Snow tires or all season

F

fdew

:
CX-5
I don't understand the big debate on snow tires. It seems to be accepted that snow tires are better in snow then all season tires.

When you are stopping your vehicle it doesn't matter if you have FWD RWD AWD or your engine just fell out and you have no wheel drive. They all stop the same.

Your car is probably worth between 10K and 30K right now.
A set of used Mazda rims run about $80 to $150
When snow tires are on the car the other tires are not wearing out.
With snow tires on the car there is less chance of a sudden reduction in value of your car.

On the other side you have 1. It doesn't snow where you are. 2. No extra wheels and tires to store. 3. bragging rights.

For me. I want the best tires I can get on my car winter and summer. I am a great driver with 53 years experience and I can drive a 62 Buick with real wheel drive and worn out bias ply out of balance tires over a mountain through a blizzard I also have enough experience and sense to know that I don't want to.

Frank
 
You should probably have posted this in the tires/wheels section rather than here.
This whole snow tire vs all seasons has been discussed and argued about many times.
I'm sure this will bring out the trolls again.
Anyway, as for me, I live in a snow belt, and wouldn't drive without snows in the winter.
Even with my 4X4 (2002 Pathfinder), I run snows. Makes a huge difference.
 
Aznbagel said:
I want snow tires but I'm not sure how to swing that living in an apartment.
Click to expand...

If you have a good relationship with your local auto repair shop and you buy your snows from them, they may store your tires for you. My shop does it for good customers.
 
It's like everything else on this forum, some people are adamantly for them, some aren't. I never realized how much better they were until I ran my first set years ago. I will never go through a winter without them now. I've literally driven miles on ice and never even realized it, that's how much better they are than all seasons.
 
It's not that I don't think snow tires have value. They absolutely do.

It just depends on where you live and how often you drive in ice/snow.

For me and where I am, it is not enough to warrant a dedicated set.

Simple as that.

YMMV
 
I have summer and winter rims with their respective tires on my M4. 400+ Hp/Trq kind of dictates that since mine is a daily driver year round.

As for the CX-5, I’m ok with M+S here in Germany, even in Colorado Springs.

It all comes down to knowing your vehicle and having the discipline to drive within its limits.
 
Related question: anyone ever need to throw chains on their cx-5?
 
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A new wrinkle is that my tires are better than I thought. I have CrossContact LX20's, and I felt sure they would need replacing before this winter, but I still have roughly 50% of the tread on them per the dealership, and I cannot bring myself to throw away a half-good tire. I will see how it does t his winter. I've driven them through some ice and snow storms before and they were fine.
 
Aznbagel said:
Related question: anyone ever need to throw chains on their cx-5?
Click to expand...

22780144_880406575451153_7081372515446274158_n.jpg
 
Unobtanium said:
A new wrinkle is that my tires are better than I thought. I have CrossContact LX20's, and I felt sure they would need replacing before this winter, but I still have roughly 50% of the tread on them per the dealership, and I cannot bring myself to throw away a half-good tire. I will see how it does t his winter. I've driven them through some ice and snow storms before and they were fine.
Click to expand...

I bought a set of CrossContact LX20's for the wife's Honda. We will see how they do in snow this winter, they were good in rain.
 
boandlkramer said:
I have summer and winter rims with their respective tires on my M4. 400+ Hp/Trq kind of dictates that since mine is a daily driver year round.

As for the CX-5, I’m ok with M+S here in Germany, even in Colorado Springs.

It all comes down to knowing your vehicle and having the discipline to drive within its limits.
Click to expand...

Pfffttt! Try not flooring it. It only gives you What you ask for...
 
Unobtanium said:
A new wrinkle is that my tires are better than I thought. I have CrossContact LX20's, and I felt sure they would need replacing before this winter, but I still have roughly 50% of the tread on them per the dealership, and I cannot bring myself to throw away a half-good tire. I will see how it does t his winter. I've driven them through some ice and snow storms before and they were fine.
Click to expand...

No need to throw them away, just get a wheel/tire winter package
 
Unobtanium said:
Pfffttt! Try not flooring it. It only gives you What you ask for...
Click to expand...

It stays in efficient mode all winter. [emoji23] totally different car

The CX-5 is quite capable. I remember in my 2014 CX-5 passing stuck cars on the way to drop my kids off at school.
 
It all depends..on the specific as tire, on the terrian you encounter, but mostly on your need to be out in it regardless of how bad it is. I can see the lx20 doing just fine for most as it leans toward all season traction and safety vs cornering and performance. Would I run them on the cx5 going into winter with half or more of their tread gone?
No Id flip them for a new winter tire and pop them back on in spring to run them out but your conditions/frequency etc may not warrant that. To me its a small inconvenience and price for a safer set up if you find yourself in a world of white and a need to get to point b
 
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Monterra said:
It all depends..on the specific as tire, on the terrian you encounter, but mostly on your need to be out in it regardless of how bad it is. I can see the lx20 doing just fine for most as it leans toward all season traction and safety vs cornering and performance. Would I run them on the cx5 going into winter with half or more of their tread gone?
No Id flip them for a new winter tire and pop them back on in spring to run them out but your conditions/frequency etc may not warrant that. To me its a small inconvenience and price for a safer set up if you find yourself in a world of white and a need to get to point b
Click to expand...

HVNY vs. NWMO.
 
fdew said:
I don't understand the big debate on snow tires. It seems to be accepted that snow tires are better in snow then all season tires.

When you are stopping your vehicle it doesn't matter if you have FWD RWD AWD or your engine just fell out and you have no wheel drive. They all stop the same.

Your car is probably worth between 10K and 30K right now.
A set of used Mazda rims run about $80 to $150
When snow tires are on the car the other tires are not wearing out.
With snow tires on the car there is less chance of a sudden reduction in value of your car.

On the other side you have 1. It doesn't snow where you are. 2. No extra wheels and tires to store. 3. bragging rights.

For me. I want the best tires I can get on my car winter and summer. I am a great driver with 53 years experience and I can drive a 62 Buick with real wheel drive and worn out bias ply out of balance tires over a mountain through a blizzard I also have enough experience and sense to know that I don't want to.

Frank
Click to expand...

Well said Frank. (2cents)

I think that the best comparison that can help people understand more about tires, is to liken them to their own shoes.

Tires and shoes are equivalent.
Your car CX-5 comes from the factory with a nice compromising set of all-season cross training sneakers. For many drivers, these sneakers will be all they will ever need, comfortable, quiet, and sporty enough to get the job done in almost any non-severe weather condition. However, there will be other drivers might need something a bit more terrain specific, like some might only need a set of long wearing slip-on loafers in their area, while others will be much better off with snow or ice shoes. Where some may need some high performance summer track running shoes, and still others might want a set of hiking boots for going off road and getting dirty.
 
Unobtanium said:
A new wrinkle is that my tires are better than I thought. I have CrossContact LX20's, and I felt sure they would need replacing before this winter, but I still have roughly 50% of the tread on them per the dealership, and I cannot bring myself to throw away a half-good tire. I will see how it does t his winter. I've driven them through some ice and snow storms before and they were fine.
Click to expand...

Don't expect them to perform as well this winter as they did in the past. As the rubber gets older it becomes harder yielding less traction.

What nobody has mentioned is the fairly new expense of TPMS. If you have dedicated winter rims, you either have to get the swapped wheels paired to your TPMS with each swap (2x/year), or put up with the idiot light all winter.

If you only need snows a few days a year, it may not be worth it. Of course, the hassle and expense of having dedicated snow tires is nothing compared to the hassle and expense of a wreck, or even a fender bender.

So ask yourself: do I feel lucky?
 
Tirerack has TPMS sensors for the new '17 CX-5 for $49 ea. They claim they are real OEM sensors.

I've been debating getting a set of winter tires/wheels even though I'm in Portland Oregon. We've had at least one good dump two of the past three winters, and last year we got around 16" in one storm. Doesn't sound so bad, but Portland doesn't have any plows (because it doesn't snow much) so the snow sticks around until it melts. Last year that meant about two weeks of difficult to impossible driving. Especially if you live in a hilly area, it can be really tough to get around. We got through it last year with an AWD CRV on all-season Michelins, but there were a few close calls.

For a little over $1K, it might just make sense (especially since we go skiing a lot).
 
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