When someone on a car forum asks if I buy snow tires...

"mazda616" (mazda616) 01/27/2015 at 13:08 • Filed to: Snowpocalypse

0

23

...I just laugh. This was taken this morning. Kentucky winters are usually cold and rainy, but very rarely snowy. In fact, we usually only get a few dustings like this and maybe two sporadic 2-3 inch snows. And people still freak out. I'll never understand.

All the folks in the Northeast dealing with Blizzard 2015 are in my thoughts and prayers! Even if the snowfall is less than originally thought, it is still a major PITA.

Zipppy, Mazdurp builder, Probeski owner and former ricerboy > mazda616 01/27/2015 at 13:13

0

Well, DO YOU buy snow tires?

/tryingtobeannoying

As for the current storm, I'm sitting just north of it, and I'm in clear skies.

Logansteno: Bought a VW? > mazda616 01/27/2015 at 13:19

1

Even in St. Louis where we get two or three really good snow storms per winter (usually, not this year) we've never bought winter/snow tires for any of our cars. I'm sure they do help, but we've always gotten by just fine on our all-seasons.

K-Roll-PorscheTamer > Zipppy, Mazdurp builder, Probeski owner and former ricerboy 01/27/2015 at 13:20

0

Same. Sunny and a high of 25 degrees in Michigan :D

davedave1111 > mazda616 01/27/2015 at 13:23

1

People seem to get confused by the difference between snow tyres and winter tyres. Snow tyres are designed to give good grip driving on snow, whereas winter tyres are designed to work well in colder temperatures (including when it's up to at least 50F out) but on roads which are generally clear.

I just looked up the average winter temps for Kentucky on Wikipedia, and it looks like it gets cold enough to make winter tyres worth having. Much like in England, they're not essential, you can work around not having them, but driving's easier/safer/more fun with more appropriate tyres.

mazda616 > Zipppy, Mazdurp builder, Probeski owner and former ricerboy 01/27/2015 at 13:24

0

Surprisingly enough, my all-seasons have proven competent even in snow. The most I've driven through with this car was about six inches of snow. But aside from it being lowered and being a tiny snowplow, I had no issues with traction. If I lived up north, I'd definitely get snow tires, though.

mazda616 > davedave1111 01/27/2015 at 13:25

1

I'm sure they would be a benefit, yes. But even more of a benefit is having the money for them (which I don't). :-/

mazda616 > Logansteno: Bought a VW? 01/27/2015 at 13:26

0

My little is pretty much (surprisingly) a beast in the snow. Way better than I thought it'd be. It was crippled when I got it because it had the factory tires and they were notoriously bad (Goodyear Eagle RS/As). But once I got my current tires, I was good to go.

OPPOsaurus WRX > mazda616 01/27/2015 at 13:27

0

its been snowing for about 24 hours so far. i think people woke up expecting 2' and didn;t realize this is going all day today

thebigbossyboss > Zipppy, Mazdurp builder, Probeski owner and former ricerboy 01/27/2015 at 13:32

0

Im sitting just east of you and the conditions are similar :P

ZHP Sparky, the 5th > mazda616 01/27/2015 at 13:42

0

It's the initial purchase that hurts (and hopefully you can do the mounting yourself each season so you don't pay stupid fees to have that done twice a year too) - but after that, it really just makes your tires last twice as long as you're using them only half the year or so.

Also, it's nice to have dedicated summer rubber and dedicated winter tires - instead of a jack of all trades all season deal.

Additionally, if your summers are starting to lose their life, you have the winter months to hunt around for deals (if you keep an eye on tire rack, you can find ridiculously good prices, especially in low demand months) and have them ready and waiting for fun times once the weather clears up (or vice versa for the winters).

Textured Soy Protein > davedave1111 01/27/2015 at 13:46

0

Um, winter tires and snow tires are the same thing. Tire manufacturers call them all winter tires. Generally speaking they give better traction in snow & ice, and have rubber compounds that work best in cold temps (whereas summer performance tires suck even on dry winter roads because they don't work in cold temps).

There are several different types of winter tires, namely: studless winter, studded winter, performance winter, all-weather, and light truck winter. I'm going to make a longer post about types of winter tires, but the difference is not that some are for snow and some are just for cold temps.

Zipppy, Mazdurp builder, Probeski owner and former ricerboy > thebigbossyboss 01/27/2015 at 13:49

1

looking towards the east confirms your statement.

Hey, y'all, watch this! > mazda616 01/27/2015 at 13:59

0

I keep thinking I might ought to buy winter tires, but I think I'm gonna quit my job and run away to Tahiti instead.

davedave1111 > Textured Soy Protein 01/27/2015 at 13:59

0

"winter tires and snow tires are the same thing."

Nope. That's why they're different terms. Snow tyres are a subset of winter tyres - which perhaps I didn't make clear in that last comment, but that's because it wasn't relevant. They are winter tyres which also have a specific tread pattern* designed to deal with roads entirely covered in packed snow, and/or studs of some kind.

[*I don't just mean the sipes all winter tyres have, which help a bit on snow and ice, but about more aggressive patterns of blocks and so-on.]

Perhaps it's another of those small differences between US and UK English. We don't have much use for proper snow tyres over here, so we differentiate more between them and winter tyres.

davedave1111 > mazda616 01/27/2015 at 14:02

0

Oh, I've been there. It's not essential, by any means, but you do get significantly less grip with all-seasons or summer tyres, so you have to drive slower and more carefully.

davedave1111 > ZHP Sparky, the 5th 01/27/2015 at 14:03

0

The point about having two sets which last twice as long falls down if you don't keep your car long enough to see the benefit, because you won't see the money back when you sell.

KusabiSensei - Captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs > mazda616 01/27/2015 at 15:24

0

Down South, our winters are generally rainy and chilly.

Except *that* *one* *time* last year... No one bothered to tell me to leave and go home until after I got back from lunch and by then it was too much of a cluster.

mazda616 > ZHP Sparky, the 5th 01/27/2015 at 15:42

1

But, my commute is 4 miles one way down a city street. So it's not like I deal with high speeds, cornering or bad road conditions...even during bad weather. The purchase of separate tires just for the colder months wouldn't be financially feasible.

ZHP Sparky, the 5th > mazda616 01/27/2015 at 16:05

0

Of course, that makes complete sense based on your individual scenario!

mazda616 > ZHP Sparky, the 5th 01/27/2015 at 16:07

0

However, if my drive was high speed or on very twisty roads, I'd definitely look into it. Because cornering in wet weather isn't these tires' strong point.

Textured Soy Protein > davedave1111 01/27/2015 at 18:38

1

Here we call them studless winter tires or studded winter tires. Snow tires/winter tires is interchangeable.

davedave1111 > Textured Soy Protein 01/27/2015 at 18:41

0

Well, they commonly seem to be used interchangeably. That doesn't make the common usage right - ;) - and does explain the confusion I talked about earlier, because people in areas with coldish winters but no snow will think they don't need 'snow tyres'.

Textured Soy Protein > davedave1111 01/27/2015 at 19:01

0

Here's what I'm talking about. We're on the same page.