On Wed, 20 Jan 2016, Scott Hall wrote:
> So...what do you do when you're only driving over actual 'snow' a few times
> a year? Do you still put on snow tires and leave them on until spring?
> It'll be cold here until early March, but I'll only drive on actual snow a
> few minutes per year. The rest of the time there will be paved roads.
>
> I'd ignore the whole issue, but even on my .8 mile commute home last night
> I got sideways at every intersection and the traction control and stability
> control were going crazy. And I never got over 20 m.p.h. It was a
> TREMENDIOUS amount of fun (it was 11:00 p.m. and I was the only one out)
> but there was really no question of going anywhere except home and then
> staying there. If I'd had to have driven somewhere, well, that would have
> been bad.
This is basically the biggest single advantage of rubber snow tires
over chains or studs. You can just put them on when the first snowfall is
forecast, and take them off a few months later. They will be just fine as
everyday tires. Yes, they will wear, but unless you drive a ton of miles,
that won't matter. You're going to want to replace them after four or
five winters anyway, as by that time the rubber will be aged and hardening
up. Even if it's cold and dry, snow tires -- with their soft compound --
will probably have more grip than your all-seasons anyway.
As long as you can find room to store an extra set of tires --
preferably cool and dry, there's really no downside. You can now buy
better summer tires instead of all-seasons -- which are really just tires
that suck all year long -- and if you care about the wheels on your car,
you can keep them out of the salt over the winter.
--
David Hillman
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