Do I need studded tires? (home, neighborhood, luxury)

[VirtualErik]

as the title says, i'm driving a little front wheel drive cavalier with all weather wheels and wondered if I would really need studded tires for just driving back and forth between redmond/bend?

no plans to go over the passes or anything other than main roads. This is my first winter driving here in central oregon being from Georgia where we only saw a few days of snow once every 5 years or so.

[BendLocal]

I use studless snows and they work great during the winter. There are only a few days per year I wish I had studs.

[oregonwoodsmoke]

You might be OK. It depends upon what the winter is like. The highway and main roads are well plowed.

The problem is that we will have patches of black ice and that is where the studs will save you.

Front wheel drive tends to be pretty good in the snow. Slow down well before you need to stop, because FWD, AWD, and 4WD do not stop you on the ice. You will slide right through a stop sign if you try to stop in a short distance.

I know people with non-studded winter tires that never go anywhere but town and they do OK. If you are out in the country or have to go over the passes, then I recommend studs, unless you have the luxury of staying home until the ice melts.

When the roads are really icy, I drive a 4WD with off road studded tires and even so, I must be very careful about how I drive. Then, on other days, I drive a cargo van with regular street tires (siped) and I am fine.

Snow isn't too difficult, it is the black ice and we get a lot of black ice in this area.

Keep in minds that nothing will stop you or turn you on the ice except for driving across it really slow and watch for enough space to not get hit if you do slide. Studs will get you around a lot safer, but you still must compensate for the ice on the road and not drive like you drive on a clear dry road.

[BendLocal]

We also get snow that packs into ice that would be challenging without good snows.

[Dry Side]

Been driving in Central Oregon for 10 years with FWD and Michelin X-ICE studless snow tires. Nothing but good to say about them other than they last about 20K miles.

[BendLocal]

Originally Posted by Dry Side

Been driving in Central Oregon for 10 years with FWD and Michelin X-ICE studless snow tires. Nothing but good to say about them other than they last about 20K miles.

20K winter miles? That seems low to me. I thought they had a 36K mile warranty.

[kapetrich]

I have never used studded tires and haven't had a problem, buuuut I do have an AWD Subaru with 'regular' tires. Also, I drive up to Bachelor during most storms so I'm in the 'thick of things' on a regular basis.

*knocks on wood*

I think studded tires a bit overboard, but if I had a tiny rear wheel drive car (they don't really make these anymore) or even a tiny front wheel I'd think about it, but really regular snow tires seem to do fine.

Originally Posted by oregonwoodsmoke

Keep in minds that nothing will stop you or turn you on the ice except for driving across it really slow and watch for enough space to not get hit if you do slide. Studs will get you around a lot safer, but you still must compensate for the ice on the road and not drive like you drive on a clear dry road.

This.

[delta07]

We don't have studded snow tires on either of our vehicles and have usually done okay. There have been a few times each winter where I wish we had them, mostly to just get out of our neighborhood. The ice is definitely the hard part too. I did end up sliding into a curb 2 years ago because of the ice. If you are not used to driving in snow and/or ice, then it might very well be worth your while to take a winter driving course and/or invest in good snow tires.

[skypros]

I have a 4x4 Toyota Tundra, and I have a 4 tire/rim studded set-up for winter.

Studded snow tires: Topic tends to come up every winter..... and it seams like 80% of the people in the discussion forum don't have them or don't like/want them.

Funny though........ Just listen when you are out and about and you will hear the "clicking" everywhere...... apparently most people have studded tires on their vehicles!!!

Snow tires are "soft rubber" and really don't last very long......

[BendLocal]

From the November 2009 issue of Automobile Magazine

Snow Tire FAQ - Automobile Magazine