Are snow tires really needed for prius winter driving?

Makes sense to me. And yes, too bad Michigan prohibits studded tires. I know comparing the ice traction of a highly-rated studless tire like the Toyo Open Country G-02 Plus to the factory studded Nokian, there is a day and night difference in traction

I'll never go back to a studless winter tire. You can pry my factory studded tires from my cold, dead, stiff fingers

Dealer decal

 

I have spent one winter in MN and WI without snow tires on my Prius and I will not spend another. I spun out for the first time in my life last winter while it was snowing on an exit ramp. Roads were not that bad, but I had no traction at all.

I'm looking at the Nokian WRG2s that have been highly recommended on these forums.

 

I have a 2009, but I've already gone through 1 winter with the oem tires, and they seem fine. I'd likely keep them for the upcoming winter as well. I haven't felt any problems with grip so far. That said, when its really bad out with ice and snow, I'd usually work from home or drive the sienna.

 

BTW, it's not just the snow... even though they're called snow tires. The rubber is very different...if it's likely to be under -20C a fair bit, you need winter tires. Summer rubber loses its friction even on dry pavement, compared to winter tires when it's cold (or compared to summer tires when warm)... of course, if studs are legal where you are, they always get some traction. Not legal here, dammit.

 

Read Aegison's post, I used the same logic to buy snow tires/wheels for my wife's car. The difference is night and day, and it doesn't really cost anything as both sets of tires last longer (years, not miles). Changing them back and forth each Spring and Fall was a pain in the neck, I did it myself because I'm too cheap to pay someone else and haul tires back and forth for the privilege. You can get away with good all-season tires in snow if you are really careful, but in a pinch snow tires are a Godsend on snow and ice. You only need to slide off the road or get stuck a few times and you'll wish you had them if you're in a snowy area at all...

 

I also have studded tires ........ on my bike:

With these (Nokian btw), one can literally ride across a frozen lake.

 

I'm curious about if most people that get winter tires get separate wheels for them as well. I wouldn't mind getting just four winter tires and swapping them, but I've read (forgot where) that taking a tire off the wheel and then back on isn't very good for the tire. So, I concluded that the only right way to get winter tires is to get another set of wheels. That more than doubles the price which kind of puts it out of what I want to tolerate. What are the thoughts of the masses on this? (Thought about making a separate thread, but it's so related.

 

Nope, mine had the decals plastered on the sides too. And I paid cash for the stupid thing. If you finance, that dealership has GIANT decals across the rear window and front windshield sunscreened area

I really am ready to use a hair dryer to *gently* peel off the decals on the fenders. Knowing my luck, they used Crazy Glue and the paint will lift off right to bare metal

All it takes is once and you say to yourself "Wth is THIS?!"

Unfortunately, where you live you can't legally use studded tires. As a visitor to MN, however, I actually CAN run studded tires!

https://www.revisor.leg.state.mn.us/bin/getpub.php?pubtype=STAT_CHAP_SEC&year=2006&section=169.72

It's enough to make me want to take a drive down to the Twin Cities. You know, just to rub it in ....

But seriously, just about any dedicated winter tire will offer a day and night difference in snow and ice traction.

A very good point. I've seen cars spin out just on frosty roads, due to having old tires on with the tread compound hard as a rock. The Swedish road research organization VTI did testing on new and old tires - studded, studless or "friction," and "all season" - and discovered that the aged "all season" tires suffered the greatest loss in cold weather traction.

Indeed, VTI labeled the age-related loss of traction outright dangerous

VTI also concluded that aged studded tires suffered the least traction loss under winter conditions. The modern studded tires actually do very little damage to road surfaces.

The Scandinavian countries had a choice of banning studded tires altogether, or re-engineering them to minimize road damage. Not only do the new class of studs, like my factory-studded Nokians, offer better ice traction compared to the old studs, they reduce pavement wear to negligible amount

I agree. In the long-term there really is no additional cost, as you're spreading wear among 8 tires instead of 4

I must admit that I'm VERY impressed with the new generation of factory-studded Nokian tires. I thought the old ones were good, these new ones are day and night better

I had separate steelies for my Prius, and separate steelies for my FJ. There are many caveats to frequently mounting/dismounting tires from the same rim. Long-term, there is no additional cost in having separate rims

 

All season tires aren't meant for snow--just cold weather. That's true for any car. The Prius is FWD, so it's probably a bit better than a rear wheel drive car in snow. I have yet to drive in snow with the OE Integrities, so I don't know how they are.
I have a relative in Minnesota who has had a Prius with OE tires for 4 years--never switched to snows. If I had to drive in snow, I would put snows in front on the drive wheels.

 

By having winter tires on separate rims, you can install and remove them when you want, on very short order, regardless of the multi-day-long lines at the local tire shops when the weather forecast panics half the driving population to all go in at the same time.

 

My dealership just put their ad on the plate bezels... they lasted almost a day before I replaced them.

If you're getting snow tires, get 4!!! You want grip on all tires for braking and cornering. If you just put on front snows, let me know where you're driving, so I can keep away. Way back before radial tires were common, everyone here switched to snows on the drive wheels every winter, but that was back in rear wheel drive days. Locked up rear wheels are harder to handle in a skid than locked up front (and not as likely)