1st Winter in Boise/Meridian Area - Driving Recommendations?

[voodini]

Sorry for resurrecting a dying thread... But I highly recommend winter tires in this area! They truly are a much different tire than all season rubber - they're super soft, so when it's below 45 or so, they act like a regular tire would during warmer weather. Your all season tire, however, is hard as a rock when it's cold outside. That's why you slip and slide, even with good all season tires. You WILL be amazed at the difference you feel when you have winter tires!

To make switching easier, I bought a cheap set of steel wheels to mount my winter rubbers on, and I just swap in December and back again in late Feb, you'll get years out of a set of winter tires as long as you remember to switch before it gets too warm! Do remember, because that soft compound wears very very quickly in warmer temps

[Babygirl1965]

I'm going to be moving to
Eagle in January and currently have a Ford Mustang gt should I be looking at getting an awd or 4 WD and getting rid of the Mustang? It's a 2006 but only 32,000 mi?? I have never driven in the snow and don't plan to do much driving just grocery etc? Ty in advance

[banjomike]

Originally Posted by Babygirl1965

I'm going to be moving to
Eagle in January and currently have a Ford Mustang gt should I be looking at getting an awd or 4 WD and getting rid of the Mustang? It's a 2006 but only 32,000 mi?? I have never driven in the snow and don't plan to do much driving just grocery etc? Ty in advance

If you want to keep the Mustang, I suggest planning to buy a set of specialized winter tires for it. A set of good ones will cost about $100 or more a tire, but they are definitely worth the money when the streets get slick.

The real good ones must be taken off in the late spring before the pavement warms up, as the rubber compounds used are so soft and sticky driving on hot pavement will literally melt them away in no time, so you have to plan on changing them with your present tires.

I purchased a set of Bridgestone Blizzaks, one of the highest rated winter tires, in 2011 for my car, and they are mounted on it right now, with plenty of wear left. The tires should still be good for at least another 4 winters. And because I've always changed them regularly, the tires that came on the car are still good for more years of driving, too. So in the end, they have been a much cheaper alternative than a new vehicle for all-season driving here.

Don't trust that a set of 4-Season tires will get you through a winter here. They may, or may not, depending on the severity of the winter, the tires and the car. Winter tires have specialized rubber compounds and other features that give them more traction and control in all extreme winter conditions.

But an AWD vehicle definitely does have traction advantages over any 2WD vehicle. They all have better traction from a complete stop when the speed has to be very slow, such as driving onto a street from the driveway. AWD also has better traction in heavy rain on wet roads year round.

Once here, you will see lots of AWD vehicles. The Subaru is a popular car brand here because they're so good on all Idaho roads in any weather, but they all make pretty good AWD cars now. If you decide to get one, you'll find a good selection of new and used here.

[Steve_S]

This is my first Winter in Boise after moving here last Summer from Texas with a 2014 2WD F-150 pickup with 20" 275/55 sport tires. I have bought a set of 4 Bridgestone Blizzaks ($900), a set of chains for the rear wheels (~$100) and 420# of sandbags for the truck bed (~$35). I also have a tow rope, de-icer, ice scraper, snow brush, and am getting a windshield cover soon. I plan to embrace the Winter and Winter Sports in Idaho so I need to be able to go anywhere at anytime and do anything. So far the Blizzaks are performing well and I have driven in snow twice already. I am not sure I will ever need the chains but I have them and they are "Easy Mounting" Alpine Sport diamond pattern chains from Les Schwab although after practicing putting them on I do not believe there is any such thing as "Easy Mounting" tire chains. They are a little difficult to put on even in a driveway during daylight hours. I put a lot of thought and research into the studded vs non-studded snow tires and eventually decided to get the non-studded Blizzaks which I plan to swap out for my regular tires next Spring. The Blizzaks are expensive but cheap compared to the cost of a wreck or even a smashed up side mirror.