Leave snows on all year?

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My wife only puts 8K miles a year on her car. I wanted to put a set of General Altimax Arctic snows (non studded) on it. I don't really want to buy more wheels and swap them every spring/fall.

should I expect any negative consequences for leaving them on all year?
 
Yes. The softer tread compound will wear away faster when it's hot out and also lead to 'squishy' handling of the vehicle.

Why don't you consider one of the newer 'all weather' tires, that can be left on all year, but also pass the tests required to get the 'mountain/snowflake' symbol on the sidewall.

The Nokian WRG2, Goodyear TripleTred, Yokohama W drive and Continental ExtremeContact DWS are the ones that I know of.
 
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Originally Posted By: db500
My wife only puts 8K miles a year on her car. I wanted to put a set of General Altimax Arctic snows (non studded) on it. I don't really want to buy more wheels and swap them every spring/fall.

should I expect any negative consequences for leaving them on all year?


They will wear very quickly, and eat up the cost of a second set of rims. You should look for good used rims for winter. Craigslist, or a place that scraps cars is a good place to start...
 
Originally Posted By: rcy
Yes. The softer tread compound will wear away faster when it's hot out and also lead to 'squishy' handling of the vehicle.

Why don't you consider one of the newer 'all weather' tires, that can be left on all year, but also pass the tests required to get the 'mountain/snowflake' symbol on the sidewall.

The Nokian WRG2, Goodyear TripleTred, Yokohama W drive and Continental ExtremeContact DWS are the ones that I know of.


I've actually got goodyear triple treads on there now...they have about 30K on them...still good tread.
 
Originally Posted By: rcy

The Nokian WRG2, Goodyear TripleTred, Yokohama W drive and Continental ExtremeContact DWS are the ones that I know of.

Another vote for Nokian, if you want a tire that you can run all year long yet do well in winter.
 
Originally Posted By: rcy
Yes. The softer tread compound will wear away faster when it's hot out and also lead to 'squishy' handling of the vehicle.

Why don't you consider one of the newer 'all weather' tires, that can be left on all year, but also pass the tests required to get the 'mountain/snowflake' symbol on the sidewall.

The Nokian WRG2, Goodyear TripleTred, Yokohama W drive and Continental ExtremeContact DWS are the ones that I know of.


Of those, the Nokians are the only passenger car tires that have both the snowflake symbol and the UTQG rating. The Fortera Tripletread Truck/SUV tire is also dual-rated.

The presence of the snowflake symbol does not automatically mean the tire has a soft tread compound. It is based on a hard-packed snow test only, so it requires an aggressive tread design but not soft rubber. The only way to know how a winter tire will perform and last in warm weather is to try that tire or talk to someone else who has tried it.
 
The Vredestein Quatrac 3 would fit your bill. It's a true 4 season tire.

" The Quatrac 3 is Vredestein's ultimate four-season tyre. The tyre is the perfect alternative for motorists who want to drive all year round in a moderate climate on one type of tyre. The striking asymmetrical, non-directional tread with the separate summer and winter sides offers optimal safety and comfort in all weather conditions. The tyre has excellent handling characteristics that are ideal for driving in summer conditions on dry and wet roads. At the same time, the tyre also offers perfect grip and high discharging capacity in winter conditions. The tread contains three longitudinal grooves which not only serve an aesthetic function, but also discharge water efficiently.

The summer side of the Quatrac 3 is located in the outermost part of the tread. The summer side of the Quatrac 3 has a lower air ratio (more rubber, less air) and a small number of straight sipes. In summer conditions this produces extra grip on the outer shoulder, on both dry and wet surfaces. Because of the extra quantity of rubber on the outer shoulder and the rigid tread blocks, the tyre responds alertly to steering reactions.

The inner section of the Quatrac 3 has a very open tread structure with undulating sipes, which provide extra traction on snowy surfaces in winter conditions. This part of
the tread also has a high discharge capacity, preventing mud and snow from getting stuck in the tread and ensuring that the grip remains optimal.The Quatrac 3 bears
the Snowflake and M&S symbols and hence complies with the requirements for a winter tyre."


Quatrac3-tire.JPG
 
Nokian WR G2's are excellent tires. We have 40k and still another 10k-15k left on a V-rated 45 series tire on a 05 Subaru turbo wagon. Pretty much unheard of. They are decent in snow, incredible in wet/slush and okay on ice. Otherwise a decent quiet tire in the dry. The only issue is $$$$ due to limited folks who sell them. Shop around.
 
One of the issues with using snows all year is the risk of a tire failure.

Winter tires were designed to operate at cold temperatures. Heat is the tire killer.

Regular all season tires are S or T speed rated, while regular winter tires are Q speed rated - the lower speed ratinmg being a reflection of the ability of the tire to withstand the heat being generated.

No, it's not a good idea to use winter tires in the summer. The name ought to be a clue!
 
Here in Buffalo, plenty of people driving beaters leave snows tires on year round.

I see it all the time during the summer.

Also I see 2 snow tires in the front, and bald all seasons in the rear.

A girl at my work had snow tires year round on her escort for 3 years.
 
you will have horrid squishy handling. less braking etc.


Just go with tirerack and order some steelie rims for 45$ each.

if you buy a combo they come roadforce balanced with free valve stems also.

also I wouldn't recommend a studdable snow tire unstudded.

they tend to perform poorly on ice.(not much better than all-season)

You would be better off with a studless snow tire, like the new continential extremewinter contact, michelin xice xi2 or the bridgestone Blizzack WS-60

on the plus side you would get 5 years of of them with seperate steel rims.

Another alternative is as mentioned getting a set of factory rims off craigslist
 
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Originally Posted By: db500
Originally Posted By: rcy
Yes. The softer tread compound will wear away faster when it's hot out and also lead to 'squishy' handling of the vehicle.

Why don't you consider one of the newer 'all weather' tires, that can be left on all year, but also pass the tests required to get the 'mountain/snowflake' symbol on the sidewall.

The Nokian WRG2, Goodyear TripleTred, Yokohama W drive and Continental ExtremeContact DWS are the ones that I know of.


I've actually got goodyear triple treads on there now...they have about 30K on them...still good tread.


The Goodyear TripleTred's are a fine tire. If she has to go through the Adirondack's, Mountain and Snowflake rated tires have the edge on practicality but the best all-season's have a lot to offer too.

The Continental Extreme Contact DWS is an improved tire that was already best in its class for wintertime use. Worth a serious read at www.tirerack.com . Check out users comments on the TripleTred and the Extreme Contact DWS and you may find your wife's car model listed there.

The Continental warranty is excellent at 50,000 miles: high for an Ultra High Performance tire. The Conti's are a "true" radial with soft polyester sidewalls at 90 degrees to the direction of travel. Their sidewall compliance results in a very large footprint and contributes to the traction of the tire in snow conditions. You can run them at 50 psi (good to 51 psi) and they will not feel "hard". The two steel belts and two polymide belts keep the tread flat as a pancake. Very nicely designed tire going on Audi, Porsche, M-B.
 
I know at least four people that leave snow tires on all year long with no complaint. These folks are not car nuts. They all want their vehicles to be their slaves, and not be slaves to their vehicles. They fix the vehicles when the vehicle needs repair and only do oil changes and nothing else. They all pile on the miles with few issues and if they get 150,000 plus miles with little maintenance(and money spent changing all other fluids) and then the vehicle dies, they get another vehicle.

My wife and I are good friends with another couple who run snows in the winter and all seasons in the summer but, the wife would rather keep the snows on all year and the husband refuses.

Also, while waiting for my vehicles state inspection, I recently talked to an elderly gentleman at my local Firestone Service Center who, at the sales rep's recomendation, runs snows all year long. Whan I asked him why, he told me that he had been coming to this Firestone Service Center for a long time and has gotten to know the sales rep quite well. The elderly gentleman asked the sales rep...

"If I were your grandfather, what tire would you recomend all year around for my Dodge MiniVan?"

The sales rep recomended Bridgstone Blizzak's. The elderly gentleman loves the tires.
 
That Firestone store gets to sell Grandpa a LOT of tires that way.

A soft silica compound tire like the Blizzak wears out on the hot roads in Summer very quickly.
 
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Originally Posted By: LS2JSTS
That Firestone store gets to sell Grandpa a LOT of tires that way.

A soft silica compound tire like the Blizzak wears out on the hot roads in Summer very quickly.


Not only that, but the Blizzak is the one tire that I know I wouldn't want to run in the summer for handling and performance reasons. The tread compound is optimized for cold weather and ice to a greater degree than most other winter tires. But he's probably a conservative driver and wouldn't notice, and they're probably much better than what he drove on in his younger days!
 
My dad put Blizzaks on his FWD Freestyle one winter, and being he was getting a new company car with new Blizzaks for the next winter he just left the tires on there. The tires actually held up pretty well during the summmer here in wisconsin. He went on long trips with them and everything. If you left them on all year, and never heated the tires up to bad and didnt drive to aggressive, it would probably be worth a shot.
 
I have 2 awd cars that have 4 snows on year round. Jag xtype and Caddy STS. My RWD STS V8 has 2 rear snows on year round.

In summer, I can put more air in them if they get to soft or squishy. If I run them hard, It can be an issue, but the 2 awd's are the girls cars. They drive them very easy.

Dunlop 3D's and Blizaks. They have held up fine for over a year, and for the price. I could buy 2 sets and still have saved money..

So my thought.. If you are getting them for a great price, run them year round. But then again, I don't expect to get much more than 25K out of any tire. I give the cars new shoes often. Nothing like fresh rubber.
 
My opinion is that driving with snow tires on summer is better than driving with summer tires on wintery condition! The handling characteristic is definitely not as sharp with snow tires during warm/summer time!
 
I can get four or five winters out of a set of Blizzaks using a rotation set up.

If you run them in the summer, you will run through the silica compound layer faster and probably get what, two winters out of them? Remember that the silica layer wears down long before the tread life is measuring as spent.
 
Originally Posted By: Carzzz
My opinion is that driving with snow tires on summer is better than driving with summer tires on wintery condition! The handling characteristic is definitely not as sharp with snow tires during warm/summer time!



I agree with that, especially for a gentle and safe driver. With the added caveat that it is more expensive that way. But if I could only own one set....hmmmmm
 
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