2000 SL1 - Studs or Not?

[Matt]

Hi,
I have a 2000 SL1.. my question is.. with the winter months approaching
should I put studded tires on my car or not? And if so, anything I
should keep in mind or be aware of?

~ Matt

 

[Matt]

Saturn (the headquarters) told me that if they are legal in my area I
can put them on, but that they don't recommend using anything other then
the stock recommened tires. What are comments/thoughts on this?

 

[Jeff McDonald]

if you get studs, do 'em on all four wheels. Otherwise your rear will spin
'round your front when you brake and corner.

Junkyard steel wheels are insanely cheap since the car goes back a decade
from your model year, and the bolt pattern is common with a bunch of other
stuff too. They'll save you the cost of remounting twice a year.

With snow tires, thinner is better-- 175-70-14, the base size, is perfect.

If you do a lot of highway driving, the noise will drive you insane. The
tires will be a bit "squirrely" on dry pavement, so these are best left off
the car as much as possible, except during the dead of winter. : )

 

[micven55]

Living in northern New York state and being a skier I can atest that four
snow tires are the way to go in the winter months. I've never had a
problem except in super deep snow (shouldn't have been out, but gotta ski)
where the studs wouldn't be of any use anyway. I have four cars (lots of
teenagers) and a variety of snow tires. Tires have gotten better over the
years and are a lot quieter and provide good dry road handling (too good
sometimes, if you drive them too hard you'll wear them out real fast) In
fact the Michelin Artic Alpines' on my Jetta are a lot quieter than the
summer Kumho Ecstas (never again). If you got a wide high performance
tire go for something thinner. If you just have the 185/65/14 standard on
the SL1 then it's probably no big deal to stay with the same size. I have
that size on my SL1. I got some Winterforce tires from Tire Rack last
year and have been happy with the snow traction and dry road handling.
Not that noisy either.
FYI, the steel wheels on the 2001 SL1 have a slightly different flange
shape than most generic wheels. The hubcaps won't screw back onto the lug
nuts!!