Tire questions (snow tires etc)

[Zonie5]

the car or tires are beside the issue . the driver and his experience in snow driving counts . i lived in Nebraska and found out that studded tires are best when used like i did . i used regular tires year round , during winter i kept a set of studded snow tires in the trunk . if a snowstorm or ice storm came up i put the studded tires on . when there was no need for them i put the regular tires back on . worked fine for me .

[DP525]

[quote=Zonie5;6082762]the car or tires are beside the issue . the driver and his experience in snow driving counts . i lived in Nebraska and found out that studded tires are best when used like i did . i used regular tires year round , during winter i kept a set of studded snow tires in the trunk . if a snowstorm or ice storm came up i put the studded tires on . when there was no need for them i put the regular tires back on . worked fine for me .[/QUOTE

Wow! It must have been a BIG trunk!

I agree with you completely about experience. Knowing how to drive in snow is the MOST important safety feature. With all of the safety items being built into cars nowdays (ABS, traction control, etc.) it has "dumbed down" some drivers or at least given a false sense of security to them. We see it every fall when the snow starts to fly and the highway patrol officers start working overtime clearing up the destruction.

Back to your point about studs. When studded tires were invented in the 1960's, they were basically installed into normal mud and snow tires. So the studs did better in those tires than just the tires alone. But today's snow tires use soft treads with siping and often have silica or other micro-adhesion technologies built in. Consumer Reports and Tirerack did testing. In both tests the studded tires performed worse that the studless. What they found is the studs typically caused the ice to break or chip away during acceleration and braking tests which caused the tires to lose grip. The compounds in the studless tires actually adhere to the ice. The performance in snow was basically equal for both types of tires.

Another thought: many states outlaw studs due to the damage they inflict on road surfaces. So just because they might be legal here doesn't mean they are legal in the state next door when you take that Christmas road trip.

[Zonie5]

interesting news on studded tires . my last vehicle in snow and ice was a 4x4 chevy pickup . never had need for chains or studs . not even snow tires . now that i am retired i have no need o drive in snow . even here in Arizona . it does snow whre i live but i just throw another log on the fire
you brought up a good point about legality of studded tires . Nebraska had a certain time limit of when we could use them . since the weather did what and when it wanted to is why for my method of switching tires . i came in handy more than once .

[DP525]

Agreed a lot of normal passenger car "mud and snow" tires will do ok in what most of Utah has to offer. I would guess the vast majority of cars here run all year on one set of tires. The summer performance tires on the RX8 the original poster has are a recipe for disaster in the snow. He will find his car pretty much undriveable with those tires.

And Tim, as far as chains go, you won't find any standard chains to fit and I am pretty sure your owners manual would advise against them. Most cars today have to use "cable chains" which are lower profile and fit in the tight wheel well clearances. You might find a set of them that would work but chains are a real PITA to put on and drive with. They also basically are for driving traction. If you try to stop with the wheel on the ground in between cable links they do nothing for you. They are good to keep in your trunk during the winter to get you unstuck or through the worst roads but aren't very good for every day use.

[Tim Tim Tim]

Thanks alot for the info guys. I may eventually get some chains if needed but I doubt that will be to much of an issue. I would like to try to get an SUV as well so if I know im going up in the mountains or something I will just drive that.

I think ill go with a regular set of snow tires. How bad is it to drive on them without snow? I would rather not have to switch tires every few days between snow storms.

while I dont have much experience in driving in snow, I have quite an experience with just driving in general and used to be pretty heavy into racing so I generally know how to controll most cars pretty well.. Not to mention im not retarded and realize that I dont really know what im doing so ill take it EXTRA easy.. Although the one time that I drove in the snow it was a disaster, people were sliding all over the place like a bunch of idiots

[DP525]

Originally Posted by Tim Tim Tim

I think ill go with a regular set of snow tires. How bad is it to drive on them without snow? I would rather not have to switch tires every few days between snow storms.

There is no problem driving on them all winter. In fact, they will see more dry pavement than snowy. The normal idea would be to have them mounted when the snow season starts and removed in the spring after the snow stops. So plan on $100+ per year for the two swap outs. The other thing you could do is mount them on a second set of wheels so you can swap them yourself. Craigslist and ksl.com are good sources for used wheels if you don't want to buy new.

As far as driving on them, the only issues are that, being softer, they will wear faster than normal tires. They will also cut your gas mileage down a bit. And they will not corner, etc. as well as sport tires. They will feel a bit "squishy". Tirerack suggests running them a couple of PSI higher than your standard tires to help regain some of the handling losses.

[Tim Tim Tim]

I would just buy a new set of wheels.. I dont want them to mess up the rims taking tires on and off any more then i have to.. you know how those guys can be. Ill just end up buying another set of the rx8 wheels, I dont like my car looking dumb with odd rims or anything haha.. The gas milage isnt an issue, the car is TERRIBLE on gas already, whats a little more.. Thanks for the tips though, I Will just take it easy on those tires, hopefully I can get a 2-3 years out of them.. is that about right with life span?