Snow tires off soon...

[rjundi]

If temps are not above 50F which New England they very rarely are your winter tires are not really wearing that much. Not sure what you'll gain changing to all-seasons since they will wear also.

I have lucked out not using winter tires. I cheaped two years back with ContiExtreme Contact DWS which are well worn now (the S stamped in tread is actually nearly worn off which means not suitable for snow). I normally run Nokian WR tires but $200 more.

My Acura MDX seems okay running the OEM Michelin's. The whole thing with TMPS, oversized wheels on modern cars and no steelies makes winter tires a $$$$ purchase.

 

[ron917]

Originally Posted By: ARCOgraphite
I gotta get a FEL - my Fit goes left with the wheel pointed right. I Didnt hit ANYThING so i dont know whats up with that. Im not running TPMS on the frobnt so my tpms is on and traction control is in full force and non defeatable.


What tires are on your Fit? The stock Dunlops are truly horrible tires in any condition, so bad that they should be illegal. My son's 2011 Fit is dramatically better to drive with the Altimax Arctics on it than the stock tires, and the Traction Control doesn't cause so much trouble.

The stock tires are not going back on that car, UPS dropped off new tires & rims on Friday. General somethings on really nice looking rims. Forget what they are, the kid bought and paid for them himself.

Unplugging the ABS controller will defeat Traction Control. Not that I would recommend that for street use, you probably open yourself up for liability in case of a crash.

 

[Kestas]

Originally Posted By: Oil Changer
I prefer a small government and State's rights, but would not challenge a law to make winter tires mandatory in states that experience frigid temperatures; the tires are that much better.

I believe Quebec has made it mandatory. Can anybody confirm?

 

[sciphi]

Originally Posted By: Kestas
Originally Posted By: Oil Changer
I prefer a small government and State's rights, but would not challenge a law to make winter tires mandatory in states that experience frigid temperatures; the tires are that much better.

I believe Quebec has made it mandatory. Can anybody confirm?


They have. I forget the dates running winter tires is mandatory.

 

[Rand]

I would but I have to store the tires in the basement 50ft away and a bad narrow flight of steps.(old house)

If the tires were stored in the garage I would have flipped them 3 weeks ago.

I know as soon as I do.. We will get that mid-late feb foot dumper.

 

[Stewart Fan]

I'll probably change mine out this week. The weather has been crazy all over the country. 2 weeks ago,Seattle got the most snowfall in almost 20 years. We had 18" at out house. The past 3-4 days the temps have been in the low 60s.

 

[ARCOgraphite]

Originally Posted By: Kestas
Arco, I believe what you're experiencing is called "torque steer". It's the result of unequal length drive shafts. Some FWD cars have it designed out of the car. The cheaper ones don't.
Im a former racer, and this is not torque steer. The FIT has an extreme negative scrub radius designed in to the geometry to erase any feedback from acceleration or braking. Also came with positive camber up front. I def have a geometry problem but it may be hard to trace down. The unit body may have tweeked during run in. Gotta get it on a rack. The Tie rod end are so jammed up I cant adjust the toe out in the garage. EPS is calibratible and "wheel feel" varies with the ECU analysis of intended operation be it driving with a sporting bent or just economy commuting and touring.

 

[ARCOgraphite]

Originally Posted By: ron917
...
Unplugging the ABS controller will defeat Traction Control. Not that I would recommend that for street use, you probably open yourself up for liability in case of a crash.
Thank you . Never head a thing

Now, where is that fuse?

Actually the TC is keeping me from spinning the tires when i get [censored] off. Also in snow slush Im learing to get about lugging in second gear at low speeds to not invoke the TC. Waiting to get stuck in deep snow, then there will be a lawsuit for the undefeatable traction control dissallowing me to proceed into the intersection safely and the accident that naturally followed.

 

[R2d2]

I haven't even had to put my new Blizzaks on yet, after last years winter I was sure I would have too. I wrapped mine in plastic and put them in the basement.

 

[Turbodog]

I don't dare drive around WY without snow tires in the winter...but I still have only seen two days with snow covered roads this season. Either way, they're staying on because I'm betting on some heavy spring dumps.

 

[Hokiefyd]

I firmly believe so-called "winter tires" should indeed really be called "snow tires" because even all-season tires will out-perform winter tires on dry and wet pavement down to REAL cold temperatures, much colder than the 45*F that is often used as the change-over temperature.

Check out this 2009 Car & Driver winter tire test:

http://www.caranddriver.com/comparisons/2009-winter-tire-test-comparison-tests

They tested four Michelin tires: the Pilot Sport A/S, the Pilot HX MXM4, the Pilot Alpin PA3, and the X-Ice Xi2.

Even on 23*F pavement, the two all-season tires handily out-stopped and out-cornered the two winter tires. In fact, on 23*F pavement, wet or dry, the performance of the "winter tire" X-Ice Xi2 was embarassing compared with the two all-season tires. It took an extra 35 feet to stop on wet 23*F pavement and an extra 30 feet to stop on dry 23*F pavement. The Pilot Alpin PA3 was the best-performing of the two winter tires, but still fell short of the all-season tires on anything but snow-covered roads.

No, I fully believe these really are "snow tires", and they do compromise wet/dry traction in favor of snow traction. Either that, or Michelin's two all-season tires in this test are out-of-the-ordinary good on colder pavement.

So how cold does it really have to get for a winter tire to out-perform an all-season tire on wet/dry pavement?

 

[Bladecutter]

Faulty logic.

Just because one company has one all season tire that out performs its snow tires in dry and wet cold weather braking doesn't mean that every other all season tire in the market does the same.

BC.

 

[leeharvey418]

True enough - but it effectively demonstrates that not every all-season tire magically turns into a concrete block at 45°F.

 

[daves87rs]

Originally Posted By: Oil Changer
Originally Posted By: NHGUY
When I dont mount the snows,the weather goes to junk fast.When I take them off early,they have to go back on almost immediately.Snow tires are a fact of life,and an expense that needs to be spent in New England especially.Besides,if you try to save the tread by leaving them off the majority of the winter,they will dry rot before the tread runs down anyway.Trying to get 4-5 years out of snows is futile.


I agree with this 100%. You are being responsible and doing the correct thing by using winter tires on your vehicles.

Yes, it is yet another added expense to automobile ownership but you are safer and others are safer with their use.

Leave them on until spring. When they wear out, buy a new set.

I prefer a small government and State's rights, but would not challenge a law to make winter tires mandatory in states that experience frigid temperatures; the tires are that much better.

The driving experience is much better when using dedicated winter and summer tires. I no longer buy all-season tires.

I learned this when I first took the winter tire plunge a few years back. My tires were due for replacement, but winter was near. I rode them until the weather changed and bought winter tires. The difference from previous winters was dramatic to say the least. Come spring, I installed summer tires. The difference again was above words.



So true..

 

[Rand]

So I was considering removing mine but last night it was 27 and icy.. due to snow melt.

 

[Hokiefyd]

Originally Posted By: Bladecutter
Faulty logic.

Just because one company has one all season tire that out performs its snow tires in dry and wet cold weather braking doesn't mean that every other all season tire in the market does the same.


You are correct, but it goes both ways: it's also faulty logic to suggest that all-season tires are categorically inferior at colder temperatures, even when there is no snow or ice.

There are few absolutes in the world of tires. On snow and ice, there's no question that so-called winter tires are superior. But even on very cold pavement, if the surface is not covered with snow or ice, winter tires do not necessarily provide a benefit, and all-season tires are not necessarily inferior. The Car & Driver test demonstrates the opposite.

 

[Rand]

not that I'm disagreeing but really it would depend on the exact snow tire and road condition.. vs an exact model all season.

otherwise no matter what anyone says you could find constant exceptions to it.

 

[SubLGT]

From Consumer Reports testing of ice braking:
"The graph shows the average stopping distances of the 23 all-season, 13 all-terrain, and 12 winter tires fitted to our Chevrolet Tahoe. The bracket within each category bar shows the range of stopping distances among the best and worst models. On average, winter tires make good on their claim, stopping shorter than all-season and all-terrain models that promise to have similar performance. But as the range shows, some winter tires stop no better than some better-gripping all-season and all-terrain tires. Incidentally, the longest stopping all-season tire was also the one with least snow traction grip. Overall, the best gripping winter tire stopped near an impressive 25 feet; the worst performer took over 47 feet. That's a 22-foot difference or well more than a car length. We can only imagine what that difference would be at higher speeds."

http://news.consumerreports.org/cars/2011/03/truck-tire-testing-update-stopping-on-ice-ice-baby.html

IMO, as a general rule winter tires will outperform AS tires on icy pavement, but there will be exceptions to the rule, as the above test from CR demonstrates. But if CR had done their ice braking test at 30mph instead of 10mph I believe they would have seen much more differentiation between the AS, AT, and winter tires.

 

[sciphi]

Another reason for me to leave them on came this morning on my commute when a light snow had transformed into a very slick ice sheet from the passing cars. I almost slipped in the parking lot at work, but the car gripped the ice just fine.

 

[SubLGT]

From CR testing of snow acceleration:

"As the graph below shows, winter tires are your best bet for getting through snow...............................[but there can be exceptions to this general rule]
...................For instance, we observed one H- and V-speed rated all-season tire model that excelled in our test, rivaling the snow traction performance of many winter tires. In contrast, there were some models that should be avoided if you drive in wintry conditions."

http://news.consumerreports.org/cars/201...-car-tires.html