winter tire alternatives to Pirelli SottoZero RFTs?

[tranquility]

Similar to my summer tire thread where I finally stopped burning rubber/$$$ and switched from PSS to Indy500s, I want to explore tire options for winter.

I've only known the Pirellis but I'm sure you guys have good suggestions on what can be better and also maybe less expensive. I have no experience w any other tire so would like you get your opinion on whether I can improve my present choice. I don't have an opinion of whether to stay w RFTs or regular.
My criteria are effective grip for traction and then cost. TIA!

EDIT: must have winter tires here by law, so no all-seasons, etc.

[B21]

The new generation of all season tyres from Michelin, Cont, GY seem to run in winter as well as pure winter tyres whilst offering some tolerance for unusually warm days..

For an E89 I think they are great..I’d still switch to pure summer tyres for warmer times..

I used to use pure winter tyres across our fleet but have progressively swapped across to the 3rd generation of all season tyres..or in the case of my Zed I just don’t drive it much now in winter..when I had to I used the GY all seasons to good effect.

[tranquility]

Tx, but here we need pure winters by law, so that would mean it makes sense for me to have pure summers the other part of the year.

[B21]

Originally Posted by tranquility

Tx, but here we need pure winters by law, so that would mean it makes sense for me to have pure summers the other part of the year.

So all season tyres that are accepted in Europe as winter tyres are not acceptable in Canada?

According to this on BC

https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/t...t-winter-tires

All season tyres are acceptable…is Montreal different?

[tranquility]

Originally Posted by B21

So all season tyres that are accepted in Europe as winter tyres are not acceptable in Canada?

According to this on BC

https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/t...t-winter-tires

All season tyres are acceptable…is Montreal different?

Tx for researching. For me, it's kinda a moot pt because winter tires will always be more effective than AS for winter, so even if ASs are allowed, I'm not sure why I would bother since I'm going to have dedicated summers.

[B21]

Life has moved on with the 35d generation of all season tyres…

In deep snow a good all winter tyre just edges out the new Michelin Cross Climate..

However if your winter is a mixture of rain, some snow, ice then actually some all season tyres now out perform pure winter tyres in those situations..

On my E89 I moved from pure winter tyres to GY Vector A/S and overall it was a better solution for a Scottish winter than pure winter tyres..

Each to their own

[tranquility]

I don't doubt the effectiveness of ASs but like many things in life it's hard to displace something made specifically for that purpose vs something that tries to do many things all at once.