Snow tires or All Season Radials (buy, moving, best)

[GregW]

But that is in Norway where you can get most anywhere on public transportation. Was there ever bus service to Pittsburg, NH?

I like the idea of not salting roads because I try to keep cars until they stop casting a shadow. The Buick wagon needed $1800 worth of rust repair two years ago due to salt. I figured it was worth it because the car is just so darn useful. Besides where am I going to get as good a car for $1800?

[remember-voltaire]

Originally Posted by GregW

But that is in Norway where you can get most anywhere on public transportation. Was there ever bus service to Pittsburg, NH?

I like the idea of not salting roads because I try to keep cars until they stop casting a shadow. The Buick wagon needed $1800 worth of rust repair two years ago due to salt. I figured it was worth it because the car is just so darn useful. Besides where am I going to get as good a car for $1800?

I like not having salt or sand because the roads and sides of them stay white instead of looking dirty ,

[Sporin]

I've run Michelin Arctic Alpins, Cooper WeatherMasters, Nokian Hakka2's, and Firestone Winterforce tires. It's a no-brainer for me, I've run snows for the last decade and will continue to do so as long as I live in snow country.

Unless you spend significant time on dirt roads, studs are, IMO, a bad idea, they actually decrease traction on wet and dry pavement by a significant degree.

For all of you guys who say you don't need them, have you ever driven on them in a few storms? Reason I ask is I grew up driving in Northern New England and never thought I needed them either, until about 10 years ago when I decided to try them. The difference in bad weather is night and day. I haven't driven in winter without them since.

Why just "get by" or "made do" when you an add a HUGE margin of safety on the road for less then your insurance deductible costs? You can get a second set of steel wheels with dedicated snows shipped to your door ready to bolt onto your car for about $500 from TireRack. I've done this with every car I've owned and usually get 4 winters out of a set of tires.

Would you pay $125 per winter to have significantly better traction in bad weather? Far shorter stopping distances, better grip climbing grades, and MUCH better steering traction?

I sure do.

[Movingback]

Sporin, well said

[GregW]

sporin - nice to meet a true believer. I was out with the Subie and wound up on a stretch of snow/ice/dirt road. The car started to slide around a bit but I then noticed I was going at my 'normal' summer road speed (10 to 15 over posted). Cooper snow tires are a wonder. Time to slow down.

[Suzet2262]

Would you men recomend me getting studs in my tires atleast for my first winter driving experience? Sliding around on the ice has me kinda freaked out, especially after seeing the UTube videos Tara has put up reguarding driving when there is ice. Since I wont be there till March, how is the snow situation during that time, or would it be more ice? Thanks.

[GraniteStater]

Originally Posted by Suzet2262

Would you men recomend me getting studs in my tires atleast for my first winter driving experience? Sliding around on the ice has me kinda freaked out, especially after seeing the UTube videos Tara has put up reguarding driving when there is ice. Since I wont be there till March, how is the snow situation during that time, or would it be more ice? Thanks.

Snow is more common throughout NH in March. Ice storms can occur but they are much less common. The mountains will still have lots of snow if the temperatures stay normal to below normal. I traveled half-way up Mount Washington in late May last year and the snowpack was still on the ground at about 4,000ft elevation.

[rmcewan]

Originally Posted by Suzet2262

[font="Comic Sans MS"]Would you men recomend me getting studs in my tires atleast for my first winter driving experience?

No. Get the modern studless snow & ice tires. These were developed to replace studded tires in places that banned them. They grip at least as well in snow, nearly as well in ice, and WAY better on wet.

Many of my neighbors don't bother with winter tires at all and just trust to their 4x4 cars and all-season tires. The starving students down at UNH are still buzzing around town in their smoking FWD 2-door putt-putts with threadbare stock tires. A lot of people just rely on the plows to cut a path to work for em. The only place I've needed the snow tires so far has been on MY drive!

[GregW]

I would not recommend studded tires because they only increase traction on ice and reduce it on wet or dry roads. Given the tons of salt we dump on our roads they are only wet most of the winter. Get a set of four snow tires. Have them mounted on separate rims and put them on the car between late November and take them off mid April.

[Sporin]

Weith all the rain we got over snow last night, my boy's daycare parking lot (dirt) is a frozen sheet and it's uphill. I drove right up it this morning with very little drama in my Accord on Cooper Weathermasters. Another parent in her Dodge Durango in 4WD but on all season tires just spun and spun.

The roads, however are fine, with salt down the rain never froze, it's only the dirt roads that had a layer of snow on them already that are rough this morning.

Just an anecdote.