Winter snow tires or not?

1100' elevation.
I'd think Michelin defenders a m+s all season tires would be great year round, excellent in rain, 90,000 mile life and shop around able.

 

I lived 15 years in NW Ohio. Before that it was five in the Denver area. Never used snow tires. Only all season tires and (if needed) chains on the mountain passes. I drove in lots of snow and ice lots lots of times. Even drove all the way across Iowa in an ice storm and got around in Sioux City with about 16" of fresh snow. That was pre-Prius, but also mostly in rwd cars. Some was in a Taurus which was fwd.

Never got stuck bad enough to need help. If I lived in the mountains where there are heavy snows and steep roads, I think I'd want a 4wd like I had when I lived on a very muddy island until recently.

 

Snow chains as you probably already know have a speed limit of 30 MPH if I remember correctly. If you need to go faster than that in the snow then the tires will be more appropriate.

If you decide to go with snow chain-like devices may I direct you to look at the Peerless Super Z6 product.

 

Actually, I am not familiar enough with studded tires to know if they have the same speed limitations, so my apologies on that!

 

Chain and studded tires for 1 week of real winter road sound overkill IMO. How much snow are you talking about? Chain is no good on ice, and if I expect I would need chain for heavy snow, I would not venture out to road. That said, having a set of tire chain for winter emergency may not be a bad idea. Studded tires are very good on icy road, but it will be very noisy and uncomfortable, and of course, very taxing on mpg. Unless you are willing to do tire swap yourself, it is not a very temporary thing like chains. If I were you, I would just drive good all season tire with good snow/ice grip and make sure you have plenty of tread left, 6/32 minimum. I did not buy snow tire last year for my brand new Prius Prime that came with eco tires of marginal snow/ice tractions. I did fine for 4 month of real winter roads. But now with tread getting down to 7/32 already, I invested in Michelin Xice3 (studless snow) for this winter.

 

Studded snow tires are Illegal in most states. Except perhaps out west.

One week of snow on average is not worth having snow tires. Just drive appropriately. A good all-season M+S is all you need.


iPhone X ?

 

FYI, Studded tires are perfectly legal in most states. Only ten states in the US prohibit use of studded tires. Other states allow use but some states have seasonal restriction.

Ten states prohibit metal-studded snow tires: Alabama, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Louisiana, Maryland (except in five mountainous counties), Minnesota, Mississippi, Texas, and Wisconsin. (of which IMHO, Minnesota and Wisconsin are the only two states that would benefit from studded tires but not allowed. Other states with maybe exception of some area in Maryland, I would think never get cold enough to be needing studded tires.)
U.S. metal-studded snow tire regulations

 

Okay, so 40 states have no law against studded snow tires. Half of them see so little snow on a seasonal basis, that no one would even buy snow tires, let alone studded ones. I live in Wisconsin, they banned them decades ago when it was determined that they caused accelerated wear on the road surface. Of course the alternative doesn’t do much to slow that down either. Slather the roads with salt or brine as soon as forecasters say it might snow or have freezing rain. Most main roads are clear and dry within hours after the snow stops. If they didn’t put salt down forcing the roads to melt quickly, then I could see a valid reason for studded tires.

Modern snow tires, like blizzaks, are way better than the studded snow tires of decades past. Studded tires are meant for hard Pack ice and snow. The kind that stays on the roads for days or weeks because temps never get warm enough to melt the roads.


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Yeah, I didn't know about the states that prohibit use of studded tires until I looked it up and was surprised to see Wisconsin and Minnesota. I would think both states would benefits from having studded tires on icy roads. I totally agree with you about excessive use of road salt. I live on rural area of New England, but for most part of winter I can get by with just all season with plenty of tread. However the secondary road I have to drive to get to main roads are not plowed and not salted often enough after major snow storm, so it tend to become packed snow then thick ice for good part of winter. Although that's only 5-6 miles from my house to main road, I did wear studded snow tires on my previous cars just for that section of roads during winters. But they were so uncomfortable and noisy once I am off from packed snow and ice, and also caused major mpg hit. I switched to studdless a few years ago. I am so glad I did that and there is no way going back to studded tires ever again, unless I decide to move to somewhere remote where no plaw come during winter.

 

I am planning to buy a set in the next 2-3 months for our c. These cars are unusually dependent on front axle traction, so I want to help it everywhere I can.

 

Err, front wheel drive is superior to rear wheel drive on snow, the weight is right over the wheels.
IMHO, it's not going that's the problem, it's stopping, I prefer studs.

 

Get on it sooner than later, beat the rush. Especially if you're getting extra rims, and can install them yourself. It can be madhouse in November/December.

 

Yeah, I just need to waste 6-8 weeks trying to figure out what to do about TPMS. So far electrical tape is winning as a proposed solution. This is our first car with TPMS and I'm disappointed that nearly every method of coping with it involves disabling it. Looks like some very spiteful engineering was involved.

 

Yap, that's what I am going to do this winter. But as a back-up I purchased external TPMS to keep my eyes on tire pressure. If you really want to have functional TPMS inside of tires, I think finding a tire shop that will clone the OEM TPMS ids from your current tires and putting them in the new set of tires and rims will be the most hassle free way going forward for DIY tire change. Cost is $40 each for cloneable TPMS, and fees to shop to read your existing IDs and program them onto new clone sensors and putting them together, probably around $100.

 

I got a used Scion iQ, which has no space for a spare. One day the TPMS light went on. When I checked the pressures they were fine. The previous owner had used the temporary tire goo repair, and I’m assuming it on occasion still fouls up the sensor. Hopefully living with the light is an option? I am not interested in paying $ to solve an intermittent light. These are not runflats, correct? Then when you get a low pressure situation you will feel it before any MORE dangerous situation develops from unknowingly driving a runflat flat.

 

I'd go for that in a heartbeat. I haven't found $40 cloneable sensors. Any specific recommendations?

 

This one for example at Amazon is $119 for 4 programmable TPMS.

You just need to find a shop willing to work with you to program them with current TPMS IDs off from your summer tires. Or you have to spend additional $$$ for Autel TPMS scanning/programing handheld tool like this one.

I believe, TS501 is not only TPMS scanner/programmer, but also can be used for OBDII linked TPMS register, meaning if you have this tool, you can program your C with new TPMS IDs without taking to a shop or dealer.

 

Your amazon link seems not to have worked, but I will search more. Thanks!

I think I will buy a set of programmable sensors for the winter wheels. I don't mind paying a pro tire shop to do the programming so that both sets of wheels respond with the same 4 IDs. I don't think I need to own that tool yet, for two sets of tires on one car, when it will be at least 3 years before we own another TPMS-enabled car.

 

Turn off your Ad blocker. Amazon link is seen as Ads.
If that doesn't work, just search on Amazon for following title "Autel MX-Sensor 315MHz TPMS Programmable Sensors for Tire Pressure Monitoring System (Metal Stem Qty of 4)"