It's more too about the mean temperature and how long the snow will last. 6 inch of snow in the south can completely disappear near the coast in a few days while it could stay for months inland.
But NOT on the roads. Within a couple of days the roads are nice and clear. Now if you go to the mountains a lot…then yea…driving is not fun with all-season. Even the snowiest winters in NH and Southern ME…you’re driving on paved/dry roads.
As for commuting in Maine. Most of the jobs are on the coast…or they commute to NH and MA. I have two people that work for me that in ME (Kittery area).
First, have we established where in Maine OP lives ? I may have missed it.
Maine has 3500 miles of coastline so not everyone will be commuting to NH or Mass. .
Bottom line is that snow tires in snow and ice are always better, always safer. You just have to decide how much time you plan on driving in those conditions and if it’s worth the effort…it’s really that simple. The only way you can make that decision is to actually know how much better a car like yours is in snow, and is it worth it. If you, like me are a cheap skate to begin with, the decision is real hard to make as it takes lots of convinc’n.
I started this discussion as kind of a mini rant based on cars and drivers not handling a significant snowfall very well in a mountainous area of PA. I understand that changeover from winter to summer tires is a hassle and can get expensive. I just believe it is worth the trouble and expense FOR ME. If “All Season” tires work for you in your area that is fine. My point is that All Season tires in general are not really very good winter tires. I stand by that sentiment, but I won’t argue with those who feel All Season tires work for them.
So @MikeInNH
(flip this over to “let"s go over the cliff”)
Just a little off topic but, while I was taking a course to be certifide by the DEP in erosion control, we were shown pictures that illustrate the proper way to armor a culvert end, crown a road, lay base for a road, build silt fencing etc. We were also a shown pictures that illustrate the improper way to do it…each time one of the improper ways came up, one of the instructors would say, this picture came from NH. I didn’t know what to make of it but they ( instructors) seemed pretty " matter of fact" about the whole thing. Must be a competition thing going on or the guys in Maine are rationalizing holding on to their state employment checks…
We were also a shown pictures that illustrate the improper way to do it....each time one of the improper ways came up, one of the instructors would say, this picture came from NH
That doesn’t surprise me one bit. NH has the ONLY roads I’ve been on where the road turns left…but it’s banked RIGHT.
“I’ve been on where the road turns left…but it’s banked RIGHT.”
I encountered one of those in Austria -and it is their Autobahn. There’s a bridge over a gorge on the A2 and it banks the wrong way in both directions. That’s quite a surprise at about 120 KPH. I forgot about it on the return trip, naturally. It was a D’Oh moment.
It does save money, on ditching..... Live free ( from sales taxes) or die ( early from poor planning)
I like the whole idea about the NO sales tax and NO income tax. But with a lower tax base means far fewer services. The question is do you need some of the services you don’t have. After living in NY for half my life and seeing waste after waste after waste. NH does have waste…but not as much.
I agree…but watch out for the new people. My daughter, a faily new resident (12years) thinks a little differently and wants more services for her kids. If she and her friends have their way, over time, NH citizens will have to live longer and not quite so free. One thing I have noticed about NH. Don’t live too far off the beaten track…you can’t afford to. Here in Maine, everyone lives off the beaten track. That’s why our taxes are high…roads (and services) to no where are expensive.
Look on tirerack.com for some tests they did with summer, 3-season, and dedicated winter tires on snow, dry, wet, and ice. They looked at braking, cornering, and general traction. This was hardly a scientific study but after reading their results, I don’t think anyone would drive in the winter on summer tires or even some three season tires. As Dagosa mentions, you’ll have too many variables in the equation. Like MikeinNH mentions, snow tires can be worse on the dry roads you’ll use most of the time, even in winter.
Maybe you are a better driver than most, maybe your tires are better … or maybe you just got lucky and missed the patch of black ice that made everyone else leave the road.
Technique is often better than equipment, and I would recommend winter driving training for anyone who lives in the deep snow or ice.
If you change over to snows every winter, consider getting a cheap set of wheels from the recycling center and mounting the snows on them. It may save wear and tear on the tire and wheels, and may make it easier to switch. Good luck!
Mike, I don’t live in Southern Maine Lol. We get a lot more snow here than the Portland area. I actually live north of the Bangor area. And I do not work on the coast or in NH or MA. There is a lot more to maine than just southern Maine. I do agree about the rear ending being because of following too closely, but I still feel like snow tires help me. I drive kids around for my job and I wouldn’t feel safe on nastier days without them.
@Fluffie
" I actually live north of the Bangor area."
If you live much farther north where the towns are father apart then a fill up, and you drive kids around, I would have dedicated snow tires, awd, ground clearance, a cell phone on all the time, the weather channel on and a St. Christopher’s metal hanging from the rear view mirror.
There IS a lot more to Maine above Portland…just not a lot more people and help. When you drive from Madawaska to Kittery, you’re half way to Newport R.I.
oh a lot of these places off the beaten track are fine-if you have money,then you can go and cry for the rocks of the mtn to fall on you and hide you from the “Face of the Lord”.Of course I know a lot of people will “Live free or die”.As others on this site have said the climate is changing,while there are places were you still need good snow tires and clearence , there are places you do not and it hasnt been that many years since this trend has started.
As for taxes,the fewer the better,user fees are the answear in my opinion,around here 90% of the population used to pay for 10% of the counties water and sewer-,didn’t mean to get off subject-Kevin
P.S - I believe a lot of all seasons tires are a comprimise,when the going gets bad ,you need the"real McCoy"
If you live in the boonies then getting 4 snow tires are fine. I never said different. But MOST people don’t need snow tires. If you live around Portland ME and don’t do much traveling to the mountains…then there’s no need for snow tires. Portland averages about 30" of snow a year.
Before moving to NE I was an engineer in Syracuse NY. I worked with a guy from Bangor. He couldn’t believe the amount of snow Syracuse got. He always thought ME was the snow capital. The 2 years he lived in Syracuse he’d never seen that much snow before. And Syracuse is at the southern end of the snow-belt. Get up in the middle of the snow belt (where I grew up) is REAL snow country. People from Syracuse don’t like to travel up there during the winter.
It’s often not the amount of snow that determines whether you need snow tires. It’s the terrain and the type of snow and winter conditions. It’s been a very easy winter in the Bangor area even though we have had more snow so far then last.
Penobscot Valley, Bangor area and beyond gets icing conditions frequently and those with winter tires do much better and have fewer accidents. A plethora of unplowed side roads and hills in and around the city and you wish you had it all…4wd and snow tires. One accident is easily payed for by a set of snow tires.
After reffing games for 25 years and traveling over ALL of Maine in the winter, central Maine can easily have some of the most treacherous driving conditions. Even the upper coastal areas can have fog/black ice form on the road in no time flat.
My son in law was raised in Utica NY and they travel to the inlaws for Christmas from Manchester NH with all season tires on their minivan. They tried several times and now refuse to travel far into Maine in the winter because of so many bad experiences with slippery driving…he knows snow too.
So, you can measure winter needs by snow totals, we measure by traction needs. North of Portland is the boonies. Just to be repetitive, it’s hills and ice, not snow alone that determine snow tire needs.
One storm finished off with freezing rain or sleet, and it could be ice under snow for days in many areas,
Again…that’s RARE for most part of the country…EXTREMELY RARE. Very few parts of the country ever experience. Most of ME doesn’t experience that.
As I said…here in NH…I can count on one hand the number of days in the past 2 years where my wifes Lexus tires even touched snow or ice. My 4runner did…but only when we went to the Mountains. And I guarantee you 80%+ of the people living in Portland had the same experience my wife did. Probably closer to 95%. Here in NH…if you live south of the Lakes Region…and don’t travel up north to ski…then you MIGHT travel on snow/ice 10 days a year.
“Most of ME doesn’t experience that.” Wrong ! It’s a normal winter experience to have freezing rain and ice in and around snow storms in central and coastal Maine. Likewise for black ice from Bangor east. We aren’t talking major roads as there are few. There is rt. 1, 1A and 95. Everything else for all practical purposes is a side street/road…and can suffer from these afflictions.
Heck, I have traveled to the Manchester area dozens of times and wouldn’t think of having snow tires either. Portland area still thinks they are part of Boston, so nix snow tire there too. They aren’t really in Maine, but only for the basketball playoffs. You keep mentioning Portland like it’s really that much of Maine…please look at the map. It’s south, coastal and warm with snow that lasts on the ground from 6 am till noon. Remember, that just north of Bangor…going east and west, you’re going to Canada. I don’t think many get that.
The only reason that western and Northern Maine has no cities that rank in the top 100 for snow fall amounts is THERE ARE NO CITIES THERE. Portland is the last real city Other than tiny coastal Bangor and is everyone’s reference for Maine, mistakenly so. Please look a map.
You keep mentioning Portland like it's really that much of Maine.
I mention Portland and that area because that’s where the highest concentration of people in Maine live. Cumberland and York counties account for about half of the population of all of Maine. And I’ve driven in that area many times during the winter. Use to visit Freeport and Lewiston ME a lot…Never had a problem. Start heading 40-50 miles towards the mountains…and that’s a different story.
You are right , it is only half the population, the other 500,000 people fit an area nearly equal in size to the rest of New England. If you have driven into Maine only as far as Lewiston, you have no idea what the Next 325 miles is like. You still have over 5 and a half hours of driving left. Your White mountains run concurrent to our Western range which is in southern Maine. Of course we will never have a problem to Freeport. It’s a coastal community with warmer temps. Btw, I hear they will be opening up passenger train service to Freeport to Boston. LL bean is a draw. If you really want to give your 4 Runner a work out, drive north another couple hundred miles…then hang a left to the Allagash.
There are areas in western Maine that average 200 plus inches a year…Portland 60 to 70 but it’s gone by noon. It stays elsewhere north and accumulates. That is the difference. Would you have winter tires if you lived in half the population of NH from Concord or Laconia north…to put things in perspective ?