Since you’re moving to WV I assume you’ll be running “shine,” in which case you’ll need separate winter and summer “tars.” If not, all-season “tars” should be fine for trips to the Piggly Wiggly and banjo store.
You might want to just try running what you have as long as your tires have at least 1/4 of their original tread remaining. Here in Wisconsin, the roads are sometimes salted even as a winter storm is beginning. I have just run what I have on the car for years with no problem. I don’t recall ever seeing anything recently in the news here about switching to different tires for winter. Front drive cars with radial tires are so profoundly much better than rear drive cars with bias ply tires in the snow. If where you will be has steep hills that are not reliably salted or sanded, you might have a problem with any tire. Check with a few tire stores in your new location for more opinions.
We are talking about WV, not Alaska.
That would apply to many of us, but not to someone who has no prior snow experience.
Regardless of your first snow tire choice, when the first storm hits, I’d make an arangement with a “friendly” experinced winter driver to accompanying you out for a little practice…starting and stopping esp. on hills where FWD is at it’s weakest for traction going up, can be a rude awakening for a novice snow driver. Accords are not the greatest in snow to begin with (we had a 91 too) with low gound clearance. As previously mentioned, I’d err on the side of a high traction tire and put up with the noise til your more experienced.
The best way to deal with W.V. winters is stay in Florida…
We are talking about WV, not Alaska.
That would apply to many of us, but not to someone who has no prior snow experience.
Equiptment only accounts for 10% of your ability to drive in snow…The other 90% is driving skills.
I stand by my origional post…Snow tires are NOT needed here. They just don’t get enough snow. And if the OP’s experiences are bad enough that he might NEED snow tires…then I suggest he stays at home those 1-2 days they actually get more then 3" of snow.
Uh, it depends on where in West Virginia. Snowshoe mountain gets an average 180 inches of snow per year, and some of the other counties get pretty serious snow most years. Now, that’s an extreme example, but the point is there are parts of WV that certainly do get enough snow to warrant real snow tires.
Where is the OP moving to in WV?
Uh, it depends on where in West Virginia. Snowshoe mountain gets an average 180 inches of snow per year,
And HOW many people live in that area??? There is no populated areas in WV that get any significant amount of snow.
Hi,
As a life-long New Englander, I have driven for about 36 years in snow of all depths. I would not think snow tires would be necessary in WV, but I'd need more information to really say.
What kind of car do you drive? Is it Front wheel drive or possibly all-wheel drive? If only Front, than you may be able to get away with only a good set of radial tires with an all-season tread.
If you are driving something with all-wheel drive, than a set of good radials will be fine.
I also agree completey with the suggestions to find a snow covered parking lot to practice in. I taught three daughters to drive, and with each one, I had her drive into an empty mall parking lot on fresh snow, and as she gained some speed, I reached over and briefly stabbed the parking hand brake, throwing the car into a slide.
It gave them all a real-feel idea of what the car felt like just as it was going out of control. They are all excellent winter drivers, so the method works.
The bottom line is not to think that snow tires will automatically make you a safe driver. Be careful, leave a LOT of stopping distance, slow down extremely on curves, and step on the gas slowly to avoind spinning your wheels on the start.Like New Hampshire, West Virginia is not a very populous state. I’d guess about half of the counties see significant snowfall each year, and true those are probably the less populated areas, but if he just got a job at Greenbrier Resort then snow is definitely in his future. On the other hand, if he’s moving to the panhandle area up around Martinsburg I’d say there won’t be enough to worry about.
You should check out Green Diamond Tires for excellent traction in snow and ice. www.greendiamondtire.com The technology of putting diamonds in the tread was developed in Iceland and they should know a thing or two about snow and ice! They are also less expensive and wear longer than snow tires. The diamonds act like studs only better because they don’t damage the road and can be driven all year round. Get them early so you can run them at least 1500 miles before snow files to reveal the diamonds! Big-O sells them out here in Colorado but I know you can buy them online.