So I'm heading down to the BCS title game in glendale,az from the Portland, OR area and am wondering how bad of an idea it is to keep my blizzaks on the car? I'm kind of worried about the weather but i'm even more worried about how much it's going to eat up my tires that I've only had for one year? I know there are quite a few people who live in Arizona on the board so I thought i would get their take on the weather down there driving on Highway 10 as well. Any input/suggestions would be helpful. Thanks.
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2400 mile drive on snow tires?
- Thread starter vikefan7
- Start date
- :
- 2010 Mazda CX-9 GT Dolphin Gray
Bottom line: snow tres do best in cold temp. Personally I wouldn't drive a heavy car like the CX-9 into warm climates with winter tires (>40 degrees F). Doing so will severely eat into their treadlife. What tires do you use for the other three seasons? I'd just have them swapped for the trip. You'll probably also get better mileage since snow tires very soft compound are going to stick more (i.e. more rolling resistance) in warmer temps. IMO
IslandTractor
Member
- :
- 2010 CX9 GT Silver/Blk
If it were me I would do that trip with the OEM all season tires. Change out the snows for the trip. The all seasons will be safer on the highway and you will likely have pavement, not snow, for 99% of your drive. Just don't turn east until you get to LA!
Cool. Thanks for the suggestions. That was my initial thinking too. I have the OEM Dueller's as my other tires and I was going to swap them out but I leave tonight and haven't done it yet, so I think the Blizzaks are just going to get worn down... Hopefully it doesn't completely ruin them. I just kept going back and forth and back and forth and waited too long to switch them out. From the weather reports I'm seeing it should be smooth sailing. The only saving grace is that the weather isn't supposed to be too warm anywhere we're going to be and we're going to be doing a lot of driving in the middle of the night when it's cold.
Why shouldn't I turn east before going to LA? I was going to cut off and go through Bakersfield on the 58 and then cut down to the 210 and 10. Is that where I could run into dicey weather?
Why shouldn't I turn east before going to LA? I was going to cut off and go through Bakersfield on the 58 and then cut down to the 210 and 10. Is that where I could run into dicey weather?
triplejumper18
Banned
- :
- 2006 Mazdaspeed6 Grand Touring/2008 CX-9 Touring
Your worst weather will probably be the Siskiyou pass area in SoOr and NorCal. Possibly even winter weather in the Willamette Valley on your drive home. Other than that it will be over 40 degrees except at night in the high desert areas which is bad for winter tires. If you use the all season tires then you should carry chains if there's winter weather in Oregon, FYI. I'd personally swap the tires to all seasons before you leave tonight. Enjoy the game!
IslandTractor
Member
- :
- 2010 CX9 GT Silver/Blk
Why shouldn't I turn east before going to LA? I was going to cut off and go through Bakersfield on the 58 and then cut down to the 210 and 10. Is that where I could run into dicey weather?
I was just thinking that you are unlikely to run into snow or ice traveling directly down the coast or near the coast through California and also that there is unlikely to be any snow between Bakersfield and Glendale.
Well, we made it back. I ended up driving with the Blizzaks the entire way and as you all pointed out it was completely unnecessary. It snowed a little in the Shasta pass, but it wasn't sticking. We thought we were going to hit freezing rain in the Portland area on our way back but that never really materialized. I guess I just paid for peace of mind...
I drive my bmw on V-rated snow tires year round, it will wear faster in the warmer days but not outrageously fast. Think about that, one accident will set you back $500 as deductible (if there are damages to your ride). I have the 18" bridgestone snow on the CX9 too, it rides just like the 20" all season without degraded performance.
IslandTractor
Member
- :
- 2010 CX9 GT Silver/Blk
I drive my bmw on V-rated snow tires year round, it will wear faster in the warmer days but not outrageously fast. Think about that, one accident will set you back $500 as deductible (if there are damages to your ride). I have the 18" bridgestone snow on the CX9 too, it rides just like the 20" all season without degraded performance.
Why would you do that (drive on snows year round)? There is no way a V rated snow will handle or brake as well as a V rated summer or all season tire so you are just trading higher risk of accident three seasons for lower risk on snowy days one season. Wouldn't you be better off with all season performance about 330 days of the year???
There is not much difference if you ask me. We are talking about normal to slighter higher speed driving during the summer time, say 65-80 mph. No one is going to be able to corner at 65 mph even equipped with the best summer tires you can find. So why would there be higher risk of accident?
IslandTractor
Member
- :
- 2010 CX9 GT Silver/Blk
There is not much difference if you ask me. We are talking about normal to slighter higher speed driving during the summer time, say 65-80 mph. No one is going to be able to corner at 65 mph even equipped with the best summer tires you can find. So why would there be higher risk of accident?
On dry pavement braking distance is almost always shorter with summer or all season tires than with snow tires. I believe that holds true for wet pavement as well. Bottom line is that the aggressive tread on snow tires does compromise traction on dry and ?wet pavement.
IslandTractor
Member
- :
- 2010 CX9 GT Silver/Blk
Again, it depends on the temperature. On cold, dry pavement the winter tire will do better than any all-season.
Please dig out that reference. We love data!
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