Included in the cost of buying a separate set of winter tires and rims is a discussion of the TPMS you have in your car. If it is indirect, no problem. A friend who had to replace his totaled Civic bought a Focus as a replacement. He used snow tires on his Civic ( he was rear ended by a car without snow tires during a storm) and wanted to buy rims and tires for his Focus. The garage he regularly has his work done, told him he had to have the direct TPMS devices installed, in any new rims for the paltry sum of an additional $180 a tire and each year when rotated, he was told they had to be recalibration by the dealer,another yearly cost.
Can he buy them cheaper and do much himself ? Sure, but he is far from being mechanically inclined. The real question is. does he legally need them which in our state is a resounding no ! I asked him how often he checked his tire pressure on his previous car. He saidā¦āevery time I fill it up, I walk around the car and check with a gauge.ā
Well. here is a guy who now, is now running around w/O snow tiresā¦just like the guy who blasted him in the last storm. There are plenty of owners out there who depend upon service people to give them complete information so driver options can remain just that; driver options. He thinks he needs 4 times $180 ($720) more for snow tires with rims and needs to pay extra for recalibrationā¦every year !
My questions for OPā¦what type system does your car use and what does your state require at inspection time ?
There isnāt necessarily a need to buy a separate set of rims to get winter tires. Certainly you would have to pay to have the tires mounted/balanced twice a year, but you could consider it a maintenance cost like changing oil or furnace filters.
Some tire places will store your summer (or winter) tires for you while the other set is in use.
The extra cost is only the cost of 4 rims, about $170. The tires will last twice as long since they are used only half the time, The wheels on our Toyota I change twice a year using a 2 ton Black Jack from Costco. I do the rotation at the same time, so Iām saving that cost. Iām amortizing the $170 rims over the 20 years we will own this car, so $8.50 per year. Our tires are stored in the garage.
Our Mazdaās tires are changed and rotated by a local shop for about $45 two times per year. Thatās $90 per year for complete confidence of driving in 5 months of bad weather.
If you have TPMS, there are inexpensive after market kits you can buy and have installed.
Iām astounded at the hostility of many against a potentially life-saving way of driving in the winter. Many of these opponents have paid at least $4000 extra for AWD over a comparable FWD vehicle. The benefits of that extra $4000 are miniscule compared to those of winter tires.
In a number of jurisdiction, including Canadaās province of Quebec, winter tires are mandatory, except for out of province visitors.
Visitors from Scandinavia are baffled by the high prices we pay for loaded vehicles, but we are too cheap to put proper winter tires on them.
The extra cost is only the cost of 4 rims, about $170. The tires will last twice as long since they are used only half the time,
100% agreeā¦and we always exercise this optionā¦but
If you have TPMS, there are inexpensive after market kits you can buy and have installed.
Maybe, some people are willing to spend an extra thousand or more for winter tires and rims, but in our state, there are lots of less fortunate people where several hundred dollars is a deciding factor.
I am a HUGE booster of winter tires to the point of it being a fetish for me with winter driving, but I am the first to complain when someone tries to extract more money from then I think they deserve.
TPMS devices "can " be, if options arenāt explained. They are not needed in our state after the sale. TPMS devices are NOT just a winter life saving device. I see them as an additional information device year round that can save lives if used properly just like the tire gauge every one should have in your car. Our state allows you the option because they know for many, they would not have snow tires with the added expenseā¦Itās a choice/ I live with the light on in the winter and spend the money instead on the best tires and rims I can afford, a tire gauge and a pump. Neither my wife nor I are afraid of the extra labor. itās just another work out.
Another vote 4 matched winter tires will give significantly better traction in winter conditions.
The help give traction on things like sheer ice and very slippery snow all-seasons are near useless on. They should be inexpensive for a Mazda2, check out tirerack.com for steel rims and tires shipped balanced so they are just a bolt on affair.
I had a 2012 Mazda 3. I bought four snow tires and had them put on four wheels with TPMS sensors from Tire Rack. The sensors were about $40 each and Mazda has a simple registration process that anyone can do without tools. You just turn the ignition to the run position then turn it off, wait fifteen minutes and then drive at least 10 minutes above 12 MPH. I had no problems doing this myself for the two winters I owned the car. The newer Mazdas (like my 2014 Mazda 6) use the ABS sensors and have no TPMS sensors in the wheel itself so ordering tires and wheels from Tire Rack was even easier.
Iām with Dagosa (again). I live in the snow belt of New York State and I am religious about using winter tires. They arenāt a magic bullet but, when the conditions are really bad, the extra margin of safety makes a huge difference. If you have ever driven in a lake effect snow storm from the Great Lakes then you know why I swear by them.
I had an '89 Accord and never got stuck, but when we started having kids I got a little paranoid (you know how dippy new parents can be) and put 4 snows on for winter. The difference was unbelievable, pulling AND stopping, youād never believe it until you tried it, at least that was my experience. Money-wise 4 snows would be cheaper than another car, which you donāt know how it will drive through snow (the new one) anyway. Iād try the snow tires. Rocketman
Back in the early 1950s, my dad put winter tires on the car my mother drove to work. The cars were rear wheel drive back then and the winter tires went on the rear wheels. The local tire dealer recapped tires with winter tread and walnut hulls were in the tread for traction. These winter tires made a huge difference back then.
One important thing to remember about winter tires is that the tread wears out faster than regular tires. I bought a pair of winter tires that I used on my 1965 Rambler. When I replaced the Rambler with a 1971 Ford Maverick, I was able to use the winter tires on the Maverick. I was driving on slippery roads with the Maverick and the rear end was fishtailing so badly that I could hardly keep the car on the road. Other motorists werenāt having problems. When I checked the tires the tread was almost gone. I bought new winter tires right away.
Itās hard to give you accurate advice when you didnāt tell us what tires you have now (model and size) and what tread depth theyāre currently at. Please give us this information.
^ While I agree with lion9car, and we do need more information, the reality is that there is absolutely no standard for what constitutes an āall-seasonā tire.
Some āall-seasonā tires may be relatively decent on snow, and some are terrible (trust meā¦I know from experienceā¦), but even when new, the best all-season tire will not provide the type of traction on snow and ice that even a mediocre winter tire can provide.
Iām a big proponent for driving with all-season tires for most of the country. Even here in NH more then 90% of my winter driving is on dry roads. But when you get up around the Great Lakesā¦then good snow/winter tires are worth it. A lot more snow then what we get in Southern NHā¦and you just canāt predict lake effect snow.
I have a friend, had to replace front tires on a KIA due to tires wearing out the inside of the tire faster than the outside. Now they had had no problems in the past but now the car is a skittish ice skate on steroids. Naturally I asked if they got an alignment due to the fact tires were wearing unevenly. No he says we had some front end work done a while ago and had an alignment then. I am you could have the alignment checked, as it might be time again, no he says I have to find the receipts to know when the last alignment was done, but it has been a few years. I said well then If you are not going to get the alignment checked buy new rims and snow tires.
Anyone else have alignment snow driving issues?
There are some all season tires that provide adaquate performance in light snow. As yet, they still for the most part have harder rubber which means they perform worse on I ce. They have less aggressive treads, which means they are worse in deep snow and most importantly, snow tires are bought with significantly deeper tread.
That means that even a decent all season tire begins loosing winter traction when they are half worn or even less. Winter tires can often have three or more 32 inch of tread new.
Regardless of the advantages, many who arenāt forced to travel in winter conditons can do well by waiting it out and see little advantage to spending the moneyā¦I agree with that too.
@Triedaqā "One important thing to remember about winter tires is that the tread wears out faster than regular tires. "
Not true of modern winter tires but you are dated your post with reference to the 1950ās which has little bearing to modern tires except they both are round.
Winter tires wear out faster if subjected to warmer weather then intended and hard use, like fast cornering acceleration etc. but then, so doesnāt any tire. A performance tire at 40 degrees and below will handle very poorly, but then, it will last long too in cooler weather. Not a good trade off there either. Rotate quickly and conveniently when suppose to. That is the whole idea of having separate rims
@andrewRA ;-)) Funny. I remember old snow tires. They did well in snow but with their hard rubber, they needed studs to be effective in all conditions and rode like a buckboard. The new ones actually ride as well if not better then many all seasons they replace in cold weather. Still, we used snow tires years ago and they were still well worth it. The Summer tires back then were absoluty terrible and no such thing as a compromise all season tnen were available. The difference in winter performance is still there.
We have personal experience on a wide range of vehicles from sports cars to SUVs. Our experience, and that of our customers, indicates that Blizzak winter / snow tires will typically provide 12,000 to 15,000 miles of winter service before wearing out their Multicell tread compound.
Also, Tire Rack doesnāt list tread wear ratings for winter tires.
"Tire Rack doesnāt list tread wear ratings for winter tires. "
That is because the tire manufacturers donāt provide that type of information in regard to their winter tires. I have to assume that this is some type of loophole in the federal regulations that cover tire labeling.
I donāt doubt that Blizzaks only provide 12k to 15k of effective tread life.
In my experience, Michelinās X-Ice tires provide effective winter traction for well over 20k miles, which is just one of the reasons why they are considered to be the top-rated winter tires.
I have found Nokian winter tires usable for 30k-40k but they tend to be more expensive since less places sell them. They are typically top contenders along with Michelin and Bridgestone but offer more diverse offerings for the winter. Case in point they have over 6 winter tire models in my size. I believe Nokian invented winter tires.