Snow tires VS winter tires??

[OVERKILL]

Originally Posted By: Ken2
I have snow tires. Hankook Winter i*cept evo. Good in snow.

On ice?...missing in action. The three different Blizzak models I've used in the past were all better on ice and equally good in snow. Next time Blizzak.

For the driver with snows only on the front--that worked for my wife's cousin until she was turning and ran across an icy spot part way through the turn. She didn't like riding in an Acura pinwheel.


Yup, this is my view on the iPike. Great in snow (had it out today in several inches, no problems!) but less than stellar performance on ice. I'm going with XIce 3's next year.

 

[edyvw]

Originally Posted By: OVERKILL
Originally Posted By: Ken2
I have snow tires. Hankook Winter i*cept evo. Good in snow.

On ice?...missing in action. The three different Blizzak models I've used in the past were all better on ice and equally good in snow. Next time Blizzak.

For the driver with snows only on the front--that worked for my wife's cousin until she was turning and ran across an icy spot part way through the turn. She didn't like riding in an Acura pinwheel.


Yup, this is my view on the iPike. Great in snow (had it out today in several inches, no problems!) but less than stellar performance on ice. I'm going with XIce 3's next year.

Yesterday went to ski to A-Basin here in CO. The blizzard started while we were skiing and they shut down I-70. Taking I-70 when it snows is really bad idea due to people who drive on AS tires etc.
So we took Hoosier pass (12,400ft) back to the Springs. There was probably 3-4 inches of fresh snow on the road, and with Blizzaks WS-70, no issue at all passing slower cars, though I was with VW Tiguan that has AWD.
What I like with Blizzaks is huge gap between tread blocks, so no issue in slush and fresh snow.

 

[OVERKILL]

So we've got several inches of snow today and the roads are a mess. Was just out in the Charger to my parent's place (and saw an accident right before we left the house) as my wife had taken the Expedition to work.

As I neared my parent's place, there was a Focus in the middle of the road on the side street that couldn't make the intersection. She backed up, and then still couldn't go forward. I stopped behind her, and she waved me around, so I went by her without issue and up to the same intersection that she was stuck at, and then pulled out onto my parent's street. No drama.

Yet another example of the effectiveness of snow tires over All Season tires (she looked like she had the OEM tires on it, Focus was relatively new) and that a RWD with snows is significantly better than a FWD with all season rubber.

 

[edyvw]

Originally Posted By: OVERKILL
So we've got several inches of snow today and the roads are a mess. Was just out in the Charger to my parent's place (and saw an accident right before we left the house) as my wife had taken the Expedition to work.

As I neared my parent's place, there was a Focus in the middle of the road on the side street that couldn't make the intersection. She backed up, and then still couldn't go forward. I stopped behind her, and she waved me around, so I went by her without issue and up to the same intersection that she was stuck at, and then pulled out onto my parent's street. No drama.

Yet another example of the effectiveness of snow tires over All Season tires (she looked like she had the OEM tires on it, Focus was relatively new) and that a RWD with snows is significantly better than a FWD with all season rubber.

Well, when I drive over this pass I see actually a lot of drama, mostly pick-up trucks whose drivers think they are just untouchable in this weather, and cars with AS tires.
I seriously cannot understand that mentality.

 

[krzyss]

I was driving Merritt Parkway, I-91, I-84 yesterday (NY->CT->MA).
All white surface.
FWD Volvo S40 was quite stable at 45-50MPH. We have Xice Xi3. Some cars were struggling uphill on the parkway, likely making below 30MPH.

Interesting drive.

Krzys

 

[SwampSurvivor]

Last night, I drove 65 miles in some pretty hard snow on unplowed roads. The Focus (with snow tires) was handling it pretty well. No issues passing pretty much everyone. A few people did pass me but they started sliding pretty good. This was on the NYS Thruway.

When I got back to the city, I had to meet a friend on top of a pretty steep hill. Passed 2 stuck SUVs (AWD Rav4 and AWD CR-V) and a 4x4 F150. I barely got passed them on the hill, but I did. No doubt if any of them had good snow tire installed, they would have walked up right by me in the Focus!

 

[Rand]

We had some interesting weather here. Only thing interesting for me was the slop that looked like salted slush but was refrozen into black ice underneath. I had some tire slippage but stopped at the redlight easily. I was afraid of being rear-ended.. but apparently I met one of the 1%'ers in ohio (who know how to drive) and there was no drama.

The hyundai accent with the michelin xice xi2 (4th winter on them) was excellent as well. You get funny looks passing Jeeps with mudtires that are stuck on the ice at a hill... with a tiny accent that is plowing the snow on the deep ruts.

 

[SwampSurvivor]

Jeeps with mud tires don't go in the ice at all. Or hard packed snow. They don't stop either. Found that last bit out the hard way after I slid backwards down a hill.

 

[IndyIan]

Originally Posted By: OVERKILL
Originally Posted By: Ken2
I have snow tires. Hankook Winter i*cept evo. Good in snow.

On ice?...missing in action. The three different Blizzak models I've used in the past were all better on ice and equally good in snow. Next time Blizzak.

For the driver with snows only on the front--that worked for my wife's cousin until she was turning and ran across an icy spot part way through the turn. She didn't like riding in an Acura pinwheel.


Yup, this is my view on the iPike. Great in snow (had it out today in several inches, no problems!) but less than stellar performance on ice. I'm going with XIce 3's next year.

I don't think I would bother with the switch to XIce's. Tire rack has my yoko IG52c tires rated about equal to the XIce 3 and I find that ice is still ice, and still offers a small fraction of the grip that snow does. Next time I will be going back to a better snow tire as I find the compromises made for good ice grip aren't worth it in my driving atleast.

 

[OVERKILL]

Originally Posted By: IndyIan
Originally Posted By: OVERKILL
Originally Posted By: Ken2
I have snow tires. Hankook Winter i*cept evo. Good in snow.

On ice?...missing in action. The three different Blizzak models I've used in the past were all better on ice and equally good in snow. Next time Blizzak.

For the driver with snows only on the front--that worked for my wife's cousin until she was turning and ran across an icy spot part way through the turn. She didn't like riding in an Acura pinwheel.


Yup, this is my view on the iPike. Great in snow (had it out today in several inches, no problems!) but less than stellar performance on ice. I'm going with XIce 3's next year.

I don't think I would bother with the switch to XIce's. Tire rack has my yoko IG52c tires rated about equal to the XIce 3 and I find that ice is still ice, and still offers a small fraction of the grip that snow does. Next time I will be going back to a better snow tire as I find the compromises made for good ice grip aren't worth it in my driving atleast.


I found them phenomenal on my sister's 330i (different car, I know)

 

[benjy]

tire technology is worlds ahead of the old days!! real winter tyres with the snowflake are best in areas that get a decent amount of snowfall. some all season but winter tyres say mud + snow rated but are not the real deal. you want the narrowest winter tires that correctly fit your ride. using smaller diameter tires + wheels with a taller profile to match the original diameter is best, but as long as all 4 are the same your OK. beware AWD vehicles that even using your doughnut improperly can cause damage like mismatched tyres can. winter tyres have softer "rubber" as well as aggressive thread patterns for snow + cold

 

[Joel_MD]

I'm old enough to remember my dad (born in '42) putting snow tires on the rear of our big Buicks/Oldsmobiles back in the '70s. We lived in the Minneapolis area. When dad started buying all-season radial tires for these cars in the late '70s he stopped using snow tires, and he said that all-seasons were better in the snow than bias ply snow tires.

So I grew up with dad's words in my mind, thinking all I need are all-season tires. However, I've seen enough touting of the benefits of modern winter tires that I'm planning to use them next season on my Saab. My plan is to put summer performance tires on a set of new 17" wheels, and taking the Pirelli P6 all-seasons off of the 16" factory rims and replacing them with winter tires. I'll use the winter tires from December to March and go back to the summer tires for the rest of the year.

The one downside to the winter tires is reduced tread life. My brother-in-law uses the mandated winter tires in Montreal and said he's lucky to get two seasons out of them.

 

[Traction]

Back when they started marketing "All Season" tires, they actually worked that way. BUT, they were only 4.5 inches wide with lots of sipping much like winter tires now. But, most vehicles now ,the tires are like 8 inches wide, or more. Most new tires now would have made great race tires 30 years ago. They call everything all season anymore, which means little. As far as winter tire wear, our 07 Camry at 180,000 miles is only halfway through the second set of Bizzaks, and halfway on the third set of summer tires. Driving winter tire gently on dry pavement helps. You can drive the [censored] out of them in the snow though with no wear. If using all season I would be on the 5th set now anyway, because I would have replaced them sooner to gain winter traction. Winter tires are cheap compared to a crash.