Snow tire question

Discussion in 'General Motoring' started by Eric Mark, Dec 3, 2004.

  1. Eric Mark

    Eric Mark Guest

    Yesterday I took my 2000 Saturn SL2 in for inspection and two tires.
    Turned out it needed new front brake pads, and I decided to get the
    rotors too while I was spending all my Christmas money.

    Anyway, in re tires: I got the car in April 2003 with 31K miles on it
    and what I'm pretty sure were the original tires. They were OK, but
    not great; a bit noisy at times. I decided to cross my fingers and try
    to make it through last winter with them, and for the most part they
    did fine.

    When I got the car inspected in May, (expired in April, then expired
    again in November to match the registration; PA is weird), the rear
    tires did not pass inspection because of dry rot. The front ones were
    OK, but down to about 6/32 or 7/32 tread at best. I knew they would
    also have to be replaced for this winter.

    Anyway, I replaced the rear tires with a set of 2 Hankook Mileage Plus
    all-seasons. Put them on the front, moved the older tires to the back.
    No problems all summer and fall.

    Decided this week to get snow tires for the front and run the Hankook
    Mileage Plus pair on the rear. Figured I'd try Blizzaks; heard nothing
    but good things about them apart from the noise issue, and if you
    drive a Saturn on roads around here you can't be too picky about
    noise....

    The guy at the tire shop yesterday told me he could only sell Blizzaks
    in sets of 4. Said it was not his idea; it came from the company: 4
    tires or nothing. At first I thought he was kidding, then figured he
    was trying to pressure me into buying 4 tires instead of 2.

    Nope. Turned out he was dead serious and was quite happy to sell me
    two snow tires for the front---just not Blizzaks.

    Weird. Has anyone else been through this? The issue seems to be
    liability, in case someone who knows even less about cars than I buys
    brand new Blizzaks and runs them along with a couple of crappy bald
    all-seasons. in that case, the car could swing around in a panic stop,
    if the Blizzak end stops and the crappy-tire-end doesn't. At least
    that's what the tire shop manager said.

    So, since 4 Blizzaks was out of my price range and I saw no reason not
    to run the excellent all-seasons that were only a few months old, I
    wound up buying two Hankook 404 winter tires for the front, and moved
    the Hankook all-seasons---still in good shape, with less than 10K
    miles on them---to the rear.

    That should get me through the winter. It's fairly bad here at times
    in the foothills of the Poconos in northeatern PA, but seldom
    impassable.

    Anyways, I'm curious about the Blizzak "4 tires or forget it" policy.
    Is this true all over? Also, anyone on here who's an expert in winter
    driving: what do you think of running 2 new Hankook snow tires up
    front and 2 nearly new Hankook all-seasons in the rear; would I have
    been better off just sticking to 4 all-seasons, as long as the tread
    was OK?

    TIA.

    Regards,

    Eric M
     
    Eric Mark, Dec 3, 2004
    #1
  2. Eric,

    With today's FWD cars, it is generally considered SAFER to run 4 identical
    tires. This is because it is felt that snows only in the front create too
    much traction when braking and cornering when compared to the back tires,
    giving cars a tendency to swap ends on slippery roads. 4 all-season tires
    would offer more balanced braking and cornering. However, front-only snows
    will typically give you better traction for acceleration. I don't know what
    Blizzak's official policy is, but I am sure they would sell you only one
    tire if you only needed one because of a blowout or something, so it can't
    be a hard & fast rule.

    My theory is the only contact between your car and anything that matters is
    your tires. I get uncomfortable when my summer tires are below 1/2 tread
    life because they just don't work as well in rain, let alone snow, plus they
    seem to be more likely to go flat for whatever reason. I run 4 Nokians in
    the winter and marvel at their traction. Todays soft compounds in modern
    snow tires are really worth the money.
     
    Dana Rohleder, Dec 3, 2004
    #2
  3. Eric Mark

    Elector Guest

    Not sure about the "Official Tire Policy" but I purchased Bridgestone
    Blizzaks the second year we purchased our 99 Saturn since I found that the
    Firestone All season F40 were crappy in the snow in the Northeast.

    You should be aware that the great ability of the Blizzaks end after around
    12,000 miles I think you can read about it at http://www.tirerack.com where
    I purchased mine.

    Then they are like the all seasons you run all year through. One year ago I
    decided to purchase the Pirelli P400 Touring tire and they went through the
    winter with great results. So much that when I spoke to my friend at the
    auto shop he said they are a very nice tire. On the expensive side but I
    found them well worth it.

    When I bought the Blizzaks I purchased all 4 for around $300 my friend
    mounted and balanced them for free, they were exceptional in use. The price
    of the tires should never really matter since your life is riding on those
    tires.

    Elector
     
    Elector, Dec 3, 2004
    #3
  4. I can not tell you about the Blizzaks only being sold in "packs" of 4
    only. (Did you try www.tirerack.com?) But I can say that in my opinion
    and experience it is better to have the same type of tire on all 4
    corners of a car. Even when I had an old rear wheel drive car I had
    much better handling in the snow when I had "snow" tires on all
    corners. Nothing like turning the wheel and the car going straight
    because the front tires can not get a grip.
    I have a 2000 SL1 with 36,000 miles on it and it still has the factory
    rubber. I never drove it in the snow (I also have a S10 Blazer, at the
    slightest hint of snow I drive that.) so I have no experience with it
    in the snow.

    Paul
     
    Paul Dougherty, Dec 3, 2004
    #4
  5. Eric Mark

    Eric Mark Guest

    Hi Dana,

    Thanks for the advice. As usual, in the end it comes down to money. I
    already spent more than I had planned when I found out the car needed
    brakes to pass inspection. The brakes, the two new snow tires, the
    inspection and labor came to more than $450.

    Plus as noted I had just purchased the Hankook all-seasons---touted as
    top-of-the-line---in May; that set me back more than $150.

    If I had a lot more money, I would make sure to always run four winter
    tires from Thanksgiving to Easter, and also run nothing but the best
    all-seasons with at least 12/32 tread the rest of the time.

    Then again, if I had a lot more money, I would not be driving a used
    Saturn S-series vehicle. That's not a slam, BTW; even though I've put
    money into it, I still think my Saturn was a good investment and about
    the best car I could get for the money, at least from a dealer. Double
    my salary and I'd likely look elsewhere, though.

    How much do you pay for four Nokias?

    Regards,

    Eric M
     
    Eric Mark, Dec 3, 2004
    #5
  6. Eric Mark

    micven55 Guest

    Living in upper ny state and being a skiier I've used snows on my cars for
    over 25 years. I once subscribed to the idea that 2 snows were ok on
    front drive cars until I looped it one day. It was on a curve and the
    front had plenty of grip, the rear end just came out. That was about 15
    yrs. ago and since then I've used snows all around. You can definitly
    tell the rear end is more stable during turning and braking, so if you do
    a lot of snow driving it's worth it.

    I currently have cars with Dunlop Graspics and Winterforce. The Dunlops
    definitly have the edge in dry road holding and tire wear. Both are great
    on snow, but next time I'll fork out the extr $9 a tire for the Dunlops.
    I've had Michelins (Artic Alpine) and Pirellis (210)over the years and
    have been happy with those.
     
    micven55, Dec 7, 2004
    #6
  7. A few years ago, driving along a mountan highway in my 2 wheel drive Subaru
    Legacy (I now drive a Saturn LW -- a lot better car), I hit a patch of ice
    on the road, and gently (I'm an experienced winter driver) applied the
    brakes.

    Fast than you can blink an eye, the car switched ends and I was driving
    backwards down the highway at about 80 k, with virtually no control.
    Luckily, we hit a shallow ditch, with very little snow, the car changed ends
    again, and I was able to restart the car (which had stalled) and drive out
    of the ditch. Many places along that road have interesting curves and drop
    offs -- I was very lucky.

    My tires? Studded snow tires front, all season rear. I immediately
    replaced the rear tires with studded ones, and the car was remarkably more
    stable.

    On my Saturn, I run 4 Michelin Alpin tires -- which the tire dealer
    (Canadian Tire) would NOT install unless I put on 4. After my adventure
    with the studded fronts, I know why.

    As for the Alpins, they are great -- using a rubber compound that is soft
    yet full depth. A lot of other tires have a softer rubber on the outer
    portion of their treads, which becomes harder (and less sticky) as the tires
    wear. I was told that Blizzaks are made this way.

    Dave Fairfield
     
    Dave Fairfield, Dec 9, 2004
    #7
  8. Eric Mark

    Mike Guest

    I have heard/read/been told many times that regardless of FWD or RWD, the
    better tires should always be on the back. When braking this will give much
    reduced likelihood of the rear passing the front in slippery conditions, and
    will also when cornering have better rear traction to hopefully keep the
    rear from breaking out before the front.

    Many people like to go for the better traction in the front on a FWD (to
    keep from getting stuck?). Is it not far better to have the front wheel
    spinning/stuck trying to get started, than to have the rear of the car pass
    the front in a corner or in a braking situation!
     
    Mike, Dec 9, 2004
    #8
  9. Eric Mark

    Nigel Guest

    Everyone here is pretty much dead on. I've used 4 Blizzaks on my old
    Acura Integra and they saved me once on some black ice here in
    Washington. I went around a corner after making a stop and didn't know
    or feel any lost of control. The car directly behind me spun out
    completely at the same spot in the road. I now have an AWD VUE and
    considering getting those or similar tires again...
     
    Nigel, Dec 11, 2004
    #9
  10. Eric Mark

    Napalm Heart Guest

    I put a set of Dunlop Graspics on my son's 96 SL2. I haven't driven
    it in yet but he seems to like them.

    Ken
     
    Napalm Heart, Dec 12, 2004
    #10
  11. Eric Mark

    Napalm Heart Guest

    Corrected.
     
    Napalm Heart, Dec 12, 2004
    #11
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