POLL: Winters vs All-Season Tires

[Prodec]

A lot of these comments are generalizations at best.  I've ran A/S tires on my cars and trucks for 30 years.  I live in central Alberta, and did live in Quesnel, BC for 12 years.  I know what winters are about.  I'm accident free also!  A couple years ago I put Mich Harmonys A/S on the car they are great!  I live in a rural setting so we don't have the benifit of a snowplow for days after a snow fall sometimes.  The car has never been stuck lol.  My truck well it's a 4x4, and the odd day I'll drive my wife if it's really bad.  But for the most part she hauls no matter what.  Other tools we use is for winter driving are common sence and experiance.

Cheers

[corey]

I just purchased my 1st set of winters (Michelin PA2's). After sliding around on Yoko Geolandars last winter I've decided my AWD wagon deserves a proper set of tires. Even though I live in the Vancouver area, we take numerous trips to the interior and ski hills and driving on all-seasons really is a gamble.

[blitz_boy]

I have used Nokian snows since the mid 90's here in Barrie.  The differnce in traction is remakable.
I have just purchased a new set of Hakka 2's for my Aerio.

[jmn]

I was just reading the First-Drive article on the VW Jetta GLI. It said that this sportiest VW in America so far comes standard with all season tires. What the hell is that about? Why would you seriously compromise your sport sedan's summer handling just to get some, but still inadequate winter performance. I bet that's why they've had to limit the top speed to 210 km/h too. I live in Finland where the climate is not that much removed from the average Canadian climate, and we don't use all season tires at all. It's summer tires during the summer and winter tires during the winter. There are many variations of (especially) the latter, but they're all a heck of a lot better than anything called "all season". We don't use snow chains either, by the way. There's no need when you have the right tires for the season.

[zeeboy47]

One gets the impression that A/S was designed by the big 3. They had to find a way to satisfy those folks who lease their vehicles, and don't want to shell out another bundle for winter tires. After all....most of their cars are sold to a population that sees snow only if they go looking for it. I have trouble thinking of the Texan going into his local tire dealer, and being sold a set of A/S.

I agree with the JMN!

Summer tires so you can enjoy the sportiness of your vehicle (Yaris included), and winters when the going gets tough. In the end, if you keep your car as long as Ovr50 says he will keep his HL, you will end up spending the same amount. You'll get about 5 years of average annual driving from summers...same for winters, and unless you get some rock hard A/S's you should only get about 3 years from them.

Thanks, but I'll go the safe route.

[banzai]

We drive on ice/snow most of the winter in Regina.  On my son's Mustang and my wife's Mazda 6 we have winter tires.  Even though they're both standards, the winter tires make a huge difference in how each of these cars handle.  It's like day and night.  On my Focus ZX3 I run all seasons.  I start in 2nd gear and the Focus just goes.   

[mrthompson]

But does your Focus stop?   

[yugrus]

I'll be using my first winter tires this season. At what temperature should I put them on, if there were no snow? Currently I'm running AS Yoko Geolandars, but will be running summer tires after this winter. Summer tires are not supposed to perform when it is cold, but how cold should it be to justify the tire switch from summer to winter?

[mdxtasy]

My rule of thumb is to be proactive rather than reactive.  If you think it can snow tomorrow....you better have your winter tires on tonight.

[yugrus]

My rule of thumb is to be proactive rather than reactive.  If you think it can snow tomorrow....you better have your winter tires on tonight.

Yeah, I get that, but what if it dips to -5C and there's no snow, and I'm still on summer tires? Is that OK? At what point the summer tires begin to harden?

[mdxtasy]

I don't think it will be that bad....just don't be driving like Jenson Button.  The tires should be fine and you won't slip and slide if there's no snow/ice on the ground.  Frost..black ice....all can be hard to see until it's too late. 

[davidm]

My rule of thumb is to be proactive rather than reactive.  If you think it can snow tomorrow....you better have your winter tires on tonight.

Yeah, I get that, but what if it dips to -5C and there's no snow, and I'm still on summer tires? Is that OK? At what point the summer tires begin to harden?

I switch when overnight lows hit 3-5 *C.  I found my summers get really hard around that point.  Some say as high as 7*C, others pick 1*C, up to you (and the tire).

[msian]

It also depends on the summer tire...

I found that my Toyo T1-S and T1-R are quite okay (as long as it is dry) till about 0 degrees Celcius. The T1-R better than the T1-S though.
That can't be said about the "equivalent" Bridgestone tires.

But in general, IMHO, winter tires could be mounted anytime when the temp is below 7 degrees or so without causing significant undue wear.

[morty]

Two things about this poll have surprised me. Firstly, the number of people running winters vs. all-seasons; much higher than I expected. Secondly, we have had over 1600 views to this point and only 104 people bothered to submit their preference. VOTE PEOPLE...it is annonymous

[AVToller]

The post count includes people such as myself who read any new additions to the topic. I voted once, but perhaps 20+ viewings are mine. 

[ovr50]

I think most of us do what Ross does, read all the new posts; thus the number of views will always be much higher than the actual number of individual posters visiting.

[morty]

Good point...I must have looked at this thread a few times and only voted once.

[Whisper]

I agree, I keep looking for updates too.

  I'm glad to see so many votes for winter tires. Esp. after this morning's drive in Ottawa. (10cm, no salt/sand most roads) There was 15-20 major accidents reported where people failed to stop.

[random006]

All Season Tires begin to lose their grip at around +7 Celsius or so. It is reasonable, therefore, to expect Summer tires to lose grip starting at an even higher temp.

I would strongly suggest swapping them out when the temperature is in the +3 to +7 range.  That way you can't go wrong.

[kimo]

"All" seasons should really be called "3" seasons.  I leave for work at 6:00am sometimes before the roads are plowed or salted, so I always run winter tires from early November to March. Although I live on southern Vancouver Island and we usualy don't even get snow, and if we do it usualy melts within a day, except the ocassional big dump every few years,
its not worth having an accident or even getting stuck due to crappy 3 seasons. Any one that drives in the snow with just 3 season tires should be fined. Especially if the road signs say "Carry chains or use good winter tread".  How many accidents are caused by drivers driving on icy/snowy roads with the wrong tires?