Snow/Winter Tires
- Thread starter ClonesFTW
- Start date
I'll also leave this video here for a comparison on hills:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mfuE00qdhLA
There is a lot of science that goes into this type of stuff. So while yes, tires have progress a long ways over the years, the same can be said about winter tires as well. You should easily be able to get 3 seasons out of a set of winter tires with pretty modest driving. For me they are a no brainer on everyone's vehicle. They really do make a huge difference for your own safety and everyone around you on the road. Summer tires are best for summer, winter tires are best for winter, all season tires are mostly average in both. Even performance snow tires perform better during the winter than the best all season tires.
Also I can't recommend TireRack more. Great reviews to look through, competitive prices, you can get your wheel and tire all at once, balanced, aired up, and delivered right to your door.
It's an interesting thread. I'm not a snow tyre guy but am looking at S4 Audi and will likely go two tyre sets if I pull the trgger
I like that S4 you got. That thing is pretty sexy looking. Plus you got the 6-speed manual, along with all the other options.
I have a 2004 Jetta TDI that I wish was a 6-speed, but unfortunately it's only a 5-speed manual.
I like Coopers. My personal impression of Cooper is they aren't top of the line but they are a good value: a good tire at a good price. I've gotten over 50k miles on both previous sets I've had, which were Discover H/T. I'm currently running CS5 that I just had put on in the fall. So far, so good.
I have a front wheel drive Chevy Malibu and live on a relatively steep hill and so far this winter, I've had much more trouble than I have in past winters. Once I get out, I'm good for the most part, so what advice would anyone have about temporarily using chains or "socks" rather than actually buying snow tires?
Snow tires are definitely a big investment, but considering the fact that you can use them throughout multiple winters the cost factor does not seem that bad.
As far as chains go, I'm not sure that you can drive very fast on them. Not too familiar with socks.
I think a lot of you do a lot more ****** weather driving then I do. I get by pretty well for metro driving with all-seasons and all-wheel drive on my little Audi. I like the all-seasons better then switching to summers since true summer tires totally blow chunks in the rain. Of course, if it's stupid crazy snowy icy I don't think twice about cancelling a trip or delaying a day. I spent an extra day in the Quads before driving to Manchester. Had the time so why drive in the ****. I am decades past my young dude man versus nature when I used to toss caution to the wind*. Cars are too spendy these days to risk driving them into ditches and I don't want to play bumper cars with giant pickup and SUV when they start flying out of their lanes.
[SUP]*[/SUP] Looking back I am pretty some of those crazy weather long distance drives that were completed successfully were as much luck as skill considering the cars I was piloting.
[SUP]*[/SUP] Looking back I am pretty some of those crazy weather long distance drives that were completed successfully were as much luck as skill considering the cars I was piloting.
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If I was to buy chains, I would use them strictly in town, so like 35 mph maximum. One of the things I've heard is that they can damage the car, but again I don't know too much about it.
Yeah, but that poster was saying that they have a steep driveway that there car was having trouble getting up because it is slick. It's tough to get all of the snow off of a driveway surface when you shovel it, and what remains is slick as snot. I can imagine what it's like trying to get up a steep driveway in the wintertime. Also, not everybody has the luxury of not going out during bad weather. There are times when someone may leave for school or work and the roads are fine, but by the time they go to leave it's very dangerous white-out conditions.
Yup, I get that. I have just gotten pretty conservative in bad road conditions. I have burned up more than a few hours of vacation time to avoid driving I-94 to and from work during crappy weather. No longer get vacation as a rehired retired guy so just eat the hours and don't work. Even if I can avoid running into someone I cannot guarantee by any means that someone wouldn't just crash into me. Plus crawling along for 1.5 hours to go 15 miles makes me a little crazy!
