When to put snows on

[gaijinnv]

Originally Posted By: BRZED
Originally Posted By: rslifkin
Originally Posted By: cat843
On one vehicle I have M&S tires year round. A little noisy, but no keeping extra tires hanging around.


M&S rating is commonly seen on all seasons. That's not the same as actual snow tires.
Yes, true snowtires perform a lot better in snow and under cold conditions than do M+S tires. Real snowtires sport the mountain with a snowflake symbol.

My year-round tires are M+S with the snowflake:

They come in handy this time of year:

 

[BRZED]

Originally Posted By: gaijinnv
My year-round tires are M+S with the snowflake:

That makes them true snow tires. Most AS tires have the M+S rating but not the mountain and snowflake symbol. M+S tires are suitable for mud and slush, but they are not as good at very low temperatures or in snow as snow tires.

 

[dblshock]

12/1 - 4/1 ,that's the meat of the problem here.

 

[Rand]

The mountain snowflake symbol is very easy to achieve its only 10% better traction than a reference tire.

most winter tires surpass that by a huge margin.


M+S is just tread geometry and totally worthless.

 

[Scum_Frog]

General rule is, its time to swap to "winter tires" when the daytime temps are averaging 7C. That is 44.6F for you US folks

Agree with others that the Mountain Snowflake symbol is what you want on a winter tire, not M&S.

 

[Tundragod]

I'm swapping it tonight after work. My temperature to watch is under 47F for US folks.

 

[a2gtinut]

I switch around thanksgiving

 

[Quattro Pete]

Ugh... 8 inches of snow forecasted for this Saturday. I'm sure the tire shop will be a zoo when I get there on Sat.

 

[edyvw]

Originally Posted By: Quattro Pete
Ugh... 8 inches of snow forecasted for this Saturday. I'm sure the tire shop will be a zoo when I get there on Sat.

Few days ago (Monday, day before blizzard) went to check whether DT got my wheels, and tehre was like 50 people in line. I was like: h e l l NO!

 

[supton]

Yep. On my truck I find it a pain to lift--but I can put wheels on in the same 2 hours of sitting. Plus I do kinda/sorta have the option of only putting on the rear snows if I wanted to be real lazy.

Still debating when I want to put them on. Dec-April is 5 months and 10-15kmiles. I guess I'd have one more winter left out of the iPikes, worse things in life. Might just do it over Thanksgiving, after I get the alignment checked. Do a pad slap on the brakes too.

 

[Grambo]

Originally Posted By: a2gtinut
I switch around thanksgiving


+1

 

[rslifkin]

I won't know for sure for another few days, but it's looking like I might be able to get away with leaving the summers on for my Thanksgiving trip. As long as there's no risk of snow in Rochester or along the southern tier of NY on either of my travel days, I should be good to go.

 

[gaijinnv]

Originally Posted By: rslifkin
I won't know for sure for another few days, but it's looking like I might be able to get away with leaving the summers on for my Thanksgiving trip. As long as there's no risk of snow in Rochester or along the southern tier of NY on either of my travel days, I should be good to go.


No such luck around here - perfect timing:

 

[Traction]

Was hoping for later. Just put on 4 sets today, plus mine. Up to 10 inches right across the middle of Iowa tomorrow.

 

[Lubener]

Get off your keester, don't talk about it, just do it.

 

[Lapham3]

Put them on before the snow, but people being people wait until it snows and then the tire shops are a zoo with all the customers and then an employee or two would pick that time to be 'sick' or quit. This 45 years years ago from my tire shop experience-probably about the same today.

 

[SwampSurvivor]

I usually just put them on myself

 

[rslifkin]

Originally Posted By: Miller88
I usually just put them on myself


Same here. Mine are stacked up (and mounted on wheels), waiting for me to need them. Takes no more than an hour to drag the jack and tires outside and swap them over.

 

[Quattro Pete]

Originally Posted By: Miller88
I usually just put them on myself

I do that on my car, too. But on wife's SUV, I just let the shop do it for $20. Those wheels are larger and heavier, so I don't feel like wrestling with them at this age.

 

[edyvw]

Finally arrived: