Winter tires, Help me out, Northern guys

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Being from the Gulf Coast, I know next to nothing about snow tires. My daughter is moving to AK, and her car is being transported for her. I am buying and installing snow tires for her the week before the car ships out, so she will not have to deal with it.

The question is, will the Firestone WinterForce snow tires perform well once the car returns home to TX in two years? Her overall mileage will be very low in AK, so much of the tread should remain. Yes, I know the rubber compound is softer so the tires will wear faster, but other than that, how will they perform in the TX heat? Still usable? Any issues?

Thank you all.
 
SNow tires are perfectly acceptable inTexas although they will wear quicker.

She needs to buy another set of wheels with dedicated summer tyres and switch back and forth as is appropriate.
 
most snow tire tread compounds are designed for temps under 40 degrees. so i would imagine those snow tires wouldn't last very long in texas.
 
Originally Posted By: gaijinnv
It would help to know the make/model/year of your daughter's car - tire size would also be nice to know.


2002 Ford Crown Vic. 225-60-16 tires.

I was just asking in a general sense, so I didn't add it originally.
 
Originally Posted By: Black_Thunder
most snow tire tread compounds are designed for temps under 40 degrees. so i would imagine those snow tires wouldn't last very long in texas.


You are likely right about that. In any case, we don't want to waste whatever tread will be left over when she returns, and we suspect it will be a lot. I doubt she will put 1000 miles on the car while up there. If the tires handle the TX temps and still perform OK, we will run them as long as they will last.
 
Should be fine as long as they're not studded. Besides accelerated wear in hot temps, the only potential issue is that wet traction might not be stellar. But yeah, they'll work.

If you don't think the winter tires will get many miles on them, have you considered planning to sell them before moving the car back down to TX?
 
Look for mud & snow tires that can be run all year without excessive wear. As opposed to winter snow tires. They will be a little noisy however. Or two sets of rims.
 
Originally Posted By: gfh77665
Originally Posted By: gaijinnv
It would help to know the make/model/year of your daughter's car - tire size would also be nice to know.


2002 Ford Crown Vic. 225-60-16 tires.

I was just asking in a general sense, so I didn't add it originally.


My recommendation would be these Yokohama tires: IceGuard

Of course, wear will increase dramatically at Texas summer temps, but should provide excellent overall performance.

HTH
 
You might get extra pair of rims and get snows put on,then swap them out later.you could unload them when car is ready to come back to Texas.rims should be cheap,cv and gym all over the place.
 
nothing performs as well in the snow as a snow tire...but they will be a bit noisy and wear fast in the tx heat. the winterforce are good tire, ran them for years. i have been using the blizzak ws80 and they are fantastic in the snow. dont forget to run about 200 pounds of sand in the trunk to balance out the car weight some.
 
Why not put snow tires on a set of basic rims (steel rims, ideally used)? She should be able to sell the good as new tires on the rims in Alaska before she comes home. That way she'll get good use and reasonable value out of them. Snow tires in Texas won't work all that well (not as good as not very good summer or all-season radials) and won't wear very well either.
 
Needless to say, if she is moving interior like Fairbanks, snow tires are about 1 of 10 things she will need.

Anchorage or Juneau, different story.
 
To me, the scariest thing about winter tires in warm weather is braking, as stopping distances can be really bad.
I have also had snow tires that were not happy going much over 55-60mph in any conditions, but you should be able to avoid that problem with careful shopping.
 
As noted above, stopping distances in the Texas heat will be very, very long, on wet and dry pavement. In a panic stop you can get "marbling" of the winter rubber, leading to almost no braking.
 
Originally Posted By: Virtus_Probi
To me, the scariest thing about winter tires in warm weather is braking, as stopping distances can be really bad...


^This would be my concern in your scenario. I had an emergency braking situation in dry, warm (probably around 70*C) weather at the end of the winter season when I was still on a set of Michelin X-ice. The tires felt like soft erasers under the car, with a lot of squirm and flex, and the stopping distance was garbage.

With all respect to the poster who suggested M&S (mud and snow) tires, those don't perform well in anything but deep snow. As I understand it, the only thing required to claim a M&S rating is sufficient void space in the tread, rather than having anything to do with traction on slippery roads. As an alternative, I would suggest to look at an "all weather", not "all-season" tire from one of the winter tire manufacturers. An example would be something like the Nokian WRG3. They have managed to receive severe winter rating, and look to have good siping. I'm not a shill for Nokian - my vehicles get Blizzaks, but only because I don't have to run them outside of true winter conditions. They'd be a disaster on warm, dry roads.
 
That's for the teaching position, right? From the previous thread about it, she will probably be fine with the good all season radial. That area of Alaska does not get much snow, and is fairly mild since it's near the ocean.
 
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