Studded snow tires on a C4?

Does anyone have experience with studded snow tires on a C4? Seems like it might make sense for New England winter driving.

not on a C4, but i have used Hakkepelita studded tires on all my cars driven in the winter for years. i drive them so hard that i burn through a set every winter. i enjoy flying past suburbanite housewives in SUVs with all 4 wheels spinning into a ditch on the side of the road. my feeling is that the studded tires are worth every penny!

a local PCA member drives his C4 in the winter and he uses either M+S rated tires, or studs, depending on the conditions. another guy that has a 944S2 uses M+S tires with no studs and he has no problem getting through deep snow however.

good luck!

obin

Snow tires get you through snow, but on sheet ice, snow tires are the same as racing slicks. Studs are necessary, according to me. They are FAR more secure and will get you easily another 20mph on highway driving with a shiny road surface. And that's conservative. To be even more honest, I have driven 60mph on ice wiht good studded snow tires on ALL FOUR wheels, and it was quite safe and sane. Sort of.

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'83 SC

agreed, i used to PASS Ford Broncos with snow tires in my POS Nissan that had studded ice tires. this was up a 35% grade by the way at 5:45 am before the plow got there.

studs all the way!

obin

I would imagine the studs are pretty noisy on a cleared or slushy road? Or does one remove the studs once the roads are cleared? For a climate like Ohio's, where it snows often enough but the roads are cleared, I wouldn't want to be driving around with studs on clear asphalt for 75% of the time.

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Mark Szabo
1986 911 Targa 3.2

Check your state laws concerning studded tires. They are illegal here in Illinois. I use them on my S10 (you think a 911 is tail happy try a light truck with a V8 in the front on snow). I've never concerned myself with laws when it comes to improving safety. These tires are mounted on seperate rims. They are much skinnier than the summer tires I run. Just pop them on when the first snow hits. They are very noisy on clear roads so I take them off in the early spring.

Studded winter tires are made for driving on ice or snow that has been driven on so much that it forms a hard surface. If you drive in an area with slush or soft snow or even rain there's no reason to go for studded winter tires. Studless winter tires are actually much better than studded winter tires except on ice or the hard snow surface. Also studless winter tires are much less noisy than studded tires.

studs make a LOT of noise. they vibrate the entire car. they also more than pay for themselves when they keep you straight and true on a long icy road. if you are concerned about noise and vibration, then get the "knobbies", but if you live in a hilly area with lots of ice like i do, then studs are the way to go.

obin

Cincinnati doesn't get as much ice as upstate NY, Obin, so I don't think that studs make sense for me. I'll probably mount standard winter tires.

Does anyone have any recommendations for winter tires that offer a good compromise between snow grip, dry weather handling, and noise?

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Mark Szabo
1986 911 Targa 3.2

mark,

try these: the guys with the 1993 C4 uses them:
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/michelin/mi_pilot_alpin.jsp

good luck!

obin