The Winter's Coming Winter Tires Thread

[sevenarms]

Question for the crowd. Should I go with studded or non-studded Hakkapeliitta's for my 4Runner?

I had the non-studded before and they were amazing. Now we'll mainly be doing highway driving in the mountains. The internet is failing me as a resource with this question.

[Sliver]

Originally Posted by sevenarms

Question for the crowd. Should I go with studded or non-studded Hakkapeliitta's for my 4Runner?

I had the non-studded before and they were amazing. Now we'll mainly be doing highway driving in the mountains. The internet is failing me as a resource with this question.

I wouldn't. Our highways are bare 98% of the winter. Studded would be loud, annoying and unnecessary imo.

[DownInFlames]

Originally Posted by TorqueDog

As someone who lives off 12 Ave SW and spends a good deal of time 17 Ave, I'm gonna have to disagree, they're both equally awful. But as a car enthusiast, the tuners are a bit worse to my mind because they're ruining my hobby specifically.

I'm on 12th and go to 17th Ave as well. The bikes are still worse in my mind. I do get how the crackles can be grating when you know it's just for show, much like a slammed BMW.

[undercoverbrother]

Originally Posted by sevenarms

Question for the crowd. Should I go with studded or non-studded Hakkapeliitta's for my 4Runner?

I had the non-studded before and they were amazing. Now we'll mainly be doing highway driving in the mountains. The internet is failing me as a resource with this question.

Depends where you live

As Sliver pointed out, in Calgary it’s overkill

In other parts of the province it is not.

[btimbit]

Studded for ice or heavy pack, non-studded for regular snow or bare/barely covered roads

Studless tires are so good now, no need for studs. Although it is fun to do a burnout at night and see some sparks

[PepsiFree]

Originally Posted by sevenarms

Question for the crowd. Should I go with studded or non-studded Hakkapeliitta's for my 4Runner?

I had the non-studded before and they were amazing. Now we'll mainly be doing highway driving in the mountains. The internet is failing me as a resource with this question.

I’ve had both and the only downside really is the noise. It’s super noticeable at first, then you get used to it and the snow and ice kind of dulls the noise, but by spring you’ll be relieved to take them off. I wouldn’t call it annoying, but it’s noticeable.

Are they totally necessary? Absolutely not. Will there be a week or two every year where you are glad you have them? Absolutely. So it just comes down to whether those couple weeks worth of driving are worth the minimal extra cost and the noise.

There is something very nice about approaching one of those ice covered intersections that have been polished to a shine from people sliding or buses or whatever and knowing you can stop, go from a stop, or cruise right through without issue. Or climbing an icy hill and cruising around the vehicles that couldn’t make it.

[Fuzz]

Man, I loved our rear wheel drive MPV with studded tires. So much fun as a teen vehicle. Regular winters were not great back then, so the upgrade was bigger.