How much of those miles are driven in over 25C* weather? If not much.. It is far from ideal but it can be done. Accelerated wear and little worse handling in the peak of the summer is expected but with less than 13k km a year I say go for it. With quality winter tyre wife will be safe as possible in worst winter weather, over summer little attention and it should fine. My wife drove this summer on winters. She survived in temperatures way over you will experience. She has a similar driving patern as your missus- 15-17k a year. I just put new winter tyres every 3 years and forget about rubber.
Leave snows on all year?
- Thread starter db500
- Start date
- Status
I've been leaving snows on all year for 3-4 years now. I have been using General Altimax Arctics exclusively, other tires may differ. I also run them at the max inflation pressure on the sidewall (44 psi in my case). After a while, one gets used to how a vehicle will perform, including how the tires affect things, and one learns what the limits are. They are a step up from the worn all-seasons that were on the cars previously. The tires also perform well in the rain, I feel.
My Sable went 30k on a set, until the rust got bad enough to get rid of the car. Floormats should not be structural...
On my Focus, the rears burned off in about 22k account alignment issues, but the fronts look good for another winter at least. When I got them, the shop priced a set of RT43s the same as the Altimax Arctics. My employer has pretty much said we are required to report to work no matter the conditions (even blizzard warnings), so snow tires were an easy choice.
My Sable went 30k on a set, until the rust got bad enough to get rid of the car. Floormats should not be structural...
On my Focus, the rears burned off in about 22k account alignment issues, but the fronts look good for another winter at least. When I got them, the shop priced a set of RT43s the same as the Altimax Arctics. My employer has pretty much said we are required to report to work no matter the conditions (even blizzard warnings), so snow tires were an easy choice.
Originally Posted By: OilGuy2
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.
Given the wild weather the ADKs can have I give this a big +1
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.
Given the wild weather the ADKs can have I give this a big +1
Originally Posted By: Craig in Canada
Who said anything about "regularly"? Some lady pulled into a 55mph flow of traffic in front of me without looking while another car was beside me - brakes (and horn, and high beams) were the only course of action. It doesn't take "regularly" to total two or more vehicles, injure occupants or strike a pedestrian. I think just one incident in a lifetime would be worth a set of tires, don't you?
The squirminess of snow tires goes far beyond needing "full capability". I feel it constantly and in all situations. In cold and dry down to -5C or so, my summers still win hands down (contrary to the brochures all over about 7C) well below "full capability".
Thank you!
Amazed people don't plan for an emergency situation. It will happen, be ready for it.
Plan for the worst, hope for the best.
Every time I see someone on winter tires in the summer I just shake my head. Hope they are nowhere near me in an emergency situation.
Although, I don't switch from summers to winters. I run three sets of tires, full on skinny winters, an intermediate set of "all-weather" tires, then full on summers. I like to be ready for anything the idiots out there on the road try and throw at me.
Who said anything about "regularly"? Some lady pulled into a 55mph flow of traffic in front of me without looking while another car was beside me - brakes (and horn, and high beams) were the only course of action. It doesn't take "regularly" to total two or more vehicles, injure occupants or strike a pedestrian. I think just one incident in a lifetime would be worth a set of tires, don't you?
The squirminess of snow tires goes far beyond needing "full capability". I feel it constantly and in all situations. In cold and dry down to -5C or so, my summers still win hands down (contrary to the brochures all over about 7C) well below "full capability".
Thank you!
Amazed people don't plan for an emergency situation. It will happen, be ready for it.
Plan for the worst, hope for the best.
Every time I see someone on winter tires in the summer I just shake my head. Hope they are nowhere near me in an emergency situation.
Although, I don't switch from summers to winters. I run three sets of tires, full on skinny winters, an intermediate set of "all-weather" tires, then full on summers. I like to be ready for anything the idiots out there on the road try and throw at me.
Last edited:
Originally Posted By: Wagonmaster261
I've been leaving snows on all year for 3-4 years now. I have been using General Altimax Arctics exclusively, other tires may differ. I also run them at the max inflation pressure on the sidewall (44 psi in my case). After a while, one gets used to how a vehicle will perform, including how the tires affect things, and one learns what the limits are. They are a step up from the worn all-seasons that were on the cars previously. The tires also perform well in the rain, I feel.
That is honestly a terrible thing to do. When you increase tire pressure, you are reducing the contact patch. 30% increase in pressure means your contact patch is about 30% smaller, which means you have 30% less traction. And since you are on winters in the summer, you are already at a handicap. Sure, they may plow through water OK, but that would be expected when you are basically running on bicycle tires at that pressure.
I've been leaving snows on all year for 3-4 years now. I have been using General Altimax Arctics exclusively, other tires may differ. I also run them at the max inflation pressure on the sidewall (44 psi in my case). After a while, one gets used to how a vehicle will perform, including how the tires affect things, and one learns what the limits are. They are a step up from the worn all-seasons that were on the cars previously. The tires also perform well in the rain, I feel.
That is honestly a terrible thing to do. When you increase tire pressure, you are reducing the contact patch. 30% increase in pressure means your contact patch is about 30% smaller, which means you have 30% less traction. And since you are on winters in the summer, you are already at a handicap. Sure, they may plow through water OK, but that would be expected when you are basically running on bicycle tires at that pressure.
Many in Montreal leave their snows on all year. It's not like they are driving their cars much, but an emergency stop in the city, its performance will still suffer.
Paid $40 for OEM steel wheels on CL and I run winters from November/December to about the end of March. Winter tires are necessarily cheap so wouldn’t want to burn them up on hot pavement.
- Status