Winter tires - Do It

[einreb]

Originally Posted by Souk

After years of driving in the Midwest on all-season and then AT tires on my Jeep, I finally bought a set of Blizzaks for my BMW.

bimmers are absolutely useless (dunno about the AWD versions) without snow tires. my m3 with snow tires is pretty decent.

[livi]

In Sweden, winter tires are mandatory from December 1st during winter conditions. Most people have two sets of tires and every year people are surprised when the first snow arrives. Long line of cars outside the tire shops..

[RWebb]

This should work great on ice.

But they are expensive & hard to find.

[old man neri]

Is that the moon dune buggy?

[ChrisBennet]

I'm a big believer in snow tires (putting some on tonight in fact). When I was researching tires for my sweetie last night I came across some article about how they are mandatory in Quebec now. The article had this though:

"It's for safety," said Paul-Jean Charest, spokesman for the Transportation Ministry of Quebec. "It's proven that 38 percent of vehicles involved in accidents in Quebec in the winter do not have winter tires. For that reason, the government says it would be better to have a law stating that all vehicles in Quebec must have winter tires."

Makes you want to point out that 62% of winter accidents involve vehicles with snow tires (vs only 38% without). I hate it when people misuse statistics.
-Chris

[MotoSook]

But it makes more sense if it's spoken in French ... and more romantic.

[Dave L]

Originally Posted by ChrisBennet

I'm a big believer in snow tires (putting some on tonight in fact). When I was researching tires for my sweetie last night I came across some article about how they are mandatory in Quebec now. The article had this though:

Makes you want to point out that 62% of winter accidents involve vehicles with snow tires (vs only 38% without). I hate it when people misuse statistics.
-Chris

Yes, however I have heard that 80% of people in Quebec used snow tires before it was legislated. So 20% of the people were involved in 38% of the accidents.

[jyl]

FYI the Nokian company makes several year-round snow tires. Meaning, they are genuine snow tires with the snowflake/mountain symbol. But they wear long enough to use on dry roads year-round. And at least one model (Nokian WR) is a low-rolling resistance tire so you don't get the lousy snow tire MPG. Expensive and probably not best choice for sporty driving, but wouldn't need two sets of wheels, storage space, etc. I'm using Nokian Hakkas on the van and they are perfectly fine in summer and in the couple of snow road trips I've taken.

[RWebb]

Originally Posted by old man neri

Is that the moon dune buggy?

Bingo!

[SLO-BOB]

Originally Posted by jyl

FYI the Nokian company makes several year-round snow tires. ...... And at least one model (Nokian WR) is a low-rolling resistance tire so you don't get the lousy snow tire MPG.

Gotta wonder if that isn't just a different kind of compromise. I get it, but I'm just getting to know the "right tool" concept as far as winter tires go. I would be reluctant to go back to a year round mentality.

The increase in rolling resistance is very noticeable. We glide a lot in our 5 spd Fit to conserve gas and we found our glide times were cut considerably. Maybe not as noticeable ona bigger car.

[rammstein]

Another convert- congratulations! My friend who just moved to Boston still needs convincing. I am going to point him to this thread.

I mean, even aside from the fact that it is infinitely safer and doesn't really cost more in the long run, it makes snowy roads genuinely FUN!!! I have had some of my greatest vehicular experiences going 5 mph on snowy back roads. (there were a few fun experiences at 0mph too)

Again, congrats on making a completely sound decison.

[notfarnow]

My e300d came with what are considered "good" all seasons, but man, they were useless... especially on a rwd.

I got a smokin' deal on a set of Blizzak WS60s with <1000 kms, and they are incredible. Not nearly as loud as winter tires I've had previously, and the traction is fantastic

About Quebec... It's 10% actually. Here's an article that quotes the stats:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/yourview/2007/12/quebec_first_province_to_make.html

Jean-Marie de Koninck, who served as the head of a provincial task force on road safety, said the change is expected to help curb winter accidents.

"There's about 10 per cent of the people right now that don't have winter tires on and they're involved in 38 per cent of the accidents on the road in the winter," he said.

[jyl]

My Nokian Hakkas (year-round snow tire) seem to be as good in snow as my wife's Bridgestone Blizzaks (winter-only snow tire). Hard to compare too precisely because different vehicles.

Reviews and feedback on the Nokians, that I've found, have been very positive. The WR is getting popular among Prius owners because of the low rolling resistance.

Originally Posted by SLO-BOB

Gotta wonder if that isn't just a different kind of compromise. I get it, but I'm just getting to know the "right tool" concept as far as winter tires go. I would be reluctant to go back to a year round mentality.

The increase in rolling resistance is very noticeable. We glide a lot in our 5 spd Fit to conserve gas and we found our glide times were cut considerably. Maybe not as noticeable ona bigger car.

[The Gaijin]

Any good third party reviews of different models/brands?

We get as much wet weather as snow around here..

[jyl]

TireRack is pretty good for reviews, if they carry the brand/model.

[CurtEgerer]

I've found the Tire Rack customer reviews to be pretty much useless, at least for snows. There is so much variability in snow/ice covered surfaces that I would challenge anyone to be able to accurately describe differences in brands of winter tires. One would need to do back-to-back tests on the same car on the same road in the same conditions.

I've driven cars on at least 6 different brands of snows (Bridgestone, General, Nokian, Cooper, Pirelli, Goodyear). The bottom line: they all kick a$$ in the snow. What is noticeable is varying performance on dry pavement, something they're not really designed for. They tend to be 'squirmy', some more than others. The Hakka 'all-year snows' that jyl talks about are probably the state of the art right now for a daily driver.

[jwasbury]

When I lived in Vermont, Nokians were the rage.

I had a set on my Subaru legacy...it was like a rally car. When I traded up for the GMC Suburban, I went with studded Hakkas. I still had trouble with my driveway though...

I don't miss Vermont winters and here in Jersey, I don't bother with snows.

If you drive in snow often, agree that snows should be mandatory...with studs if the law allows.

[quaz]

BTW they are not all season tires, they are "no season" tires. I say that because they are great in no season. OK in the dry, OK for handling, OK for wet and OK for snow, but not great for anything. There is not one all season tire I have ever been happy with.

My theory for years has been to have a great set of summer tires which have great wet and dry traction and then a great set of winter tires which are great in the snow. That being said right now on my GTI I have blizzaks and my Jetta I have dunlop snows. Both seem to perform about the same.