This. I used to put on winter tires for years and ultimately decided it was silly to spend that type of money for 5-6 days of heavy snow amounts in the DM metro. If I had a teenager in my household getting behind the wheel that would be different.
Winter tires - General Thread
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This. I used to put on winter tires for years and ultimately decided it was silly to spend that type of money for 5-6 days of heavy snow amounts in the DM metro. If I had a teenager in my household getting behind the wheel that would be different.
Our FWD minivan with snow tires is significantly better on slick roads than our 4WD SUV with all season tires.
all weather tires are different then just regular all seasons (3 seasons). our AWD SUV came with "all seasons" and they were absolutely horrible. the all weather tires we put on last year made a huge difference.
I don't know, dad just threw a set of tigerpaws/what ever off brand tires on the car and we did fine in the metro area, I would be one of the ones driving around just because in most of the major storms we got.
Tiger paws, better make sure your radio is loud so you can hear it with that road chatter.
I just learned how to drive in snow and ice to avoid changing tires off and on.
Down here in IA land, it's more about the ice than anything for me. Growing up in NW WI, snow was common, ice wasn't. Winter tires give me a bit more of an edge in really slippery conditions and its worth the piece of mind.
OP, you can also aerate your lawn in the spring and fall with the same studded tires.
There you go you don't know. World of difference between all season and winter tires in bad conditions particularly in cornering and stopping. I find AWD and 4WD to be total wastes. I have a steep driveway that you can't even sit stationary on with all season tires. If you try to go up fail and try to stop you will slide out into the road very rapidly. My daughter who just got her permit found that out in that early snow.
On the OP, the rubber is softer so average temp in your area should mostly determine when. I generally switch around Thanksgiving in sw Iowa. Wheels with winter tires is the way to go. Quick easy switch. I have no storage issue so it's a no brainer. People have really forgotten how much better winter tires are in freezing conditions.
i agree. I can tell a huge difference in having snow tires and not having them. And the difference is mostly in stopping and getting going on slick roads.
it’s a luxury for sure but worth the $160 per year to get them switched.
I guess my question is how bad are people at driving that all weathers don’t work for them. I’ve never used winter tires but I really only have issues in the worst of the worst storms and even then I don’t really have issues. I have a Toyota Corolla with factory tires still.
A lot of the time it depends on the other car and the tire that's on it.
I had a Mazda 3 that with it's stock tires was an embarrassment in the snow/sleet/anything that resembled slick conditions. Put on a set of Blizzaks and the only thing that would stop it was snow piling up in front of the bumper. Did I absolutely need them? No. Were they damn nice to have? Yes.
As far as putting them on, I typically put them on around thanksgiving and took them off in March.
Agreed, and also the age of those all season tires.
I was skeptical too but put them on my daughters Camry last year and have been impressed. It's not a game changer but you can tell get an increase in traction over all season in winter snow/ice conditions.
It's weird how some tires match up with some vehicles. I had different sets of tires on a Audi A4 over like 14 years, some better than others. Used to peruse the Tire Rack where you could get peeps commenting on tires for your specific vehicle and region. Another thing is that manufacturers seem to bias their original manufacturers tires for summer and a quiet smooth ride (better for your first test drive and probably better on average for the nation) but a lot of those tires aren't great for the upper midwest. Worst ever tires for Minnesota winter came on my '88 Accord, nice summer freeway cruisers but **** on snow and ice. IIRC they were Michelin all seasons.
BTW, I have snows on my Audi A5 mostly because it came with summers and not all seasons so bought a used pair with Audi rims so swapping them out isn't a big deal. Everyone here is talking snows for traction in snow it seems. I've never had issues with any of my tires getting through deep snow. My issue is with the light snow glaze slippery conditions. Even with good all seasons and Quattro 4-wheel it always felt just a little skittish. My snows are way better in those conditions. Of course this winter it won't really matter, no trips down snowy freeways this season just five mile round trips to the grocery, booze store and HD.
Yeah, I think winter tires really shine in ice and glazed conditions. My wrangler with MTs does just fine in the snow, but the big solid tread blocks with no siping makes it exciting in icy conditions.
I've never heard of this. Spot checking Cooper & Michelin's website shows Summer, Winter, & All Season tires. No differentiation between All Season & All Weather.
What brand do you use that distinguishes between All Season and All Weather?
Its well worth getting a set of snow tires and dedicated wheels for them. Then you can mount them up in your garage/driveway any time you want, hopefully a few days before the first significant winter snow/ice.
I always think of it as a luxury, but also a wise choice. I dont have full coverage on any of my cars, but if i did i would still do the tires....the investment in your tires is likely going to be paid out in terms of a repair or even deductible.....would be better spent making your vehicle safer in the winter. My opinion....
I always think of it as a luxury, but also a wise choice. I dont have full coverage on any of my cars, but if i did i would still do the tires....the investment in your tires is likely going to be paid out in terms of a repair or even deductible.....would be better spent making your vehicle safer in the winter. My opinion....
we have Toyo's.
and they do list them separately on their site. https://www.toyotires.com/use/all-weather but others do just throw them under the all season category still. biggest difference is they have the 3 peak mountain snowflake symbol on them but can still be ran in summer time. the sipping/tread pattern as well as rubber composition on the newest ones give the extra grip but still allow summer time use with out the fast wear from the increased temps.
