Snow tires:

[speeder]

Of course I could not do a search using this term, thanks to you wisenheimers inserting it in every other thread since 2004.

My question; how do modern snow tires like Blizzaks perform and wear on the highway? I've never had a set but let's say that you have a 993 C4 that you DD year-round in a snowy place but not a cold place. Think Colorado, California, etc. A place where 95% of the time, you would be driving on dry highways or commuting during the winter months but occasionally in serious snow...or maybe just on ski weekends.

Do they wear out on the highway quickly? How do they grip on dry pavement? I'm sure that they do not perform like high performance summer tires on the dry but how bad are they? TIA.

[911boost]

I have a set of 17" Blizzaks on my daughters car, a '92 Fox Body 5.0 Mustang. We put them on fairly early in the year since the normal tires are terrible on any snow/ice. While I cannot answer the highway question since she just drives in town, they have been wearing very well.

There is a little bit of a different ride as the rubber is so soft, but it is not that bad and I would not hesitate DDing a C4 with them on it.

[kach22i]

My wife has her snow tires changed out seasonally, sometimes weather and appointment delays cause warm weather driving.

I think she was warned this leads to premature snow tire wear.

Sorry, I cannot put a number on it, but you could probably Google it and get a percentage or something.

[Dantilla]

Soft rubber compound wears quickly on dry pavement.

I had a set of Nokian tires that I used year round on a Mazda CX-7.
Forget the exact model, but they are marketed in the USA as an all-season, yet marketed in Finland as a snow tire.
I was very happy with them. Did great in deep snow. Didn't last as long as some other tires I've had, but the all-wheel-drive version of the CX-7 is known for wearing out tires.

[Dantilla]

For trucks & SUVs, I've been extremely impressed with the BF Goodrich All-Terrain T/A.
I get lots of miles out of them, yet they perform very well in snow.

Tried their Mud-Terrain tires ONCE on a Jeep Wrangler. They did not stay balanced.
Short wheelbase, fairly light Jeep, and oversize tires at highway speeds are not what the engineers had in mind when designing the tire for mud.
Had to get them re-balanced every few thousand miles, especially the fronts.

[LEAKYSEALS951]

I've used them for a bit. I mount them when the snow's a coming'. It melts a day later, and I end up keeping them on the car for mostly highway commute miles because I'm too lazy to take them off, and worried that when I do, it will snow again/ice again.

Can't put a number on it either, but they seems to last longer than I'd expect them too. my commute has been 20-80 miles a day depending

Where they don't do too well is in wet. You'd think they'd be better, but they aren't.

Here's what you do. Look up how many miles people are getting out of them. Plug in your commute x months you'll be using it. See how long they will last.

Mount them for those months- say dec, jan, feb, march. Know your investment and be done with it.

If you try to only use them in snow, you will more than likely get stuck in a highway commute without them when you really need them in a freak storm, or vice versa be mad because you are burning them up on perfectly good pavement. You can drive yourself crazy.

[red-beard]

The tread and sidewall are stiff and lead to a "harsh" ride with a lot more noise. I have not commuted like this for a long time (20 years) but did for 7 years between Western Mass and Upstate NY.

Using a Honda Accord, I bought a set of wheels and changed the drive wheels when I needed snow tires. I kept them in the trunk from Nov through April. Even with the scissor jack, I could change both front tire in about 15 minutes. Today, I'd use some sort of electric driven jack and an electric impact wrench.

On the 993, I'd want snows all around. With a front wheel drive, just 2 was fine.

[flipper35]

We put Blizzaks on the truck when it gets down to 40* here in SW WI. As long as it is cool they wear well and as far as grip on the dry and above freezing and damp they do very well. Much better than the BFG All Seasons we had prior to them.

If you run them during the summer they will wear fast and be less than optimal grip and most companies do not recommend it.

We run summer tires on the truck in the 3 seasons and winter tires in the winter. Going on 5 year for both sets right now but they are getting down near replacement levels of tread.

[flipper35]

Originally Posted by red-beard

The tread and sidewall are stiff and lead to a "harsh" ride with a lot more noise. I have not commuted like this for a long time (20 years) but did for 7 years between Western Mass and Upstate NY.

Using a Honda Accord, I bought a set of wheels and changed the drive wheels when I needed snow tires. I kept them in the trunk from Nov through April. Even with the scissor jack, I could change both front tire in about 15 minutes. Today, I'd use some sort of electric driven jack and an electric impact wrench.

On the 993, I'd want snows all around. With a front wheel drive, just 2 was fine.

Hmm. Must be the model of tire. Ours ride very well on the truck.

[cockerpunk]

i get about 3 winter seasons per set of winter tires. i change them back to summers when average temp is above 45ish. 90%+ of winter driving is still on dry pavement.

real snow tires are cartoonishly better than both all seasons, and all terrain tires, even on dry pavement in the cold.

[LEAKYSEALS951]

I'll second the road noise thing. They seem to be a bit louder, and handling a bit more vague. Fuel economy might have even dropped a bit too, like a 1/2mpg or something, but I can't remember.

This year, I had the blizzacks on the station wagon, and regular tires on a spare SUV.
I drove the SUV 99% of the time. Used the station wagon very little.

But it was nice to be able to pick and choose.

[pksystems]

I'm into my ~5th season on the same set of cheapo Walmart winter tires. They won't come off till at least May. Calgary has lots of chinooks, so we have dry roads for a large portion of winter. I use the same tires when I go offroading in summer, and use them on the highway before I get to the creek/rocks.

[deanp]

I used Nokian WRG4s on a 5 series wagon and Mini Countryman and they were fantastic. Used them year round instead of switching to Blizzaks. They were quiet, comfortable, good tread life. They're not a summer performance tire, but worked well in dry, wet, snowy, slushy and icy conditions. I would do them again on a passenger car again without hesitation.

Back to an SUV and pick-up and needing all terrains for where I go now though....

https://www.nokiantires.com/all-weather-tires/nokian-wr-g4/

[pavulon]

Originally Posted by cockerpunk

i get about 3 winter seasons per set of winter tires. i change them back to summers when average temp is above 45ish. 90%+ of winter driving is still on dry pavement.

real snow tires are cartoonishly better than both all seasons, and all terrain tires, even on dry pavement in the cold.

^This.

If you've never had them, running dedicated winters in below zero and/or on snow pack or loose snow approaches a religious experience. Summer road temps kill them fast. I'm on my 3rd set of Michelin X-ice and will likely be buying another set next year.

[KNS]

You ought to really take a look at Three Peak Mountain Snowflake all season tires. They are another level above regular all season tires and some tire experts say they are so good they approach the level of a dedicated snow tire (that you can drive year round).

I live in Colorado and I know a few people who run them year round.

Tire Rack link:

https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/techpage.jsp?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI89Pv6YXb7wIVEL7ACh2 J9AIcEAAYASAAEgLVI_D_BwE&techid=341&ef_id=EAIaIQobChMI89Pv6YXb7wIVEL7ACh2J9AIcEAAYASAA EgLVI_D_BwE:G:s&s_kwcid=AL!3756!3!354773040859!e!!g!!3pmsf%20tires&gclsrc=aw.ds

[red-beard]

Originally Posted by flipper35

Hmm. Must be the model of tire. Ours ride very well on the truck.

This was a Honda Accord and compared to all season car tires. I expect with my F250, I would not notice the difference.

[pete3799]

No way i'd run snow tires all year. Get some good all seasons.

[Dantilla]

Originally Posted by Dantilla

I had a set of Nokian tires....
Forget the exact model, ......

Originally Posted by deanp

I used Nokian WRG4s

That's what they were!
Don't have that Mazda anymore, if I did, I'd put the same tires on it again.

[cockerpunk]

Originally Posted by pavulon

^This.

If you've never had them, running dedicated winters in below zero and/or on snow pack or loose snow approaches a religious experience. Summer road temps kill them fast. I'm on my 3rd set of Michelin X-ice and will likely be buying another set next year.

a religious experience is studs on ice.

but yeah, winter tires are kinda amazing.

[red-beard]

If I remember correctly, I wanted NOKIAN HAKKAPELIITTA and ended up with Blizzaks, since back then, they were not easily available. Again, this was for the Honda Accord.

My Jeep Cherokee (2001) came with Wrangler AT tires, which performed fine for Winter.