..... and how i almost lost control cause the idiot in front of me had to hit his brakes hard to get a look. i wasn't even close to him and i didn't have to brake hard, but man, the car didn't not appreciate even touching the brakes...... almost has me scared to drive again!)

[stiller fan]

should have just taken my car to begin with... :) told you so!!! :joker: just kidding.... :D

[stiller fan]

http://greendiamondtire.com/testimonials2.html

[stiller fan]

http://www.snowtire.info/#RealWorldSnowTireTests|outline

[Inspector1]

The plus feature to these tires is you have the carbide bits thoughout the rubber and you don't have the Half life of other snow tires.

I1:)

[Inspector1]

@ 9000 mile mark after one rotation fronts 11/32" rear 10/32"
I have pushed these tires very hard also and still am very impressed by their handling capabilities for a "Snow/Ice tire" I noticed they are labled "Traction tyre" :D

I1:)

[Inspector1]

With 14K on tires tread depth @ 8/32" The last 2k with temps in 60-70's did not help tread wear. I should get at least one more season out of them!!
Very impressed with their service and would recommend to others where you have more ice/snow mix then straight snow. They did fine in 12" of snow but they really strut their stuff on ICE!!

I1 :)

[stiller fan]

just curious as to why you didn't go the the High-performance tire that they offer for the summer.....

[Inspector1]

The way I go thru tires!! :D Thats why I went with a set of Kellys for 350.00 out the door. They did not have the Kumho's I wanted!!

I1 :)

[stiller fan]

would you recommend kumho's for someone who does alot of highway driving??? :)

[Inspector1]

I was just going to try them because they are so inexpensive! :)
They seem to get pretty good reviews and I have seen them on several new body style TL's and Q45's.

I1 :)

[Inspector1]

Update.....

Well I am prepaired for the 4th season with the GD's. They have approx 45 K on them and between 4 and 5/32" remaining, and still have plenty of grit left. I believe they are well worth the investment.

I1:)

[kopimon]

I1, how did the tires do this past winter season?

I think I'm going to pick some up in a month or so. I know next to nothing about tires so what size should I get for an 08 coupe? The stock tires are 235/45R18.. which would be good from this list? http://greendiamondtire.com/productsny1.html

What about wheels? I hoped to use the factory 18"s for winter tires but the tires don't come any larger than 16".

[Inspector1]

1st ? They where great this past season..not much snow but some ice. I pulled them a week before our last storm this spring and was on my Toyo's.

2nd ? You would have to buy 16" steelies and go with the 215/60R16. If you want to stay on stock rims you have to go with a performance snow tire.

I would recommend these tires over conventional for folks not in a heavy snow belt. Cincinnati has shifted to more of a Ice/Freezing rain area compared to 40 years ago when we used to see more snow. The GD's hold there own very well until you get above 16 inches of snow at one shot.

I1:)