Snow tires - worth it?

[exar333]

If you have snow on the ground for log periods time (I do here in MN) snow tires make a HUGE difference. Studs on tires are not legal in most places, but standard snow tires are much better than even a good all-season rated for snow.

If you don't get snow tires here, you better do your research and make sure they really are "all-season".

OP - I grew up driving my dad's truck that was RWD and it was fine in the winter with snow tires. All seasons were much worse, and you could easily loose traction in more than a small amount of snow.

 

[compman25]

No, studded tires are illegal in most areas because they tear up the roads.

They are legal here, and if he can find them cheap I'd say get them. But like I said, I think he is fine with what he has along with a ton of weight in the bed and some cheap cable chains for when they are required.

 

[desy]

Gawd most states allow studs

"Nine states allow no use of tire studs whatsoever. Drivers in the warm-weather states of Hawaii, Alabama, Florida, Louisiana and Mississippi have no need of them. In 4 other states that do experience hard winters, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois and Texas (in its northern plains and western mountainous areas), studs were nevertheless made illegal so as to protect roads. "

Read more: What Is the Law Regarding Studded Snow Tires? | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/facts_5031590_law-regarding-studded-snow-tires.html#ixzz10kYvCsgQ

They are worth it, however increased road noise and mediocre on dry pavement performance

 

[Gibson486]

If it is really slippery wet compacted snow....it's night and day.

 

[StageLeft]

Is there a drawback to studs like they will wear out the tire faster or anything?

Also, I've never understood how they stay "studdy". How is it that they don't just immediately wear down to the same depth as the tire; can somebody explain?

 

[Gibson486]

studs are at the depth of the tire. AT least the ones I saw.

 

[ZipSpeed]

I'm looking at getting some winters too for my Subaru Forester 2.5XT. Anyone able to recommend some high performance winter tires? Or should I not bother with HP winters and just get the regulars? Hate to lose the dry grip and cornering for the warmer winter days.

 

[jlee]

I'm looking at getting some winters too for my Subaru Forester 2.5XT. Anyone able to recommend some high performance winter tires? Or should I not bother with HP winters and just get the regulars? Hate to lose the dry grip and cornering for the warmer winter days.

Nice car! 😉

Nokian Hakkapeliittas and Bridgestone Blizzaks are popular up here. I'm not sure what to look at for a high performance winter tire, though..interested in answers too.

 

[CraigRT]

I'm a winter tire supporter. I swap mine every winter, back to summers in the spring.

 

[StageLeft]

I'm a winter tire supporter. I swap mine every winter, back to summers in the spring.

My maxima was ball sucking crap in the winter but I think that manual transmission makes it harder because without clutch slipping on bad roads you can get a lot of wheel spin.

Then there is also the fact that VQ creates more torque than a damned tractor!

 

[Zap]

"In 4 other states that do experience hard winters, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois and Texas (in its northern plains and western mountainous areas), studs were nevertheless made illegal so as to protect roads. "

Ahhh, that's why... I live in WI.

Is there a drawback to studs like they will wear out the tire faster or anything?

Also, I've never understood how they stay "studdy". How is it that they don't just immediately wear down to the same depth as the tire; can somebody explain?

"Studded" tires start out as "studdable" tires - tires molded to accept tire studs. Tire studs are... basically metal screws inserted into the tire tread. I'm not sure they help much on snow, but they are basically like built-in chains for ice.

Does anyone know the speed limit of studded/studdable tires? This may be another factor in using them. Chains are usually limited to 25MPH due to chain slap (don't want them tearing up your car). IDK what tire cables are rated for. Studless Winter tires are usually rated for Q (~86MPH?) and Performance Winter tires are a bit above that (T? S?).

What I'm getting at is if the area where the vehicle will be driven is often plowed cleanly between snow storms (as in there isn't snow/ice on actual paved roads 24/7 for the whole winter), then something highway-worthy may be a better choice.

I'm a winter tire supporter. I swap mine every winter, back to summers in the spring.

I also swap back/forth on both cars in the household. First got winter tires for my Mazdaspeed 6 when I ended up in a ditch (first snowstorm, on Summer-only tires D: ). Then, got some for the wife's car when she spun out and ended up off the road (on all-seasons).

 

[NoCreativity]

Gawd most states allow studs

"Nine states allow no use of tire studs whatsoever. Drivers in the warm-weather states of Hawaii, Alabama, Florida, Louisiana and Mississippi have no need of them. In 4 other states that do experience hard winters, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois and Texas (in its northern plains and western mountainous areas), studs were nevertheless made illegal so as to protect roads. "

Read more: What Is the Law Regarding Studded Snow Tires? | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/facts_5031590_law-regarding-studded-snow-tires.html#ixzz10kYvCsgQ

They are worth it, however increased road noise and mediocre on dry pavement performance

Michigan allows them, but no tire manufacturer makes any that conform to the specification.

 

[jlee]

Ahhh, that's why... I live in WI.



"Studded" tires start out as "studdable" tires - tires molded to accept tire studs. Tire studs are... basically metal screws inserted into the tire tread. I'm not sure they help much on snow, but they are basically like built-in chains for ice.

Does anyone know the speed limit of studded/studdable tires? This may be another factor in using them. Chains are usually limited to 25MPH due to chain slap (don't want them tearing up your car). IDK what tire cables are rated for. Studless Winter tires are usually rated for Q (~86MPH?) and Performance Winter tires are a bit above that (T? S?).

What I'm getting at is if the area where the vehicle will be driven is often plowed cleanly between snow storms (as in there isn't snow/ice on actual paved roads 24/7 for the whole winter), then something highway-worthy may be a better choice.



I also swap back/forth on both cars in the household. First got winter tires for my Mazdaspeed 6 when I ended up in a ditch (first snowstorm, on Summer-only tires D: ). Then, got some for the wife's car when she spun out and ended up off the road (on all-seasons).

Some people run studded tires year-round up here...they're fine at highway speeds.

 

[ZipSpeed]

Nice car! 😉

Nokian Hakkapeliittas and Bridgestone Blizzaks are popular up here. I'm not sure what to look at for a high performance winter tire, though..interested in answers too.

The guy I buy my tires from has a promotion on the Dunlop SP Winter Sport M3 so I decided to go for them. Read some reviews and it looks to be a pretty decent winter tire overall.

 

[sdifox]

Nokian and the Blizzaks seem to be the prevalent choices. I'll try the Nokians next. I am on Blizzaks.

 

[StageLeft]

Tirerack simply says that at high speed or a lot of wheel spin the studs can leave the wheel. I know a guy who's always used studded including on highway all the time. I'd say you don't have to worry about going too fast for them unless you are being insane. I haven't come across a comparison of studded vs non-studded but I'm sure they exist. I believe that modern studless winter wheels offer near-comparable performance, though, baesd on some blurbs here and there.

 

[WhoBeDaPlaya]

I'm looking at getting some winters too for my Subaru Forester 2.5XT. Anyone able to recommend some high performance winter tires? Or should I not bother with HP winters and just get the regulars? Hate to lose the dry grip and cornering for the warmer winter days.

Michelin Xi2s are supposedly the best studless winter tires out now (IINM TireRack says that they are better than Blizzaks and Nokians).

Oh, and there are always tire condoms : http://www.autosock.us

 

[desy]

On ice studs still rule, they are comparable on compacted snow, the best comparison studies come from Europe.
If you are more exposed to ice or packed an polished intersections studs are best, if its wet sloppy snow mostly the winter compound tires are best

 

[sdifox]

There should be a sand dispenser add on for cars.

 

[PingSpike]

Gawd most states allow studs

"Nine states allow no use of tire studs whatsoever. Drivers in the warm-weather states of Hawaii, Alabama, Florida, Louisiana and Mississippi have no need of them. In 4 other states that do experience hard winters, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois and Texas (in its northern plains and western mountainous areas), studs were nevertheless made illegal so as to protect roads. "

Read more: What Is the Law Regarding Studded Snow Tires? | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/facts_5031590_law-regarding-studded-snow-tires.html#ixzz10kYvCsgQ

They are worth it, however increased road noise and mediocre on dry pavement performance

Yeah, I was going to say...maybe studs are illegal is places where it doesn't actually snow but up here chains are legal to drive on. And based on the deplorable conditions of our roadways I have to assume the highway crew assumes everyone drives with chains all year road and plows the roads only to the level of passable with chains.

 

[StageLeft]

I sometimes hear of people getting insane mileage on tires. I never have (winter or summer). I was reading about blizzacks yesterday on tirerack, typically considered among the best studless snow tires. They said they get 12-15k before the multicell (nice snow traction) is properly worn down, or 2-4 seasons. I then checked what I used on my van and they are blizzacks and worn out. In my case I made 2-3 winter seasons (so the mileage stated on tirerack) before their tread started to get really low. The stuff is made of hot butter. I guess they do work but damn that is really poor life expectancy.

 

[PingSpike]

Tirerack simply says that at high speed or a lot of wheel spin the studs can leave the wheel. I know a guy who's always used studded including on highway all the time. I'd say you don't have to worry about going too fast for them unless you are being insane. I haven't come across a comparison of studded vs non-studded but I'm sure they exist. I believe that modern studless winter wheels offer near-comparable performance, though, baesd on some blurbs here and there.

I had some stud-less "ice tires"....Michelin X-Ice I believe. They were fantastic for one winter, acceptable for two and were pretty much dog shit after that. At 15K miles a year, only half of which the tires were actually on the car, I considered this wear rate awful for a $90 tire on an econobox. I have studded Nordman (II?s) (Rebadged Nokian Haqs from the previous year, a lot cheaper than the latest tire is) or something now.

I can deal with snow with any cheap snow tire, its ice that is unpredictable and only studs and chains make much of a difference. I guess the X-Ice's were good on it that first year, but I don't want to buy a new set of tires every 2 years. The tradeoff for studs is they have kinda crappy dry traction, but I don't run them during the summer! At any rate, I haven't noticed much of a difference although I rarely travel over 55-60mph these days. The trade off is a no brainer for me. They are louder though.

Anyway OP, my advice is to just buy the snow tires if you expect to keep the vehicle for any length of time. They're not that expensive and since you can only have one set on at a time you're just front loading the cost of tires anyway...not buying extra tires you never would have. They absolutely do make a difference, all seasons are a joke. I'm sure you could get by if you only drove on well taken care of roads (that do not exist here) but why bother?

 

[PingSpike]

I sometimes hear of people getting insane mileage on tires. I never have (winter or summer). I was reading about blizzacks yesterday on tirerack, typically considered among the best studless snow tires. They said they get 12-15k before the multicell (nice snow traction) is properly worn down, or 2-4 seasons. I then checked what I used on my van and they are blizzacks and worn out. In my case I made 2-3 winter seasons (so the mileage stated on tirerack) before their tread started to get really low. The stuff is made of hot butter. I guess they do work but damn that is really poor life expectancy.

They say the tires wear out faster if you drive them on warm pavement, but if that is the rated life expectancy I guess my experience wasn't unusual. I'm hoping my Nordmans run a little longer than that. I had shitty Cooper Weathermasters on my other car and those lasted 3-4 seasons at least. If these only give me two years I might just buy the cheapest studded snows I can find next time.

 

[PingSpike]

There should be a sand dispenser add on for cars.

I saw a show about freight trains awhile back and that is actually now they improve stopping. The wheels are designed to have almost no friction because they use less fuel that way...but that is a problem when the train has to stop fast. So when the brakes engage, a dispenser sprays sand under the wheels. It'd be cool on a car, but the sand weighs a lot. Still, a small amount that you manually deployed would sure help getting out of the driveway when it turns to a sheet of ice.

 

[StageLeft]

I saw a show about freight trains awhile back and that is actually now they improve stopping. The wheels are designed to have almost no friction because they use less fuel that way...but that is a problem when the train has to stop fast. So when the brakes engage, a dispenser sprays sand under the wheels. It'd be cool on a car, but the sand weighs a lot. Still, a small amount that you manually deployed would sure help getting out of the driveway when it turns to a sheet of ice.

Get a heated driveway. When it snows and your driveway stays black you can drink hot chocolate indoors and laugh at the neighbors. Pretty pricey, though 🙁