Winter Performance vs. MS6 Factory Tires

[Armyguy1104]

Quick question and dont laugh... but right now I am in MD / DC area but this will be my last winter here before I go back to FL ( where winter tires are absolutely useless) We got some snow here last year and my Mazda 3 did well enough to where nothing happened. Mainly because it only snowed one time where I had to drive in it before they cleared the roads and even then it was slush due to other people driving on it. Should I even waste my money seeing as though the amount of snow here is minimal compared to most of you guys?

 

[psi365]

Well my stock tires are shot after putting on 17k miles so I am going with the Conti Extreme contact all seaason tire. OF all the conti products my tire guy said this is the only one he would ever recommend and it is a great ttire even in the winter. Reviews on tirerack are great too! Hard to find tires in our size tho there are few out there. I had to go with a 225/45/18.

DO NOT GET THEM!! Yes they are cheaper all season z rated tires. After about 5k you are either going to get a vibration or a lot of tire noise. I am speaking from first hand knowledge on this. A friend of mine bought a Saab with those on it that the tires had 15k on them and he had to replace them cause they caused a powertrain vibration. I've put them on a few customers cars, and within 5-15k on them the customer would come back with a complaint about a sound like a wheel bearing was going out. All it was was the tires.

 

[psi365]

Quick question and dont laugh... but right now I am in MD / DC area but this will be my last winter here before I go back to FL ( where winter tires are absolutely useless) We got some snow here last year and my Mazda 3 did well enough to where nothing happened. Mainly because it only snowed one time where I had to drive in it before they cleared the roads and even then it was slush due to other people driving on it. Should I even waste my money seeing as though the amount of snow here is minimal compared to most of you guys?

Its totally your call. Just remember stopping and starting with performance tires in the snow isn't good at all..........awd or not. You could go to an all season which would be a better and it wouldn't be a big deal in FL. Option three is get a set of snow tires, mount them on your stock wheels and sell the tires in spring to someone here or ebay.

 

[jred321]

Quick question and dont laugh... but right now I am in MD / DC area but this will be my last winter here before I go back to FL ( where winter tires are absolutely useless) We got some snow here last year and my Mazda 3 did well enough to where nothing happened. Mainly because it only snowed one time where I had to drive in it before they cleared the roads and even then it was slush due to other people driving on it. Should I even waste my money seeing as though the amount of snow here is minimal compared to most of you guys?

if i were you, i'd consider if there are times you absolutely need to be places when there is snow on the road, or if you can wait until the roads are relatively clear. could you use public transport? if you can wait until the roads are relatively dry to go anywhere, then you can make due with your stock tires, but still be careful as they will be hard due to the cold and you won't have much grip even when the road is dry. if there are instances where you have to be places, regardless of what the roads look like, then you need a different tire, no questions asked. whether that be a dedicated winter tire or an all season is up to you, but the stock tire will not do. your 3s performance in the winter will be much much better than the MS6s performance on stock tires. it'll be more expensive to fix your car than to buy a set of winter tires, just keep that in mind