I put winter tires (and rims) on last year for the first time, since the new car had summer tires that were useless under 5 degrees in the wet. The winter grip was amazing, and allowed continued driving of a sporty car year round. I wouldn't run the summer tires in the winter.
Winter tires...
- Thread starter Cobster
- Start date
Ah I didn't really consider that. I drive a boring family car. Didn't think about the guys with sporty cars.
I never had snows in 25 years in Ottawa. Moving to and driving in downtown TO I found that they were needed especially when going beyond the major routes. Toronto has no fucking idea on how to plow / remove snow. The winter tires make a big difference in traction even after making the mental changes on how to drive.
I have tried Bridgestone, Dunlap, & Goodyear and now I buy nothing but Cdn Tire...Motomaster SE for 3 seasons plus Ice Trac or Winter Trac (whichever comes on sale first)
(not a shill for Cdn Tire...they only touch my tires and do oil changes...for other work their mechanics are mentally deficient)
I have tried Bridgestone, Dunlap, & Goodyear and now I buy nothing but Cdn Tire...Motomaster SE for 3 seasons plus Ice Trac or Winter Trac (whichever comes on sale first)
(not a shill for Cdn Tire...they only touch my tires and do oil changes...for other work their mechanics are mentally deficient)
For my Yokohama's which are MINT, I paid (in the ballpark) around $125 per tire (peak season) - early December -, they were a BITCH to find at that time of the year.frankcastle said:
But they're special, they have walnut chips in them.
Honestly though, like I said, they were the first winter tires I ever purchased and its really is a night and day difference.
If you do not have winter tires buy them in early October at best or at the latest NOW !! If you wait for cold temperatures or even worse, the first snowfall, you will have trouble 1) finding tires and 2) will face HUGE wait times to get them installed. The best thing is to have them installed on steel rims and buy a hydralic jack (about $35 at Cdn Tire) and swap them yourself - takes 30 minutes for each changeover and saves you about $70 per swap (usually $15 a tire for switch and balancing), so in 2 years you will have paid off your steel rims. The later you can wait to swap, the longer the winter tires will last. As mentioned previously, warm temperatures seriously wear out the softer compound on winter tires. My all seasons can make do for a light snowfall so I usually try to wait until Dec 1 or a major snowfall is forecast before changing them.
Traction especially on sporty cars is light years different with snow tires. Cars with narrower tires perform better in snow because less tire is in contact with the slippery surface. That is why sporty cars with the wider profile tires slide around so much. Snows are essential for these types of cars. Spend a bit extra and buy "good" snows as there is significant traction difference in higher end tires - there is significant tecnology in the better tires from better and softer compunds to air holes in the rubber and/or things like walnut fragments that improve traction. All the soft compound in a winter tire is in the outer tread. Once a winter has worn down to a certain point, the remaining rubber compound is the same as an all season tire. Performance at this point will be slightly better than an all season due to the more aggressive tread design.
Incremental cost is negligible - look at it this way... if you drive 12 months with a tire that lasts 3 years, you need new tires in 3 years. You can drive on that same tire for 6 years if you drive on it for only for 6 summer months. The all season tire will generally give you 3 years of excellent traction and another 1 or 2 years of acceptable traction. So over a 5-6 year period you will have virtually no extra costs other than the rims. Once you go to snows, you will never go back.
BTW, on a side note, Nokia (yes the phone maker) did used to make winter tires. That was their first base business. They expanded into cell phones and decided to sell off their tire business. No longer able to use the "Nokia" name, the brand name was changed to "Nokian" by the new owners in order not to lose the good name already built up.
If anyone wants a demonstration, once the snow falls, meet me with your car with all seasons. We will drive at 60 km/h and slam on the brakes. I virtually guarantee that I will stop around 50 ft less than you will especially on ice.
Go with snows and enjoy the beauty of a great Canadian winter with less worry.
Traction especially on sporty cars is light years different with snow tires. Cars with narrower tires perform better in snow because less tire is in contact with the slippery surface. That is why sporty cars with the wider profile tires slide around so much. Snows are essential for these types of cars. Spend a bit extra and buy "good" snows as there is significant traction difference in higher end tires - there is significant tecnology in the better tires from better and softer compunds to air holes in the rubber and/or things like walnut fragments that improve traction. All the soft compound in a winter tire is in the outer tread. Once a winter has worn down to a certain point, the remaining rubber compound is the same as an all season tire. Performance at this point will be slightly better than an all season due to the more aggressive tread design.
Incremental cost is negligible - look at it this way... if you drive 12 months with a tire that lasts 3 years, you need new tires in 3 years. You can drive on that same tire for 6 years if you drive on it for only for 6 summer months. The all season tire will generally give you 3 years of excellent traction and another 1 or 2 years of acceptable traction. So over a 5-6 year period you will have virtually no extra costs other than the rims. Once you go to snows, you will never go back.
BTW, on a side note, Nokia (yes the phone maker) did used to make winter tires. That was their first base business. They expanded into cell phones and decided to sell off their tire business. No longer able to use the "Nokia" name, the brand name was changed to "Nokian" by the new owners in order not to lose the good name already built up.
If anyone wants a demonstration, once the snow falls, meet me with your car with all seasons. We will drive at 60 km/h and slam on the brakes. I virtually guarantee that I will stop around 50 ft less than you will especially on ice.
Go with snows and enjoy the beauty of a great Canadian winter with less worry.
A couple of people have suggested switching summer to winter tires on your own, so you save some cash. Bad idea.
Balancing is important to for ride comfort. You should actually have your tires rotated and balanced every 2 oil changes.
If you can afford to hobby, don't cheap out with safety.
About $110 and up is a reasonable price for a snow tire. And always do all for tires. Don't put snows only on the front!
Balancing is important to for ride comfort. You should actually have your tires rotated and balanced every 2 oil changes.
If you can afford to hobby, don't cheap out with safety.
About $110 and up is a reasonable price for a snow tire. And always do all for tires. Don't put snows only on the front!
You shouldn't have to rebalance your wheels once they've been properly mounted when they were new.Compromised said:
Swapping the tires/rims yourself can also be a time saver. By the time you load up your snows, drive to the shop, wait for them to get to your car, drive home and put away your summers, you could have done it at home and maybe gone out for an appointment...
Also, rotating tires is not always an option, nor recomended by the manufacturer so my advice on that front is to read your manual or talk to your service guy. BMW for one, doesn't recommend rotations for some models (not sure if it's across their entire lineup).
Your comment about putting snows all around is very much worth following. A car's handling qualities will change with snows and you need to have both ends of the car able to respond predictably, regardless of front/rear or all wheel drive.
Do some reading of owner reviews at www.tirerack.com for a good idea of how the tire will behave on your particular vehicle. Unfortunately they don't have every tire made, but a good selection none the less.
On Steelcase in Markham, north of Steeles, east of Woodbine.
Go before the 1st snow fall, most tire shop will be nuts after that.
I got my Toyo G-02 plus on. It eats up bumps better than my summers. With upcoming roadtrip to snowbelt, better safe than sorry.
Go before the 1st snow fall, most tire shop will be nuts after that.
I got my Toyo G-02 plus on. It eats up bumps better than my summers. With upcoming roadtrip to snowbelt, better safe than sorry.
Tires do not wear evenly, which is why balancing should be done. And because front/back and left/right do not wear evenly, that is why rotation is recommended by most tire manufacturers. I did not know that BMW did not recommend rotation, and I wonder just what their reason is.skihrdr said:
in view of my terbite status
..I have Nokian STUDDED tires. yes, they are illegal in Southern Ontario, but there are a few shops around Toronto that will sell them to you with studs. Where I drive, (usually ice and freezing rain), the non-studded snows dont even come close in stopping power.
..I have Nokian STUDDED tires. yes, they are illegal in Southern Ontario, but there are a few shops around Toronto that will sell them to you with studs. Where I drive, (usually ice and freezing rain), the non-studded snows dont even come close in stopping power.
For your information..........................
Nokia and Nokian is the same company. Years ago Nokian was a Finnish company that made rubber products. Mostly tires and rubber boots to the Finnish and Russian armies. They also imported a small quantity of tires to North America, but due to the high prices they nver sold many here.
They saw no furture in rubber products, so they invested heavily in the early 90s in cell phone manufacturing. The rest is history. Due to their foresight, they still exist today.
I was one of the early investors in the biz.
Nokia and Nokian is the same company. Years ago Nokian was a Finnish company that made rubber products. Mostly tires and rubber boots to the Finnish and Russian armies. They also imported a small quantity of tires to North America, but due to the high prices they nver sold many here.
They saw no furture in rubber products, so they invested heavily in the early 90s in cell phone manufacturing. The rest is history. Due to their foresight, they still exist today.
I was one of the early investors in the biz.
