Winter Tires??
- Thread starter emailme84
- Start date
If you are driving only in the city and on highways, with little or no need to go out in the absolute worst weather unless it really necessary. Toronto does not get enough snow to worry about it.
If you need to get around even in the really bad days or do some out of the city driving then you would be wise to consider them. Don't be fooled by "All Weather Tires" They sacrifice the features of the one for the other and don't really do a very good job on anything other than wet roads or dry. Snow and ice are best handled by snow or ice tires.
Features of a snow tire allow for cutting into and expelling snow quickly and are generally a very open pattern and tend to be noisy on open dry roads.
Ice tires have a softer compound that allow for grip on icy roads also they have a finer pattern in order to have more rubber contact with the road. They tend to wear out faster on warmer dry roads as the soft rubber heats up and wears faster. So you need to be sure and get them off before taking that drive to the cottage in the summer.
Personally I have not installed winter tires of any design in over 30 years on my personal vehicles. I have sold a lot and installed a lot, but hey it is about making a living too. The best thing that you can invest in, in my opinion is a skid school where you will learn how to handle your car under extreme circumstances and how to leave the appropriate amount of room for other peoples mistakes
If you need to get around even in the really bad days or do some out of the city driving then you would be wise to consider them. Don't be fooled by "All Weather Tires" They sacrifice the features of the one for the other and don't really do a very good job on anything other than wet roads or dry. Snow and ice are best handled by snow or ice tires.
Features of a snow tire allow for cutting into and expelling snow quickly and are generally a very open pattern and tend to be noisy on open dry roads.
Ice tires have a softer compound that allow for grip on icy roads also they have a finer pattern in order to have more rubber contact with the road. They tend to wear out faster on warmer dry roads as the soft rubber heats up and wears faster. So you need to be sure and get them off before taking that drive to the cottage in the summer.
Personally I have not installed winter tires of any design in over 30 years on my personal vehicles. I have sold a lot and installed a lot, but hey it is about making a living too. The best thing that you can invest in, in my opinion is a skid school where you will learn how to handle your car under extreme circumstances and how to leave the appropriate amount of room for other peoples mistakes
**********************************emailme84 said:What are the pros and cons to winter tires? I've never actually used winter tires before. Considering them as a possibility. What do you guys suggest?
Pro's:-
Flexible in winter and will grip when all seasons won't.
Better grip when driving away from a stop light after all the other idiots have been spinning their "all season" tires to hell to get going creating ice.
Con's:- You still have to manoeuvre around the clowns that don't have proper tires and are still trying to get up that hill or out of that ditch.
Solution:- Buy "all weather tires" ie. Nokia. Aggressive grip and drivable all year round.
If you do any driving in the winter, they may save you from any type of accident (Minor or major) thus paying for themselves.
As stated, they are softer therefore don't plug with snow in cold weather.
They are often cheaper than all season tires so they will extend the life of your more expensive tires.
As stated, they are softer therefore don't plug with snow in cold weather.
They are often cheaper than all season tires so they will extend the life of your more expensive tires.
There is no use for snow tires in the city.
I use ice tires.
They are way better than all-season tires.
Winter tires should be mandatory, especially for rear-wheel drive vehicles.
I use ice tires.
They are way better than all-season tires.
Winter tires should be mandatory, especially for rear-wheel drive vehicles.
And may I add...
and on all wheel drive vehicles plus SUV's.
*********************Malibook said:There is no use for snow tires in the city.
I use winter ice tires.
They are way better than all-season tires.
Winter tires should be mandatory, especially for rear-wheel drive vehicles.
and on all wheel drive vehicles plus SUV's.
True
That's why I specified all weather tires. Big difference...
*************l69norm said:They say even the the cheapest and worst winter tires are still way better than the top of the line "all seasons" in snow.
That's why I specified all weather tires. Big difference...
I always thought that the "all weather tire" was just a fancy name for a winter tire that you drive all year on?toughb said:...That's why I specified all weather tires. Big difference...
Sorry but no...
All weather tires not all season.
Again have a look at Nokia. I've got them on both my daughters car and mine.
Minor extra noise in the summer but superior performance without buying two sets of tires.
*************************l69norm said:I always thought that the "all weather tire" was just a fancy name for a winter tire that you drive all year on?
All weather tires not all season.
Again have a look at Nokia. I've got them on both my daughters car and mine.
Minor extra noise in the summer but superior performance without buying two sets of tires.
Looks like it no longer owned by Nokia.They changed the name to Nokian and it partially owned by Bridgestone:toughb said:...look at Nokia..
http://www.tire-information-world.com/nokian-tires.html
Neat "all weather" tires though.
http://www.nokiantires.com/en/tire_wr.aspx?season=summer
Information looks good...
They are still marketing the tires as all weather.
Mine are great. Hope these live up to the reputation.
***************************************l69norm said:Looks like it no longer owned by Nokia.They changed the name to Nokian and it partially owned by Bridgestone:
http://www.tire-information-world.com/nokian-tires.html
Neat "all weather" tires though.
http://www.nokiantires.com/en/tire_wr.aspx?season=summer
They are still marketing the tires as all weather.
Mine are great. Hope these live up to the reputation.
Those tires are listed under summer and winter which looks like all-season to me.toughb said:*************************
All weather tires not all season.
Again have a look at Nokia. I've got them on both my daughters car and mine.
Minor extra noise in the summer but superior performance without buying two sets of tires.
Nokian WRs i have them on both Audis and my Subaru... i found the best deal for them at Mags N Tires in Scarborough,, up on Nantucket.
I prefer ice tires, even for out in the country, and certainly for in the city. Driving in snow is not really that hard, but on freezing rained ice (?), I want all the grip I can possibly get. It is pretty convenient to get them switched in spring and fall at the same time as an oil change, and you get your money's worth from both the winter and summer tires, so the cost of having two sets is really minimal.
I had never heard the term all-weather before but after looking at the website, it looks like it is the name for their premium all-season tires.l69norm said:I always thought that the "all weather tire" was just a fancy name for a winter tire that you drive all year on?
Tires can be designed to be great for summer dry or great for summer wet or they can be made to be pretty good for both.
Tires can be designed to be great for winter snow or great for winter ice or they can be made to be pretty good for both.
Trying to combine dry, wet, ice, and snow over vast temperature ranges dilutes the performance even more, although obviously some are much better than others.
All Season or summer tires do not perform well below 10C because of the rubber compound.
Winter tires are better, even in Toronto, because of the rubber compound, not just the more aggressive tread.
Do everyone a favour, and get winter tires.
Winter tires are better, even in Toronto, because of the rubber compound, not just the more aggressive tread.
Do everyone a favour, and get winter tires.
I like the Blizzak from Bridgestone. The Tire Rack has deals with rims so that you can just change them and don’t have to mess with mounting balance ect check them out at http://www.tirerack.com/it/it_07win/index.jsp?show=tires
You can even have them shipped to a gas station and have them switched if you need that
There are some places that will store your summer tires and switch them back in the spring
You can even have them shipped to a gas station and have them switched if you need that
There are some places that will store your summer tires and switch them back in the spring
