Oh Sherri...

"Highlander-Datsuns are Forever" (jamesbowland)
10/01/2018 at 22:18 • Filed to: None

Sherri was interested in my 205/55 r16 used Bridgestone Blizak snow tires until she realized they were studless. Because we all know studless tires are way worse than studded tires. It’s to bad I think this first time driver would prefer a fantastically engineered winter tire as opposed to I’m guessing some cheap studded something or other they will buy at les schwab for three times as much.

DISCUSSION (24)

Chuckles > Highlander-Datsuns are Forever
10/01/2018 at 22:32

Where does she live that she thinks she needs studded snow tires?

Alfalfa > Highlander-Datsuns are Forever
10/01/2018 at 22:34

Shit, if I were local I’d buy those for $160. Good thing I'm not a first time driver...

The Crazy Kanuck; RIP Oppositelock > Highlander-Datsuns are Forever
10/01/2018 at 22:40

She should’ve been gone.

RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars > Highlander-Datsuns are Forever
10/01/2018 at 22:41

I’ve driven in Nova Scotia Canadian winters in a FWD hatchback with an open diff with various studless snow tires for the last 5 years and have never felt I needed them....

AestheticsInMotion > Highlander-Datsuns are Forever
10/01/2018 at 22:44

Studded tires have caused me much grief today

Highlander-Datsuns are Forever > Chuckles
10/01/2018 at 22:46

Northwest Montana. I’ve driven them for the last five years and they work great, I just wanted new fresh rubber.

Highlander-Datsuns are Forever > Alfalfa
10/01/2018 at 22:47

Yeah you couldn’t handle these crazy tires.

Highlander-Datsuns are Forever > The Crazy Kanuck; RIP Oppositelock
10/01/2018 at 22:49

Highlander-Datsuns are Forever > RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars
10/01/2018 at 22:51

IIRC consumer reports debunked studded tires years ago. The technology has progressed so much that the studless tires are better than the studded tires.

Highlander-Datsuns are Forever > AestheticsInMotion
10/01/2018 at 22:52

Sorry for your loss.

Chariotoflove > Highlander-Datsuns are Forever
10/01/2018 at 22:56

Maybe Sherri is the mom of a first time driver who she thinks should pay his dues in purgatory before being entitled to good winter shoes.

Highlander-Datsuns are Forever > Chariotoflove
10/01/2018 at 23:00

So many people still think studs are better than the high end studless tires. I’ve made several conversions but there will always be hold outs. It must be nice to live in a place that doesn’t cause rust or require a refitting of tires twice a year.

Chariotoflove > Highlander-Datsuns are Forever
10/01/2018 at 23:08

It is really nice. I have to make a confession though. Even when I lived in MI or upstate NY, I never switched to winter tires. I always ran all seasons. Call me crazy.

There was no hiding from the MI salt though.

Chuckles > Highlander-Datsuns are Forever
10/01/2018 at 23:13

Fair enough. Snow tires are great, but I wouldn't think you'd need studded snow tires.

I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker > Highlander-Datsuns are Forever
10/01/2018 at 23:30

Studs aren't even legal in my area.

DutchieDC2R > Highlander-Datsuns are Forever
10/02/2018 at 02:00

From the screengrab you posted, I dont see anywhere where she say s studless tires are worse than studded. All she wants is the peace of mind of her son/daughter driving on studded tires. Maybe youre just mad she didnt buy your ‘fantastically engineered winter tire’.

ateamfan42 > Chuckles
10/02/2018 at 08:46

Snow tires are great, but I wouldn’t think you’d need studded snow tires.

So many people fall into the fallacy that if snow tires are great, snow tires Now With Studs (TM) must be unilaterally better.

In snowy conditions, plan and simple, snow tires are king. On ICE, studs can provide an advantage. Though, as has been well stated in other comments, that advantage is not as great as it once was due to modern tire technology providing great grip on ice even without studs.

In urban areas with lots of pavement, the solar heating of the asphalt tends to clear the roads, so much of the driving is on clear roads the majority of the time. Studless are the way to go there. In the rural areas with lots of gravel roads, the same level of melting doesn’t occur, and the snow gets packed down and refreezes into ice. Studs can be beneficial then.

gogmorgo - rowing gears in a Grand Cherokee > Highlander-Datsuns are Forever
10/03/2018 at 14:49

Arguably new drivers will learn better if you put them in hard mode straight away. Then they’ll get into a car on decent studless tires and experience what it’s like to have traction in the winter.

Highlander-Datsuns are Forever > gogmorgo - rowing gears in a Grand Cherokee
10/03/2018 at 14:51

I didn’t have a car with snow tires until my 2nd winter driving. It really sucked the first winter, put my car in the ditch several times. I thought all seasons and some weight would be okay in my 240z. NOPE.

Highlander-Datsuns are Forever > ateamfan42
10/03/2018 at 14:54

This is a very good way to describe the difference. Modern cars with traction and control and really good ABS make the use of studded tires even less of a necessity as the cars themselves do such a good job keeping the tires from skidding and slipping. It is possible Sherri is outfitting an older car that does not have ABS or traction control, this is probably the only case where I’d say go with studs.

Highlander-Datsuns are Forever > DutchieDC2R
10/03/2018 at 14:58

It’s possible that Sherri is outfitting an older car without ABS or traction control. In this case studded winter tires would work better than the studless tires. However I have no idea, she didn’t seem likely to respond past my last message so I just let it go. The car these were on has ABS and it really makes a huge difference on how well the car stops in low traction situations regardless of the type of tires you choose.

gogmorgo - rowing gears in a Grand Cherokee > Highlander-Datsuns are Forever
10/03/2018 at 19:03

I never really found all that much advantage to adding weight. The one winter I tried it, b y the time I had enough weight to noticeably affect traction I had also shifted the weight distribution far enough back to also have a noticeable increase in the tendency to oversteer.

I’m currently debating what I should do with the ZJ. The ATs I have on it right now will probably be not terrible, but given it’s super easy to spin them in just the wet, I’m not optimistic. They do meet BC’s laughable winter tire requirements, but that doesn’t mean much. It did come with a set of cheap winters that I could toss on, but they’re a couple sizes smaller than stock so I’m not super excited about running them. Don’t really want to shell out for a new set, but I haven’t seen a used set I’m impressed with yet.

Highlander-Datsuns are Forever > gogmorgo - rowing gears in a Grand Cherokee
10/03/2018 at 19:09

I forgot if ZJ is or has functional 4wd or not, I usually run AT’s on a 4wd without issues through the winter. You just have to be careful about stopping....

gogmorgo - rowing gears in a Grand Cherokee > Highlander-Datsuns are Forever
10/03/2018 at 19:40

Fully functional 4x4, although I need to work on a more gentle clutch release on low-traction surfaces I think .

My first MJ had an original set of BGF KO’s on it when I bought it, and I think it was about the this time in October I decided I needed something better that winter. I went with Grabber AT2s, which while an AT do have the winter rating. I did a winter in the Niva on the mismatched set of near bald no-seasons before shelling out for AT2.s on it, because they were the only winter-rated AT’s I could find that were small enough. No power and full-time 4x4 meant no traction wasn’t that big a deal, those tires only got replaced because one got shredded when a B-train loaded with pipe decided that highway driving wa s a contact sport. I put KO2s on Saint Jimmy for last winter. But again, they’re winter rated. I haven’t actually driven on tires that weren’t winter rated for a long time, even if they were only AT’s and not dedicated winters.

The ZJ is currently sitting on the Hercules Terra Tracs (?) that were the only AT’s I could find in the correct size on a Saturday morning in Moose Jaw after a deer took out two of th e AT2's on the MJ, which don’t carry the winter rating. And like I said, I keep spinning them in the wet, so...