All Seasons Vs Snow Tires

[Mike V]

All seasons are "OK". Snow tires are king. Get snow tires and you'll be wondering why people think they "need" AWD.

BP always seems to say the things that I have on my mind. There really is a huge difference in snow traction between winter tires and no-seasons. Also keep in mind that not all winter tires aren't created equal. If you still want to maintain decent grip in the dry, I've found that the Dunlop 3D does very well. You'll give up a little snow traction compared to tires such as the Blizzak, but the Blizzaks have mushy sidewalls. Here in central MO, we don't typically get a lot of snowstorms so the 3Ds work great for me. When I eventually move to MN, I'll likely switch back to Blizzaks for the snow traction.

[Marcus-SanDiego]

Yep. Good point, Mike, on the difference in snow tires. I lived in Idaho. Lots of snow and ice during the winter. I ran Blizzaks. If you don't get a lot of snowstorms (and we did), then a Blizzak may be unnecessary.

[M0nk3y]

Unfortunately, if you want a dedicated set of snows, 18's or 19's ain't gonna cut it. As far as I know, the smaller the better.
I believe skinnier is better as well.

Exactly.

The skinnier the tire you have the easier it is to cut through snow and reach pavement. If you have a wide tire on the car it will float on top of the snow and you will do nothing.

I don't know what the relation is with wheel size, but I assume it's directly related to width (smaller wheel = smaller width).

During the summer on my E46 I ran 235s on 18s. Winter I was on 205s on 16s.

Anyways. I ran on A/S Tires through winter on Lake Effect Snow. Never got stuck and never had trouble. It all comes down to driver skill. If you know what the tires can and can't do...it's literally impossible IMO to get in trouble unless mother nature does it for you.

[lilcdkey]

I used all-seasons in the crazy Chicago winters, never really had a problem. You can survive with all-seasons, snows aren't 100% necessary imo.

[az3579]

I used all-seasons in the crazy Chicago winters, never really had a problem. You can survive with all-seasons, snows aren't 100% necessary imo.

Depends on where you live. Chicago is fine; that's a city that regularly gets de-iced and plowed. In places where a truck doesn't come by very often, you wouldn't survive a second with all seasons.

Definitely a choice to make depending on where you drive.

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[Rovert]

It all depends on how fast you want to stop given an unplanned obstacle. I had snows on, my friend's Audi Quattro had all seasons. Opposing car spun out and blocked our lane. I hit the brakes to scrub speed and turned around the spun out car. My friend's Audi hit the car. Who's saving time, money, hassle now?

[billschusteriv]

I tried posting a reply to your question earlier... but Tapatalk wasn't having any of it.


Right now, these are the wheels/tires I've got on the cars:

02 325XiT: 205/55-16 Hankook Ventus V4s, mounted on Style 45's.
90 325iS: 195/65-14 BFG Traction T/A on rear (wider/deeper treads), Falken Ziex ZE-912 on front, mounted on factory 'weaves.
Ford Taurus (wife's): 215/60-16 BFG Traction T/A, mounted on factory alloys.

I have found, based on my personal experience and driving style, all of the aforementioned tires have handled quite well for me.

I've never owned a set of snow tires. Snow tires and other things (AWD/4WD) may help but won't make you invincible.

I've driven FWD (Ford Taurus, Chevy Cavalier), RWD (BMW e30), AWD (BMW e46 touring), and RWD/4WD (Toyota Pickup, 4Runner) vehicles on All-Seasons/All-Terrains in PA and NY snows for the last 15 years. Doesn't make me an expert, but I haven't had a snow/ice related accident.

Changing your driving style based on road conditions is really key and king in these situations. Driving slower, leaving more distance, not making sharp turns, not accelerating into, during, or coming out of a turn, not passing/changing lanes across snow 'lumps', and using unplowed shoulders in icy conditions are all tips that I've found helpful while driving in wintery conditions.

That said, I will be outfitting the touring with high performance all-seasons (that carry better ratings) and snows either this winter or once the V4s wear out. We're going to be driving to Buffalo to visit the in-laws and I've got some pretty precious cargo now. If I can buy my wife some piece of mind and myself a better tool for driving in wintery weather, I'm all about it.

Configurations under consideration:

Summer: 225/45-17, Continential ExtremeContact DWS(?), mounted on Style 73's.
Winter: 205/55-16, Dunlop SP Winter Sport 3D or Michelin Pilot Alpin PA3, mounted on Style 45's.

[T.Bird]

The alternative is to get very high quality all-seasons (like I will in a couple of months - going with Continental DWS)

Nice! I plan on ordering these next week from tirerack and picking them up from the warehouse in Hartford. I've been researching for a couple of months and these have GREAT reviews.

[Mtnman]

I have dws. and I live in the mtns...they did very well last year in the snow. Had mich pilot spt all season plus before. They also ddid very well. Can't go wrong with either.

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[T.Bird]

I have dws. and I live in the mtns...they did very well last year in the snow. Had mich pilot spt all season plus before. They also ddid very well. Can't go wrong with either.

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How is the dry traction with the DWS? How many miles have you put on them?