Is it time to make winter tires mandatory?

[btimbit]

Originally Posted by CroFlames

Do any of the guys with half tons in this thread swap tires every season? I've never had any problems at all in 4 wheel auto.

I've ran winters on my 1/2 tons, 3/4 ton and on my 1 ton.

On my current truck Ram 2500, the tires I run in the summer are winter rated All Terrains (Toyo Open Country C/T) but I still run the Goodyear UltraGrip Ice in the winters

[johnnyrocket03]

Any recommendations on good deals? After reading this thread, I am thinking its time to switch away from all seasons. I have a 2013 Focus with 17" tires if that matters.

[Locke]

It depends on what you want, I bought mine off of tirerack.ca.

I got winter tires, mounted on rims with the tire-pressure monitoring sensors installed delivered to my door.

I just took the old ones off and bolted the winters on.

[Red Ice Player]

Originally Posted by johnnyrocket03

Any recommendations on good deals? After reading this thread, I am thinking its time to switch away from all seasons. I have a 2013 Focus with 17" tires if that matters.

I don't know of any deals, but you would save yourself some cash by going with 16 inch winters for your Focus. Sixteen inch will probably last longer as well. I like going with the slightly taller sidewall in winter due to the potholes and frost heaves. They would destroy the 17 inch rims I use in the summer.

[zamler]

Originally Posted by johnnyrocket03

Any recommendations on good deals?

Yea buy in June.

[Corral]

For most of the winter - all weather tires with good tread (as in long before their stated expiry kms) on a front wheel drive will do just fine in Calgary and local highways. The exception is in really cold temps when you can feel the rubber is not as grippy. And then in those cold temps you need to drive much slower than normal, and much slower than you would with winter tires. Part of the problem these days is people treat the speed limit as the mandatory speed when driving.

I drive all weathers, but i replace them every two to three years regardless of the tread wear. This also helps with the icy grip - as tire rubber loses its flex over the years - so even if your tread is fine - tires older than 3 years are not as good as new ones in marginal road conditions.

[Looch City]

Originally Posted by Corral

I drive all weathers, but i replace them every two to three years regardless of the tread wear. This also helps with the icy grip - as tire rubber loses its flex over the years - so even if your tread is fine - tires older than 3 years are not as good as new ones in marginal road conditions.

That just seems like a waste of money though. Why not buy 2 sets, one all weather and one winter and they both last 4-5 years each? Instead of one set every 2-3 years.

[Corral]

Originally Posted by Iggy City

That just seems like a waste of money though. Why not buy 2 sets, one all weather and one winter and they both last 4-5 years each? Instead of one set every 2-3 years.

The point is i don't drive on tires older than 3 years - whether they've been on the car or not. Swapping out all weather tires when there are bargains to be had makes it much cheaper in my experience than having 2 sets of tires. Plus i save the hassle of storing a set of tires - which is an issue for folks without a garage or storage basement.

[Lubicon]

Originally Posted by TheAlpineOracle

Anyone else find it weird that BC doesn't just setup every weekend in Radium/Fernie/Golden/Invermere and ticket Alberta drivers one after another for not having winter tires? Seems like the ultimate cash grab without pissing off locals.

Snowflake and M+S rated tires also qualify which many people already run so the return on investment might not be as high as you would think.

[btimbit]

Originally Posted by johnnyrocket03

Any recommendations on good deals? After reading this thread, I am thinking its time to switch away from all seasons. I have a 2013 Focus with 17" tires if that matters.

Not much for deals this time of year, but like was said I'd suggest getting 16" wheels for winters. They'd be cheaper, saves your summer wheels from salt and crap, and it's best to go with a tire a little narrower and taller too

[Bill Bumface]

Originally Posted by Lubicon

Snowflake

Isn't the snowflake the one you want? I thought snowflake = meets winter tire standards and M+S = our marketers say this works in mud and snow with no standards backing it up.

[4X4]

Originally Posted by Bill Bumface

Isn't the snowflake the one you want? I thought snowflake = meets winter tire standards and M+S = our marketers say this works in mud and snow with no standards backing it up.

You want a snowflake inside a mountain. M+S are just 4x4 all seasons.

[Lubicon]

BC also accepts M+S as a winter tire, I should have included the link in my original post.

http://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/tr...t-winter-tires

[btimbit]

Yeah BC's law isn't that great since it includes All Seasons. IIRC they did that because at the time they didn't make Winters in a lot of bigger sizes.

Time to re-visist that I say.

[zamler]

Originally Posted by Corral

For most of the winter - all weather tires with good tread (as in long before their stated expiry kms) on a front wheel drive will do just fine in Calgary and local highways.

I agree but there are times when the all-season tire is not going to cut it. Example was over Christmas the QE2 was horrendous even my X-Ice tires felt sketchy. Many accidents and cars in the ditch, to me avoiding that is worth the up front cost of a proper winter tire.

The exception is in really cold temps when you can feel the rubber is not as grippy. And then in those cold temps you need to drive much slower than normal, and much slower than you would with winter tires.

I saw several SUVs go bombing by me a few minutes later they were in the ditch. Didn't have the sense to slow down, I don't understand that.

[4X4]

Originally Posted by zamler

I agree but there are times when the all-season tire is not going to cut it. Example was over Christmas the QE2 was horrendous even my X-Ice tires felt sketchy. Many accidents and cars in the ditch, to me avoiding that is worth the up front cost of a proper winter tire.
I saw several SUVs go bombing by me a few minutes later they were in the ditch. Didn't have the sense to slow down, I don't understand that.

He said all-weather, not all-season.

[CroFlames]

I'm worried that rims and tires for a pickup are going to be way more than the $500 number people are throwing around here.

I can't be seen driving around on those 16" black steel rims either.

[btimbit]

Originally Posted by CroFlames

I'm worried that rims and tires for a pickup are going to be way more than the $500 number people are throwing around here.

I can't be seen driving around on those 16" black steel rims either.

$500 for a truck, likely not going to happen. I usually pay around $1500 for mine.

I'd grab a set of OEM wheels off kijiji then get tires for those.

If you don't want to do that then I'd run some All Weather All Terrains year round, like a Goodyear Duratrac. But like Corral posted earlier, you're going to need to replace them every 2-3 years if you go that route.

[Corral]

Yup QE2 at Xmas was just about as bad as it gets around here. Winter tires are better on ice but not great.

My experience with all weathers is the Nokian WR2 or whatever its current version is - is the best all weather tire in cold temperatures. It is a softer compound - so it also doesn't last very long with summer driving and nor is it the best choice for the 100 mph + days

[zamler]

Originally Posted by 4X4

He said all-weather,

I meant to type all-weather.

Originally Posted by Corral

My experience with all weathers is the Nokian WR2

I have a set sticky tires but they don't last long at all.