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Car nerds: are summer tires really that bad in winter? (1 Viewer)

Otis

Otis

Footballguy
Bought a car this year that has 22" wheels and came with summer performance tires.  Vehicle is all wheel drive.  How bad/dangerous will it be to drive in snow/ice conditions in the NE this winter?  (Assuming I generally try to avoid doing so, but in case I have to?)   It's my car and really mainly a "weekend car" -- I take public transportation to work during the week and my wife has her own car.  

Basically trying to figure out if I need to get a set of winter wheels/tires (PIA to keep having to swap out each season), or just throw all seasons on the car, or whether I can simply get away with them with the tires I have.  I mean, tires are tires, aren't they?

 
Are the tires one step above "slicks"? If they have more then 3/16 of tread your O.K.
You have the coin to buy winter tires(on rims) and just get them swapped out.
I'm as cheap as it comes to vehicles and have driven in Maine winters with O.K.
tires. I wouldn't do it if I could afford a better ride and winter tires.

All season tires are not really all season. They are pretty good for the first winter
then not so good after that. I'm not driving in a congested/high traffic area so
you have that to consider.

 
Summer tires are horrible in the snow.  I have a Grand Cherokee SRT that came with summer tires and after white knuckling driving in the snow swapped them out for all-season.  Much better.

 
I have Blizzaks on black rims for the winter and street tires with nice rims for the summer.  The tire guy charges me 15.00 to swap them out and it takes less than 10 minutes. Small piece of mind to have especially if you have a sports car in the Colorado winters. 

 
All season - do you just have one pair of shoes for all types of weather?

all wheel drive is great for “going”,  doesn’t make a big difference on stopping. Stopping is what I would worry about 

for nyc I would prob go with all seasons. Up here in Boston would have dedicated snows (as I do) 

 
Courtjester said:
I have Blizzaks on black rims for the winter and street tires with nice rims for the summer.  The tire guy charges me 15.00 to swap them out and it takes less than 10 minutes. Small piece of mind to have especially if you have a sports car in the Colorado winters. 
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I looked at Blizzaks and considered this. You make it seem easier than I’d thought. 

 
wilked said:
All season - do you just have one pair of shoes for all types of weather?

all wheel drive is great for “going”,  doesn’t make a big difference on stopping. Stopping is what I would worry about 

for nyc I would prob go with all seasons. Up here in Boston would have dedicated snows (as I do) 
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Maybe this is the best route. I’ve never had snow tires in the past. Always had all seasons and was fine. 

 
Otis said:
I looked at Blizzaks and considered this. You make it seem easier than I’d thought. 
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Blizzaks are absolutely the best snow tire I have ever had. I mean I don't think I slid once all last year and we had a couple pretty good blizzards. Loading up the tires and taking them to the tire store down the street is sort of a PIA, but other than that, it is well worth it.

 
Horrible. Like good luck getting from a stop to greater than 10 mph in the snow. 

Get winter tires and rotate. 

 
summer/sport tires are fine on dry and wet conditions.  if you are going to do any substantial driving on ice/snow/slush i would get winters.  

I also had two sets I would change them out. Very easy.  Blizzaks are very good. I used to use Nokian

We do not get in the snow as much and last year got some Michelins for our suv.  Perfect for us now.

 
People who know how to drive in the winter can get by on all season tires, though I still use/recommend snow tires personally. 

But summer/performance tires? Nah bro, spend that coin or take out a bug life insurance policy on yourself. 

 
FreeBaGeL said:
People who know how to drive in the winter can get by on all season tires, though I still use/recommend snow tires personally. 

But summer/performance tires? Nah bro, spend that coin or take out a bug life insurance policy on yourself. 
Click to expand...
I didn't choose the bug life, the bug life chose me. 

 
McJose said:
There are different tires for different seasons?
Click to expand...
Yeah, a northern thing, I guess. Down south, snow chains and making sure your tires aren't worn out are about as far as most are gonna go. 

Here's what I don't quite get.......so, you've got a summer/performance tire. Great, and apparently that's for great grip on dry pavement. Presumably so you can go fast as possible around curves? I mean why else would one give a crap. And if you give a crap about that, I'd think you're talking about a sports car. But why would someone in a snowy region plan on using a sports car as their daily during a snow storm?

Winter tires, I get. Not sure I understand performance tires in northern climates. Seems to make sense to drive something that'll do well in snow as a daily, and, if you've got the money,  bust out the sports car and play Mario Andretti for the 3 weeks a year that the weather suits.

 
pollardsvision said:
Here's what I don't quite get.......so, you've got a summer/performance tire. Great, and apparently that's for great grip on dry pavement. Presumably so you can go fast as possible around curves? I mean why else would one give a crap. And if you give a crap about that, I'd think you're talking about a sports car. But why would someone in a snowy region plan on using a sports car as their daily during a snow storm?

Winter tires, I get. Not sure I understand performance tires in northern climates. Seems to make sense to drive something that'll do well in snow as a daily, and, if you've got the money,  bust out the sports car and play Mario Andretti for the 3 weeks a year that the weather suits.
Click to expand...
Not sure you read my post 

 
Otis said:
Not sure you read my post 
Click to expand...
I was just speaking generally. Anyway, it seems to make sense to just have the tires suit the vehicle when you've got a few vehicles.

So, for your "weekend car", I say leave those performance slicks on and just keep in the garage all winter. Or at least when there's a foot of snow on the ground.

I might need to update my notebook: I thought there was a Raptor and an old Jeep involved here, too,. I was thinking your driveway looked like Ricky Bobby's, so I may be ill-informed. I was assuming you had others more suited for Winter.

 
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pollardsvision said:
I was just speaking generally. Anyway, it seems to make sense to just have the tires suit the vehicle when you've got a few vehicles.

So, for your "weekend car", I say leave those performance slicks on and just keep in the garage all winter. Or at least when there's a foot of snow on the ground.

I might need to update my notebook: I thought there was a Raptor and an old Jeep involved here, too,. I was thinking your driveway looked like Ricky Bobby's, so I may be ill-informed. I was assuming you had others more suited for Winter.
Click to expand...
If I had more garage space, I’d most definitely have more cars.  

My wife and I each have SUVs, and my second car is a 1979 International Scout I garage and only take out for fun on nice days to tote the family around or smoke a cigar. It’s a beast. 

 
I used to live in an area that had a 7 month harsh winter. I owned a sports car as my daily, my wife had an SUV (same car situation now). I needed a good winter/snow tires. I cannot tell you how many cars were on the side of the road every day. It was very nice to have one less thing to worry about. 

We now live in an area where we might drive to the mountains 4-5 times a year.  We decided to get my wife some winters and put them on before a our first trip in the season and take them off after our last (3-4 months)

 
Chains are up to you. They limit speed, are a hassle, and are bad for roads. If you live in areas with a lot of snow and ice, I'd get tires. If you drive to it once in a while, maybe chains. 

I am at a point where I really do not want to get out and put on chains anymore.

 
culdeus said:
So at what point do you get chains? Or is that a 80s thing?
Click to expand...
Around here it's mostly big rigs during the winter.  There are mountain traction laws where there is a level where all vehicles must have chains but typically if it's that bad they close the roads. It's a possibility of a $650  fine if your vehicle gets stuck  because of inadequate tires/ 4 wheel drive/all wheel drive.

 
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This weekend vehicle, it will be hauling your wife and daughters along with you?  Pretty precious cargo in my estimation.  The cost and inconvenience would seem insignificant to the recriminations should something untoward happen.  Find a service center that will store your unused set, some do this.  Also swapping them out is a reminder twice a year, and particularly before winter driving, to have your whole vehicle checked for soundness and safety. 

An ounce of prevention and all that.

 
I had a car with summer tires and had a separate set of rims with winter tires, made swapping even easier.

I think one of the problems with summer tires isnt even the snow, its that the rubber turns hard at colder temperatures.  Reduces traction under all cold temperatures.

 
mr roboto said:
Get winter tires and rotate. 
Click to expand...
Yeah, I was thinking the same thing.

For the maximum safety, performance, and longevity of the tires(whatever he uses) they should be rotated. If you are rotating your tires, I don't see how it take up any more time to just swap them out(other than marking the tires with chalk that is). There also isn't an extra cost since his summer tires will last longer if he's only using them in the summer. As others have mentioned if his family will be driving in the car with him in the winter this is probably one area I wouldn't cut corners.

And I say that as a person that cuts corners in several other ways. 

 
Otis said:
I looked at Blizzaks and considered this. You make it seem easier than I’d thought. 
Click to expand...
Blizzaks are like magic.  The grip they provide is really really good in otherwise slippery conditions.  

And no tires are not just tires.  They are THE single most important part of your car. Every single thing you do driving a car is transmitted though those few square inches of contact patch and the technology put into them is significant.  

 
OK fair points.

BTW, my current tires are Continental Premium Contact 6 SSR

275/40 R22 Y XL on front

315/35 R22 Y XL on the rear

Tirerack categorizes these as summer tires.  Guess I need to do something here.

 
Otis said:
OK fair points.

BTW, my current tires are Continental Premium Contact 6 SSR

275/40 R22 Y XL on front

315/35 R22 Y XL on the rear

Tirerack categorizes these as summer tires.  Guess I need to do something here.
Click to expand...
My summers were staggered also. For the winters I went with 4 of the same size.

 
My wife has a thing for sports cars, so I've been swapping out summer and winter tires for the last 10 years.  Luckily, my neighbor is also a car nut, so he has all the tools to make it a <30 minute job.  The key, as stated above, is to buy a winter tire and wheel package.  Not only will your summer tires be completely unsafe in the winter, but rolling on 22"s is just begging for some costly wheel/alignment repairs thanks to all the potholes that time of year.  If you want to overpay, go to the dealer and buy a 20" winter wheel/tire package.  Or better yet, plug in all the car's info at tirerack.com and get a ton more choices and save a lot of money too.  And if you actually drive it like a sports car, it would be a crime to saddle it with all-seasons.

 
pollardsvision said:
Yeah, a northern thing, I guess. Down south, snow chains and making sure your tires aren't worn out are about as far as most are gonna go. 

Here's what I don't quite get.......so, you've got a summer/performance tire. Great, and apparently that's for great grip on dry pavement. Presumably so you can go fast as possible around curves? I mean why else would one give a crap. And if you give a crap about that, I'd think you're talking about a sports car. But why would someone in a snowy region plan on using a sports car as their daily during a snow storm?

Winter tires, I get. Not sure I understand performance tires in northern climates. Seems to make sense to drive something that'll do well in snow as a daily, and, if you've got the money,  bust out the sports car and play Mario Andretti for the 3 weeks a year that the weather suits.
Click to expand...
Snow tires or chains down south, here anyway, would be a complete waste of money. 

If there's snow on the road, even the more than slight possibility of snow coming, this state closes down.

 
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Courtjester said:
Blizzaks are absolutely the best snow tire I have ever had. I mean I don't think I slid once all last year and we had a couple pretty good blizzards. Loading up the tires and taking them to the tire store down the street is sort of a PIA, but other than that, it is well worth it.
Click to expand...
I'll add another positive Blizzak review. While I still could practice police turns with some effort, they completely changed my winter driving experience in MI.

Isn't Otis wealthy enough to have a vehicle for every season?

 
I don't think that you have to be a car nerd to know the answer to the question.  Should be common sense that Summer performance tires are not made for ice and snow.  

 
Otis said:
Bought a car this year that has 22" wheels and came with summer performance tires.  Vehicle is all wheel drive.  How bad/dangerous will it be to drive in snow/ice conditions in the NE this winter?  (Assuming I generally try to avoid doing so, but in case I have to?)   It's my car and really mainly a "weekend car" -- I take public transportation to work during the week and my wife has her own car.  

Basically trying to figure out if I need to get a set of winter wheels/tires (PIA to keep having to swap out each season), or just throw all seasons on the car, or whether I can simply get away with them with the tires I have.  I mean, tires are tires, aren't they?
Click to expand...
Get a second set of rims with winter tires on them. All season tires are kind of crappy at everything but still safe. Summer tires in the winter are unsafe and it doesn’t matter if you have 4 wheel drive. 

 
Otis said:
If I had more garage space, I’d most definitely have more cars.  

My wife and I each have SUVs, and my second car is a 1979 International Scout I garage and only take out for fun on nice days to tote the family around or smoke a cigar. It’s a beast. 
Click to expand...
That thing should be great in the snow/fun.

 
Found a mobile tire installer in my area — they will come to me and install. So I’m picking up some winter wheels and tires on tirerack and having them shipped to the installer, who will show up at my house and take care of it. Good stuff. 

Thanks all. 

 
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