No... The snow tire responds better to ice and snow... AWD is just as lost as it has no purchase where rubber meets the 'road'. I drive AWD and have snows.
Winter tires
- Thread starter HelloMsDoll
- Start date
Lol
You might be able to accelerate a bit quicker than most, but when it comes time to stop that awd ain't gonna do shit for you
I’ve had all wheel drive vehicles since 1992 and always put snows on. AWD cars tend to push in corners (like FWD) and this is worse in snow, unless you know how to induce a drift. Even with full traction control, if you’re going too fast into a slippery corner, you will lose front traction and tend to push towards the outside. Traction control may be able to save you but without snows may have trouble correcting in time. With snows, you might not get into trouble in the first place.
Remember: snows aren’t just to make sure you can move forward, they’re also generally better for braking and cornering on ice/snow/slush.
Remember: snows aren’t just to make sure you can move forward, they’re also generally better for braking and cornering on ice/snow/slush.
Damn right. There's no way a product designed for a specific set of conditions would be better than a product designed to cover every condition.
I've driven company cars of the same make and model that had winter and all season tires, and the winter tires offered significantly more grip in the snow.
Always use your rubbers when safety is in question. if you need winter tires, keep an eye out for specials starting soon at Canadian tire. For city use I find that their house brand or lower range winter Goodyear tire are adequate. You can often get them for 25% off pre season.
Yeah, it's all a scam. And so's the 3rd party research and insurance company discounts ('cause they know nothing about making money), and so's the government, etc., etc.
Timbit
In my experience, most drivers who claim that they don't need snow tires are not "car guys" or car enthusiasts. So take their advice dependent upon your own driving style. If you only go out on clear roads when the forecast is good, then YES, you could probably get away with using all-seasons and risk skidding into an accident or getting stuck if there's a bad storm. BUT, if you like to drive and like a car that is responsive and handles well in all conditions then snow tires are a given. Besides which - I like to go skiing on winter weekends regardless of the forecast. If you want to drive to Collingwood on all-seasons, I hope you're not in front of or behind me when a squall hits on the 400.
generally, if you place a glass of water outside and it turns into ice the first hour, then you need to have your winter tires installed
Snow tires offer an incremental improvement over all-season tires in stopping distances and cornering grip that all cars can benefit. The key word is incremental, i.e. 10-30% improvement depending on the quality of the snow tires. 10% is enough for a tire to qualify for the mountain-snowflake symbol.
Ironically, the non-car enthusiasts will benefit more from snow tires because they lack the driving skills and are more likely to respond improperly to slippery conditions by slamming on the brakes, etc.
As I read this I can't help thinking it's always the pricey new SUVs first to find the ditches in the snow. I'm not sure how being a car-nut gives anyone more practice in winter driving or better snow and ice skills than drivers with strictly utilitarian views of their driveway dinosaurs.
Whichever you are, the surest way to improve your weather-driving skills is to practice a hard stop and turns in the safety of your own 'hood each and every time you face new weather, well before you've committed to driving anywhere. Don't wait until stopping is a matter of life and death. Or even insurance.
And on my own variant of the quest: No one with advice about run-flats in winter?
Good advice on practice. Empty parking lots after a snowstorm are good places. When my daughter got her license I taught her how to do donuts, both directions - which is actually good practice.
For your run-flats you'll need to provide more information. Are they all season run-flats? Most important - does your car have any pressure monitoring system? If not, then run-flats can actually be dangerous as there is a limit to how long and far you should drive with them if they puncture and lose pressure. That's why run-flat's usually are only installed in cars with a TPMS system. How much tread is left on them? Rule of thumb for snows is replace at 6/32" of tread. I personally don't like run-flats - the only cars I've driven with them felt really harsh or they soften the suspension to counter the harshness of the tires which can compromise handling. I also dislike TMPS sensors on tires. They can be a real pain if your car doesn't have the memory to store at least your winter and summer tire sensor ID's - so can mean a trip to the dealer to re-program every season. I had one car with this, and vowed never again. My current car has a monitoring system that relies upon the anti-lock system. When a sudden change in rotation speed is detected - a warning will go off. I've actually had a flat while driving on the highway with this and it gave enough warning to pull over safely before the tire shredded.
Thanks for taking the time and being so informative essguy. The Michelin guarantee book that came with the car has no info, but the tires are embossed Premier A.S. in English, so I'm betting they're All Season. And now that I think of it, the previous owner said he'd never had snows for it. But he was often abroad and seldom drove. Nor do I for that matter. There seems to be ample tread for at least one more winter if not a couple.
The car does do pressure monitoring, I believe through rotation speed, and it has warned me of an over-pressure on one wheel. Very techy! But like you, I don't like the compromises on the ride this 'advance' costs me.
So far, unless I hear some horrors, I'm thinkin' I'll stick with my old pattern: All-Seasons, but test and assess performance after every snowfall and rainstorm.
The car does do pressure monitoring, I believe through rotation speed, and it has warned me of an over-pressure on one wheel. Very techy! But like you, I don't like the compromises on the ride this 'advance' costs me.
So far, unless I hear some horrors, I'm thinkin' I'll stick with my old pattern: All-Seasons, but test and assess performance after every snowfall and rainstorm.
Get all weather tires (not to be confused with all season). Drive all year round with them. They test almost as good as winter tires (better than some). They are excellent in summer as well (very smooth drive as they are softer) For gta, it's all you need.
^The "all-weather" tires are crap in all seasons - they test just well enough to squeak by the 10% threshold to qualify for the mountain-snowflake symbol, but not as good as dedicated snow tires in snow, and not as good as all-seasons on dry pavement.
Actually that's a myth. All kinds of cars end up in the ditch. The people with shiny SUVs are not necessarily enthusiasts either - they could be clueless about vehicle control. But yes the best way to improve driving skills is by practicing at the limit either on a track or in a large parking lot or field.
That's like saying wear khakis so you don't have to change from your suit into sweatpants. Some things are specialized for a reason.
Insurance companies do not give out discounts for winter tire because they are nice guys. Statistically winter tire do make a difference in the number of cars that get into accidents.
It's just like Vets who constantly market the heartworm med$.....hint: it's not a public service announcement
