considering snow tires.

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Robertslowpoke

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Hi! thanks for all your previous help! I own a 2008 Cadillac DTS, front wheel drive. michelin tires energy mxv4 with 30,000 miles on them. they are original. live in Massachusetts, lots of ice and snow. have rotated the tires carefully, and they have lots of tread left. Plan to keep car forever. car slides around in winter.

1. when is it time to replace the tires? do they get old, even if not worn down much?

2. have been advised that FOUR snow tires will really help in the winter. is that true? if so, I am willing to buy them.

tire rack, whom I like, suggested Michelin X ice XI 2. $650 for four of them.

3. do you like those? can you suggest other really good snow tires?
size is 235 55 17

thank you!!

best,

Bob
 
that's a relatively wide tire, whereas in snow, going skinnier is better.
most recommendations are to go to a taller tire on a smaller diameter rim (perhaps 16" in your case)
and yes, 4 is better. no sense in having the back end wiggle all over the place (unless you like that sort of thing)
 
October seems to the best time to buy snow tires...it might be different in your region. The stores and warehouses have stock and may offer better pre-season pricing.

Always get four snows for FWD. My wife's cousin had snows only in the front, was on a slippery road, turning, touched the brakes, and pinwheeled around those two good-traction tires. Unfortunately she learned the wrong lesson and now won't have a FWD car...
shocked.gif


As said above, skinnier snows are better. They'll press harder into the surface (same weight of car & fewer square inches of contact surface = more psi of contact presssure) Of course, the skinnier tires need to be able to safely carry the weight of the car. If your model of car lists a skinnier tire in the owner's manual (usually as a lower cost original tire) go with that size.
 
If any one I know has to replace tires and can only afford two, I always recommend the best tires being on the back, regardless of whether it's a FWD or RWD. I'd rather they have trouble putting power to the road than staying on the road.

Unless you have tread separation or cracking in the sidewall, then tread wear is what should determine when a tire should be changed. I don't like to go below 3/32" on a year-round tire, but I believe the legal limit is 2/32". However, if I had a dedicated summer set, I'd probably run it right to the wear bars and just be wary of wet-weather driving, since worn tires, whether all-season, winter or summmer, are terrible in low traction conditions.

I second what mpvue says, and also recommend buying a second set of cheap, narrower, smaller-diameter steel rims and put some winter tires on there - this can be your dedicated winter setup. When your current tires run out, either find the most comfortable all-season tires or maybe spring for a nice set of summer tires for additional performance.
 
Obviously four are best...but Two will do. we run two Nordfrost 5s on the front of our 09' S80. as long as your not trying to pair them with summer tires on the rear axle, and the rear tires are in decent shape, and you drive for the conditions, should not be a problem. All of our cars at work are two, snow tire equipped without issue, on drive axle. About half and half rear and front drive.
 
The OE tires need not be replaced until the first of these are reached:
-legal tread limit
-6 years
-bubbles or other carcass/tread damage
-unbearable noise

Snow tires are like night and day. Highly recommended, four of them. Any name brand is likely very good, seems blizzaks are the standard... Some H rated tires are available as snows... I'd look for those, as snows can sometimes be squirmier...
 
Once you run a good set of winter ice tires you will be hooked!!

Heed the advice of those who say to put them on all 4 corners!!

Although a RWD car may perform adequately with ice tires on the rear only, a FWD car will become unstable and twitchy at speed when running on snow covered roads if you put the winter tires on the front only. Try pushing a grocery cart backwards, with the caster wheels now on the back to simulate this condition.

I tried this ONCE, never again!! I would like to think I am among the best at skid recovery, but doing it every 100 yards for miles on end?? No Way!!

Winter tires afford much more steering, stability and stopping on winter roads.... and they are nearly free if you consider:

I bought two sets of tires at once for my wifes commuter Escort, when the originals wore out at 48,000 miles:

A set of Michelin X-ones
a Set of Michelin ice tires

Using the ice tires about 3 months each year, the others 9 months.....

I did not need to buy tires until the 200,000 mile mark. two sets of tires, 150,000 miles of driving.

So, the ice tires seemed free.... I would have needed two sets of tires to go that far in any case.

And, it was nice not sitting in ditches waiting for tow trucks!!

fsskier
 
THANKS everybody!! sounds great!!!! will get FOUR snow tires, sounds like they will really work!! will have them on wheels, and put them on car around first snow. people at work, one of them an expert, said snow tires are amazing.

i think i may buy the air pressure sensors, too.

thanks so much.

bob
 
fsskier brings up great points.
Honestly if you get snow even a few months a year they can really be worth it for the above mentioned reasons.

My favorite snow tires in recent memory are General Altimax Arctic. I had those on one of my Saturns, and Blizzak WS-70's on the other. Hands down better tire was the Altimax. Better composure on dry roads, better traction in deep snow, about equal traction in light snow though.

If you can get those tires in the size you need, you cant go wrong with them. I know other people here agree.

Also make sure you do all for like has already been stated. Only safe way to go.
 
Lots of good advice. Snows on all 4 corners only. I've done rear wheel drive with snows on the back, and it works, but better to have all 4 equipped that way.

Reality is just about ANY dedicated snow and ice tire will perform much better than an all season tire under winter conditions.

I went with a set of Hankook Winter I-Pike W409's on my Explorer, and could not be happier. Low cost and excellent winter performance. A little noise/rumble, but for the tread pattern and type of tire, to be expected. A good trade off in my book.
 
I'm not positive that a -1 winter setup would clear the brakes on his DTS, but one look in the owners manual will tell him if a 16" wheel setup was offered that year or not.

If so, than YES a narrower 16" wheel with a narrower winter tire (some are offered in an XL rating to make up for load carrying capacity in smaller sizes) would be ideal.
 
Originally Posted By: SLCraig
My favorite snow tires in recent memory are General Altimax Arctic. I had those on one of my Saturns, and Blizzak WS-70's on the other. Hands down better tire was the Altimax. Better composure on dry roads, better traction in deep snow, about equal traction in light snow though.

Another vote for the Arctics. Plus, they're about $100 cheaper than the Michelins he's considering.
 
+ 3 on the General Artics. They did great last winter on my Focus. Actually, NOW is the best time to buy them. They will get more expensive as fall/winter nears. I watched prices last year. During the middle of the summer was cheapest, unless you get in on DTD rebates. I got $150-$200(?) rebates on wheels+tires from DTD last year in Oct.

I was able to press "Reset" 1-2 times per day on the TPMS Fault vs. paying $200+ more for another set of sensors -- PLUS the hassle of reprogramming them (more $ if you don't have the tool) at every swap.
 
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Snow tires remove terror. Isn't that worth something.

Cheapie all seasons, when you're acellerating up a hill with a crown, you touch the gas then suddenly you're in the ditch with no warning.

Snows will break free, but they give warning, and re-grab to keep you from going sideways. All seasons get you going but their focus is on starting and stopping, and sideways holding gets compromised.

IOW the snows will let you toss it into a four wheel drift for fun, then recover, when all seasons will have you spinning like a top.

Yeah it's money, but your summer tires wear too, so you might as well be wearing out rubber appropriate for conditions.
thumbsup2.gif


I like cooper artic claws but if you have the money for altimax artics they're worth it and still pretty cheap.
 
thank you!!

kkreit: does that mean you must reset the tpms each and every day? if i DID buy new ones, is it hard to set them up?

sound like you ALL love that tire!

must be good!! i am now sold on snow tires. my caddy, although heavy and front drive, was not good in the snow and ice. we had a tough winter in northern Mass.


thanks again!!!


Bob
 
Look into a set of junkyard wheels for your winter set. Then they won't cost a lot, you won't care when they get beaten to corroded junk, and it saves you money/time having to swap tires on your current set of wheels. Both of the cars in my immediate family have 2 sets of wheels that get swapped over around Thanksgiving.
 
+4 on the Altimax Arctics. I used them on my van last winter. Excellent tires in the snow and ice. Much debate over which tire is the best winter tire, and this one often comes up in those debates. The nice thing is they are far lower priced compared to the other top contenders. That sealed the deal for me. They were originally sold under one of the sister brands to General (in the Continental group) as Gislaved Nordfrost 3.
 
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