Are winter tires "worth it"?

[Sequoiasoon]

In most winter weather situations, winter tires provide better predictable handling.

starting from a stop on a huge hill awd vs fwd ... AWD can be a little more impactful esp if the awd has decent tires.

They will make the fwd as good as it can be. will be it as good as AWD starting from a stop on a steep hill.. well depends on the AWD tires.

Will it be better than a subaru on OEM tires.. definitely**

And that really depends on the starting from the top or bottom of steep hill .

They weren't 3PMSF but plenty of tread since Pilot was only a couple days old. Wife came home crying as she couldn't stop going down hill even with adjusting speed and going slow for conditions. Almost put the Pilot into the guardrail at the T at the bottom of the hill after almost sliding into a tree on it. Winter tires went on a couple days later.

I bought the Pilot as it was one of the few choices that had a good AWD system so I can beach it and do the gravel / light mud to hunting cabin.

 

[MNgopher]

Worth it is dependent on the users circumstances... Location, vehicle, driving needs, etc...

I have a Fusion Energi plug in Hybrid. It gets all weather tires (carrying the 3PMSF logo) for summer and shoulder seasons. A set of dedicated winter tires for the winter.

Why? I live where it snows, and sometimes unpredictably. The car itself is not a great snow car (we like it for what its the rest of the year). But we want the "best" for when it does snow (or blowing snow or ice). And my newly licensed less than a year kid drives it too. I want them to have all the advantages I can give them (particularly after our neighbor's daughter died in a car accident in inclement winter weather).

As others have pointed out, behavior wise, the winter tires generally tend to give a much higher level of predictability as to what they are going to do. The all seasons seem to be good when suddenly you are sliding etc... with no warning.

Do what fits your circumstances... Me - winter tires on all 3 vehicles - Fusion, Explorer, F150. Dedicated wheels and tires. Not going back...

 

[fdcg27]

I've had dedicated winters and they really are better when needed, truly a revelation. When not needed, which is 90% of the winter season here, they are an impediment.
If you really gotta get there and you live where winter can be counted on for more than a couple of nasty mornings, dedicated winters are probably worth it.
For most of us, it's really a judgement call, but I will say that you won't go wrong with a set of dedicated winters, although I haven't used them in the past ten years or so.
I've driven through actual blizzards on flat ground on AS tires, although it was neither an easy nor a drama free drive. Didn't get stuck and didn't slide off the road, but the level of constant attention required was pretty wearying.

 

[Ws6]

Depends on how much you drive or if your job is a have to" ie rescue, medical etc. If I get a new job 45 minutes away I'm definitely going that route. Where do you live that has a 27% grade driveway, as that is incredibly steep? If it's only fwd with a snowy driveway then snows with studs seem like even better insurance.

I live in the Ozarks. My commute is 80mi/day.

 

[k1xv]

Being a retiree with no need to leave home during a snow storm, i can wait until the storm stops and the roads are cleared. And storm related road clearing is excellent here. if it wasn't, the flatland ski enthusiasts would never be able to get here for the latest nature made snow. What is really bad up here is mud season at the start of Spring.

So i can get by with AWD and good all season tires. But if I had to drive someplace regardless of the weather, I would need winter tires.

 

[Sequoiasoon]

I live in the Ozarks. My commute is 80mi/day.

The Michelin X-Ice Snow is the only winter tire I recall that has an actual treadwear warranty if that matters. The new Blizzak WS90 I think still has their multicell compound but that disappears at 6/32". My older Blizzaks were very good until that point and then scary after. They also wore quickly for me doing a lot of dry/wet ground in slightly warmer temperatures.

 

[slacktide_bitog]

Consider the Nokian WRG5 or the Nordman Solstice 4 (the old WRG4). Nokian's all-weather tires are more winter focused than even other all-weather tires.

You could also consider getting some chains or snow socks

 

[Ranger83]

///Everyone always says "AWD with an all weather < Snow tires". ///

They do?

If you search on “fwd with winter tires vs awd with all season” you will find at least one hundred videos answering the question.

We put winter tires on all our cars, including two Subarus with their VTD drive system + VDC plus rear LSD, and a 4Runner, and a Tahoe.

 

[IndyIan]

I live in the Ozarks. My commute is 80mi/day.

So how often do you drive on snowy or slushy roads?
In 2019 I picked Xice2's for the Outback as they are a good wet or dry highway tire, and counted on the AWD to make sure I never got stuck, but at 225 width they turned out to be fairly terrible in something like 1" of slush, just hydroplane compared to the more aggressive and open tread snow tires I've had. At -5C and below on hard packed almost icy snow, they work very well, but you will almost never see that.
Continental viking 7's come in a lot of 16 and 17 inch sizes, and some in XL so you could get quite a narrow tire with enough load rating to be legal.

 

[Ws6]

So how often do you drive on snowy or slushy roads?
In 2019 I picked Xice2's for the Outback as they are a good wet or dry highway tire, and counted on the AWD to make sure I never got stuck, but at 225 width they turned out to be fairly terrible in something like 1" of slush, just hydroplane compared to the more aggressive and open tread snow tires I've had. At -5C and below on hard packed almost icy snow, they work very well, but you will almost never see that.
Continental viking 7's come in a lot of 16 and 17 inch sizes, and some in XL so you could get quite a narrow tire with enough load rating to be legal.

I am thinking about just getting a set of 4 mounted on steelies from TireRack and a cheap floor jack and changing them myself if/when needed on a week by week case. It is extremely unpredictable here.

 

[Sequoiasoon]

I am thinking about just getting a set of 4 mounted on steelies from TireRack and a cheap floor jack and changing them myself if/when needed on a week by week case. It is extremely unpredictable here.

Do you need TPMS sensors? Check the respective forums or wheel-size.com for what else fits it. I picked up factory alloys for most of my vehicles that either became my 3 season summer or the winter ones. I got 4 CRV factory alloy for $150. My son's Forte alloy about $200 and his steel/hubcap became winter. My 10+ year old Hyundai rims that were like $200 back then became my 3 season on my Accord and factory ones became winter. Pilot spare wheels came with sensors from forum/craigslist.

As long as you are good at watching the weather and have the time/energy. I normally install mine around Thanksgiving and off closer to Easter depending on weather and temperatures. With 16-20 tires in the shed swapping weekly is not on my bucket list.

I've been caught with the "chance of flurries" that resulted in multiple inches of snow while at work. Wasn't a a concern as snows were already on. Same scenario for rain but temps dropped suddenly. I do 50 miles a day on my Accord, I get about 3-4 winters out of the setup on my daily driver. Other vehicles get 5-6 winters out of a set. At that point I already have the rims also so just normal tire purchase looking for sale prices.

I'm also doing highway commute and local around town so not looking for high performance handling not that my cars are sports cars anyway.

 

[facility1]

stopping traction and steering control on slippery surfaces is a factor to consider, and of course weight distribution. Living in central upper Wisconsin, these factors is what I look at very closely, forward motion is not the only thing to be concerned about. Ice of course is a whole different matter,a good well sipped all season/M&S tire soft rubber compound is generally best for this.

 

[Sam_Julier]

I run 4 snow tires on our daily drivers all winter.

Jennifer and I are the resident grandparents for a 3, 5 and 8 year old. We pick them up or deliver them from/to their schools 2-4 times a week. Their Grandparents live in Romania, Serbia and Australia.

Snow tires all around are a must.

I have Goodyear, Toyo and General snows on three different cars. The Goodyear and Toyos are slightly better than the Generals.

 

[jakeuten]

Winter tires make winter driving fun. Near-absolute control in most conditions. We are a Blizzak family. My brother ran WS-90s on a 1994 T-bird with no TCS or ABS and had zero problems making it up unplowed streets here in Duluth, MN. Another sibling ran WS-90s on a PQ45 Tiguan, and he never once had issues going to work on call. From what I understand to be a rather unremarkable AWD system in my CX-5, it turns into one capable of climbing 25% grades with 8 inches of slush on top, from a dead stop. Only one thing (or rather 4) connects your drivetrain to the road...

 

[camrydriver111]

They do?

If you search on “fwd with winter tires vs awd with all season” you will find at least one hundred videos answering the question.

I've seen those videos.

AWD with all weather (called all season in Europe) is quicker to accelerate.

FWD with winter is quicker to stop.

For most people stopping is probably more important.

 

[Bighorn2500]

For my truck yes, I’ve been running winter tires for the past thirteen years. Snowmobiling in the UP I’ve encountered some crappy conditions getting to/from with the trailer in tow.

Getting to work before the roads are plowed/salted, and being in the country they drift badly on occasion. Little bit of a safer ride when the family is with me as well. Peace of mind.

 

[Just a civilian pilot]

I run 4 snow tires on our daily drivers all winter.

Jennifer and I are the resident grandparents for a 3, 5 and 8 year old. We pick them up or deliver them from/to their schools 2-4 times a week. Their Grandparents live in Romania, Serbia and Australia.

Snow tires all around are a must.

I have Goodyear, Toyo and General snows on three different cars. The Goodyear and Toyos are slightly better than the Generals.

I really liked the Toyo GSi5 winter tires ( GSi 6 today ).

 

[Ranger83]

 

[edyvw]

His approach is too academic. I mean, he does not have the resources to do actual tests.
But, what is very often lost in these discussions, whether you need or not winter tire, is cornering. A lot of accidents, I would say close behind accidents caused by poor braking performance in slick, is caused by loss of control during cornering due to low grip.

 

[Sam_Julier]

The entire point of snow tires is grip: friction between the tire and the road surface.

If you’ve driven in northern VT in the winter you’ll understand that grip is your friend.

This isn’t complicated.

@Astro14 and others can provide the physics to support this.