To stud or not to stud...winter tires

[sxtasy]

I've hit the search button but I'm still not sure. I'm driving from Victoria to San Francisco tomorrow and forecasts say there is snow and freezing rain all the way down to California. There is a good six inches of snow in Victoria and it is still coming down like crazy.

I'm going to buy winters tomorrow for the car specifically for this trip and was thinking of going studs for ice/freezing rain.

[pf0sh0]

Sounds like a safe bet. Better safe than sorry imo:dunno:

[4lti7ude]

:werd:
Its a long trip.
A little bit of piece of mind is gonna be better then worrying the whole trip.

[sxtasy]

so you guys are saying there will be a major advantage with studs compared to the same tire without? How are studded tires in rain and dry pavement? At highways speeds 120kmhr?

[4lti7ude]

Well im not a tire expert but my guess is.
pavement is rough so the studs can grip into the dry pavement better then just the winter tires.

You say theres going to be freezing rain and snow all the way there. So im guessing theres gonna be some ice on the roads too. The studs will dig into the ice helping your tires grip alot better then the rubber itself.

The 120KmHr tho, I dont know how it will be like, but if its icy I dont know if 120 would be that safe of a speed. Especially with freezing rain in the mix.

[tirebob]

You should check local US/State laws first... I remember when I was a kid, my dad and I were heading down to the U.S. for the races and got turned back at the border because our tires were studded. Different areas have different laws...

[ZorroAMG]

Studs will give you WORSE grip on any of the dry pavement stretches and in San Fran you'll be drifting. Just get good winters and call it a day.

[7thgenvic]

tire rack just made a video testing studded vs. good winters on pure ice, and the winter tire without studs had better results. :)

[JfuckinC]

Originally posted by 7thgenvic
tire rack just made a video testing studded vs. good winters on pure ice, and the winter tire without studs had better results. :)


link yo????

[7thgenvic]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S8MnCH-Z0QY

[r0g3r]

well they said something about 1965, were they testing the latest studless winter tires vs 1965 studded tire technology?

[SR240SX]

Don't bother with studs, If you're really worried go buy some tire chains, Those will do you ALLOT better, You can put them on whenever they are needed and wont be a waste of money.


Studs are loud, also they will grind down to nothing if driven on dry pavement long enough, I'm guessing you're driving a truck up there? Tire chains would be you're best bet...You can probably get away with buying a pair...which will cost somewhere around $130-170

[sillysod]

holy shit... somebody doesn't drive in the mountains much in the winter...

if the roads get to the condition where you need chains or studded tires to get around it will most definately get closed.

Even in the worst conditions with winters and Quattro I still see people in dodge caravans with 1,000,000 mile all seasons managing to make it through the mountains.

The guys in the ditch are almost always 4x4 pickups or suv's that are driving like retards. Very rarely is it the guy in the Chevy Malibu.

[CivicDXR]

Originally posted by r0g3r
well they said something about 1965, were they testing the latest studless winter tires vs 1965 studded tire technology?

no, they were talking about the advancements in design and compound of winter tires from 1965 to now...

['93 SR-V]

I used to run studded tires on my old exploder. They came with the studs in them so I couldn't do any before and after comparison, but I did like having the studs on ice. I don't think you'd notice them most of the time but on the nice packed down, glazed over snow you find at many residential intersections here in Calgary, I was happy to have the studs.

On the highway and on dry pavement I found them to be on the noisy side, but nothing I couldn't deal with... but again the studs came on the tires, so I don't know how much noise was from the tires themselves vs the added studding.

I'd stud them again if I were to buy new winter tires.