3 snow tires

Maintenance/Repairs
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21

[I]“Giving false confidence to people can lead to driving too fast for conditions.”[/I]

Ok - I’m usually with you on just about everything VDC. But that is nuts. Blaming chatter on an internet discussion board for people not being able to handle driving conditions? That’s over the top.

I also disagree about the tires (though that’s probably obvious). I’ve never owned winter tires and have always gotten around perfectly well in the snow. As you know the #1 factor remains the nut behind the wheel. I’ve had bad “all season radials” in the snow and good ones. I now make sure I know they’re good before I buy them.

But either way your entire picture there is nuts - especially in the context of this thread. This is not a person who is looking to winter in Denver. They are going to Phoenix! And will be taking the occasional weekend trip to the mountains. If this person was staying in Denver I’d be telling them to go get new snow - ahem, excuse me, “winter” tires.

Egads man.

22

I live in Denver, I will be going to the slopes 4 times before I move to Phoenix, then driving to Phoenix. The way the geography is here, it could be 60 and sunny on one side of the tunnel to the slopes and a blizzard on the side the slopes are at. Plus, last year when I drove to Phoenix for Christmas I hit a nasty blizzard. I do not do a lot of snow driving as Denver itself gets snow but it doesnt stick very long, but up in the mountains it can get pretty slick. The snow tires saved my butt a few times last year, like on the drive to Phoenix. I have 3, hence the question.

23

Please dont make assumptions…there is no ski bum logic here. I am a student on a very limited income. I was given a handful of lift tickets as an early christmas present and I am borrowing equipment. I live 45 minutes from the slope so no motel needed, and gas in my car is pretty cheap (I can make it to Phoenix on $50) and I take a camelback with water and pack my own lunch. That is the ONLY way I can afford to do this.

24

I drive pretty slow in general. I have lived in Denver for two years, so minimal snow experience.

25

They have only seen one short season. Does it have to be the exact same brand or just the same size winter tire? Somebody else mentioned just putting 2 on the same axle, is this any safer or is this bad too? Can you please explain to me the mechanics and/or physics of why each option is good or not? Thank you.

26

Then mount two on the drive axle.
not 3.

27

They are called winter tires and now have a completely different function.

28

My driving skills are apparently quite good, as evidenced by the fact that I have not had a car accident since 1971. As to the driving skills of the OP or of “peacefrog”, I have no idea, but I somehow doubt that they have been able to drive for 39 years/over 475k miles without an accident, as I have.

29

Here’s the problem I see:

He lives in Denver, currently.
He has 3 snow tires.
He has 4 unknown type tires on his car currently. They might be mostly bald A/S tires, or they might be brand new summer tires. We don’t know.

Even if he puts 2 of the snows on his car, he is still going to have to come to a decision about his other tires. Since its a Mini Cooper we’re talking about, they might be A/S tires, but are most likely summer tires.

It won’t matter if those summer tires are on the front or rear of the car, his car will NOT be safe driving around in the mountains, in the snow, with that mixture of tires.

1 new tire will not break his bank.
Heck, he can look on Craigslist to see if someone is selling a tire just like his snow tires for cheap.

And what’s going to happen when he has to drive to Phoenix during the winter?
Is he going to drive on a mixed set of tires through a blizzard just like last year, when those same winter tires saved his butt, as he himself proclaimed?

And finally, from my own selfish perspective:

He drives on the same roads that I do.
Last thing I want is to create a post on here titled “Guess who I just ran into (literally)?”

Of course, that would be funny as heck, but still.

Hey, Lytlbubba, just pony up the cash for 1 last winter tire, and be done with it.
You’ve stated that you don’t have any snow driving experience, yet you are questioning the choice. Why deal with the risk of crashing your car in the middle of a snow storm, either while moving to Phoenix, or after a long day of skiing up in the resorts, when you’re tired, exhausted, and probably not in the best shape for winter driving?

BC.

30

I can’t help but wonder if this will work. When driving on a road that is partially snow packed, effective tire traction is constantly varying among zero to four wheels with traction.

If you have antilock brakes that is a plus.

I’d try it just for fun to see if it would work and nevermind the worrywarters who will fearmonger. Then I buy a 4th tire to match.

I seriously doubt that anyone here knows, not having tried it. Speculation can run rampant here.

31

Shortly after ABS started to be used on everyday cars, GM did a study about the effects a single odd tire would have on vehicle stability during severe braking. The study was never published, but was shown to all their tire suppliers - which is where I saw it. Needless to say this was some time ago and I don’t remember all the test details. But their conclusion was that no matter what, the vehicle tended to pivot around the odd tire - and because of this, they wanted all their tire suppliers to insist that tires at least be applied in pairs.

32

Peacefrog, snow tires maybe, winter tires - not even a little. No all-season will out-perform or even come very close to dedicated winter (or summer/3 season) tires

33

I would either put on 4 matching tires or trade the Mini Cooper for a three wheel Davis–a car that saw limited production in the early 1950’s in this country.

34

Or get a Reliant Robin, the UK’s three-wheeled car of the '70s!

Yes, it has a nasty tendency to roll over, but once someone expresses a desire to drive with only 3 winter tires, a Reliant Robin is not much more of a leap into dangerous driving.

35

Someone said it’s a Mini. Is it? If it is, use a bigger car for your mountain climbing–if you can’t, rent one. Also, you should have all 4 wheels snowtired or none.

ShiftKicker

36

The cost of 1 additional snow tire is probably less than the deductible on your auto insurance after you crash. I learned the hard way years ago when I put performance snows on the front and left summer performance tires on the rear. Don’t skimp on tires in snow country. All it takes is one fender-bender to ruin your day. Here’s a video that might be helpful:

http://www.tirerack.com/videos/index.jsp?video=22&tab=winter

If the snow tires are shot and you’re going to buy all 4 tires for Phoenix, a good set of all seasons is better than all around summer performance tires that will become hockey pucks on top of the mountain. Driving snow tires in the Phoenix will ruin them. I hat to think what will happen to the softer cold temperature rubber when it hits 100 degrees in the summer…

Of course, the best option (expensive) is to have two sets of tires mounted on their own set of wheels/rims - a summer and winter set. Depending on rental car rates and the number of times you ski it might actually be cheaper in the long run.

www.tirerack.com is a great place to buy good tires and wheels at a good price. They also have great reviews/studies on a wide range of tires.

Good Luck!