Snow Traction Problems
Member
Joined: 03-28-2008
Posts: 33
From: NY
I live in Orange County,NY and am a FIRM believer in snow tires.I commute to Manhattan daily 80 miles 1 way.Most mornings the roads haven't been touched because I leave for work around 4am.
I bought 4 Dunlop SP Winter Sport tires for my SS and they work.Another thing is that it aint just the depth of snow,its the type of snow that has a worse effect on driving.If its just cold enough to snow,it packs quick and can build up in the wheel wells,which stops you from steering and can be a ***** to stop on regardless of the tire.If its real cold it usually dosen't pack to bad and can easily be handled by most all season tires without too much trouble.
I swear by these Dunlops I bought.I recently got caught in an ice storm and passed around 10 4X4's off in the ditch.My SS stayed straight as an arrow at highway speeds with no problem.
I bought 4 Dunlop SP Winter Sport tires for my SS and they work.Another thing is that it aint just the depth of snow,its the type of snow that has a worse effect on driving.If its just cold enough to snow,it packs quick and can build up in the wheel wells,which stops you from steering and can be a ***** to stop on regardless of the tire.If its real cold it usually dosen't pack to bad and can easily be handled by most all season tires without too much trouble.
I swear by these Dunlops I bought.I recently got caught in an ice storm and passed around 10 4X4's off in the ditch.My SS stayed straight as an arrow at highway speeds with no problem.
New Member
Joined: 05-07-2008
Posts: 13
From: Spokane, WA
Here in Spokane, WA we got a little over 70" of snow in December and I gotta tell ya, I love them Blizzacks, they work! But I've never driven a winter (42 of 'em) without snow tires so I really can't compare any of that with driving with all season tires. I'm sure it works for some.....I've just never been gutsy enough to try it.
Thread Starter
Joined: 01-05-2009
Posts: 6
From: cumberland, md
I live in Orange County,NY and am a FIRM believer in snow tires.I commute to Manhattan daily 80 miles 1 way.Most mornings the roads haven't been touched because I leave for work around 4am.
I bought 4 Dunlop SP Winter Sport tires for my SS and they work.Another thing is that it aint just the depth of snow,its the type of snow that has a worse effect on driving.If its just cold enough to snow,it packs quick and can build up in the wheel wells,which stops you from steering and can be a ***** to stop on regardless of the tire.If its real cold it usually dosen't pack to bad and can easily be handled by most all season tires without too much trouble.
I swear by these Dunlops I bought.I recently got caught in an ice storm and passed around 10 4X4's off in the ditch.My SS stayed straight as an arrow at highway speeds with no problem.
I bought 4 Dunlop SP Winter Sport tires for my SS and they work.Another thing is that it aint just the depth of snow,its the type of snow that has a worse effect on driving.If its just cold enough to snow,it packs quick and can build up in the wheel wells,which stops you from steering and can be a ***** to stop on regardless of the tire.If its real cold it usually dosen't pack to bad and can easily be handled by most all season tires without too much trouble.
I swear by these Dunlops I bought.I recently got caught in an ice storm and passed around 10 4X4's off in the ditch.My SS stayed straight as an arrow at highway speeds with no problem.
Senior Member
Joined: 07-05-2008
Posts: 5,464
From: Akron Ohio
2
You don't have to use the Goodyears as I just used them as an example. I only paid $102 frm the tire rack and then got another $40 off on a Goodyear rebate sale so the price went to $92 a tire.
I also got another $80 off with my father employee discount. These were 215/60-16's.
The point I was making was that you only need to get a good set of all season tires and you will be fine. There are many good All Seasons out there that will do the job.
I just don't understand all the hype on the winter tires on a FWD with ESC and TC.
This is my first FWD daily driver [wife has had all the FWD cars] and I have no drama what so ever. I too drove 2WD pick ups for the last 20 plus years so the HHR is so very easy to drive.
I used Wanglers on my trucks and they worked fine.
The wife has used the Triple Treads and I have seen her pushing snow with them and she was so happy with them we just put a new set on this year after we went 50,000 miles on the last set. They still had some tread but I decided since it was the start of winter and as much as she drives I did not want to make the change late in winter.
Check the reviews and prices at the Tire Rack web site. Even here in town where we have several majore tire companies many people here send for them as it is so much cheaper. I even sell neat 12 brands of tires where I work and The Racks price is the cheapest.
Also note even here in Tire town few people use winter tires. You can check the tires in the Firestone/Bridgestone, Goodyear and the several other tire tech centers we have here in town and very few of the people who design these tires use them. Most are on RWD cars like a BMW, Caddy or Benz that came with summer performance tires.
Please don't condem the HHR as it really is good in the snow. The Firestone tires are crap. OE tires are usally the cheapest thing the MFG can contract to put on. Few new cars get the top line or quaility tires. Goodyear has gotten out of the market for the most as they have the cheapen the quality down till it hurt a MFG rep. The worse part is they make little if any money on them. General rule of tumb is most OE tires are not the best from a MFG unless they are a request special tire like on a top end performance car.
Even then they have to meet specs the after market tires do not have to meet like mileage requiremnts and drive by noise requirements.
Good example is the Goodyear tires on the Vette. These Eagles are made to meet GM and govement requirements for new cars. The best Eagles will not meet the noise standards or other GM spec. Also they are more than GM wants to pay. Even though they have the same Eagle name on them it does not make them equal. This is not jsut true with Goodyear but all companies.
We have a wide range of weather in our area but January and February anything can happen. We've had as little as 5 to 10 inches in a winter and as much as 150 inches. I have no problem driving in it. I drove a 2 and 1/2 ton truck most of my 30 years on the road but this little thing freaked me out. It just seemed to spin more than pull. I think new tires are in the near future. I usually run a cooper tire but don't get a lot of wear out of them but the price is much better. Goodyear wanted to sell me a set for $170 each. I told the lady I never paid that much for tires on my pick up. Cooper has a tire in the $103 each range. That sounds pretty good.
I also got another $80 off with my father employee discount. These were 215/60-16's.
The point I was making was that you only need to get a good set of all season tires and you will be fine. There are many good All Seasons out there that will do the job.
I just don't understand all the hype on the winter tires on a FWD with ESC and TC.
This is my first FWD daily driver [wife has had all the FWD cars] and I have no drama what so ever. I too drove 2WD pick ups for the last 20 plus years so the HHR is so very easy to drive.
I used Wanglers on my trucks and they worked fine.
The wife has used the Triple Treads and I have seen her pushing snow with them and she was so happy with them we just put a new set on this year after we went 50,000 miles on the last set. They still had some tread but I decided since it was the start of winter and as much as she drives I did not want to make the change late in winter.
Check the reviews and prices at the Tire Rack web site. Even here in town where we have several majore tire companies many people here send for them as it is so much cheaper. I even sell neat 12 brands of tires where I work and The Racks price is the cheapest.
Also note even here in Tire town few people use winter tires. You can check the tires in the Firestone/Bridgestone, Goodyear and the several other tire tech centers we have here in town and very few of the people who design these tires use them. Most are on RWD cars like a BMW, Caddy or Benz that came with summer performance tires.
Please don't condem the HHR as it really is good in the snow. The Firestone tires are crap. OE tires are usally the cheapest thing the MFG can contract to put on. Few new cars get the top line or quaility tires. Goodyear has gotten out of the market for the most as they have the cheapen the quality down till it hurt a MFG rep. The worse part is they make little if any money on them. General rule of tumb is most OE tires are not the best from a MFG unless they are a request special tire like on a top end performance car.
Even then they have to meet specs the after market tires do not have to meet like mileage requiremnts and drive by noise requirements.
Good example is the Goodyear tires on the Vette. These Eagles are made to meet GM and govement requirements for new cars. The best Eagles will not meet the noise standards or other GM spec. Also they are more than GM wants to pay. Even though they have the same Eagle name on them it does not make them equal. This is not jsut true with Goodyear but all companies.
Senior Member
Joined: 10-15-2007
Posts: 199
From: Yukon
I'm a new owner of a slightly used 2008 HHR. Do these cars have traction problems in snow? I recently went to visit a friend who lives in the mountains of the North east. Snow began and an hour later there was a little over an inch on the road. When I got off the mountain and out of the snow my wife said that was scary. I just said you should have been driving. I haven't read good reviews on the Firestone Afinity tires but could that be the problem or is the car just bad in snow? Any help would be greatly appreciated.
My (2008) stock Firestone Firehawks are useless in snow and are rated quite low on TireRack. Dedicated snow tires with rims and TPMS are too pricey for me.
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post
