Snow tires year round?

[Patri]

I need new tires, and we have a bit of a slope on our driveway. Frequently get stuck if a layer of ice or a few inches of snow. The mechanic suggested snow tires, and just leave them on all year. He does.
Anyone do this? What are the pros and cons?
Thanks.

 

[DeniseM]

We have snow rated tires on our 4WD year round - that's what they came with. You can't tell any difference.

 

[vacationtime1]

I need new tires, and we have a bit of a slope on our driveway. Frequently get stuck if a layer of ice or a few inches of snow. The mechanic suggested snow tires, and just leave them on all year. He does.
Anyone do this? What are the pros and cons?
Thanks.

Pros: You will be able to get up your driveway easier.

Cons: More road noise, rougher ride, worse gas mileage.

 

[SMHarman]

Snow vs all season?

Snow are also a softer compound so will wear out quicker on hot dry road.

All season compromise the softness of the compound to give better summer wear.

Summer are a compound that works best over 60f and too had below that.

Sent from my LT26i using Tapatalk

 

[Chrispee]

We have snow rated tires on our 4WD year round - that's what they came with. You can't tell any difference.

M+S rated tires are different than dedicated snow tires which is what I'm assuming the mechanic is talking about. as mentioned, the softer compound of snow tires will wear extremely fast so if you drive a lot they will wear out fast.

 

[stmartinfan]

We have all season tires on our vehicles and leave them on year round. Only 1 of our 3 vehicles is 4 WD, although they are all front wheel drive. Since we live in Minnesota, we deal with lots of snow and ice! We haven't bothered with real "snow tires" for years, although it used to be common here that you'd have two sets of tires and change them for the season. The all season tire seems to have replaced that concept. We do make sure that we don't let the tires get too thin in the tread, because that makes a big difference in traction, so replace them a bit sooner than you might if you drove with no snow.

 

[Passepartout]

All Season tires would help- over Summer, or economy tires, and the first season would provide almost as much traction as full-on snow tires. In subsequent years, their traction can be reduced, and siping them can help there. I'd do it, for the peace of mind.

Jim

 

[visor]

If OP is only concerned about the driveway, then easiest is just to salt it frequently.

As others mentioned, snow tires are softer compound, so if used all year round, will wear out quickly in your first 2 yrs such that it'll be useless by your third winter.

 

[Maple_Leaf]

Wow! That's hard to believe

We have all season tires on our vehicles and leave them on year round. Only 1 of our 3 vehicles is 4 WD, although they are all front wheel drive. Since we live in Minnesota, we deal with lots of snow and ice! We haven't bothered with real "snow tires" for years, although it used to be common here that you'd have two sets of tires and change them for the season. The all season tire seems to have replaced that concept.

I'm surprised, since Minnesota sees a lot of snow. There is a debate in Ontario about legally requiring snow tires in winter. Quebec does, Dec 15 - Mar 15. And my insurance company gives me a discount for having snow tires.

 

[Ironwood]

I'm surprised, since Minnesota sees a lot of snow. There is a debate in Ontario about legally requiring snow tires in winter. Quebec does, Dec 15 - Mar 15. And my insurance company gives me a discount for having snow tires.

Maple_Leaf....Just read last night that Ontario has mandated auto insurance companies to give snow tire discounts effective January 1. Discounts are being left to the industry, but are expected to range from 3-5%. I don't have a snow tire discount and have been driving on snows for 20 years....and they do make a big difference. I just helped my son pick out winter tires this past weekend for his first car bought this past spring....he thinks he can get by without them in the nations capital, but I convinced him to trust Dad. Going to call my insurer this week about a discount.

 

[theo]

The dreaded four letter word now apppears...

I hope that a moderator will step in and put a stop to the use of this profanity.

More seriously, I've found all season tires to be an acceptable (and certainly more convenient) alternative to swapping out for snow tires. Our vehicles are small SUV's with front wheel drive and 4WD as an option.

Don't have any idea where the OP lives --- not indicated in the OP post. Location might well be a significant factor in tires decision / selection.

 

[antjmar]

I need new tires, and we have a bit of a slope on our driveway. Frequently get stuck if a layer of ice or a few inches of snow. The mechanic suggested snow tires, and just leave them on all year. He does.
Anyone do this? What are the pros and cons?
Thanks.

I personally wouldnt do this. The handling and braking is reduced quite a bit when using those tires in the summer.
see this report.


https://www.caaquebec.com/fileadmin...en_ETE_Version_finale_Septembre_2008ABANG.pdf

 

[stmartinfan]

I'm surprised, since Minnesota sees a lot of snow. There is a debate in Ontario about legally requiring snow tires in winter. Quebec does, Dec 15 - Mar 15. And my insurance company gives me a discount for having snow tires.

I live in Minneapolis/St Paul metro, where snow plowing and road salt is a science. It takes a pretty big blizzard to slow us down...the kind where they pull the plows because they can't keep up. But I did live for many years on a small street with a slope. There were a few days each winter when getting up the hill was a challenge because the plows hadn't made it to us yet. But with front wheel drive and all season tires we could make it by driving down to the cup de sac end, so we'd have a rolling start before we got to the slope! I might have a different view if I lived in more rural Minnesota.

 

[Phydeaux]

I need new tires, and we have a bit of a slope on our driveway. Frequently get stuck if a layer of ice or a few inches of snow. The mechanic suggested snow tires, and just leave them on all year. He does.[/B]
Anyone do this? What are the pros and cons?
Thanks.

My thought was, look for a different mechanic

As mentioned, snow tires are a much softer compound, and will wear out much faster.

Is your mechanic also offering to sell you tires?

 

[Patri]

Is your mechanic also offering to sell you tires?

No. He gave me a website to order them from (not connected with the dealer or a specific manufacturer).

 

[WinniWoman]

My husband refuses to put snow tires on my car or his. (I have a little Honda Fit). The car has all-season tires on it and he says they are good enough. He has a RAV 4, which at least is an all wheel drive vehicle. But the Fit is just front wheel drive and our driveway is very long and steep. So- on days I know the weather will be very bad, I take our CRV- again- with all season tires on it- but at least it is all wheel drive. We live in a rural area as well and commute. I hate driving when it snows. I can't wait until I can retire and just turn over in my bed and pull the covers over my head on snow days.

 

[PGtime]

We use all season tires and get by just fine. But I would think it does depend on where you live. Whenever I think about snow tires in central Virginia, it makes no sense financially for the handful of days when the weather is really that bad. Plus, if the weather is terrible, I just work from home. We do have one small SUV with AWD and all season tires are fine.

 

[Tacoma]

I started buying snow tires about 8-10 years ago. I'm lucky I can get them changed over for only $30 even though they are not on rims, since I teach at a high school that has an automotive shop. As soon as I got them both myself and my husband commented that it was amazing that we always got to the ski hill before buying winter tires. We now have 4 cars (one for our daughter and one for our son) and all of them have a set of snow tires. Our philosophy is we will never know if they save us (or our kids) from getting in an accident but if they do it was money well spent. I see snow tires like defensive driving it just makes it more likely you will not be in an accident. Now we are in Calgary with a long and generally cold/snowy winter.

Joan

 

[Phydeaux]

Savvy drivers buy their snow tires their own set of wheels vs. removing them and exchanging them annually from one set of wheels

Ask any auto mechanic, except one that suggests running snow tires year round.

 

[x3 skier]

I have run all season M+S tires year around on my AWD SUV for the past 10 years. They last 40-50k miles.

I spend three months in Steamboat Springs CO during ski season in up to two feet of Champagne Powder and the rest of the year mostly in Ohio.

Never had an issue in the snow. If you get ice, the only thing that will work is studded tires and I don't know if they even manufacture them anymore.

Cheers

 

[Chrisky]

IMHO people who use all season tires in winter in places where there could be even a dusting of snow, or icy roads, are taking chances. Changing from all season tires to winter tires is more about temperature than about getting snow accumulation. I know in our area the minute our temps drop and there is some moisture on the roads, that is when cars are slipping and sliding, and they are the ones with all season tires.
AWD is about getting your vehicle moving from a dead stop, it is not about braking or steering. This is an interesting article, some good thoughts about winter tires.

http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/magazine/2015/09/do-you-really-need-awd-in-the-snow/index.htm