Snow tires.

[tatic05]

I'm not downplaying snow tires. I know that they work.

I'm not nearly as experienced driving in the snow as some - I've only been doing it 20 years. Most of my years were in/around southern Montgomery County. Better part of 5 years in Evansville (where people DO NOT KNOW HOW TO DRIVE IN SNOWY / ICY CONDITIONS) and on the south side of Indy since August of 2001.

I've only ever driven front-wheel-drive vehicles. I have only ever been stuck on a road/street once in my time driving. One other time I got stuck was in my un-shoveled drive way when I was 19 or so. Snow packed up under the lower engine cover just enough to keep the tires from having any purchase. The other time I got stuck it was in a residential 'hood north of Murphy's Landing. Unplowed after 6-7 hours of steady snowfall. Had to stop to drop someone off at home. If I would've been able to keep going, I'd have been just fine.

Where I've lived - I've certainly never "needed" snow tires. As long as my regular tires have been and are in good condition - I don't think that the vast majority of Hoosiers need them.

I know that folks further south of Columbus seem to get more ice than those north. I'm not sure how much snow tires would help on ice as it is.

Blizzard conditions as we had in central IN last winter - snow tires or not - most cars weren't going anywhere anyhow until the streets were plowed.

My own personal opinion is that the overwhelming majority of folks in Indiana just don't need snow tires. Better tires - sure - but not snow tires.

No people don't need snow tires, but some people don't need a scope to hit a target at 200 yards either. Having a nice scope will make it easier if you know what your doing. Having a nice set of snow tires will make it easier if you know how to drive.

 

[Brian Ski]

Use only four.

from Tirebusiness.com
In December 1995, Robert and Marsha Worlock went to a Les Schwab Tire Centers outlet in Newberg, Ore., to purchase tires for their DIn December 1995, Robert and Marsha Worlock went to a Les Schwab Tire Centers outlet in Newberg, Ore., to purchase tires for their Dodge Caravan. Despite the fact that a sign in the dealership and an employee both recommended studs be placed on all four tires, the Worlocks purchased only two Hercules Polar Trax studded snow tires for the front wheel positions, according to Mr. Brothers.
On Jan. 13, 1996, Mr. Worlock lost control of his van while negotiating a curve on Route 20 near Santiam Pass. As the vehicle spun out of control, it crossed into oncoming traffic and collided with Kathryn Nelson's car, Mr. Brothers said. Both Ms. Nelson and her daughter, Christiana Nelson, who were going to visit relatives, were killed instantly. Christiana Nelson's baby, who was riding in the back seat of the car, survived the accident, Mr. Brothers said.

I think this is more of an idiot driving fast on snow/ice. Just because he bought snow tires does not mean he can do 55 on snow. (like he thought) Studded tires are not going to make the wheels grip the road much more than other tires. Just like people who drive 4wds think the can drive highway speeds on ice. Sure you can, but you are not going to stop any better than anyone else.

 

[Opie]

Bridgestone Blizzak WS70 tires are going on clearance as the new version (WS80) was just released. The WS70 is still a great tire if its made in your size. You can probably find them for the same price as entry level winter tires.

As recommended by others either replace all 4 or none at all. Its not a big deal to get stuck, you are unlikely to die from frostbite and you can get help fairly easily these days. I care if you are not able to stop or lose traction and spin out of control, that's where you or your family could be injured and is what you want to avoid.

If you only replace two tires you are making the grip different from front to back and that could cause more problems than running 4 all- seasons if you lose control in an emergency situation.

I just retired a set of Continental Extremewintercontacts and am going to Blizzak WS80 on my wife's car in December.

 

[jfw46544]

I think this is more of an idiot driving fast on snow/ice. Just because he bought snow tires does not mean he can do 55 on snow. (like he thought) Studded tires are not going to make the wheels grip the road much more than other tires. Just like people who drive 4wds think the can drive highway speeds on ice. Sure you can, but you are not going to stop any better than anyone else.

"I think this is more of an idiot driving on snow/ ice. ". Which means that we really don't know.

"Just because he bought snow tires does not mean he can do 55 on snow. (like he thought)". Not sure how you would know what he thought. Can you cite your source?

i have had the opportunity to drive on vehicles back to back with all season tires, 4 snow tires and a combination of 2 snows and 2 all season tires. Once you have tried that it makes a believer out of one.

i have used 4 snows on my vehicle since the 80's. My wife and daughters have them for their vehicles as I want them safe.

 

[ghuns]

Studded tires are not going to make the wheels grip the road much more than other tires.

Uh, yes they do. Snow tires without studs will grip way better than all season tires.

The wreck described is a perfect example of what happens when two snow tires are installed on a FWD drive. The snow tires did their job and provided grip as the van went around a curve. The rear tires could not match that grip and the van spins out.

Sure you can, but you are not going to stop any better than anyone else.

Stopping distance on snow is improved dramatically by snow tires. On ice, the improvement is not as great, but still significant. I have seen the guys at TireRack driving on a hockey rink to prove this.

 

[Brian Ski]

Uh, yes they do. Snow tires without studs will grip way better than all season tires.

Stopping distance on snow is improved dramatically by snow tires. On ice, the improvement is not as great, but still significant. I have seen the guys at TireRack driving on a hockey rink to prove this.

I meant studded tires will not make much more of a difference than non studded snow tires. I run snows with studs for about the last 20 years. Normally I run them on the front. Used to run 4 tires with studs. On a sheet of ice they may be a little better than my normal tires but not much, you will slide the same. I drive a truck so my summer tires are a little more aggressive than most. No monster tires. Seems to just waste money.

Been down at Tire rack since Veldman opened it. Pretty decent guy, too bad he passed. Been driving professionally on the road for 3 decades. Most of the people that have gotten in trouble in winter were driving to fast for conditions.

 

[ghuns]

I meant studded tires will not make much more of a difference than non studded snow tires.

Got it. My reading comprehension jess ain't what it used to be.

Most of the people that have gotten in trouble in winter were driving to fast for conditions.

No doubt about that.

Here's a video I mentioned...

[video=youtube_share;GlYEMH10Z4s]http://youtu.be/GlYEMH10Z4s[/video]

Notice the stopping distance from 10MPH is 50% less with a studless winter tire compared to an all season. That is HUGE when it's as cold as last winter and ice is everywhere. I had a close call last winter in my car with all seasons. I was approaching a stop sign where a county road crosses SR 19 south of Elkhart. I was going slow to begin with as conditions were really bad. My car is a stick, so well back from the stop sign, I downshifted and got down to around 10MPH and lightly pressed the brake. The last 50 or so feet before the intersection was solid ice. Even with ABS and traction control, I started to slide. I quickly steered the car to the right so the passenger side tires got off the icy road and into the foot deep snow along the side of it, and hit the brakes again, stopping just in time.

I was running a brand new set of Continental ExtremeContact DWS tires. These are all season tires, but are very highly rated for winter traction. My car has AWD so it goes like hell in snow, but the stopping distance advantage that winter tires give you is something I really miss.

 

[Brandon]

I have a set of snow tires for my M5 and the difference is huge.

M5 won't be seeing the roads this winter - back to driving the truck in the bad months.

 

[philo]

I was going to suggest tire chains. I've seen prices from $70-$300 for a pair. Do you happen to know your brand and model? $30 for a set that works is pretty good.

This is the style I got. They come in several sizes from small car tire to trucks. This is the first link I found, so I didn't even check the size out, but there are a lot out there. The cable link chains are sufficient for the snow we've had. If I lived in an area with feet of snow lasting for months, I might upgrade.

Security Chain SC1030 Radial Chain Tire Chains Passenger Car | eBay

 

[Brian Ski]

I was approaching a stop sign where a county road crosses SR 19 south of Elkhart. I was going slow to begin with as conditions were really bad. My car is a stick, so well back from the stop sign, I downshifted and got down to around 10MPH and lightly pressed the brake. The last 50 or so feet before the intersection was solid ice. Even with ABS and traction control, I started to slide.

Know the area well... I drive all over the place. People slide as they get up to a stop. As the morning goes on, more and more slide glazing the road into super slick. Maybe the trucks will hit it with sand. Don't even think studs would help. When the state calls it a road emergency they still send us out. I can get the job done, but when it comes to snow and ice I slow way down. I will let someone else fly past me. Just not worth it.

Take care guy!!!

 

[Brian Ski]

BTW not much of a tire chain guy. Never used them. I think they are good for a short time limited used. Had a friend that had one let loose. Tore up his car. Whipped around and scraped and dinged up the fender. Heard they can wear tires if you leave them on long term. I bet they would work really good if you have a good set.

 

[6mm Shoot]

I ordered the rims I think three days ago and was told that it wold be 10 days to get them. They came yesterday. I was shocked. One thing that I didn't know about them. The bolt pattern is made so it will fit any car. They have 10 holes in them. Other than that they look fine. I will check tomorrow to see if they fit.

I called our local Nissan dealer to see what it would cost to put the TMS system in each tire and was given a price of $250 a tire. I checked the price of the system at AutoZone and I can pick it up for $38 for each tire. Then I still have to have the dealer put them into the computer. I have no idea what that is going to cost. I am going to try and get them to take care of it when I get my next oil change.

 

[Brandon]

I wouldn't worry about the TMS for them. It may have a stupid screen come up on the dash letting you know it doesn't have anything but if you don't need to spend the $$ for it I wouldn't.

 

[7urtle]

are chains legal in IN? theyre illegal in Il?

 

[7urtle]

I ordered the rims I think three days ago and was told that it wold be 10 days to get them. They came yesterday. I was shocked. One thing that I didn't know about them. The bolt pattern is made so it will fit any car. They have 10 holes in them. Other than that they look fine. I will check tomorrow to see if they fit.

I called our local Nissan dealer to see what it would cost to put the TMS system in each tire and was given a price of $250 a tire. I checked the price of the system at AutoZone and I can pick it up for $38 for each tire. Then I still have to have the dealer put them into the computer. I have no idea what that is going to cost. I am going to try and get them to take care of it when I get my next oil change.

sears will do it cheaper than dealer

 

[brandonq2]

Check with your local tire store. I know Firestone had a policy that they would swap winter and summer tires free of charge for 2 years if you purchased winter tires from them.

 

[bluewraith]

I ordered the rims I think three days ago and was told that it wold be 10 days to get them. They came yesterday. I was shocked. One thing that I didn't know about them. The bolt pattern is made so it will fit any car. They have 10 holes in them. Other than that they look fine. I will check tomorrow to see if they fit.

I called our local Nissan dealer to see what it would cost to put the TMS system in each tire and was given a price of $250 a tire. I checked the price of the system at AutoZone and I can pick it up for $38 for each tire. Then I still have to have the dealer put them into the computer. I have no idea what that is going to cost. I am going to try and get them to take care of it when I get my next oil change.

Most major tire shops can program the tpms sensors for you anymore. A quick Google search of your car may even have steps you can do at home.

 

[Car Ramrod]

tatic05 the Rogue is front wheel drive so I will be putting them on the front.

It's just as important to have good tires on the rear, non-drive wheels as it is to have them in the front.

 

[88E30M50]

I run dedicated snows on a couple of my vehicles. In each case, I ordered them from TireRack.com already mounted on steel wheels. I used to run a dedicated set of snows on my Tundra but have not bought a set for my F150 yet. If you want a really capable winter vehicle, get a Subaru and put an aggressive set of snows on it. The thing will go nearly anywhere.

If you are going to do snows, do all 4 wheels. Snow tires are as important for stopping as they are for getting going. Putting snows on only the rear wheels is giving you no additional stopping ability. If you have a front drive car, putting snows on only the front can affect the handling if the front and rear tires have different levels of grip.

 

[Car Ramrod]

I run dedicated snows on a couple of my vehicles. In each case, I ordered them from TireRack.com already mounted on steel wheels. I used to run a dedicated set of snows on my Tundra but have not bought a set for my F150 yet. If you want a really capable winter vehicle, get a Subaru and put an aggressive set of snows on it. The thing will go nearly anywhere.

If you are going to do snows, do all 4 wheels. Snow tires are as important for stopping as they are for getting going. Putting snows on only the rear wheels is giving you no additional stopping ability. If you have a front drive car, putting snows on only the front can affect the handling if the front and rear tires have different levels of grip.

If you are only going to do two tires, regardless of FWD or RWD, the newer tires should always go in the rear. However, ideally, it is best to always put four tires on when possible, especially specialty tires like snows.


I agree with the Subaru remark.