Winter Tires

[Vote Tyler Stearns]

Whether you go with snow tires or all seasons depends on where you're going to drive.  I was born and raised in northern NH.  All seasons worked fine with a nice heavy front wheel drive car on flat roads.  If we had to go up and down mountains, we used our 4-wheel drive vehicle and kept the sedan in the garage.  I now live on a very steep hill (well, mountain) with a very steep, long, curving driveway...we HAVE to have snow tires on all our vehicles - a mini van, Maxima, and a Chevy 4WD pick-up, or we'd never get home with even a dusting of snow.  Friends who live at the bottom of our hill survive with all seasons.  I've tried various brands and prices.  Nokian's the best.

[SeanSchade]

Good advice guys!

I grew up driving on snowy, icy roads in Ohio with crappy tires.

But to be on the safe side I think I'll get a set of snow tires for both of my vehicles. It would be nice to have an extra set of rims to mount them on, but that would get pretty pricey. One of the vehicles is AWD so I'm not worried about it, the other is RWD, and my wife drives it. 

[mvpel]

The unmount and remount with balancing, unless you can do it yourself, gets even more pricey than a new set of steel rims and hubcaps for the snow tires in the long run.

Steel rims for certain makes and models can be rather difficult to find - it took about a week of searching to find a set for my Acura 3.2 TL - but it's doable.

[Recumbent ReCycler]

I bought a set of 18" alloy 5 spoke rims for my Chevy Impala on ebay for $488 shipped.  I'm planning to buy a set of 4 Nokian WR tyres (235/50R18 101 W XL) (for $1025) to fit those rims .  I believe they are the only W-rated (168 mph) all season tires with the severe service emblem for severe winter driving.  I've read about a hundred reviews, and they were all good.  I've worked as a professional driver for a number of years, and believe that I can drive better than most folks even when driving on bald tires, but I'd rather pay $1500 for some extra safety now than pay more later for higher insurance payments or medical bills or body repairs.  Besides, I'm not the only person who drives my car.  The WRs that would fit my 16" rims are only $150 each, but they are V rated, which is still pretty fast, but I've read that the ones I'm planning to buy provide better control.  The Nokian WRs are supposed to be really good in the snow, rain, and even on dry pavement, though not quite as good on dry pavement as high end summer tires.  I figure by having 2 sets of wheels I will save a bunch of money by not having to pay someone to remount my tires twice a year.

[mvpel]

Wow, those Nokian WR's look pretty sweet.  I'll have to look into getting a set when my current sets wear out.  The changeover is not a big deal for me, but it'd be nice not to have to do it.

[polyanarch]

W-rated?  How FAST do you plan to go on the snow??????

Jebus H!

If you want to go over 85-90 then get on a damn race track.  It doesn't belong on the street. 

I'm still looking for a parts car for my new '84 Camry diesel so I can get an extra set of wheels (amongst quite a few other things like a non-cracked windshield and a right mirror and nicer inside parts off of a better trim-level camry as well as the good molded halogen headlights and nicer grill)  So it might be a few months before I get snow tires on it.  Actually there ARE a set of snows up front but they are not new.  It will do.  The '94 gas Camry is now the GF's along with the nice set of snows.

Mounting tires 2x/year is sure not the way to go.  Anyone who plans to get snows should get themselves a set of cheap steel wheels for the snows and change them themselves when the snow falls.  With a good $25 wally-world jack and a $9 X-lug wrench rotating the tires only takes about 20 minutes not including digging them out of the storage area and stowing the other pair when you are done.  I store mine out back at my parents up off the ground on some wood blocks now with a blue tarp thrown over the whole stack to keep the snow/rain/sun off of the rubber.  One I keep as a full-sized spare so a pile of 3 tires doesn't really look too obtrusive. 

If anyone in the chicago or Madison area has a '85 or '86 Camry laying around (I don't mind rust or a bad motor/tranny as I have a good body and can't use gas parts anyway on my diesel) I'd pay more than the scrap guys give you.

[Recumbent ReCycler]

I've been trying out my new winter tires, and they stick better in the corners in wet weather than my old all-weathers did on dry pavement.  I've noticed that they feel more responsive than my old tires and are very quiet.  On dry pavement, I can take corners much faster than with my old tires before they start to make noise.  I have found that I can stop much faster too.  I haven't lost traction while braking yet, even after the last snowfall that we had.  On snow, I generally stay below the speed limit, but during good weather, I don't think that 100+ mph on the highway is unreasonable.  Unfortunately there are no racetracks around that are open to the public for recreational driving.  It would be nice if there was a large track where people could wring out their cars and test their limits and practice accident avoidance maneuvers.  I've drifted with my Jeep (which is for sale), but haven't taken curves fast enough with my Impala to drift.  I don't really want to do it on the road, but it would be fun to try it on a track.