Which Winter Tires are you Buying?

[SVTFreak]

South Louisiana. What is this snow you speak of


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[Free Agent]

Summer tires all year round for me.

Ditto.

I usually take our FWD vehicle to work if there is too much snow on the ground.

 

[Feeshta]

Having owned a powerful rear drive car with modern traction control and stability control, I can say that it does help to some degree. My 135i was absolutely horrible at getting moving in the snow, as the factory tires has less traction than a dog on hardwood floors. The stability control did absolutely save my but once in the snow though, even without any real traction to speak of.

If you get some reasonably good tires on it, the Mustang should be fine. Limited slip helps a lot, and the winter driving mode will help you manage the torque application both by dumbing down throttle response, and by setting the traction control up to work properly in snow. If your have another vehicle that is FWD or AWD then that would be the obvious choice, but you could definitely manage with the Mustang. I've made it through the past 2 winters in my 540i just fine on all season tires(Conti Extremecontact DWS) which are excellent in snow), and it does not have a limited slip, effective traction control for snow conditions, stability control, or a limited slip.

As far as which snow tires are the best, honestly the best ones I ever had were a no-name brand(Snow King I think?) I had on my old GTI. I got blizzaks the next year and they performed far worse in snow, but slightly better on pavement. You can't really judge them by how aggressive they look for snow traction. The Blizzaks looked like they would be much better, but there were not half as good in snow as the generic looking junkers.

Edit: Forgot to mention one thing. Not sure if it has been mentioned, but with snow tires, go for the narrowest tires you can get away with. They work better in a narrower profile because that gives higher pressures on the contact patch, helping them cut through the snow better. The best 2wd car I ever drove in the snow was a 1980 VW Rabbit Diesel, with 140 profile tires I believe. People would derisively call them pizza cutters, but they certainly cut through snow like a champ.

 

[rkan]

After checking reviews on tire rack i went with General Altimax Artic on my 335. Blizzacks had the best reviews, but the Altimax had pretty close performance for a LOT less. With those tires, the traction control, and the inherent control of a manual transmission, I got around great. The only limiting factor was the ground clearance. At some intersections the junction of plow falloff would create ridges of snow that my front spoiler would have to "plow".

 

[Spartan]

Summer tires all year round for me.

Curious...according to FORDs literature in the dealer guide, it says that the summer tires under 40 can hardened and completely lose traction. Some sites say summer tires can actually crack in under 40.

Have you had any issues like this?

I'm in NOVA and I'm planning on the PP (hate that I cannot have an option to swap for All Seasons if I want them)...and am wondering if I need to get the All Seasons.

 

[rkan]

Curious...according to FORDs literature in the dealer guide, it says that the summer tires under 40 can hardened and completely lose traction. Some sites say summer tires can actually crack in under 40.

Have you had any issues like this?

I'm in NOVA and I'm planning on the PP (hate that I cannot have an option to swap for All Seasons if I want them)...and am wondering if I need to get the All Seasons.

I had an S2000 with Bridgestone Potenza RE050 that were like driving with slick bricks under there in the winter. When they wore out at 20k I went to Hankook Ventus V12 Evos and they rode smoother, quieter, and lasted longer. They were slightly better in the cold.
But both of them were not good under 40. And when it got down to freezing, they got useless and scary.

 

[Free Agent]

Curious...according to FORDs literature in the dealer guide, it says that the summer tires under 40 can hardened and completely lose traction. Some sites say summer tires can actually crack in under 40.

Have you had any issues like this?

I'm in NOVA and I'm planning on the PP (hate that I cannot have an option to swap for All Seasons if I want them)...and am wondering if I need to get the All Seasons.

Yes Summer tires lose grip in colder weather. They are not dangerous at all as long as you drive sensibly. I've owned several sets of different brands of Summer only tires and never once had to worry about them cracking and this is in temperatures down to 0 degrees Fahrenheit. Drive for the conditions and you can make do. Having a set of winter tires to swap out to is of course optimal but you can drive Summer tires in winter as long as you use your head and don't drive like an idiot.

 

[rkan]

Yes Summer tires lose grip in colder weather. They are not dangerous at all as long as you drive sensibly. I've owned several sets of different brands of Summer only tires and never once had to worry about them cracking and this is in temperatures down to 0 degrees Fahrenheit. Drive for the conditions and you can make do. Having a set of winter tires to swap out to is of course optimal but you can drive Summer tires in winter as long as you use your head and don't drive like an idiot.

Its the other idiots you have to worry about. or the kid who steps off the curb and your "temperature compromised" tires cant get a grip and stop in time.

There are no absolutes. its a sliding scale on the cost benefit ratio of being as safe as you can all the time and how much a different set of tires for below 40 degrees are.

 

[Nitro]

It's not the price of a winter setup which kills the PP for me, as I'd always put winter tires on their own set of wheels (steel wheels or something) and never on the OEM wheels. It's the summer setup which I dislike, I want a square setup so I can rotate the wheels and get more life out of the tires and I'm willing to sacrifice some performance for practicality.

That's what I meant. I've always bought steel wheels for my winter setups, but it might literally be impossible to find steel wheels that fit over 15" discs with 6-piston calipers.

 

[derieuz]

That's what I meant. I've always bought steel wheels for my winter setups, but it might literally be impossible to find steel wheels that fit over 15" discs with 6-piston calipers.

i'm just going with some cheaper aluminum wheels that will fit if I can't find steel ones. Or maybe some old oem 19" mustang wheels if the offsets are correct

 

[Free Agent]

Its the other idiots you have to worry about. or the kid who steps off the curb and your "temperature compromised" tires cant get a grip and stop in time.

There are no absolutes. its a sliding scale on the cost benefit ratio of being as safe as you can all the time and how much a different set of tires for below 40 degrees are.

Correct. But it doesn't matter how safe your personal vehicle is if the other bad drivers on the road crash into you. You can spend money on winter tires and Joe Blow plows into you and it didn't matter one way or the other. It all comes down to as you say personal preference. I'm just stating it can be done. My thing is that is someone is so worried about winter driving. Just do get a 2000 dollar FWD winter beater and consider it a "mod". If not go get a new set of wheels with snow tires. If you don't do that, summer tires can be handled in the winter as long as you understand your limitations with them. I do and I don't push them past what they are capable of in wintertime.

Oh and I've never, NEVER had my summer tires lose braking traction on dry pavement in temperatures below 40 degrees while braking or panic breaking. ABS comes in handy. That is my preference and I'm putting it out there. As you say there are NO ABSOLUTES and saying winter tires are an ABSOLUTE must is incorrect albeit good practice and piece of mind.

 

[derieuz]

Correct. But it doesn't matter how safe your personal vehicle is if the other bad drivers on the road crash into you. You can spend money on winter tires and Joe Blow plows into you and it didn't matter one way or the other. It all comes down to as you say personal preference. I'm just stating it can be done. My thing is that is someone is so worried about winter driving. Just do get a 2000 dollar FWD winter beater and consider it a "mod". If not go get a new set of wheels with snow tires. If you don't do that, summer tires can be handled in the winter as long as you understand your limitations with them. I do and I don't push them past what they are capable of in wintertime.

Oh and I've never, NEVER had my summer tires lose braking traction on dry pavement in temperatures below 40 degrees while braking or panic breaking. ABS comes in handy. That is my preference and I'm putting it out there. As you say there are NO ABSOLUTES and saying winter tires are an ABSOLUTE must is incorrect albeit good practice and piece of mind.

With my old summer tires on a much less powerful car, I would go 5 MPH and go to brake, and slide about 20 feet. It was very dangerous to anyone on the road. i'm not sure how much snow you get, but in michigan, we get random feet(s) of snow at any given time, it can go from 1 inch to 12 in 5 hours.

 

[Free Agent]

With my old summer tires on a much less powerful car, I would go 5 MPH and go to brake, and slide about 20 feet. It was very dangerous to anyone on the road. i'm not sure how much snow you get, but in michigan, we get random feet(s) of snow at any given time, it can go from 1 inch to 12 in 5 hours.

That sounds like a function of the tread remaining on your tires its weight and whether or not it had ABS and has nothing to do with power when braking. Was it a light car without ABS? Plus don't just mash the brakes, plan ahead and ease onto them slowly. We get a ton of ice in our area and you learn how to brake carefully on that stuff. Plus I've been driving in winter stuff for 28 years and there is no replacement for experience. If I lived in Michigan I would get a dedicated set of snow tires, end of story. At the latitude I live it can be done if done carefully and knowing that you have to think ahead, go slow and use caution. And yes we had a lot of snow this winter, one event was 15 inches. When its that much we just stay home as the sensible alternative. If you can't and you live in the snow belt I'd advise getting an AWD or 4WD vehicle or minimum a FWD beater vehicle with good tires. Again I'll say this, know your vehicles limitations, prepare for what can happen and keep it safe out there in the winter time.

 

[GNS]

That's what I meant. I've always bought steel wheels for my winter setups, but it might literally be impossible to find steel wheels that fit over 15" discs with 6-piston calipers.

Oh...gotcha. I didn't realize that. Instead of steel wheels, I might have to get a set of alloys specifically for winter and save the stockers for summer.

@GTTK I'd be lying if I said that I don't care about scratches on a DD, but I understand that there is increased wear and tear for any daily driven vehicle year round. I'm willing to accept this and will do what I can to keep my car well maintained inside and out. This is one of the main reasons why my next car - whatever it is - will be silver, white or grey.

 

[doulos4jc]

Summer tires year around for me. After droppping a large chunk of change for the car in September, I'm praying for a mild winter in the mid Atlantic area, and can't afford four more all season tires.

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