Winter tires, whos put them on?

Mine just went on today.

MichaelB said:

Way to go Kev. Wisconsin winter bring it on! What size are they? Don't they kinda stick way past the fender wells or is that just the photo?

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They are stock size. 195/65-15 on some VW steelies. The angle of the photo just makes it look like my Golf is lifted and the tires stick out.

After spinning all the way to work and sliding right past my driveway on the way home a week or so ago, I put the snows on.
Nice to be able to stop and accelerate on snow now!

Sold the steelies.

Went on yesterday...

Wish I could fit 15's

Minion:

I like the look of the red rims on your black car! Almost forgot, the red badging is a nice touch too!

Dan

Is it normal for the ABS light to some on after pulling the e brake for several seconds while moving?

I'd think so - The ABS system can't release the e-brake so it thinks there's a fault since the front tires are moving and the back ones are not.

Mine will beep the beeper and flash "Brake" light on the dash if the E-Brake is on too long while moving. I have not seen the ABS light, though usually when I'm doing something like that I'm not too concerned what lights are on the dash

Ya, the light goes away on a restart, so not worried. Get the beeping as well.

Whole different ball game making an open diff front wheel drive car fun in the snow vs a limits slip v-8 2wd pickup

I put my Blizzaks on last week...right before the snow!

I am real happy with the Nokian Hakkas. They are pretty good on ice, but fantastic in snow. It would have been a big waste of money if this had turned out to be another warm, dry winter; but so far I've had plenty of opportunities to put these tires to the test, and they are passing with straight A's so far.

Ok, so dont flame me too badly on this question (i'm used to driving 4x4 and AWD)
Is it really worth putting snow tires on the rear?

jeepnguy said:

Ok, so dont flame me too badly on this question (i'm used to driving 4x4 and AWD)
Is it really worth putting snow tires on the rear?

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If you want to stay out of the ditch, then yes.

What if your front tires have good grip but your back tires don't? When you hit the brakes, what happens? The front of the car slows or stops, but the back end slides out and your car goes into an uncontrolled spin.

Go to the website of any reputable tire dealer. They all tell you that you should always put your best pair of tires in the rear, no matter if they are winter tires or all-season. It does not matter if your vehicle is AWD, FWD, or RWD.

All of Us said:

Minion:
I like the look of the red rims on your black car! Almost forgot, the red badging is a nice touch too!
Dan

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Thank you!

I plan on spacing them out a bit. I need to get some covers for my front axle nuts. They are already rusting up. The salt around IL is UNREAL this year!

jeepnguy said:

Ok, so dont flame me too badly on this question (i'm used to driving 4x4 and AWD)
Is it really worth putting snow tires on the rear?

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A reputable tire dealer won't allow you to just put on snow tires on the front because of liability.

Minion said:

I need to get some covers for my front axle nuts. They are already rusting up. The salt around IL is UNREAL this year!

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The Growler pickle cap mod!:

That's why I was asking! Thanks for the input!!

Replaced my 3 year old Blizzaks with Altimax this year. New Altimak's are better than 3 year old Blizzak's but new it's hard to tell. Ice traction is the big thing for me & I think the Blizzak's have a slight advantage there. Both brands work well & with my LDS I'm good to go through lots of winters slippery drool but when the snow goes over 6 inches I'll take my Dodge Ram.

frugality said:

The Growler pickle cap mod!:

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Man, you crack me up. Love it.

175/75/14 Rovello's (WalMarts own brand). Just got them on tonight, yes.. after the ice storm! haha Better late than never eh? The only problem is that these are mk2/mk3 offset 14" steels, so they are rathe close to my front strut housings and rear springs. I think I will be getting 20mm spacers for all around and rolling the fenders.

After getting new tires I am not too sold on the fact that I NEED dedicated snow tires/wheels and unless I come across a deal I doubt I consider any. Here in Iowa, we just don't get enough snow to warrant them IMO.

30Bones said:

After getting new tires I am not too sold on the fact that I NEED dedicated snow tires/wheels and unless I come across a deal I doubt I consider any. Here in Iowa, we just don't get enough snow to warrant them IMO.

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I never owned a set of snow tires until I moved from Iowa to Minnesota. But I drive about 4500-5000 miles a month, winter or summer, so I get a lot more value out of a set of winter tires than most people.

Always amazes me that there are guys who'll go out and do the "Tool Time" grunt while they buy a $1300 two-stage snowblower which they'll need maybe two or three times each winter -- and balk at spending a few hundred for winter tires which will be good for every single day of four or five months of every year and which will extend the life of their other tires (and wheels) for as many miles as they put on the winter tires.

Not saying that's anyone in this thread. But I see a lot of it even up here in Minnesota, where most people seem to think that four-wheel-drive suspends the laws of physics in turning and stopping on frozen pavement. Just. Don't. Get. It.

Steve-o said:

Always amazes me that there are guys who'll go out and do the "Tool Time" grunt while they buy a $1300 two-stage snowblower which they'll need maybe two or three times each winter -- and balk at spending a few hundred for winter tires which will be good for every single day of four or five months of every year and which will extend the life of their other tires (and wheels) for as many miles as they put on the winter tires.

Not saying that's anyone in this thread. But I see a lot of it even up here in Minnesota, where most people seem to think that four-wheel-drive suspends the laws of physics in turning and stopping on frozen pavement. Just. Don't. Get. It.

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I live east of Superior and Huron.. I needed to use my snow blower 4 times in one day! LOL. It is the same blower my grandfather bought in 1978. I've spent $100 to keep it going the 8 years I've had it with me.

Just think AWD/4x4 with some super aggressive snow tires?! Literally (not quite literally literal lol) be unstoppable at that point! Or that "new all seasons" react well in sub-freezing temperatures.. Yeah ok.

I have snow tires mounted on steelies for the Golf, but unless you really HAVE to drive on the average 5 days per year that all seasons don't cut it around Vancouver, I just don't see the need.

I dislike the noise and poor handling of the snow tires + they just seem to get destroyed in no time when there is rarely any snow.

Maybe we finally get a snowy cold winter. At least I have them if it ever happens

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Firestone winterforce mounted on 15" alloy's. $300'ish a set for the tires and wheels, though we stupidly overpaid at the local shop and they didn't even mount them right (no centering rings) and so they're a little bit wonky now. I install them each year, have the shops mount/balance the tires when they're changed.

Defiantly necessary, I put them on in October and take them off in early spring/April/May time. If you don't have snows you're really just a hazard on the road and really shouldn't be driving, at least not routinely and you're risking everyone's safety.

I've know a few people who've 'pushed' it and a few of them have been in accidents as early as October. Really not worth it around these parts.

eberg said:

I have snow tires mounted on steelies for the Golf, but they just seem to get destroyed in no time when there is rarely any snow.

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You don't have to buy the $200/ea. tires . Does it get below freezing where you are for most of the winter? That is the real deciding factor on whether you need snow tires.

Maffken said:

If you don't have snows you're really just a hazard on the road and really shouldn't be driving, at least not routinely and you're risking everyone's safety.

I've know a few people who've 'pushed' it and a few of them have been in accidents as early as October. Really not worth it around these parts.

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I agree, every winter until now I have been on All Seasons in my own car. The level of control gained even with the cheapest set of snows I could buy.. unreal.

You may not find it necessary.. If snows help you stop in less distance (meaning you were sliding before!), and be able to safely maneuver situations at hand.. Why risk thousands and thousands of dollars, for $1000max, assuming you bought the most expensive ones on the market?

eberg said:

I dislike the noise and poor handling of the snow tires + they just seem to get destroyed in no time when there is rarely any snow.

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You're right about the latter.....snow tires do wear more quickly on dry pavement than normal 'all-season' tires. By my count, I get ~30k miles out of a set, whereas you'll get ~65k (or on occasions more) out of a set of all-seasons.

I've been pleasantly surprised about the former, though. My first set of snows were 15" Dunlop Winterports on my Mk4 Golf. The Dunlops were more agressive snows, with separated tread blocks and a good deal of space between the blocks, which meant good traction in deep snow, but they were very 'squirmy', noisy, and dropped my mileage a touch. (higher rolling resistance)

On my current Mk5.5 JSW, I ran a set of 16" Continental ExtremeWinterContacts for 3 seasons, and they rode and handled like an all-season. They were actually quieter then the 17" OEM Conti all-seasons that came on the car, and also resulted in a mileage improvement due to the smaller size.

I'm currently running a new set of 16" Michelin X-Ice 3's. Again, they ride and handle much like an all-season tire. Nice and quiet. Mileage is about a wash this time.

So these new snows are becoming more biased towards 'driveability.' They've lost a little deep-snow performance, but I'm O.K. with that. It's only a couple-three big storms a year that I have to deal with.

I don't know if my question has been answered but there's too much to go thru. I have Conti's on my car right now, so my question is, is it ok to just have 2 front winter tires and keep the rear tires?

passatv6af said:

I don't know if my question has been answered but there's too much to go thru. I have Conti's on my car right now, so my question is, is it ok to just have 2 front winter tires and keep the rear tires?

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No.
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