MikeinNH…my previous comments were only that in response to snow tires being " marginally better" on ice then all seasons, and in snow " all you have to do is slowdown". I know you are adamant about not needing snow tires in NH in many areas and I am in full agreement as I feel an suv with AT tires is perfectly adaquate to handle 99% of snow conditions and an all season clad car can handle 99.9 % of all driving days and is superior in handling crazys in and around Boston on the dry and wet pavement at 80 plus mph. No snow tire can touch a good handling all season. So I drive more slowly on dry pavement with snow tires for that reason. When I worked as a cop, this was a concern in a decision to use snow tires and when to take them oFf the cruiser.
But, wintr tires on ice are vastly superior, not marginally and driving in snow when you do drive slowly is done more safely with snows…and not by just a small negligible margin as well. I ONLY responded to the quotes, not to your actual decision not to use snow tires…lwhich is a decision my kids in practice and I in theory fully agree with.
I don’t in practice cause I don’t live there. :=) You are absolutely right,; studded winter tires stink handling and stopping on dry pavement…But three months out of year, I can’t get home another way, each and every day during that time.
Almost daily, delivery trucks and wonderers using all season tires get stuck, go off the road and creat a hassle for the rest of us who sit and wait and be late for work and appointments. They make that much of a difference…to me, not you.
Mike you can’t hold a serious conversation so I give up. When you say on one hand i keep taking your comments out of context and then proceed to say something like this:
“-You seem to think that driving without winter tires you don’t have any control over the car and that it’s extremely dangerous”
Which is a ridiculous interpretation of anything I wrote, you’re just being argumentative without any basis.
Besides, only having two opportunities a year to benefit from winter tires and not owning them excludes you from having anty credibility in arguing their merits. You might as well be from Florida and arguing your point. Perhaps you could have your MIL weigh in, she would have more credibility …
@Turbo I seriously doubt you have anywhere near the snow driving experience I have. Not even close. Growing up in small town in upstate NY where average snow fall is over 250" a year I got a LOT of experience in driving in snow and ice.
Moved to NH many years ago and the first thing I noticed was the lack of snow NH get. Well over 95% of the time we drive in Dry pavement…50" of snow is NOT a lot of snow.
I do agree that winter tires do give you better traction…but that doesn’t mean you NEED them. Are you saying you CAN’T maneuver or drive safe without them??? Some vehicles (like RWD) I’ll agree. But a decent fwd vehicle can handle the so few days you’re NOT driving on dry pavement that it’s NOT needed. You you can handle the roads better in winter tires for those days with snow and ice…but so what…that doesn’t mean I can’t maneuver or does it mean that I’m driving unsafe or endangering myself or anyone else on the road. I drive according to the conditions of the road and what the vehicle I’m driving can handle. I may have to drive a little slower…and keep a longer distance…but I’m still in complete control of my vehicle at ALL times. It’s called driving smart. I do think there are some tires that won’t be safe to drive in the winter here in NH. And they will make the vehicle unsafe to drive at almost any speed. But the all-season tires we’ve bought in the past 30 years aren’t one of them.
My relatives who still live in upstate NY NEED winter tires. Many more days of snow, plus the lake effect snow that can dump 10" of snow without warning.
@dagasa - We have a different kind of commute. Literally I only have at MOST 20 days a year I’m not driving on dry roads 100% of the time. If my wife had to drive in snow packed or ice roads 2-3 months of the year then I’d surely opt for winter tires. But that’s not the case for us…and for most people I know here in NH.
I’m NOT arguing that NO-ONE IN NH needs winter tires. I’m arguing against those people who say that NH driving requires winter tires. Well that’s just not the case.
Not that it’s germaine to the debate, but it’s been weeks since we have seen bare road from my front yard to the nearest paved road, a mile and a half away…and I suspect, it will be another two months more till we see it again.
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Many folks who ask the question: “Do I need winter tires on my car.” are asking because they don’t know if the weather is bad enough to require them. To answer the question accurately, we not only need to know what the weather is like in their area, but we also need to know how well the roads are cleared, what kind of vehicle they have, the exact tire they are using, and about their driiving skills. Obviously there are things we can not know about the situation.
Since WE - that is, those of us who are offering advice on the subject - need to give an accurate answer, we have to fall back on responses that on the “safe” side - which may be “conservative”. I don’t think it is good advice to offer blanket statements that MIGHT work - particularly if there is a possibility that we might be wrong - either because the tires on the particular car are not up to the task or the driving skills are, oh, let’s call them unexperienced. To belabor the point that onbe particular individual gets by without winter tires doesn’t serve to help the folks who ask the question. I would hate it if we gave advice to someone that ultimately winds him up in a ditch with a mangled car - or worse.
This is all I have ever said. I would challenge you to back and read any of my posts with a fresh eye. Here’s an example from early on:
I didn’t interpret it that way…and I apologize.
I just feel that NH gets so little snow (at least southern NH) and the plows are out during and after the storms to keep the roads clear that the few times we get snow…the roads are clear in very short order and we’re back to driving on dry roads. Just there are so few days where winter tires are needed. And I think we benefit more with decent all season tires that can handle the snow/ice if we do get caught in a storm…far better then winter tires. Winters may give us the edge in adverse weather…but just not enough days to justify it.
And I said earlier…places like upstate NY where 200" of snow is the norm…I’d have winter tires on my wifes Lexus.
Our private road as of the storm two days ago, is a ribbon of ice meandering up and down a mountain. It best “great” proving ground, test site for ANY tire type you could ask for winter driving traction. . Four days ago, we replace the winter tires on my wife’s car with the exact same model winter tires. The older ones were seven years old on a car that had 80k miles since they were bought. The old tires still had 5/32 tread left and still performed well in snow. But, the ice traction is dramatically better on the new tires. Deeper Siping and fresh rubber that is soft instead of hardened, is the reason I feel. So, if ice traction is important, newer winter tires regardless tread depth is important.