Here's why you buy snow tires

[robin2660]

Here's what AWD will do for you ... with summer tires! LOL

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5RRQbHIaSZE&feature=related

 

[DAC17]

i realize that the stock tires aren't all-weather, but you can't really put all the blame on them. for instance, if you didn't have to be out driving with snow on the roads then you shouldn't have, or you coulda taken a different vehicle that is better equipped for snowy situtations. or even you could have tested out how bad the car handles in the snow at some safer area.

this is stuff that insurance might be thinking about...not trying to say that your decision making is bad

one thing my dad used to make me do when i first started driving is take the car out in the snow or ice in our sparsely populated developement and see what it feels like to lock up the brakes, or feel ABS with an equipped car. knowledge is power i guess, and it helped a lot. i still do a stop test on iffy days no matter what car im driving, just to see how bad the road slickness is

Wow; there are still signs of intelligent life on this planet!

 

[Beltonius]

With my previous car (2005 Corolla) I found the stock tires (Integrity soemthing or other) were terrible in really every driving condition. Some road debris slashed a sidewall on one of them (happily about 300 ft from my driveway) and I replaced the whole set with some nice Michelins (Pilot Exalto's I believe) and the difference was night and day. The car lacked any kind of control systems aside from cruise (no ABS, TCS, DSC etcetc) but I was finally able to stop reliably in rain and snow.

I got my MS3 over the summer and loved the tires (I thought they did a fine job in the rain as well) but once the road temps first thing in the morning were around freezing I noticed dramatically less traction and I knew I needed some other tires. I ended up going for Continental ExtremeContacts since they seemed to offer the best combination of price and performance (based on Tire Rack reviews), especially in the snow. I live in eastern Pennsylvania and frequently visit my parents in Boston, so I knew snow would be an issue.

Luckily I got the tires before I went to visit them for "the Holidays" where the Boston area was blanketed by several inches of snow. I felt more confident driving around in my MS3 than in my parents Acura MDX (SUV with AWD, TCS etc).

Still, performing test stops and starts in bad weather is important. I did that in some slush on the stock tires and a small blip in the throttle while rolling through slush at under 25mph left me in basically a completely uncontrolled slide. I basically threw on the hazard lights and hoped I didn't encounter anyone else on the road. It was scary but I managed to recover before I hit anything.

Regardless....good to hear noone was hurt and that your car is back in your hands.

I should get back to work now

 

[15min5k]

I'm not talking about the OP specifically, but alot of people are in the mindset when they buy a car that they don't have to change the tires until the originals wear out and just figure they can drive all year round with the tires that came with the car because they're OE. That's really why most cars these days come with all-season radials because too many people would be killing themselves and/or others driving around on max performance summer tires all year. Especially the way people drive these days. In warmer climates, you can get away with it. The good part is that at least the MS3 comes with sticky max performance tires and not all-seasons like the regular 3 does because those usually SUCK in the summer and the winter (if it snows). The only thing they do well is last a long time because they're hard as a rock.

Mine were gone at 10k miles, do you push the car at all?

 

[Sport6]

Seems to be a pissing contest of how fast people wore out the stock tires.

 

[15min5k]

Seems to be a pissing contest of how fast people wore out the stock tires.

No, I just find it amazing how anyone can say the stock tires last long (they're ultra high performance summer tires for Chirst sake!). I mean I had mine rotated on time and wasn't even that hard on them and got like 10k out of them. Maybe if I drove around really slow everywhere it would make a big difference but that would be incredibly boring..

 

[mckraut]

I make a point of not squealing the wheels or taking turns too sharply and before I put my all-season tires on for the winter, my stockers were still going strong around 23k or so.

 

[Fenrir]

When I crashed, it was the first snow-storm of the season, and the tires were near new still. They were STILL useless

 

[Sport6]

When I crashed, it was the first snow-storm of the season, and the tires were near new still. They were STILL useless

They are SUMMER TIRES. Read: It doesn't snow in the summer.

 

[Fenrir]

They are SUMMER TIRES. Read: It doesn't snow in the summer.

Well aware, thanks for the kindergarten lesson on seasons.

 

[AllLostThings]

Ouch! That's why a snow wheel package last year. Z rated tired and snow SUCK


My stock tired haven't worn out fast at all though. I have around 15k on the tires (21 on the car itself) and I could make it through most of the summer with them this year too I bet. It's all a matter of how hard you push it around corners and stuff.

 

[60181]

Mine were gone at 10k miles, do you push the car at all?

I only got 12k out of the fronts on my Grand Prix GXP. Rears would have made it to 24k. Can't rotate the GXP but the wore evenly. Took upwards of 4" snow just find in that car. It's heavy and has an auto transmission. No way I would try it in the MS3 though.

 

[oaklandopen]

I only got 12k out of the fronts on my Grand Prix GXP. Rears would have made it to 24k. Can't rotate the GXP but the wore evenly. Took upwards of 4" snow just find in that car. It's heavy and has an auto transmission. No way I would try it in the MS3 though.

was taht one of those rare cars that had fwd with different size tires? my dad was talking to me about this a long time ago but he couldn't figure out what type of car it was

 

[60181]

was taht one of those rare cars that had fwd with different size tires? my dad was talking to me about this a long time ago but he couldn't figure out what type of car it was

Yep.....awesome car but a bit dated now. Drove one as part of a five day course at Bondurant back in 05 and liked it so much I bought one. It was fun but was time to move on.