Kumho 711 snow traction?

[Pro5Monkey]

Wow, what a day! The wife calls me at work, she's out running errands in the Pro5 and is on the side of the highway (with the baby boy in the car) with a flat about a mile away from me. It happens to be the same back tire I had plugged about a month ago so I figured the plug let loose. Nope. I'm taking the tire off (with fucking semi's flying by @ 75+mph) and I see a hole in the tread. O.K. I take it to the shop down the street that plugged it before to get yet another plug put in. The guy says bring it in and he can do it right now. Cool! Well, I get the tire out and see the the inside sidewall is fucked! It has a hole I can put 2 fingers in. Oh well, new tire. They call around and can get 1 Dunlop for $125 their cost! Forget that. The car already has Kumho 711's on it and both backs need replaced anyway because they're way low on tread. So I came back to work, log on to TireRack.com and get 2 Kumho 711's on order for $120.74 with shipping. About 5 minutes after I placed my order I get a call from Tire Rack. The nice man just wanted to let me know that because I live in Pennsylvania I should be aware that the Kumho's are not winter rated. So here is my question.

Should I even try driving in the snow with these, or was the guy just trying to upgrade me?

Has anyone with these tires ever driven in the snow?

I may just get some shitty steel wheels and snow's or all seasons for the winter.

Any comments are welcome, even sarcastic and smart-ass ones! (argh)

I hope everyone else is having a better day than me...

I can't wait to get home so I can kick the fucking cat... :)

[ChopstickHero]

i don't think the 711's were made for snow traction. so i'm almost certain that they would perform poorly in snowy conditions. The stock P5 dunlop tires perform like ass in wintery weather, so 711's definitely will perform worse. it's not just about how much tread it has, it has to do with the material of the tire as well. summer tires aren't made for freezing temperatures and will not perform like they're supposed to.

[mogi]

I have the Ecsta ASX and won't be driving them in the snow, I have a set of snow tires (Dunlop Graspic DS-2) for winter driving. I would trust the guy from tirerack in that they will blow ass in snowy conditions.

[Mike R]

The 711 is a summer only tire. No snow traction. Get the ASX or the Falken Ziex 512

[bradicus18]

I have 711s. They suck in snow. I got stuck many times last winter. I will add that my condition is worsened by my 17x7 rims and 205/40 tires. Still, snow + 711 = BAD.

[Pro5Monkey]

Thanks for the responses! I think what I'm gonna do is get a couple all seasons or mud & snows and just get them mounted in the fall and removed in the spring. I don't want the wife driving in the snow, with the kids in the car, on the Kumho's. Thanks again.... (drinks)

[Nomad]

goodchoice.
I'll be getting some 15's with Falken Zeix 512's soon for the winter.