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Burninator · 10-08-2009, 02:22 PM

I should have bought winter tires last year, but I didn't want to spend the money. After getting stuck all the time and not making it up hills I definitely regretted not getting them.

As anyone else with a Mazda 3 knows, the tires that come stock with the car are awful in the winter. I've gone through two winters with the tires and they have been bad both years. Because of that I try to avoid driving when the conditions are bad, but that doesn't always work. One time I was at the mall and it started snowing pretty hard and became quite icy when I was shopping. I had no choice but to drive home and I was white knuckled the whole time as my car struggled for traction. Plus last winter I was getting stuck outside my girlfriends house all the time and I feel like an arse making her push because she can't drive standard. Also being that car that makes everyone miss the light because you can't get traction on a slight incline is embarrassing. My old car with all seasons was almost equally as bad.

People making the argument that Calgary only has a short time when the roads are really bad to justify using crappy tires are missing the point. The majority of the accidents happen during those time periods. Those are the days when having good tires is the most justified.

So because of the awful tires that my car has and reading about winter tires on CP I am getting winter tires mounted next week. Defensive driving in the winter can only get you so far. Avoiding bad weather doesn't work if you are stranded and not being able to stop in a decent distance when you need to (like an emergency) is impossible with defensive driving. I just don't have confidence in my all seasons to be safe on the road.

Thanks CP, you are certainly helping out tires sales this winter.

10-08-2009, 02:22 PM	#112
Burninator Franchise Player Join Date: Dec 2003 Exp:	I should have bought winter tires last year, but I didn't want to spend the money. After getting stuck all the time and not making it up hills I definitely regretted not getting them. As anyone else with a Mazda 3 knows, the tires that come stock with the car are awful in the winter. I've gone through two winters with the tires and they have been bad both years. Because of that I try to avoid driving when the conditions are bad, but that doesn't always work. One time I was at the mall and it started snowing pretty hard and became quite icy when I was shopping. I had no choice but to drive home and I was white knuckled the whole time as my car struggled for traction. Plus last winter I was getting stuck outside my girlfriends house all the time and I feel like an arse making her push because she can't drive standard. Also being that car that makes everyone miss the light because you can't get traction on a slight incline is embarrassing. My old car with all seasons was almost equally as bad. People making the argument that Calgary only has a short time when the roads are really bad to justify using crappy tires are missing the point. The majority of the accidents happen during those time periods. Those are the days when having good tires is the most justified. So because of the awful tires that my car has and reading about winter tires on CP I am getting winter tires mounted next week. Defensive driving in the winter can only get you so far. Avoiding bad weather doesn't work if you are stranded and not being able to stop in a decent distance when you need to (like an emergency) is impossible with defensive driving. I just don't have confidence in my all seasons to be safe on the road. Thanks CP, you are certainly helping out tires sales this winter.