I Have a 2006 Taurus. In 2008 we replaced the all season tires that came with the taurus with Mastercraft Avenger Tourng LRS 215. The first wnter we experienced poor traction on ice more significant than with previous tires or our 1996 taurus. The current tires have always been noisey and 1 blew out within the first 6 months.
I asked the tire dealer whether to upgrade to a better tire. He told me that the problem is the car not the tires and suggested 2 snow tires in front or get an all wheel drive. I live in northern Wisconsin.
If you live in northern Wisconsin, you know better.
You put winter tires on all four corners.
Tester
The tire dealer doesn’t seem all that smart if he suggests only 2 winter tires.
watch and learn
I agree. My husband I are debating whether it is better to get snow tires or a dfferent vehicle. I want snow tires
I think with good winter tires on all for wheels, your present Taurus should be just fine. We used to drive terrible winters in rear wheel drive cars.
4 quality winter tires NEVER 2 and your car will be fine on ice.
2 winters on ice will make your car want to go into a spin when you brake as the rear will swing around.
Alternatively careful research of all-seasons with a winter bias may work too.
You want to purchase a good set of studded snow tires for the winter. They will last you for at least five winters and greatly improve all aspects of control on ice and snow all winter. The down side is that they are noisy, especially on dry asphalt, and they reduce gas mileage. Switch them out for the Avenger set in the spring or whenever the snow and ice stops up there in northern Wisconsin.
4 quality winter tires NEVER 2 and your car will be fine on ice.
Well maybe not fine on ice, but at lot safer than just two.
It’s not the car, it is the tires. Ford Taurus have always been good snow cars with proper winter tires. Winter tires on all 4 wheels is best, and required if the Taurus has ABS brakes.
Unless you can find a good working A/4WD vehicle for the same price, I’d go with your idea as well, AND a new tire shop.
If you can spare the cash, get 4 rims to go with your tires.
www.tirerack.com will be a good place to look and buy from. You can usually get free mounting and balancing if you buy both rims and tires from them. Shipping to your home, or a local “approved” installer and the shop shouldn’t really charge you anything since the tires are already on the rims. I did this a couple years ago and I didn’t get charged a cent from the shop, just told to return after 100 miles for a retorque of the lug nuts, and wasn’t charged for that either, the guy just walked out to the car and done that rather than bring it into a bay
Studded tires are no longer legal in WI and MN and many other states.
IIRC, the preferred term for winter tires is now winter tires. They have a mountain and snowflake logo on the sidewall. They are so far evolved beyond what used to be called snow tires that the industry has retired (no pun intended) the older terminology.
I agree with the advice to get 4 of them, mounted on steel rims, and do the switchover each fall and spring. In the long run the added cost is very little compared to the benefits. You could quite possibly find 4 used steel wheels. Or tirerack.com can mount 'em up on 4 new steel wheels and ship them to your door. A local dealer may come close enough to the tirerack price to be very good value, too. I have purchased winter tires both ways and been very pleased each time.
I grew up in NE WI, work in Superior, WI, live in Duluth, MN, and continue to do a lot of winter travel. So I think my experience will be a good prediction of yours. BTW, your 2006 Taurus may have wider, lower profile tires than your 1996 did. That may be part of the winter problem. Narrower is better than wider for most winter traction situations - I’d suggest the narrowest rims and tires that are suitable for your 2006 Taurus.
I love some of the off brands of snow tires. Power King comes to mind. Just corrected: their snow tires are called Snow King.
I have never even heard of Mastercraft tires - but the problem is definitely the tires, not the vehicle. Your tires may be perfectly good in dry or wet weather, but it seems like they aren’t made well for snow.
While snow tires are the best option if you’re going to see consistent long-lasting snow, I don’t go along with all the recos here for getting snow tires no matter what if you live in an area that gets snow.
Odds are in Northern Wisconsin you really should get 4 snow tires.
But here in Ohio, we get snow all the time (heck, it is snowing right now), but the roads are only really bad at most 3-4 days per year. You can generally just avoid driving in the worst of it pretty easily, and if you pick a very good set of all-season tires, you’re generally just fine even in the worst.
I had a 97 Taurus that I put Yokohama Avid Touring tires on. I never once spun my tires even on several inches of snow with a 10% grade (uphill and downhill). If I was going to face bad roads all the time, I’d want snow tires, but those were just fine, even with no ABS or traction control.
Reposted. They are made by Cooper. They have names like Glacier Grip and Courser which seem to be good for snow. Performance tires can have issues on slippery surfaces so it’s definitely the tires.
I have had 2 Taurus’s and it’s not the car. These cars are very good in snow. On my present 01 I have General Altimax (directional) tires and along with the traction control it’s like I have a 4wd Taurus.