Winter Tire thread

sequoias

sequoias

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Hey, wanted to start a thread all about winter tires with pros and cons.

I researched with comparsion of winter tires and all season tires on a BMW which is a RWD car, it does make a difference with traction in acceleration, braking and cornering.

I'm curious, is it okay to drive winter tires all year? Is it safe as a all season tire during the summer months? It's not cheap to have a set of all season for summer and a set of winter tires for the winter time. :( I'm thinking of buying winter tires in the fall and let it break in for a few hundred miles before the real winter comes.
 
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Y'ello, anyone? I guess many members overlooked this post.
 
sequoias said:
Wirelessly posted (Samsung Epix (i907))

Y'ello, anyone? I guess many members overlooked this post.
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I think nobody knows. :dunno:

I've never had winter tires. I doubt any of my friends do. don't need it.
 
I never had winter tires. I have all-season tires for my Honda SUV. This snow traction is excellent.
 
You just started the thread yesterday give it time. This is the first time I've seen it.

As far as tires for winter, used to have a 2wd chevy S10 truck and in the winter when the weather was bad I'd use studded mud grips and load some weight in the back.
 
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Interesting...Im surprised no one here so far doesn't use winter tires or have experience riding on them.

Its not too late and will find some answers later. :)
 
It has not much anything to do with threads, and it is not safety related when used during summer time.

The only difference between summer and winter tires is hardness of rubber. Summer tires tend to be harder and stiff which will last longer on road. While winter tires is very soft, softer tires gives better traction during frigid and colder temperatures. With summer tire in winter time, these summer tire will be very stiff, not good for traction wise. However using winter tires during summer will wear faster.

All season tires, they are somewhat between summer and winter tires when comes to hardness. This makes it "OK" for winter time.
 
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Diehardbiker, thanks for the comparsion between those tires. I get the picture now. Do you use winter tires on ur car for winter time?
 
No, there is reason... First of all it cost more to have two sets of tires. Secondly, all season works fine because Rochester seems no longer gets real frigid.

Lately thought of getting a off road tires for my Jeep. Now I am seriously thinking of trading up my Jeep with F-250 or F-350 crew cab powerstroke. So getting tires for my Jeep is now out of question. I done drove F-250 Powerstroke, and man! it is so comfortable.

sequoias said:
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Diehardbiker, thanks for the comparsion between those tires. I get the picture now. Do you use winter tires on ur car for winter time?
Click to expand...
 
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diehardbiker said:
No, there is reason... First of all it cost more to have two sets of tires. Secondly, all season works fine because Rochester seems no longer gets real frigid.

Lately thought of getting a off road tires for my Jeep. Now I am seriously thinking of trading up my Jeep with F-250 or F-350 crew cab powerstroke. So getting tires for my Jeep is now out of question. I done drove F-250 Powerstroke, and man! it is so comfortable.

sequoias said:
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Diehardbiker, thanks for the comparsion between those tires. I get the picture now. Do you use winter tires on ur car for winter time?
Click to expand...
Click to expand...

Cool, sounds like a plan. I think I will probably go for good all season tires that has good traction in winter. Of course, I won't drive fast in winter months.
 
all season

most snow tires will wear out fast! not really worth it because the handling on wet roads is worse. the all season is best. i have rain tires for off season and all season tires for winter. big thing though is that you need 4 tires that are the same for winter driving. if you have mismatched sets your handling will be bad. i have front wheel drive and never got stuck in the snow. drive lower gear and don't use the breaks when stoppping
 
I would be careful using word "Never" cause I DO see many front wheel drive vehicle got stuck in snow. It depends on conditions. Even 4 wheel drive vehicle DO gets stuck in snow but far less chance.

Biggest factor is how much snow. If you got one foot snow or more, and unplowed, your car WILL get stuck even if it is front drive. Most 4x4 can handle up to 2 foot of snow. Reason? It is all about ground clearance. Most cars has only 5 inches of ground clearance while SUV and other 4 wheel drive has at least 9 inches of ground clearance.

DDU said:
i have front wheel drive and never got stuck in the snow. drive lower gear and don't use the breaks when stoppping
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i never got stuck. that is me driving carefully and knowing the cars limits
 
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Diehardbiker is correct. My fwd car got stuck in the snow because of ground clearance. There was simply too much snow on the roads to keep moving. I got stuck 3 times in Seattle's worst winter time about a couple of years ago.
 
well i drive my car and like i said, i know my limits. i have had snow packed in the engine compartment from going thru deep snow. just as long as you know how to drive as opposed to knowing how to steer a car :naughty:
 
Well, I can say without hesitation that it does make a difference in braking during wintertime. When I switched tires for the season, the difference was significant in how it handled the snow.

Regarding the all-season tires... three-season tires is more like it. All-season tires are designed for wet and dry driving, not snow.
 
plus - when you have 2 sets of tires (all-season and winter)... do you have a storage space for it? and it costs money to swap the tires.

and... common sense says that you shouldn't be out driving in bad weather. that's the cheapest way to go.
 
Jiro said:
plus - when you have 2 sets of tires (all-season and winter)... do you have a storage space for it? and it costs money to swap the tires.

and... common sense says that you shouldn't be out driving in bad weather. that's the cheapest way to go.
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What if you have to go to work? Some jobs require you go to work no matter what the weather is out there.
 
Tousi said:
That's right, Seq; I think this is especially true for the Midwest.
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Yep, that's how Midwest is. Most folks here are used to the winter so that's why. My gf told me that stores will still run even it's below zero outside and alot of snow outside...not extreme amounts though.
 


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