Summer Tires in NH? (buy, tax, living in)

[IntoSomething]

Do you put summer tires on your car rather than all-season? If so, living in (Southern) New Hampshire, when do you make the switch?

After decades of living in the Northeast, this is the first year that I have winter tires. (And it has been wonderful!) So, in looking at what to put on the car now, it looks like summer tires are better overall than all-season.

But, if I change the tires out now, and it dips below 45 degrees at night, does that mean I'm compromising safety?

But, if I keep the winter tires on a little longer, and it gets up to 65 degrees during the day, does that mean I'm compromising safety?

Thank you in advance for your input.

[Lucy_C]

Aren't winter tires meant for snow? I think you're fairly safe changing them out now, even if it does snow again, it won't stick around.

I've lived here all my life, and never done the seasonal tires thing. I always just use year-round tires....

[WoodyWW]

Originally Posted by IntoSomething

Do you put summer tires on your car rather than all-season? If so, living in (Southern) New Hampshire, when do you make the switch?

After decades of living in the Northeast, this is the first year that I have winter tires. (And it has been wonderful!) So, in looking at what to put on the car now, it looks like summer tires are better overall than all-season.

But, if I change the tires out now, and it dips below 45 degrees at night, does that mean I'm compromising safety?

But, if I keep the winter tires on a little longer, and it gets up to 65 degrees during the day, does that mean I'm compromising safety?

What kind of vehicle? And how many miles do you drive per year? And, are you saying you don't have summer or all-season tires in good shape to put on?

Most people would use all-season tires. "summer" tires I believe are "Performance" tires for people with Corvettes or bmw M3's & such.

Tire Rack is a great site to research hundreds of tires, owner reviews, etc.

I have snow tires--mounted on their own wheels--makes change-over 2x per year much easier & cheaper. I have it done in usually April & early Dec. Btw, you could use snows year around--but they wear faster than most all-season tires, & don't handle as well in higher temps. Here's a good article in the NY Times on winter tires:

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/12/s...r-weather.html

[KCZ]

Originally Posted by IntoSomething

Do you put summer tires on your car rather than all-season? If so, living in (Southern) New Hampshire, when do you make the switch?

After decades of living in the Northeast, this is the first year that I have winter tires. (And it has been wonderful!) So, in looking at what to put on the car now, it looks like summer tires are better overall than all-season.

But, if I change the tires out now, and it dips below 45 degrees at night, does that mean I'm compromising safety?

But, if I keep the winter tires on a little longer, and it gets up to 65 degrees during the day, does that mean I'm compromising safety?

Thank you in advance for your input.

You make the switch in the spring when the weather allows, and in the fall when the weather demands.


Yes, most summer tires are meant not to be driven when the temps are below 45-50 degrees. Summer tires are made of different, usually softer compounds than winter or all season tires, and they become harder with less grip when it's cold. Unless you have a high performance car that would truly benefit from summer tires, go with all-seasons.

[Samiamnh]

All seasons are meant for year round use.

[Nonesuch]

I have "all season" tires for the spring into early winter; it's best to wait until the real cold arrives to switch to winter tires, as warm temperatures cause the (softer formulation) rubber to erode quickly and increases stopping distance -- same reason for taking them off early in the spring.

I have my winter tires mounted on cheap steel rims, in the fall I swap them in only after the average daily temperature is consistently below 45 degrees. Just switched back to all season tires last week.

[IntoSomething]

Thanks, all. We decided on the all-season, after all.

[miu]

I've driven a Honda Civic for most of my life. I use summer tires for three seasons and have a set of snow tires for winter. I change my tires Thanksgiving week and take off the snows on tax day. I LOVE my summer tires, and they are more fun for the country roads than all season tires would be.

[Burgermeister]

I just spent my first winter in the North Country. Initially, I was using All-Seasons as recommended by many of those I talked to, however I quickly determined that slipping and sliding all over the place was no way to commute 30 miles to work. Of course, driver experience and where you live in NH may make a difference, but for me and mine studded snow tires all the way; your mileage may vary

[399083453]

Probably time to just buy all season tires.

I had some winter tires and they were getting low on tread so I kept them through the summer and was going to change them out when it hit fall or winter. In the summer, the winter tires felt like driving on sponges. Very sloppy. Although I kept using them, they felt terrible and were very noisy in hot weather. So I dont recommend it.