Tire for the Winter (Penn: vs., safety, rail)

[hse_tech]

I hear winter can be a little rough up there. Will I hae to put chains on my tires or does a good winter (snow) tire do the trick? What are your thoughts?

[Ohiogirl81]

All season radials should be enough. Panic not.

[Clark Park]

I have never owned special winter tires or put chains on my tires.

Steel belted all season radial tires suffice.

[North Beach Person]

If your vehicle is rear wheel drive I would recommend dedicated snow tires for it. I got them for my RWD pick up because I was going to PA every couple weeks to deal with my mother. I also found there were occasions I needed them here in MD. I also carry a set of chains but haven't had them on in the 8 years I've had them.

Four wheel drives usually need them at all four corners.

Front wheel drive should be ok with a good set of Snow/Mud tires.

Many people I know swear by Blizzaks.

[karen_s]

My car's really low to the ground and I am lucky enough to work at home, so if there is any significant snow, I just stay put. If I had to drive in all conditions, I would definitely get the Bridgestone Blizzaks for my car.

DH has an SUV and an essential occupation where he MUST be at work, so he gets mud-snow type of more 'aggressive' truck tires. He had tried the "highway" type of SUV tire and it just didn't give enough traction in the really bad weather.

Hope that helps!

[jambo101]

Pennsyvania? get dedicated snow tires,whats your life worth?
Snow tires are made for snow,they have different tread and rubber compounds to deal with the cold and snow,
No way i'd trust my families safety to all season tires.

Plenty of data on Google if you search "Winter tires vs All season tires"

Heres a Youtube video on the differences between Snow tires and All Season tires..
Tire Rack Tire Test - All-Season vs. Winter Tires - YouTube

[Icy Tea]

I don't think snow tires are necessarily justified with the number of snowstorms Pa gets. Maybe if you're up in the northern tier mountains or have to drive in unplowed snow. Good all season tires should be enough and front or four wheel drive helps. It comes down to do you really have to drive in snow or can you wait until its plowed? But here are a few things to consider.
Some townships and some municipalities do a better job of plowing the roads then others. Roads are generally plowed pretty quickly and treated with a brine solution or with road salt the day before. Side streets may take a while to get plowed, particularly in less populated developments. If its on a weekend don't expect them to get the roads cleared as fast as a weekday. Pendot has the state highways cleared.
Always remember that four wheel drive doesn't make you stop any faster and you can still slide if you're going too fast. Last year I saw a four wheel drive truck hit a guard rail while us front wheel drives slowly made our way past him. My front wheel drive can make it through up to 8 inch snows with no problem if I go slow slow and the tires are good. If it gets higher than that its better just to call off work or wait for them to plow.

[sirron]

For what it's worth, the Farmer's Almanac is calling for much more snow in Pennsylvania this winter than usual.

[toobusytoday]

Many places do not allow chains due to the damage it does to the roads. We do fine with all-season tires, but like many people have an SUV for really bad storms.

[wanneroo]

My favorite brands from my experience would be Nokian, which is THE winter tire manufacturer, followed by Bridgestone Blizzak WS70's and then Michelin X Ice. Hankook and some of the others are pretty useless.

I use them from late November to late March. Many days around here the roads get cleared but also many days with snow, slush, ice and so on. The extra grip is worth having and winter tires to me are cheaper than your life or your car.