Winter 2018, first winter with winter tires. Cannot go back

[RamblinE]

Live in southeast PA where we just had three fun nor’easters this month. Working in sales means that you have to at least take a stab at getting to work in bad weather. I bought a set of Continental Winter Contact back in November and since then there’s only been one storm I couldn’t still drive in and that was due to too much accumulation being too heavy to be immiediately plowed off the roads.

I have to say though, I cannot go back to not having winter tires. Everybody talks about how they need Subaru’s or SUVs with AWD drive for the winter however my Fiat killed it with the right tires. Why don’t more people do this? If you have one car then make it winter ready.

 

[MaxxVolume]

Agreed.Jersey boy here. Been using dedicated winter tires since 1999 on my RWD BMWs. Combined with perfect 50/50 weight distribution and a stick shift, good winter tires will take you through just about anything a sane person would set out into. Snow depth/ground clearance is the limiting factor, no matter HOW many wheels are driven.

 

[Shadowdog]

Used them since the late 80's too and they can save your life or others! I like the modern studded ones.

Really doesn't cost more (except for extra rims which are usually affordable in steel or used) as your saving wear on the summer ones!

You need them on all 4 for safety & especially with FWD.

 

[illinoisteve]

Some "all-seasons" are more winter-worthy than others, too. But one must shop the reviews that go into winter traction ratings to be sure of finding them. Our little 2006 Scion XA hatchback would go through about any snow up to its ground-clearance limits with a set of Pirelli P4s. Not enough snow this winter here to say if it is good with the Kuhmos on it now.

 

[Chrisxo55441]

im a winter tire believer, first used them on my 95 Saab 9000cs and loved them. Got a front wheel drive Sonata in 2013 when the saab finally crapped out but didnt have winter tires the first winter and my driveway is a slight hill and i could never get up it when it snowed and once when i was taking my daughter to dance class it was snowing very lightly but the wheels would just spin like crazy on level ground. the next winter i had winter tires and its like a night and day difference and have never had an issue getting up my driveway since.

 

[RamblinE]

I just couldn’t believe the grip I had with the Continentals. No slipping as long as I was driving reasonably for the conditions. I’m a believer. I’m putting them in storage till next winter, and I’m probably getting a set for my wife as well.

 

[2011etec]

Theres also the option of All Weather tires which are far superior to the best so called all season tires.

 

[Judas Priest]

Several years ago, snow tires became mandantory here in Germany .
I reluctantly bought some for €300 that I really didn´t have, and I was AMAZED at the difference! With sommer tires, when I braked at walking speed, I just kept slipping forward, like on skis. With snow tires, I felt like I was driving a tank.
A day and night difference, WELL worth it!

 

[MaxxVolume]

Theres also the option of All Weather tires which are far superior to the best so called all season tires.

Continental makes a tire called the DW/S (Dry, Wet, Snow rated). Excellent tires for those who prefer not to make the investment in a second set of dedicated winter wheels & tires. They also have the benefit of being good performers in the dry (where some winter tires turn into giant marshmallows when speeds go up).

 

[2011etec]

This post reminds me its almost time to go to pops house and take off the studded tires for the all season tires on his faithful sunfire which is great in the winter with the studs.Me I have 10 ply motomaster at2 on my f150 (made by cooper).I air them down to 30 pounds in the winter and they stop my truck on a dime .I constantly shift in and out of 4wd also .

 

[BMWCCA]

I've used DWS Contis for probably six-years now. Great tire and I don't feel I'm giving up anything realistically in the handling department on dry roads over sticky summer performance tires. My DWS are considered Ultra High Performance All-Season tires. It hasn't snowed enough during that time for me to need by Winter tires so the Contis have performed well and always gotten me to work in my rear-wheel-drive BMWs. My Pirelli Winters were indispensable in getting me from VA to NY to pickup two kids from college back in 2010 when we had over 30-inches of snow fall all at once. My daughter kept looking at all the Jeeps and Subarus piled on top of guard-rails or in ditches on the way back and asked if we'd be okay. I assured her I was having no problem. She asked why the other cars had problems and I told her that was because they were all-wheel-drive. She asked what we were and I told her we were the far-superior rear-wheel drive with perfect weight distribution. But really it was the tires!

 

[2011etec]

Also idiot drivers BMWCCA! No how no way should a jeep take a back seat to your car unless the driver is a moron.Most likely some of those people that think they can go 90 because they have awd or 4wd .Were I live theres a big hill and every winter I see trucks stuck or sliding backwards and little old ladies with awd driving up there like nothing.Put your 4wd truck in 4wd you cheap morons and you would have zero trouble getting up the hill.Why buy a 4wd truck if you refuse to use it?Sorry rant over it just ticks me off to no end .

 

[MaxxVolume]

Also idiot drivers BMWCCA! No how no way should a jeep take a back seat to your car unless the driver is a moron.Most likely some of those people that think they can go 90 because they have awd or 4wd .Were I live theres a big hill and every winter I see trucks stuck or sliding backwards and little old ladies with awd driving up there like nothing.Put your 4wd truck in 4wd you cheap morons and you would have zero trouble getting up the hill.Why buy a 4wd truck if you refuse to use it?Sorry rant over it just ticks me off to no end .

Often, the design and/or condition of a vehicle`s tires will be the determining factor in how effective said vehicle is as a winter driver. I would take a RWD car (especially with a manual trans) and proper winter tires on it rather than an AWD vehicle with mediocre/ worn tires on it. You`d be surprised at how many people don`t know the difference. Years ago, I worked with a woman who had recently purchased a new AWD Denali, and she seemed convinced that she could motor through anything, because as she put it "I have those skid-proof brakes" !!!! I explained that while that function is certainly beneficial, it doesn`t allow you to escape the rules of physics !

 

[BMWCCA]

Also idiot drivers! No how no way should a jeep take a back seat to your car unless the driver is a moron.

Quite possible! At the end of the trip I had to stop and help push a Wrangler stuck in the middle of the road going to my BIL's house to drop off my nephew. He asked if I'd be okay and I told him I'd already driven over 500-miles in the storm that day. The next turn was my BIL's road . . . which had yet to be plowed . . . and soon I had snow up-to and over my headlights and next I was pushing it over my hood . . . until I just couldn't go any further. Yep, no matter how much traction I can conjure up in my BMW, my lowered 5-series still requires a snow plow to at least give me a fighting chance!

 

[2011etec]

Funny how anti lock brakes don't work worth a spit on black ice.As you said MAX ,my 82 year old dad motors all over the place with his 4 studded tire sunfire.This year has been fairly easy snow wise compared to last year were it snowed 2 or so inches every darn day.

 

[cratz2]

I made it through this winter with an older AWD Subaru with a manual transmission and a new set of Bridgestone Blizzak WS80 winter tires... good times.

 

[arts]

I have always run winter tires,and the benifits,and in some locations,the absolute necessity, is clear.

In 2014 Quebec finally made winter tire use mandatory. Considering the severity of our colder seasons,I fully supported this decision,and really considered it a no-brainer.

Unfortunately,the powers that be did not (what a surprise!) think this through as well as they should have.They should have also mandated that winter tires must not be used in the out-of-season period.Why? In order to save money or avoid the inconvenience of spring/fall tire changes,most cars that I see wear their winter shoes all year round.

This means that they are usually well worn and virtually useless by winter,and due to neglected inflation checks,you see more and more vehicles experiencing serious tire failures (meaning they're shredded or just exploding off of the rim) in the summer months due to severe overheating.

 

[nasadowsk]

I had winter tires on my Mustang. One time, I was driving down a side street, going slow because it was super slippery (but boy did those winter tires HELP), and this woman in a Land Rover went around me at higher speed, all annoyed.

Well, when she came up to the stop sign at the end of the block, you could see the brake lights come on, but she wasn't stopping... Ended up going right into the intersection and into a Cherokee sitting in traffic.

You could hear all those expensive airbags pop from 100 feet away....

All cars have 4 wheel stop, even the 2 wheel drive ones.

 

[N8Nagel]

Continental makes a tire called the DW/S (Dry, Wet, Snow rated). Excellent tires for those who prefer not to make the investment in a second set of dedicated winter wheels & tires. They also have the benefit of being good performers in the dry (where some winter tires turn into giant marshmallows when speeds go up).

I had a set of those, they are way too fragile for urban roads. Ditched them after having to replace 3 out of 4.

 

[zebra03]

The last and only time I bought winter tires was for my . I went anywhere I wanted to .

The next year I bought a dedicated winter beater and transferred the tires to it .

It was not this nice . Not by a long shot .


It would go anywhere too . BF Goodrich