“All-Weather” vs “Snow & Ice” Tires

[jyl]

Curious what you all run for winter tires. Yes I know this thread is oddly timed.

Do you put on a dedicated “snow & ice” tire? If so, what tire and why?

Do you run an “all weather” tire (has the mountain and snowflake symbol but not a specific snow and ice tire)? If so, what tire and why?

[KNS]

My next set of tires will probably be Three-Peak (Snow Flake) all season tires - I'm in Colorado. Yes, dedicated winter tires are superior but the Three-Peak tires have gotten so good I know more and more people running them year 'round rather than do the winter tire swap.

[pavulon]

Michelin X-ice winter tires. I commute on work days and being able to turn and stop well gets put to the test every time I drive in winter weather--including dry roads when well below 0F.

[Shaun @ Tru6]

For me it depends on the car and the specific tire in regards to the all weather versions. Some all weather are closer to an all season while others are on the edge of being a true snow & ice. For my Cayenne, I use all weather Vredestein Quatrac 5 and it seems to perform as well as any dedicated snow tire while providing decent performance on dry pavement. It goes through deep snow easily. Performance on ice (in parking lots) has been impressive going up and over snow mountains, but I think a lot of that is the very capable AWD system.

[onewhippedpuppy]

On anything with 4wd or AWD I run a snowflake AS tire, typically that’s good enough for the intermittent snow and ice we get here. For anything RWD I will have a set of summer and winter tires that I swap out. Really good snow tires are like magic on a RWD car, they make it usable year round.

[slow&rusty]

When I lived in Colorado, I had a winter set of Blizzaks and in summer ran an all-season tires. The Blizzaks made a huge difference in driving and confidence.

[HobieMarty]

I have "all season" tires on our vehicles as we don't see snow all that often. I do, however, have an all terrain type of tire on the RX300 I drive, and I'm glad I had them for when we did have some snow this past winter.

Sent from my SM-S916U using Tapatalk

[unclebilly]

I put on over 900 miles per week in the winter between my work commute and getting my ski racer daughter to the hill.

We run all weather tires on our vehicles. I used to run winter tires and swap back and forth.

The trucks have toyos and bfg k03s, the wife’s cayennes have pirelli scorpions. I’m very happy with all 3.

[UconnTim97]

My WRX came with 18" Dunlop summer performance tires. I bought some 17" WRX wheels on FB marketplace and run Vredestein Wintrac Pro tires in the winter. They are categorized as a winter performance tire. I am happy with them after the first winter with them.

We don't see much snow in my area so I opted for these instead of a dedicated snow tires.

[LEAKYSEALS951]

Originally Posted by jyl

Curious what you all run for winter tires. Yes I know this thread is oddly timed.

Do you put on a dedicated “snow & ice” tire? If so, what tire and why?

Do you run an “all weather” tire (has the mountain and snowflake symbol but not a specific snow and ice tire)? If so, what tire and why?

In the past, I've had studded tires/ blizzaks/ etc. Wife currently has crossclimates

For me, the winters are getting a little less and less snowy, so I find myself mounting the blizzaks, and then for the next month it's 60 degrees and sunny, so I go out and pull them off, and THEN it snows for one or two days, and then it's warm again.

The Crossclimates are something that while aren't quite as grippy as new blizzaks, but better than old school "all seasons" and are something you can just mount and use, not worrying you are sqaundering away your tire's mutant supersnowpowers in the event it doesn't snow.

The crossclimates also seem to have better handling on ashpalt and heavy rain than the blizzaks. But if snow is gonna be deep and lingering- blizzaks.

I'd count the number of days from last winter where you wish you had dedicated snow tires vs. the number of days where you really didn't need them and factor that into a decision.

[cockerpunk]

still cant beat a proper winter tire.

all weather seems to make sense for those not willing or able to switch every spring/fall.

[rwest]

I’m a huge believer in dedicated snow tires. My used Saab came with almost new Coppers with a mud and snow rating and I could barely make it up a very slight incline near my house last winter, so I bought a set of Blizzaks and no problem going up the same incline now.

[Alan A]

Originally Posted by KNS

My next set of tires will probably be Three-Peak (Snow Flake) all season tires - I'm in Colorado. Yes, dedicated winter tires are superior but the Three-Peak tires have gotten so good I know more and more people running them year 'round rather than do the winter tire swap.

Have run three peak pirelli scorpions for a number of years on multiple trucks and suvs. NYS and the NE rather than Colorado, but never got stuck.

The new one will also get them when the factory tires are shot. I'm too cheap to swap brand new tires out.

[onewhippedpuppy]

If they are available in your size, the Vrdenstein Wintrac are quite good and less money than Blizzacks.

One other factor with switching is that you have to actually switch. If you live somewhere like I do where temps can swing 50 degrees in the span of a day, that’s a huge PITA. I chewed up both snow and summer tires on my E63 driving them in the wrong temperatures.

[stevej37]

In the last 8-10 winters, I've only used all-season tires. Front wheel drive on those years.
My current Honda has LSD on the front, which seems to really help in the snow or ice.

If there is more snow than my clearance...I just wait until they clear the roads.

[Cajundaddy]

As always, it depends. If you live in a region with 3 months of completely frozen roads like ND, MN, or Canada, a dedicated winter tire is by far the best choice. If you live in an area where some snow and ice is expected but frozen roads might last a week or two, but not months, an All Weather tire probably is a better choice.

Here in ID we see an average annual snowfall of 8-10" and the roads tend to dry out very quickly. It can still be 20s-30s for 3 months but frozen roads are not really a thing. In this case an All Weather tire is my choice and Conti DWS is what I am running on the Cayman in winter. It is a very capable tire in all conditions with good control in ice and snow but no match for a full winter tire on completely frozen roads.

[Otter74]

I have a set of Michelin X-Ice tires on D2 Audi A8 wheels for my Jetta Sportwagen. I'd wanted winter tires for it and picked up this set, lightly used and ready to mount, in Denver while on a road trip a few years ago. I've found them well worth it, plus the wheels look so good I want them on the car all year.

Back in the late 90s, after a terrible day getting stuck, I got a set of Blizzaks on steel wheels for my Sentra SE-R. With the VLSD and Blizzaks, there was nothing the car wouldn't go through. Those tires are still sitting in the basement, obviously not good any more, and I don't drive the car a lot and try to keep it out of winter now.

[jyl]

I live in Portland OR.

Winter here is 11.9 months :-) of cold rain and 1-2 weeks of freezing rain and wet snow that melts, refreezes, and all roads and other horizontal surfaces with slick wet ice, on which nothing moves without snow tires. You can barely walk on the stuff.

Winter is also frequent drives to the local ski hill from Dec-April, the drive will be mostly clear roads then the last 10 miles will usually be some form of packed snow/ice, fresh snow, graveled old snow, etc.

Traditionally I run "all-season" tires May-Nov, then switch to dedicated snow tires on the wife's car (because it is RWD and there will be hell to pay if she ever gets stuck) and on the cars we take skiing (usually AWD). For snow tires, we usually use Blizzaks. I've found nothing better for ice.

I'm looking at getting some sets of tires now, for the cars that will need them in the coming year, because tariffs. I am thinking about trying the "all-weather" tires rated for "severe snow service" (peak+snowflake symbol) on the AWD cars that will go skiing. I am hoping they are "good enough" on snow and ice.

Anyone recommend one of that type? THe Vredestein Quadtrac and Quadtract Pro seem well rated by TireRack, and affordable enough.

[Cajundaddy]

I have Vredestein HT on my 4x4 PU and Conti DWS on the Cayman. Both are really quite good in light snow, just ok on ice. For frequent trips to ski resorts and significant ice, studded or genuine winter tires are probably the cat's meow at least for 1 car.

**I fully expect new EU tariffs to be long gone by May 1st. They will negotiate a more fair trade arrangement to preserve access to the US market.

https://thehill.com/policy/international/5236107-european-union-tariff-negotiations/

[jyl]

Originally Posted by Cajundaddy

I have Vredestein HT on my 4x4 PU and Conti DWS on the Cayman. Both are really quite good in light snow, just ok on ice. For frequent trips to ski resorts and significant ice, studded or genuine winter tires are probably the cat's meow at least for 1 car.

**I fully expect new EU tariffs to be long gone by May 1st. They will negotiate a more fair trade arrangement to preserve access to the US market.

https://thehill.com/policy/international/5236107-european-union-tariff-negotiations/

We'll see. The tariffs as set have nothing to do with "fairness" of trading practices, they simply reflect trade deficits with a minimum of 10% tariff even if the US has a trade surplus with that country. You'd hope there's room for negotiation, but note that Vietnam has offered completely zero tariffs both ways, and so far we've rejected it.