Snow Tires Without Studs Are Worthless.

I have studded Nokian 8 tires on one Camry, and Bizzak WS90 tire on another Camry. We have had every snow/ice condition possible lately. The studded tires work great for some conditions, like wet ice and fresh wet snow but the traction is unpredictable at times, and if you overdrive them on hard polished ice they will just skate when you would expect them to grip. For all around winter driving I have always been happy with how much more predictable the Blizzak's are, plus much quieter. I've had Blizzak tires on all of my vehicles in the winter since 1996, and have been disappointed when I tried something different 3 times. The X-ice tires on my Tahoe PPV have been very disappointing.
 
Alot of those tire review articles are too focused on metrics and are also testing new tires. I've noticed some winter tires harden noticeably over the years to the point where a brand new all season is not that far behind a 5 year old winter tire.

I'm not entirely convinced on the RWD + snow tire is better than AWD with all seasons argument as I have driven both. Controllability is a very important factor especially for anyone who has done highway driving with a higher powered RWD in the winter. Ignoring ground clearance, I would much rather choose an AWD with all seasons vs a RWD with winter tires in almost every situation except braking. That's of course assuming the typical RWD vehicle which is light in the back. A heavily loaded RWD should be similar to a FWD but with different over/under steering characteristics.
 
View attachment 45772

This is a 17 degree incline, and that's as far as I made it. No real running start, just began level at the base and went at it. Then backed up about 30ft or so and went at it again. No dice. I walked the 2 miles round trip to my mail box (it was empty...) and back.

Dunno if snow tires woulda fixed that or not. Just walking up it and down it I was slipping while wearing boots rated for -40 or so with rubber grippy soles. The snow slid on itself, so I don't see how snow tires would have done any good.
You need a quad.
 
View attachment 45772

This is a 17 degree incline, and that's as far as I made it. No real running start, just began level at the base and went at it. Then backed up about 30ft or so and went at it again. No dice. I walked the 2 miles round trip to my mail box (it was empty...) and back.

Dunno if snow tires woulda fixed that or not. Just walking up it and down it I was slipping while wearing boots rated for -40 or so with rubber grippy soles. The snow slid on itself, so I don't see how snow tires would have done any good.
My farm truck would have blasted right up that. On Taiwan tires.
 
Do you have a neighbor at the end of the road that would let you could park a beater there when it snows? That's what my brother did when he lived in the Idaho panhandle on the side of a mountain.
 
My farm truck would have blasted right up that. On Taiwan tires.
I wonder how much a proper locked center diff would impact things. Not some sort of slip&grip setup--once you start spinning, that one tire is now disadvantaged.

Now a locked center diff has plenty of other problems with it--like whenever one needs to turn!
 
View attachment 45772

This is a 17 degree incline, and that's as far as I made it. No real running start, just began level at the base and went at it. Then backed up about 30ft or so and went at it again. No dice. I walked the 2 miles round trip to my mail box (it was empty...) and back.

Dunno if snow tires woulda fixed that or not. Just walking up it and down it I was slipping while wearing boots rated for -40 or so with rubber grippy soles. The snow slid on itself, so I don't see how snow tires would have done any good.
That's how you carry chains.

My old car with FWD and snow tires would have made it that far, but chains will finish the job.

My current car with Nitto snow tires did make it up 17% inclines, going back down, was a different issue... but that's with AWD.
 
Snow tires are great, all else equal. Studded tires will give better ice traction, all else equal. Studless will be quieter and give better performance in the vast majority of dry, wet, and wintery conditions compared to a studded tire. They're also legal everywhere whereas studded tires are banned in many jurisdictions.

AWD is better than FWD, all else equal. AWD with snow tires is the best option. Even a Subaru with middling all-seasons is going to do terribly in winter conditions compared to FWD or RWD with great snow tires.

All cars have all-wheel braking and 99% of cars have front-wheel steering. AWD doesn't help with either. AWD helps you get going. Great tires help you accelerate, turn, and stop.
 
That's how you carry chains.

My old car with FWD and snow tires would have made it that far, but chains will finish the job.

My current car with Nitto snow tires did make it up 17% inclines, going back down, was a different issue... but that's with AWD.
Going down the slope wasn't a problem. I backed down it in a controlled manner. I have driven down it in similar conditions. The tires hold. Getting back up is another story, as evidenced.
 
I have always gotten in in my avalanche in ice an snow here, with all seasons. For the first time i have all terrain tires. Iknow they will be better in the snow.

But will they be worse on the packed refrozen ice, than the all season highway treads were? I am considering a set of studded tires for it, as they do brake better.
 
Slid down the black ice covered driveway out into the road with non studded winter tires. Good thing no one was driving from either direction or both at that time . Purchased winter tires with studs the following winter and very little sliding down it .
 
Studded tires are not legal in MN, I'd say we deal with as much snow as any other non-mountain state and plenty of ice. Snow tires are all we get, you just learn to deal with it.
 
Back to the claim...

if only Tirerack still hosted their old winter tire test when they tested studdable tires with and without studs.
 
studded tires are legal in indiana. when you drive into illinois people immediately notice and look at you funny.

i drove on a 9 year old set of blizzak lm-22s in my audi s4 for one winter. even with ancient “high performance” winter tires a good AWD system allows you to drive like a complete **** and get away with it. I was drifting across slushy intersections at ridiculous speeds all winter long.
 
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