DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Everything Else... Snow and Ice...Whats on your Car?

It's getting to be that time of year again. I was wondering what many of you would view as the best Tire to have (on a small car) for snow and ice. I have TigerPaws right now and have been happy with them. I saw an ad on here about Tires for mud and snow, they cost over $700. per tire . So in that light I thought I would ask some of you what you thought about car tires. I know driving on ice is not easy and any tire out there will slip, but I wonder which one does better on ice? I drive a lot of miles through the week and the older I get the more I don't want to fight it anymore. I like getting good gas mileage so a truck is out. Kinda wish I still had my '78 Dodge Power Wagon, that was a beast! Anyway whats on your car?

Wow, tough room. I know Arch and a few others out there drive in bad weather but I think they have trucks. Any small car drivers out there, that drive in bad weather?

Last year i drove my 2006 Saab 9-3 exclusively for the winter. I had Kumho All Season on it that I bought in Texas. Believe it or not on the main roads it was fine. I only had ABS kick on once, and only felt slippage turning left once.

But my driveway was another beast (I've posted this picture before, but just so it's available:)



The tires were quite problematic there. There is also no positraction/LSD on this car, so in traction loss you only get 1 wheel spinning. As winter progressed those packed snow ruts turned into straight up ice. The packed snow on either side helped keep the car straight, almost like a train. But I had to take my driveway at 15-20mph so I could carry momentum over the icey portions. Else I was pushing the car.

I did buy these:

http://www.amazon.com/Portable-Tow-Truck...s=traction+mats

They worked pretty well, although I bought them at the end of winter so only used them once.

As for tires themselves I will probably buy Blizzaks if I don't buy a cheap truck/SUV (I have other uses for a truck/SUV because our saab is very small and I can't carry much from home depot.) Silly home ownership!

I get 29 miles to a gallon in the city with my Subaru Impreza AWD. Tires can only do so much. Traction and torque to four wheels is the way to go.
I know that's not really the answer you were looking for. What I would say is look around for tires with widest tread. They toss the snow instead of allowing it to pack the tread gaps creating a slick tire. In turn, poor traction.

The Subaru club I'm in all usually run Bridgestone's Blizzak snow tires. I actually just bought a set from Tire Rack, these will be the first snow/winter tires I've ever bought (and go figure, I'd buy them when I have an AWD Subaru haha, but ah well - it'll just make it a freaking M1A2 tank in the snow.)

Expensive, low tread life but it could be one of the next best thing(s) outside of a studded setup.

If you want to get nuts, then get nuts and get some Nokian Hakkapeliitta. These are studded and basically what they use in Alaska and etc lol...

I'm looking for a 4x4 for better snow handling too, but Tires matter an INCREDIBLE amount.

Here is a video showing a BMW M3 on snow tires vs a Subaru Forester on summer tires. Bmw is RWD, Subaru is AWD.



Now if they both had winter tires the subaru would have gotten a faster start and definitely beat the bmw up the hill. But I think the video proves the point that motorheads have known for decades: gears and tires

I was thinking of getting a Subaru for the wife, and then I could borrow it when I needed to
She has a Van and I might take that 1 or two times a year, since it weighs twice as much as my car. On the other hand, I do have over 188k on this car so maybe if I buy another car it would be a Subaru. I have heard some bad things about them though, like for oil changes you need to go to the dealer because they wrap a coil cable around the oil filter and it makes it hard to change your own oil. Do you know anything about that?

Thanks Gage, that was really something to watch. Tires are important, my paws are all weather and have a lot of gripping power. Thanks for the video.

Certainly tires are a huge component. But as you said, all things equal, the AWD/4WD option is going to give you the safest ride. I have a 2002 4x4 Frontier and a 2015 Impreza. Neither with snow tires. Living in Portland means wet but snow free roads. When I ski, the truck has gotten me up the mountain without problems. I'll find out about the Subaru this winter.
With as bad as the winters back in Ohio have been I'd consider a set of studded tires.

I really can't answer that. We have an H3, with big beefy tires - but it's also 4 wd. I just put some Mastercraft Courser HXT's on my work vehicle (big, beefy tread - but I got them because the sidewalls are a little thicker/heavier duty) And my personal vehicle is a 2 wd pickup......it sucks in any bad weather.

The key for me is remembering which vehicle I'm driving at the time. The 2 I drive suck in snow or ice. The 4 wd gives a false sense of safety because "going" isn't a problem, it's the "stopping" that poses the issue.

I don't own a car and haven't for about, I don't know, 6 years or so.

I can't say really for two reasons. First, my Impreza only has 1100 miles on it. Secondly, I have 'free' lifetime oil changes at the dealer. Meaning I paid upfront for about three years worth, then they're really free. I plan on driving the car for 10 years so it'll work out in my favor well.
I will say when I opened the hood I was really surprised. The oil filter is on top of the engine. Look in the front right of this image.

I can't speak for where the drain plug is located.

My buddy works for Subaru. He was able to get me a VIP deal. So maybe I'm a little biased. I do have a sister and brother in law in the Columbus area that own two. Both older model Foresters. They drive the hell out of them. So far I love driving my Impreza. It's a great handling, fun to drive, 148hp hatchback. Only the Mazda 3 offers more hp in the class, 155. It can't offer the safety of AWD.
Upkeep on an AWD/4WD is a little higher as you have a transaxle/differential that needs regular fluid changes and such. It's negligible. If you can't afford $70 every now and then, you shouldn't be buying a new car.

Nokian Hakkapelitas. Best snow tires out there. Honestly, they worked better than the 4 wheel drive on my old Suzuki. More grip to the road. They were fantastic. Not cheap, but well worth it. Made in Finland, and come on, those fins gotta know how to drive in snow and ice!

Four wheel drive will only help if you've got the proper shoes on the car. Not much traction in 4WD wearing no bowling shoes, you know.

Snow and ice require water, which I have none of. The only thing I have on my car is unrelenting sunshine.

Well, I live in Colorado Springs, and drove a ford focus into the mountains to go skiing for 7 years. Always with all season tires. Never had any kind of special winter tires. I did carry chains with me, but only needed them once. As long as I had good treads, I had no problem getting over mountain passes in the snow and such.

Let me throw out one thing that hasn't been mentioned yet, experience and skill in winter driving. It matters. Lots of vacationers in Colorado during the winter months to go skiing and a lot of them don't have a clue how to drive in the snow. It's all wheel drive vehicles that I often see sitting in a ditch on the road. All wheel drive does not make one invincible.

Michelin Tires are the only tires I buy. Never ever had a problem with them and they last forever.

We own a tire business, live in NW PA and run Blizzaks on our family vehicle

Yeah, my Subaru club I am in just freaking loves them. I had to order them for my WRX! Should have asked you first though, owning a business maybe you could have had mercy on me since I am a Browns fan and gave me a deal lol

Is that masked profanity ?

The company I work for is headquartered where Michelin is (Clermont-Ferrand)

Two years ago I put Michelin PS2's on the Viper (275mm up front, 335mm rear) and they might be the best tire I've ever driven with.

I had Michelins on the Mustang, and I agree, excellent tire.

Never heard of those or the blikkards or whatever they are, but Thank You All for all the ideas. My in-laws all live in Mesa, Time to check out the moving options

I stay home the 3 days a year we have ice.

Hahaha. Wish I could. I used to get up at 4:AM to drive 90 miles one way to work for a week or so. Back when I was younger, I kinda liked the challenge, now I'm older and dread the thought of driving 20 miles an hour for 45-50 miles just to get to work.

Just get yourself some of these babies.

My wife would love that in the garage

Lucky I usually end up working those days.

Usually a sunshade until late November.

http://www.nbcnews.com/id/23869393/ns/bu...s/#.Vh1EtflVhBc

Up here in the upper Northeast some of us use these.

Here's another educational video re: studded vs. studdless tires: