When do you need winter tires? The truth!

[stiv625]

Errrrr thats a little early for winter tires, you'd have them on for like 6 months! Granted some climates might require that, but I'd go ahead and wait until its consistently freezing temps at night. Personally I don't notice much of a difference unless your car sucks, anyways.

[pimpninja1985]

SHNOW TIRES

[sirk242]

@pimpninja1985 lol

[TheWhyness]

do all canadians take their advise on when to buy products, from the seller of the product? cough

[RayAir1]

I live in Michigan and have a truck with BF Goodrich All Terrains. They are the best tires I have had for my truck. I actual look forward to driving in the snow with them and don't even need 4WD.

On my car I have a set of Kelly Snowtrakkers and they are worlds better than the all-seasons it came with. I once spent $750 to have Michelin MXV4 all-seasons put on thinking they were better- NOPE! I almost got the car stuck going up a snowy hill while being passed by rear wheel drive cars!! WTH

[Fixxer86]

Here in Finland we all have 2 sets of rims/tires.. winter and summer.. I'm changing to winter tires tomorrow and I'm late! most of my friends already have their on.

We have to use winter tires for 3 months here, Dec, Jan, Feb.. but we change when the weather does.. can't see the problem?

[ankhenaten2]

now tyres are a con game because modern all weather tyres .........dont freeze as the old tyres do!

[g1cast]

We are in Saskatchewan. Winter tire is highly recommended.

[fordwindsor351]

I am not saying that winter/snow tires dont work, but I have never used an actual winter/snow tire. All seasons work just fine for me and no accidents to report(live in New Hampshire USA). I drive a 98 expedition and would never waste money on having a separate tire for the winters.

[QuoteformeUK]

@fordwindsor351 It's not wasting money. You put your summer tyres in the basement, and then switch back in the New Year. OK, so you have 2 sets of tyres, but they last twice as long????

[fordwindsor351]

@QuoteformeUK it is wasting money when you can drive good enough and not need to have an actual winter tire

[QuoteformeUK]

@fordwindsor351 There's no waste. You still get the SAME mileage out of EACH set of tyres. Your summer tyres will not wear lying UNUSED in your basement.

And your ford is a 4x4 with traction control, (the latest ones do), winter tyres for you are icing on the cake rather than a necessity, as tyres in your size are already designed for low traction conditions.

My front wheel drive car has low profile tyres. The difference is remarkable. See quote-4.me.uk/insurance-blog/w­inter-tyres

[fordwindsor351]

@QuoteformeUK well if it is something that you and others feel you need, then stay with what you do, all Im saying is that I have never used an actual winter tire, A/T, A/S tires work great for me.

[sparkygl0s]

@QuoteformeUK

Your link comes back with age not found.

[roihuvuorelainen]

Changing winter tires in Joensuu Finland, two days ago:

watch?v=TRML-qoUiPs

[genie0390]

funny how it is! People pushing winter tires are those that are selling winter tires

actually, now these same people are saying that you should buy all four new rims, as taking off your old tires is BAD for them! OH goodie

BTW, are "all season" tires now obsolete?

[JCVdude]

This information is in BC and by law; after a certain date if you leave your town/city I believe you are now required to have winter tires on your vehicle.

[okanagancarcare]

Currently only Quebec has a law requiring winter tires. I've talked to both ICBC and RCMP. You can use "all season" tires but certain areas require winter tires or you carry chains. Both parties would like to some sort of change for the safety factor but neither is willing to step forward and put someting in writting. So it is still a personnal choice. How safe do you want to be?? Winter tires are better! For those who don't believe me there are videos all over "You Tube" to prove it.

[MaverickXeo]

@JCVdude What? I am glad I dont live in BC... I lived in northern Alberta, but now in central alberta and Ive NEVER once needed winter tires. Heck, I took my 300zx out last winter on SUMMER tires (NOT all seasons) and I didnt even spin the rear tires. I also commute to and from work on the busiest highway in Alberta.

[okanagancarcare]

genie0390 I'm not sure who you expected to "push" winter tires???

We don't "push" here we try to educate the consumer so they can make the right choices for themselves. (I might push for safety) Rims..you have to weigh out all the options.Not everyone benefits from purchasing rims. The cost doesn't make sense for some. All Seasons are not obsolete! Different cars,different drivers, different expections require different tires. It can all be a little more complex now in the automotive industry

[Jason24241]

@okanagancarcare Do I ever agree with you, I tried winter tires a few years ago (Toyo G-02+) for a 2003 Pontiac Grand AM. My mechanic had me switch down to 15" from 16" to save a little money. These tires have avoided 3 potential collisions (1 with a pedestrian) which would've cost $3,000 at $1000 per deductible. They have more than paid themselves off. I would never drive without winter tires. BTW, I'm in Toronto, ON.

[Victortrotska]

@Jason24241 Also in those conditions (snow etc...) it is best to switch to slimmer wheels. So you can "cut" to get a better grip.

You just need to inflate them a bit more than usual and try to get on the slimmest wheels you can. You'll have no problem on snow!

[Jason24241]

@Victortrotska That's exactly what I do, my car is a 2003 Pontiac Grand AM (V6), 225/50/R16 are my Good Year Triple Tread tires for spring, summer and fall. My winters are on 215/60/R15. They do work better in snow and are cheaper than 16" tires which is a bonus.

[tscholent]

@okanagancarcare am driving an f350 and would like some advice for snow tires...also am doing commercial snow removal and would like to know if chains on snows is ok?

[BarracksSi]

IMO -- and I'm sticking my neck out here -- all-season tires are obsolete.

They're okay in reasonable temperatures and reasonable weather under reasonable driving styles, yes. But when you really need that extra bit of grip, whether in summer or in snow, they're simply not as good as either summer or winter tires.

Get a set and put them on a cheap set of wheels -- not because it's bad to change tires, but because it's a lot cheaper in the long run. Plus, you can swap them in your driveway.

[nullwii]

all season tires suck

Snow tires are useful in snow....

I bought an extra set of wheels to put my summer tires and winter tires on seperately, so i dont have to pay to have them re-mounted and balanced twice a year....

factory wheels dont cost a hell of a lot

[andyass3]

@genie0390 i know for a fact that removing the tires from your rims is not good for them, the reason being that you need to grind the residue left over from your old tires off the rim before putting the new ones on. The problem is that once you grind them it also removes the paint inside the rim causing more and more rust and oxidization. I used to just drive on all seasons in winter until i tried snow tires and now i will never go back ever. Its like night and day

[genie0390]

@andyass3

makes you wonder how people managed driving in winter several decades ago, before the advent of front wheel drive, ABS, traction control and AWD

a few yrs back I drove a Lincoln TC with all seasons all winter long, sheer ice on streets, drove it to Banff once a wk at least, drove the high pass between Washington and Idaho, never any problems

now the ads have me unsafe with ABS,AWD, couple fancy traction control systems, BS!

have to be able to know marketing cons when u see them

[genie0390]

@andyass3

seeing as how tire companies now claim that all seasons are unsafe for winter driving, that means that for about 40 yrs they have been putting people at risk by pushing all seasons. "All Season" M+S means just that

further, there are a lot of foolish inexperienced drivers that are taking far more risks because ads are telling them how much quicker cars can stop, which is BS & that slowing down a bit achieves same results! Driving is becoming more dangerous because of such promotion

[andyass3]

the beads on lower profile tires also get ruined very quickly when you remove them, if you have a 70 profile tire on a 14 inch rim than you can easily remove the tires without damaging the beads. On a bmw 245 /35 r 18 with runflats you can easily ruin the bead by removing it once from the rim unless you have sufficient lube on the bead

[genie0390]

@andyass3

truth is that such exotic tires running a couple inches from the rim have very bad traction on snow/ice, so winter tires likely do work much better

then again I wouldn't run such a car in bad conditions in winter in the first place

[halflife103]

@genie0390 You use "All Seasons" in winter, your retarded. "All Season" was just a name to boost tire sales.

Half way through November you should have winter tires.

[jaysuewatch]

yup,yup,yup