Snow Tire Question

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Hi All:

What designates a "snow tire" in most states?
Someone told me that the letter "W" should be present on the sidewall.

I am thinking of getting tires rated for snow use next time around as I go up to the local mountains and Central Nevada a lot. I know that finding some that will wear well on dry pavement can be difficult though.
 
Up in Nevada near Ely they hardly ever require chains if you just have snow tires on all four wheels.

If you have no snow tires you must use chains. But chains are a mess to put on or off for the sake of short drives.

A lot of places in Nevada if you drive 200 miles you will encounter two or three short mountain passes where the requirement kicks in though. Then you have 40+ miles of dry pavement till the next pass.
 
A true winter tire will have this symbol on the sidewall:

5123804219_1df95a3338_z.jpg


Winter tires are for winter use only. You don't want to be running them in the summer because they will wear out quickly due to the softer rubber compound. Many people that run winter tires will have them mounted on a set of plain steel wheels that they can swap on for the winter, then swap back to their normal wheels and tires in the spring.
 
Originally Posted By: KD0AXS
A true winter tire will have this symbol on the sidewall:

5123804219_1df95a3338_z.jpg


Winter tires are for winter use only. You don't want to be running them in the summer because they will wear out quickly due to the softer rubber compound. Many people that run winter tires will have them mounted on a set of plain steel wheels that they can swap on for the winter, then swap back to their normal wheels and tires in the spring.
+1
 
If you need winter tires that handle dry then look for performance winter flavour.
They trade ice and some snow performance for better dry and wet.
Their speed ratings are higher too (H and V).

Krzys
 
My friends call it bubble gum rubber, because it is soft. As far as I am concerned, for a true winter tire there has to be several internet post about it performing well on ice, and on ice, and on ice, and on snow.

Bridgestone Blizzaks have a heck of a great reputation.

There are now several other tires that are similar. There is one tire the Nokian Hakkapeliitta (I think it is made in Finland) (and three are more than one version) that is probably better than the Blizzak and it even is supposed too not wear fast in the summer. But in general a true winter tire has very soft rubber with special things like air bubbles and microscopic carbon cleats to cause it to grip on ice. You have to put them on late and take them off early so they don't get used on hot roads, if you want to get several years from them.

It is best to have a second set of rims, and you should always run them on all 4. A spare similar tire (could be a older one with still some treed) is a good idea if you are going to be going to remote places like out in the roads in open wooded country where you may not find help if you cant go.

My Blizziaks went on in late December and I took them off Monday two weeks ago.
 
mine came off today.

Just had the WRG2 SUV's put on my Dad's 2013 outback.

So far they are very nice. I'll be driving it abit in the summer.. hopefully they dont feel greasy or wierd ... but this isnt texas either.
 
Snow tires have the letters B L I Z Z A K stamped on the sides.

Seriously, I highly recommend them. I can't say how they hold up year after year, but this first year, terrific. I've had a couple of episodes where I wondered why the other cars were driving so cautiously on 'wet' pavement, only to realize that it was really ice. To the Blizzaks it was almost no difference.
 
I'd look for a all-season that has the Mountain and Snowflake on the sidewall. Nokian WRG2's fit the bill. The Nokian Hakka R snow tires I have are indistinguishable from premium all-seasons on dry pavement. They're quieter than the OEM tires on my Cruze, even.
 
Rand, i have the same vehicle and was going to purchase the nokians. How do they compare to the oem conti's as far as handling and road noise at highway speeds.
 
Quote:
What designates a "snow tire" in most states?
Someone told me that the letter "W" should be present on the sidewall.
Close. Almost right. W is the cold weather designation for motor oil, as in 0W-20 or 5W-30.

I don't recall if W ever was on winter tires. Maybe 50 or 60 years ago. The snowflake-on-mountain symbol requires testing on snow. The M+S (mud & snow) is a geometric description of the tread pattern that requires a certain percentage of voids in the tread, but no testing. Some M&S tires, including some all-seasons are pretty good on snow, and some are scary-bad. For your Avalon, some all seasons that come highly recommended on the tirerack web site might do the job for you with all the dry road travel you describe.
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/surveyresults/surveydisplay.jsp?type=GTAS
 
Question to all Blizzak fans: which ones are you talking about?
LM or WS? While WS shine on ice and snow they are rather poor in dry and wet and wear rather fast on dry, warm days. Speed rating R at max.

Nokians have one single problem and it is price. You can often buy other decent tires with wheels for Nokian tires price only.

Krzys
 
Originally Posted By: 11crv
Rand, i have the same vehicle and was going to purchase the nokians. How do they compare to the oem conti's as far as handling and road noise at highway speeds.


slightly more noise(not loud or drone-y)

more firmer ride.. but not harsh.

much less mushy floaty.
 
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