Winter tires
07-31-2009, 08:50 AM
#11
Senior Member
Join Date: 05-03-2007
Location: Port Orchard, WA
Posts: 121
We had a great snow winter in the PNW last year. Got stuck twice.......no snow tires.
Decided not to let that happen again. Did some reseach and didn't like the prices of 17" winter tires. I decided to go with 15" wheels (found that SAAB 9.3 were same bolt pattern and acceptable offset), determined what size tire I needed to match the diameter of my 17", found a great deal on (4) used wheels on Craigs list and then found (4) barely used studded snow tires on Craigs list also. All for less than $150.
Decided not to let that happen again. Did some reseach and didn't like the prices of 17" winter tires. I decided to go with 15" wheels (found that SAAB 9.3 were same bolt pattern and acceptable offset), determined what size tire I needed to match the diameter of my 17", found a great deal on (4) used wheels on Craigs list and then found (4) barely used studded snow tires on Craigs list also. All for less than $150.
07-31-2009, 12:06 PM
#12
Senior Member
Join Date: 02-11-2008
Location: Ohio
Posts: 137
Blizzaks or Michelin X-Ice is what I run.
Different set of rims and swap them is the easiest and in the long run cheapest answer.
As far as driving skill and such, this is this is the part that if you drive like an idiot...you crash like an idiot. But "all season" tires are not really all season, they are NOT winter tires and were never intended for winter driving. The tread pattern is not snow friendly and the tread compounds that give us 40k+ on tires now is just too hard to be a good winter tire.
I remember going up a hill that 3 4x4 vehicles were sitting at the bottom of and spinning in my MINI Cooper with X-Ices on...made my little car just laugh at those big SUVs.
I like the confort and security of putting on my snows so that I feel safe and sometimes piece of mind is worth the $500 for the snows.
my two cents
Different set of rims and swap them is the easiest and in the long run cheapest answer.
As far as driving skill and such, this is this is the part that if you drive like an idiot...you crash like an idiot. But "all season" tires are not really all season, they are NOT winter tires and were never intended for winter driving. The tread pattern is not snow friendly and the tread compounds that give us 40k+ on tires now is just too hard to be a good winter tire.
I remember going up a hill that 3 4x4 vehicles were sitting at the bottom of and spinning in my MINI Cooper with X-Ices on...made my little car just laugh at those big SUVs.
I like the confort and security of putting on my snows so that I feel safe and sometimes piece of mind is worth the $500 for the snows.
my two cents
07-31-2009, 04:55 PM
#13
Senior Member
Join Date: 07-05-2008
Location: Akron Ohio
Posts: 5,464
Contrary to what some think many all season tires will get you through most any snow with no issues. They under estimate the tires that we have today and not all but most are very good.
In 30 plus years of living and driving in the 80" pluse snow belt of Lake Erie. Some times I will drive for weeks on nothing but snow covered roads. Living in the town where most of the tire companies have their headquarters or tech centers. Having many family and friends who work for the these tire companies. I can safely say most people in this area do not use winter tires.
Are winter tires better. TO be honest Yes but not required by most drivers. They are an added cost if you don't want two sets of tires. They wear much faster than a normal tire. Some cars and some people benefit by them but most tire companies like to sell these tires just because they are a high profit tire for them.
A mid winter visit to the parking lots in town of the Goodyear, Firestone/Bridgestone, Hankook and Kumo tech center will show most of the engineers who design and test these tires most often do not use winter only tires.
If you feel you need them and feel you need them they are a good choice but do not choose them because someone else telling you that you will get stuck, crash or die. This is a little over board on the issue. Think of them as this All Season as will cover 80% most snow and ice conditions even in snow belt areas. Winter tires are good for extreem cold and mountain or remote driving. They see the most benifit in ice driving vs snow.
Most All Season tires today have a very complex Silica based compounding that is very durable for miles but also while not soft it is more abrasive and gippy. You would be amazed at the advances in Compounding in the last 10 years.
I will not over sell All Season tires as they are not as good winter tires but they are good enough for most drivers in most normal conditions. But I do not agree with some who make it out that you will not make it through a winter with All Season as that is not true or honest.
Speaking of compounding. They now have many drag tires that no longer need to be heated up. THey are not so soft to wear quickly but you get max grip with no need for a smokey burnout. In fact most tire company recomend not to do it as it will just wear the tires and not make them any stickier. The way things used to be are changing and tires today are much more complex than some understand.
In 30 plus years of living and driving in the 80" pluse snow belt of Lake Erie. Some times I will drive for weeks on nothing but snow covered roads. Living in the town where most of the tire companies have their headquarters or tech centers. Having many family and friends who work for the these tire companies. I can safely say most people in this area do not use winter tires.
Are winter tires better. TO be honest Yes but not required by most drivers. They are an added cost if you don't want two sets of tires. They wear much faster than a normal tire. Some cars and some people benefit by them but most tire companies like to sell these tires just because they are a high profit tire for them.
A mid winter visit to the parking lots in town of the Goodyear, Firestone/Bridgestone, Hankook and Kumo tech center will show most of the engineers who design and test these tires most often do not use winter only tires.
If you feel you need them and feel you need them they are a good choice but do not choose them because someone else telling you that you will get stuck, crash or die. This is a little over board on the issue. Think of them as this All Season as will cover 80% most snow and ice conditions even in snow belt areas. Winter tires are good for extreem cold and mountain or remote driving. They see the most benifit in ice driving vs snow.
Most All Season tires today have a very complex Silica based compounding that is very durable for miles but also while not soft it is more abrasive and gippy. You would be amazed at the advances in Compounding in the last 10 years.
I will not over sell All Season tires as they are not as good winter tires but they are good enough for most drivers in most normal conditions. But I do not agree with some who make it out that you will not make it through a winter with All Season as that is not true or honest.
Speaking of compounding. They now have many drag tires that no longer need to be heated up. THey are not so soft to wear quickly but you get max grip with no need for a smokey burnout. In fact most tire company recomend not to do it as it will just wear the tires and not make them any stickier. The way things used to be are changing and tires today are much more complex than some understand.
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post