Snow Tire Recommendations?

[Fluffy Kitty]

So, I have another automotive question for everyone. I had an embarrassing traffic incident today--won't go into details except that this post on mtbachelor.com today seems to be referring to me:

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It turns out that the Firestone Winterforce tires I got for our cars do not handle slush very well; I had more close calls later in the trip. I will keep them on for now, since they have been more than adequate on firm snow and ice, but I was wondering if there were strong feelings one way or another about other snow tire brands and models?

FWIW, I'm definitely now leaning toward getting an all-wheel-drive car when the Volvo dies...

 

[Pequenita]

I have a set of Nokian studdable tires on an AWD vehicle. I only got the studdable because for this brand, they were the cheapest ones I could obtain. One thing to consider is how old your current tires are, what non winter conditions you drove them in, etc. And, I'm not sure what the nature of your close call was, but stopping is a different issue than trying to get up hills. :-)

 

[surfsnowgirl]

I have studdable Goodyear Wrangler Duratracs on my Jeep Wrangler that are awesome. Tires are great on ice, slush, snow. and mud too.

 

[Jilly]

We're not allowed chains or studs in Ontario, but my snows are great in all conditions, but they are on a AWD Chevy truck. I'd have to agree with Pequenita about how many miles on the tires. And couldn't tell you what type mine are. They came from Goodyear that's all I know.

If you live in Quebec, like SkiBam, snow tires are mandatory.

 

[Fluffy Kitty]

@Pequenita, this is my second season with them. I don't drive much, about 6000 miles per year, so they probably have about 2-3000 miles on them, maybe 2-300 on snow. Are you thinking that the magic snow gripping stuff has worn out?

The recurring problem was one of the driving wheels suddenly losing traction and free-spinning, which throws the tail. (Ironically, my most frequent problem when skiing is the tail catching!) Happens only in slush. AWD might be the only solution to that. And going slower.

@Jilly & @surfsnowgirl, I will look into Goodyears!

 

[Serafina]

There are a couple of older threads on the forum about winter tires (studded vs snow) and which brands - if you poke about a little you can find them, and they're full of extremely useful information. That's where I did my winter tire research, and came up with Blizzaks. Put them on the skimobile last winter and was so impressed with their performance that I bought another set and put them on the in-town car this year. Of course, we haven't had jack for snow so far so I don't know how well they perform on the in-town car, but they were great in the snow last year.

 

[Pequenita]

In addition to having more grooves/tread, snow tires are made of a softer rubber, so they will melt off if driven in too-warm conditions. They also wear down faster, hence my question about how old and what conditions you've been driving in when not going up to the mountains. But, 200 to 300 miles on a set of tires seems too short of a lifespan for them to start failing. That's like one round trip drive to the mountains for me! There must be something else going on.

ETA: wait, are they all-season tires? Or are you running true snow tires year-round?

 

[Fluffy Kitty]

There are a couple of older threads on the forum about winter tires (studded vs snow) and which brands - if you poke about a little you can find them, and they're full of extremely useful information.

Hmmm... Google isn't turning up any here; I did find some on epicski, so I'll check those out.

But, 200 to 300 miles on a set of tires seems too short of a lifespan for them to start failing.

Yeah, apparently the Winterforces are more "durable" at the expense of traction, even when new, so somewhere between winter tires and all-season tires.

 

[Serafina]

Here's one of them. It started out on chains and branched out to tires.

https://www.theskidiva.com/forums/index.php?threads/snow-chains-and-other-essentials.5063/

 

[Serafina]

Here's another:

https://www.theskidiva.com/forums/index.php?threads/winter-tires.17362/

 

[Fluffy Kitty]

@Serafina: Cool! Thanks!

 

[surfsnowgirl]

When I had an front wheel drive car, my last one I had some Yokohama tires on there that were excellent in winter.

 

[Fluffy Kitty]

@surfsnowgirl Was it the Ice Guard?

@Pequenita, Nokian is a brand name I've never heard of. I assume you are happy with them?

 

[Gloria]

If your tires are more than adequate in snow and ice than it likely isn't the traction. Heavy slush puts a side force on the tires which can pull the car around. Taking your foot off the gas and steering too hard will make it worse. If you are having trouble moving into the passing lane lessen the angle and creep over keeping constant speed if you are losing control going around corners sometimes it helps to understeer and give it a little more gas halfway through the turn. If you are losing control on straight aways your likely decelerating as you hit the slush. Maintaining constant speed helps more here.

 

[Fluffy Kitty]

Maintaining constant speed helps more here.

Good point; deceleration was challenging that day. Now, I can't say I know exactly what happened during the "incident", but the "traction problem" I kept having was during constant speed on straight bits, both downhill and uphill, without me doing anything in particular. It usually happened when the foot was on the accelerator, with the traction-losing wheel going into revved-up free spin.

Going about 5-10 mph slower on slush, compared to ice, did solve it, so, there is the driver error, and maybe that's just it, but I've seen reviews of these tires saying similar things.

In short, I was being too cocky... hence the embarrassment.

 

[bounceswoosh]

I've been happy with my Outback (AWD) and Michelin X-Ice tires - granted, though, I've never had them in slush. I also like having a stick shift for snow because it separates out acceleration from gearing, giving me another mode of traction control, including slipping the clutch. (But last night heading up to the Eisenhower tunnel in stop and go traffic for an hour, I was *hating* my stick shift. DH says it's specific to the Outback; his BMW isn't as much of a pain. Moot point, anyway, as the latest Outback models I might be interested in don't come with stick anymore.)

 

[Pequenita]

@Pequenita, Nokian is a brand name I've never heard of. I assume you are happy with them?

I am, but my only comparison to them are my all-season Michelins. Nokian were recommended to my by a friend who is picky about tires. I suspect that they are overkill for me, but tires/automotive things are an area of my life where I've just conceded I'm going to overpay and probably make "good enough" versus "best" decisions.

 

[Fluffy Kitty]

Nokian were recommended to my by a friend who is picky about tires. I suspect that they are overkill for me

That, to me, sounds like they are what I'm looking for.

 

[Gloria]

Good point; deceleration was challenging that day. Now, I can't say I know exactly what happened during the "incident", but the "traction problem" I kept having was during constant speed on straight bits, both downhill and uphill, without me doing anything in particular. It usually happened when the foot was on the accelerator, with the traction-losing wheel going into revved-up free spin.

Going about 5-10 mph slower on slush, compared to ice, did solve it, so, there is the driver error, and maybe that's just it, but I've seen reviews of these tires saying similar things.

In short, I was being too cocky... hence the embarrassment.

Don't be embarrased, that stuff happens. Saturday evening I decided to be the smart ass that was going to pass the line of slow moving vehicles. Got through the slush pile in the middle fine but as I was going for pole position the plow going the other direction in the far lane tossed a bunch of slush in my path and boy did I slide all over when I hit that. For better or worse I have to drive several miles on unmaintained roads to get anywhere so I am used to it and didn't freak out or anything and I am sure the other cars were more freaked out than me, but it happens. We all slide sometimes.

 

[surfsnowgirl]

@surfsnowgirl Was it the Ice Guard?

@Pequenita, Nokian is a brand name I've never heard of. I assume you are happy with them?

I have them 3 years ago but I think they were the Yokohama Envigors.