Tire place refused to sell just 2 snow tires

[heavyhitter]

Nayov,
That Fontier with some weight in the back will get around great. Do you still have the OEM General tires?

I have a 2007 2wd extended cab of that truck and it did great in the snow. A 2001 version of the same truck sucked bad. No I have a 2009 4door 4wd Frontier and I am not looking back.

That is a good truck and will serve you well for years to come. A full tank of gass and 3-4 sand bags and you can really get around in your Fronty.

 

[Nayov]

Yup, it's a great truck. It has ABLS and gets around amazingly well in the snow. Plus, it's rather heavy. As to the tires, they are putting a pair of Gen Altimax Artics on Monday.

 

[Maritime Storm]

Originally Posted By: rpn453

I was actually surprised that Canadian Tire sold me two studded Goodyear Nordics today on loose rims with no questions asked, and no recommendation that they be used on the rear. However, I had no doubt that they'd sell them to me if I explained that I had two other studded tires in decent condition for the front. It says right on their sign that if only two tires are purchased, they must be installed on the back.


Actually they aren't allowed to only sell you 2 unless you already have 2 on you're vehicle. We were sued 2 years ago because some idiot refused to put 4 snows on a FWD car, she put 2 on the front and consequent was T-boned sliding sideways through an intersection.

 

[Lorenzo]

Originally Posted By: demarpaint
I learned to drive in the 70's on RWD cars, I put snows in the back and managed to get around just fine.
Back in the '70s we thought polyester Hagger slacks were great and built our homes with lead paint and asbestos.

 

[grampi]

What good does it do by putting snow tires on the rear of a FWD vehicle?

 

[labman]

Better braking. Lock up the rears and you can go sideways. For RWD, snows on the front also improve steering. I have my doubts how much good they do. Unless they are studded, snow tires aren't that much better on ice than a good all season. I seldom manage to get out before the roads are packed down to ice, or at least polished to perfection a few hundred feed back from intersections.

I think the old bias ply tires used to roll the snow into balls with their tread squirm. The radials pack it down into smooth ice.

 

[PandaBear]

Originally Posted By: grampi
What good does it do by putting snow tires on the rear of a FWD vehicle?


Preventing fishtail, just like putting new tires on the rear

Had the same problem that they won't install a tire less than 5/32 on a wheel. Heck, I'm just trying to use an old spare to replace one worn out tire out of a set of 4 worn out tires.

They say they can get their franchise revoked if they install it, same at Walmart, and in the end they tell me to bring it to a gas station that also does repair.

 

[Nayov]

Originally Posted By: labman
I have my doubts how much good they do.


The big difference is that snows have a softer compound resulting in better flex and contact with the snowy road surface; all-seasons are stiff in the cold weather.

 

[grampi]

I've never seen the need to go to snows anyway. I've never had a problem running all seasons. If the road are bad enough to need snow tires, you probably shouldn't be out driving on them anyway.

 

[KrisZ]

Originally Posted By: grampi
I've never seen the need to go to snows anyway. I've never had a problem running all seasons. If the road are bad enough to need snow tires, you probably shouldn't be out driving on them anyway.


And you could run bald tires in winter and never have problems either, but that's not the point. The point in using winter tires, is much better grip and stability in emergency situations, where few extra feet in braking can mean an accident or just a stressful moment. Plus, the advantage is not only reserved to emergency situations, in general the car has much more grip and stability in deep snow, slush and ice.

I have few people at work that think exactly the same way, commenting on how they don't need winter tires, without ever driving a car with winter tires in the first place. One of them installed a set last winter, since his son was going to use the car he asked my opinion, I basically said the same thing i said here, and he bought a set. Well, guess what? He no longer says he doesn't need winter tires, he noticed the benefits, and I suggest the same to you.

 

[grampi]

Originally Posted By: KrisZ
Originally Posted By: grampi
I've never seen the need to go to snows anyway. I've never had a problem running all seasons. If the road are bad enough to need snow tires, you probably shouldn't be out driving on them anyway.


And you could run bald tires in winter and never have problems either, but that's not the point. The point in using winter tires, is much better grip and stability in emergency situations, where few extra feet in braking can mean an accident or just a stressful moment. Plus, the advantage is not only reserved to emergency situations, in general the car has much more grip and stability in deep snow, slush and ice.

I have few people at work that think exactly the same way, commenting on how they don't need winter tires, without ever driving a car with winter tires in the first place. One of them installed a set last winter, since his son was going to use the car he asked my opinion, I basically said the same thing i said here, and he bought a set. Well, guess what? He no longer says he doesn't need winter tires, he noticed the benefits, and I suggest the same to you.


I guess since I've never ran winter tires I have nothing to compare the all seasons to. Maybe if I did I would realize the difference.

 

[rpn453]

Originally Posted By: grampi
I've never seen the need to go to snows anyway. I've never had a problem running all seasons. If the road are bad enough to need snow tires, you probably shouldn't be out driving on them anyway.


If you were here, you'd certainly save a lot of money on fuel and insurance by not driving for five months!

With good winter tires, winter driving is actually quite fun. But I can certainly understand that it wouldn't make sense to run winter tires in climates where they would only be useful for a few days a year. If I were only willing to drive on snow with my winter tires, I would have put them on two weeks ago. But I'd still rather use my all-seasons until the ground is cold enough for the snow to become permanent.

 

[CapriRacer]

This just appeared in my email and I thought it might be interesting to pass along:

"......On October 9th, 2009 my Mazda 3 four-door sedan was involved in a motor vehicle accident. My step son was driving the speed limit 80 km/h at the time. The rear end of the car swerved out to the left when he entered a curve to the right on wet pavement. It had been raining all day long. As a result he turned the steering wheel to the left, drove onto the right shoulder and the car quickly veered back onto the roadway in a four wheel skid and crashed into an oncoming car. Everyone is okay but our car is totally damaged.

Three days earlier I replaced both front tires because of a flat tire. The new front tires are: Firestone FR380 P195/65R15 89S M+S. The older rear tires are: Toyo PROXES A18 P195/65R15 89H M+S, which had 67,000 kilometers wear on them.

............"

 

[eljefino]

Quote:

The rear end of the car swerved out


Nice putting blame on the car. Idiot

 

[Stanley Rockafeller]

Is it just me, or have snow/ice tires taken away from the enjoyment of "skillful winter driving?"

Dont' get me wrong, I love snows esp. compared to a low profile, wide summer tire. But I often feel sad when I get behind the wheel of a car filled with gizmos (designed to aid in traction, etc.) and snow tires, as I feel I've lost touch with the driving esperience of demonstrating one's driving ability/.

Case in point. The Focus has traction control and ABS. it's not fun to drive in winter.

The corolla has all season tires with the rears at about 40%. It's a hoot to drive on fresh snow! esp. when I can show off my ebrake drifting abilities

 

[rpn453]

Originally Posted By: Stanley Rockafeller
Is it just me, or have snow/ice tires taken away from the enjoyment of "skillful winter driving?"


I think it's just you! Have you seen what rally car drivers can do on far more serious winter tires than what anyone will ever use on the street? Now that is some skillful winter driving. If you really want to show off driving skills, you can do it at a much higher speed with winter tires.

I agree that traction control and stability control can be both depressing and frustrating. I've learned to tolerate ABS though, as it doesn't ever kick in strongly with good tires and I think it helps to keep my studs in good shape. I'd much rather not have ABS in winter with all-season tires though; sliding is more enjoyable than fighting the brake pedal, and would be even if the car didn't stop better in snow without ABS.

 

[eljefino]

Originally Posted By: Stanley Rockafeller
Is it just me, or have snow/ice tires taken away from the enjoyment of "skillful winter driving?"


I also think it's just you! I've had all seasons with plenty of "forward" traction and no lateral, so I slide sideways off slightly crowned roads.

Snow tires can be made to break traction, but when you end the shenanigans they regain it. All seasons send you spinning!

My car has no ABS nor traction and I like it that way.

 

[rpn453]

Originally Posted By: CapriRacer
This just appeared in my email and I thought it might be interesting to pass along:

"......On October 9th, 2009 my Mazda 3 four-door sedan was involved in a motor vehicle accident. My step son was driving the speed limit 80 km/h at the time. The rear end of the car swerved out to the left when he entered a curve to the right on wet pavement. It had been raining all day long. As a result he turned the steering wheel to the left, drove onto the right shoulder and the car quickly veered back onto the roadway in a four wheel skid and crashed into an oncoming car. Everyone is okay but our car is totally damaged.

Three days earlier I replaced both front tires because of a flat tire. The new front tires are: Firestone FR380 P195/65R15 89S M+S. The older rear tires are: Toyo PROXES A18 P195/65R15 89H M+S, which had 67,000 kilometers wear on them.

............"


Well, that's what you get when you install S-rated in place of H-rated tires.

That post is almost important enough to be a new topic instead of being buried in another thread. I hope it wasn't a tire shop that put new tires on the front only.

 

[Craig in Canada]

Originally Posted By: rpn453


Well, that's what you get when you install S-rated in place of H-rated tires.

That post is almost important enough to be a new topic instead of being buried in another thread. I hope it wasn't a tire shop that put new tires on the front only.


Speed rating has nothing to do with it. It's the fact that the best tires went on the front instead of the rear. This is why people say to put the best on the rear, even on FWD cars.

Stopping and turning are important (most people's reason to put best on front) but not spinning is even more important.

Of course I find it unlikely that the step son was going 80kph. Roadways are usually engineered such that they aren't the last bit "fun" or challenging for average vehicles when driven at the posted limit but there's always exceptions.

 

[rpn453]

Originally Posted By: Craig in Canada
Speed rating has nothing to do with it. It's the fact that the best tires went on the front instead of the rear. This is why people say to put the best on the rear, even on FWD cars.


It was a joke. I've always defended the use of lower-than-OEM speed ratings when it's appropriate for the driving style.