Are snow tyres really worth it ?

Ice_warmer

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Have driven 2 cars one with summer tyres and one with winter tyres, on the snow i couldn't tell them apart, except on cold clean asphalt on wich winter tyres seem to behave a little bit better.

But i still wonder, i don't know about you guys, but i don't see the need to spend on another set of tyres just for winter, i guess winter tyres have some placebo effect that makes you feel safer but i think that's about it.
 
The only tires which will really help you in the snow and ice are studded.
 
I suspect power, powertrain layout, and tire width make a big difference on whether snow tires matter. I've known people with narrow all-seasons on compact cars that have survived winters with no problem, but the all-seasons on my MR2 were utterly treacherous in a moderate snowfall. My XJR is supposedly nearly unmanageable without snow tires, so I got a set just in case. What cars did you try out?
 
Coming from someone who lives in a snowy country where snow tyres are required: YES!! And DON'T buy cheap shit either! And stay away from "mud and snow" tyres..
 
Car and Driver did a comparisson once where they determined that 2wd cars on snow tires were better in the white stuff than awd cars on all-seasons. From my experience, snow tires help a LOT. I'm sorry, but you are dead wrong about the tires that were on those two cars. My friend had summer tires (azenis) on his CRX one winter and he literally couldn't get out of his parking spot after it snowed. Then he got proper winter tires the following winter and got through a major snow storm without a problem.
 
Going from performance summer tires to winter tires will make a difference. Going from all seasons to winter tires will make little difference. I went last winter with summer performance tires on my grand prix, it was enough to get by, but the traction was questionable. This year I have winter tires, it makes a big difference.

One thing to note, that winter tires aren't so much effective on slick/smooth/icy surfaces so much as wet/slushy/<12" snow conditions- with summer tires in the wet/slush/snow you'll have trouble where the winter tires will be fine.
 
One-word answer: Yes.
 
for the record the tyres were as follows, (the winter tyres) Bridgestone Blizzak Lm-25(or 20) and Continental EcoContact 3 (the energy saver summer tyres).

All in all last winter i was running on summer tyres, i managed not to hit anyone, but this year, after 3 days of snow (15 cm) with salt on the road someone managed to bump my car parked wich was up on the kerb.

Anyway haven't got a chance yet to test them on non-flattened snow yet.
 
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Being control of the car in any weather condition the winter throws at you and driving around not managing to hit anyone are two completely different things.
 
I have always got by on all season tires, although I have driven vehicles equiped with snow tires. I live in a populated area that only gets real winter for about 2.5 months out of the year. I did buy some "snow rated" all season tires for the old Buick and am curious as to how they are in the snow. For me the extra set of tires is not worth it. But, if I lived about 50 miles farther north I would own some snow tires.
 
Being control of the car in any weather condition the winter throws at you and driving around not managing to hit anyone are two completely different things.

last winter was much worse, and i had summer tyres,and haven't had an accident, and now with our much more calm winter someone bumps into me, i wanted to emphasie the fact that going through winter with summer tyres isn't that bad.
 
for the record the tyres were as follows, (the winter tyres) Bridgestone Blizzak Lm-25(or 20) and Continental EcoContact 3 (the energy saver summer tyres).

All in all last winter i was running on summer tyres, i managed not to hit anyone, but this year, after 3 days of snow (15 cm) with salt on the road someone managed to bump my car parked wich was up on the kerb.

Anyway haven't got a chance yet to test them on non-flattened snow yet.

Those Continentals are the crappiest summer tires I've ever seen :lol: Soooo not a performance tire. Anyways, what cars were these tires on? That's pretty important also
 
Great News !!!
What ?
They (summer)tyres were on a DACIA
dacia-logan-facelift.jpg


If the snow gets really really bad, i mount the wheel chains anyway, snow tyres or not.
 
The Idon'tevenknow tires that came with my Sebring were fine in the winter, thought I did have some trouble getting out of the driveway I never seriously lost traction on the roads, even during a couple of severe storms.

However on my current car, I feel the traction control kicking in enough in the wet (and even sometimes in the dry) that I got some snow tires. Even though I will make every effort not to drive in the snow <_<
 
There's no denying tires make up a HUGE part of the way any car behaves traction-wise.

Just looking at the tires should give you an idea of what they are capable of gripping. IMO
 
Yeah, I just stick to all-seasons; winter tires are a huge waste of money for me.

When my parents got the Matrix a year ago, it still had its stock Bridgestone Potenza M+S (all-seasons) tires on it and they were pretty good, until the first snowfall. They were just horrible in the snow, hardly any grip at all.

We then got all 4 replaced with Uniroyal Tiger Paws All-Season M+S, and they were a HUGE improvement over the Potenzas in the snow. The Potenzas were still better in the dry (better handling, roadholding), but don't even come close in bad weather.
 
I have always got by on all season tires, although I have driven vehicles equiped with snow tires. I live in a populated area that only gets real winter for about 2.5 months out of the year. I did buy some "snow rated" all season tires for the old Buick and am curious as to how they are in the snow. For me the extra set of tires is not worth it. But, if I lived about 50 miles farther north I would own some snow tires.

Well it should help that your Buick is more massive than most black holes. :p When it snows here, I'm swapping the Jag for my father's Roadmaster.
 
Even without any snow summer tyres will perform worse than winter tyres, simply due to a different rubber compound (insert F1-style analysis here). The summer rubber is designed for warm-ish weather, the winter rubber is designed (you guessed it) for colder weather. Winter rubber in hot weather will get wrecked, summer rubber in winter fails to grip properly.
 
Yeah, days like today. Bone-dry, freezing. Not even any condensed water/ice on the windscreens in the morning...
 
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