can anyone advise me on the merits of studded vs non-studded snow tires?
after years of commuting to the berkshires safely on all weather tires, i totalled my 07 accord on black ice in december. new accord has wider tires and i’ve been advised snows are essential on this car.
currently have studded on front and all-weather on back (yes, i know not good, but tire guy suggested i try 2 first). studded snows are loud and get very poor gas mileage on my 100 mile a day commute.
wondering if i’m safe enough with 4 good non-studded snows, or if studded snows (2 or 4) are essential for safe driving.
appreciate any comments.
cautious driver
I don't think I would choose studs, but that is up to you. I would get a set of 4 [b] winter [/b] tires. All season tyres are really just three season. Modern winter tyres (not the old Snow tyres) are really much better on snow and ice. I would also suggest seeing if you can get tyres a little thinner than the wider ones you now have. They work better in deep snow. BTW remember, the best tyres always go in the back not the front.Please excuse my boldness. You are not a cautious driver.The tire guy is an “idiot”.
What you look for in protection from black ice you now increase you chance of accident in ALL traction situations because of tire traction imbalance. You have put tires with the best traction on snow/ice on front and the best traction on pavement on the rear (loss of front braking traction). Your car is an accident waiting to happen. This is especially so when studs are new.
I would recommend you go somewhere else and purchase a top brand studless winter tire (Nokian example) as the newer brands approach studded for all but the most sever conditions without the potential loss of traction you can suffer on dry pavement.
I was always a huge fan of studded tires until the last few years as I have a daily need for them where I live. I now feel confident recommending many newer non studded winter tires for all but the most severe conditions. When you get to that point you will need a 4 wd.
For you, change now…and don’t drive any more than necessary of at speeds greater than 45 mph to a more trustworthy tire shop…
Shops in this area would refuse to outfit your car that way because of the liability.
I haven’t used studded tires for many years, but I recall that they were very effective on ice, less effective on snow, and not very good for everyday driving. In addition, they damage roads. I can recall some very serious damage to my parents’ driveway, which had a considerable incline, and this was caused by my studded snow tires.
I would recommend that you get a set of 4 winter tires (the term “snow tires” is somewhat archaic at this point) mounted on their own steel wheels. Winter tires are actually fairly effective on ice, unlike the old snow tires, and unlike the so-called “all-season” tires. Most important of all, a set of 4 winter tires will allow you to stop the car in a much shorter distance than you can currently, and will help to keep you on track on turns.
Gas mileage will probably be worse with any winter tire, as compared with so-called “all-season” tires, but that is part of the price of additional safety. As it is currently, you have a serious traction difference between the front and rear tires, and that is likely to lead to the car’s rear end winding up in the front when the car spins around on a slippery surface as a result of this serious traction differential.
Incidentally, when you mount winter tires, it is beneficial to get tires that are one size narrower than your current tires. A narrower winter tire will be less likely to ride on top of snow, and more likely to be able to “cut” through the snow. This may sound counterintuitive, but it is a fact. Your Owner’s Manual should list acceptable “alternate tire sizes” in order to give you an idea of just how much narrower you can go without compromising the load-carrying capacity of the tires.
The car could be dangerous to drive as it is right now. Change something ASAP. Take the studs back to the tire store and get FOUR matching winter tires. You don’t need studs, and your long commute will wear them down so quickly they won’t work anyway.
You need FOUR winter tires, not two, on this car if you want to drive it in the snow.