Do you own winter tires?

smurf · Dec 3, 2007

For those of you who live in cold climates, do you have winter tires? I just bought mine last week (Pirelli Wintercarving, they're amazing!).
We're in the middle of a huge storm (nearly 12 inches of snow and it's still falling) and well, it seems like a good topic to bring up.

I live in the city and some people feel that all-season tires are ok in the city (I vehemently disagree).

Just wondering what people here think.

thepeach80 · Dec 3, 2007

If I lived where you do, I might consider it, but where I live I think I'm o.k. I don't even think we had winter tires when I lived in Alaska. Hmmmm. We never have a 'normal' winter here, sometimes I'd super cold and snowy, sometimes it's nothing. I think we got our big snow last year in March and it all melted in a week.

melniemi · Dec 3, 2007

I have Winterforce tires on my van and run them year round until they wear out! We got a foot of snow already and keep snow around until Mar/Apr. The roads are usually snow/ice covered. I also have a hill for a driveway that is a treat to get out of when it snows!! There is a 90* corner 1/2 way up the hill that is no fun to try to make! We hope to get one more winter out of these tires and next fall we'll get the same ones again.

skipspin · Dec 3, 2007

Ummmm. I'm in Florida. No winter tires here unless you count the tires in our 97 TJ "winter tires", but they're actually MTs. They would probably be good in the snow, though, since they are siped. (sp?)

CDNTech · Dec 3, 2007

It doesn't have to snow to need winter tires. Winter tires are beneficial in anything below 7 degrees celsius (44 degrees fahrenheit).

Any temps below that and the rubber of summer/all seasons gets stiff and doesn't perform as well.

We have winters on the car starting in October when the weather gets cooler here.

The van has all seasons right now, however the new vehicle will also get a set of winters for next year.

tiggercat · Dec 3, 2007

We use winter tires on both cars. I thought about not getting them for our new Camry (and 03, but new to us this year), but I just couldn't bring myself to take the risk. It may be a heavier car, but the all seasons just aren't enough in the cold. Snow tires just work so much better.
We've had quite a bit of snow recently in Eastern Ontario, and I am so happy to have good tires on the car!
We just got michelin x-ice something or other though, nothing special.

Natalie

Jewels · Dec 3, 2007

All season here. I wish we had winter tires *sigh* maybe next year

Holly · Dec 3, 2007

I want some, but we can't afford new tires. Dh doesnt think we really need them anyway. I hate driving in the ice and snow though. I love snow on the grass, hate it in the roads!

An Aurora · Dec 3, 2007

DH's Jeep has studs on right now. His 4 wheel drive is out so they definitely necessary right now.

southpawboston · Dec 3, 2007

absolutely! i see it as an investment in safety, plain and simple.

i have a dedicated set of winter tires/rims which i generally switch to around christmas/new year's, then back to summers around april.

as aidensmom said, it doesn't have to snow to experience benefits of snow tires. the rubber compound is designed to be softer and more flexible at cold temps, unlike all-seasons and summer tires. this improves traction, but at the cost of decreased tread-life. plus, snow tires generally do excellent in combinations of wet and snow, including slush.

for anyone considering winter tires, make the investment in a second set of rims as well, and that way you only have to pay to have the winter tires mounted and balanced initially when they are new. otherwise, it's costly to swap out summer and winter tires on the same set of rims each year. most people just buy a cheap set of steel rims ("steelies") for their winter tires. but i found a beautiful used set of mazda OEM alloy rims on ebay for the same price as new steelies, so my car looks as stylish in the winter as it does in summer

:thumbsup:.

by the way, my winter tires are dunlop wintersport M3's.

lovinwaves · Dec 3, 2007

For our VW Passat we do..the snow tire purchase for the van is next.

The Passat has summer low profile tires(great for the rain!) and nice custom wheels. In the winter we slap on the good ole snow tires and of course change out the wheels. The car rides so much different with the snow tires on. In the summer it changes back into sports car mode. hehe.

The van doesn't have snow tires yet, but we are debating since I really don't leave that much in the winter anways.

We get more ice than snow (it seems that way anyways).

Niea · Dec 3, 2007

I live in New Mexico where we might get some snow, but it's not a lot and usually melts pretty quickly. This past winter it snowed a lot and I could have used winter tires. But usually, no, I don't need them. It might be chilly outside, but not a whole lot below 44F, and the roads are usually dry.

CDNTech · Dec 3, 2007

southpawboston said:
by the way, my winter tires are dunlop wintersport M3's.

I'm pretty sure this is what our car rides with as well. They are mounted on a set of Mazda6 rims that fit the Speed3 perfectly. DH does like it when summer comes around though and he can get his 18" summer's back on the car.

lovinwaves · Dec 3, 2007

aidensmom02 said:
DH does like it when summer comes around though and he can get his 18" summer's back on the car.

That is sooo my husband

He's like "my car looks horrible with those small wheels on it" lol! It's true though, it looks totally different in the Summer.

CDNTech · Dec 3, 2007

lovinwaves said:
That is sooo my husband He's like "my car looks horrible with those small wheels on it" lol! It's true though, it looks totally different in the Summer.

His winter tires are 17" though... not a huge difference from the 18" but he likes them better. I have to admit they do look better... I just like the fact that the winter's are not steelies, but actual nice rims.

BudgieStew · Dec 3, 2007

Absolutely...winter tires on both cars.

DH did not go in to work today he didn't relish spending three hours in traffic and risk an accident because of the storm we are having. It hasn't stopped all day...check it out http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=9058281012

On the whole tire issue the Mags that come with the van have sensors to test tire pressure. The rims with the winter tires don't so every time I start the van a error message flashes until I hit reset...it drives me nuts.

mimieliza · Dec 3, 2007

We have studless snow tires on our Subaru. We live at the top of a hill and regularly travel over mountain passes that require chains or traction tires.

When I lived in the Midwest (St. Louis and Wisconsin) I never had snow tires because it was flat and generally well-plowed and salted.

snowbird25ca · Dec 3, 2007

There wasn't an option for "No, want them but haven't bought them yet."

We don't have snow tires and probably won't be able to afford it this winter either. :thumbsdown: I was saying to dh last night that the expense of winter tires would be completely paid for if they prevented us from having just 1 at fault crash because it would save us from higher insurance premiums - not to mention save us from a crash.

We just really don't have the money though. (Dumb 40% rent increase and trying to find a place to move to. :thumbsdown: )

We really do need them in our area. We have something like 4 or 5" of snow on the ground right now, and side roads are already icy to the point where our traction control is activating almost every time we start from a stop. And our snow likely won't be gone until end of March now.

southpawboston · Dec 3, 2007

aidensmom02 said:
His winter tires are 17" though... not a huge difference from the 18" but he likes them better. I have to admit they do look better... I just like the fact that the winter's are not steelies, but actual nice rims.

i have 17" summer rims. i chose 16" winter rims. for winter, i wanted 15" rims, actually. technically, the smaller rim size with higher tire side wall height, the better, for snow traction. you DON'T want low-profile tires for snow. having smaller rims with high-profile (high side walls) tires gives you maximum smnow traction (at the expense of sloppier handling) and also allows you to keep your speedometer calibrated. i wanted to get 15" rims but 16" rims are the smallest that the '3 can take because of the size of the brake calipers.

Morganthe · Dec 3, 2007

Winter might last 2 months here off/on, so I haven't bothered. If the weather turns bad like it did over Thanksgiving. Stay cosy inside and wait. It will soon be warm again

However, I'm planning on purchasing my next set of tires to coincide with our move back to Germany. Summer tires to installed on the rims at time of shipping -- ready for summer, then get winter on standard plain rims.

The Eiffel is hilly with loads of Black ice and snow. So it will be well worth our while for safety. Our first apartment near Bitburg was on a 12% grade. Everyone in the village parked and walked down when winter was really foul.

Do you own winter tires?

Do you own winter tires

Yes!

No, I get by on all-season tires in the snow

No, there's no snow to speak of here

New member

Senior Community Member

New member

New member

Senior Community Member

New member

Senior Community Member

New member

Senior Community Member

New member

New member

New member

Senior Community Member

New member

Senior Community Member

New member

New member

Moderator - CPST Instructor

New member

New member

Car-Seat.Org Facebook Group

Sponsors

Forum statistics