Studded tires or not?

[Khyron]

Need some opinions:

I had blizzaks on the Jetta, but I also commuted a lot farther than I do now. I have a Santa Fe with snows if the weather is really bad.

UrbanX has suggested I get studded for the FRS (stock rims). I've never been in a car with studs, let alone driven one. Is it that big a deal on the dry pavement we get for half the winter? Will I go mad driving to Banff/Edmonton at 130 on them? I'm also hoping to do a winter autoX (or 2) so I expect to wear them down a bit quicker which is fine.

Suggested tires are:

Federal Himalaya WS2-SL 215/45R17

Hankook I’Pike W409 215/45R17

Do you suggest studs or some other tire unstudded for Calgary (light RWD)?

[Twin_Cam_Turbo]

Been fine with unstudded in mine and my parents BMWs and Nissans, I've been legitametly stuck once and it was on the worst day we've had in the last 5 years.

[FullFledgedYYC]

If you are concerned about noise... don't do studded.

[-relk-]

And so it begins...

[GQBalla]

lotsa thread on studded.

Its overkill IMO to have it for just city driving.

Studded winters on my Civic but for those few times i do highway driving during winter I believe it's worth it.

For me, Ill always have studded winters.

All in your lifestyle i suppose.

[Abeo]

In my experience, studded tires are only noisy at lower speeds (40 and under). You do feel them scratch and grab at slow speeds/stop starts, or parking, but you get used to it. On the highway it gets quiet (as quiet as a winter tire can be, I guess). Panic braking on dry pavement is not as good as a non-studded, but completely acceptable.

I put studded tires on my RWD truck last winter, after trying: stock all seasons, BFG A/T, winterforce, and Michelin X-Ice. For my truck, studs were the single biggest change that I have done; going from a non-studded winter ice tire to a studded snow tire was like going from a worn all season to a new non-studded winter tire.

The control and braking on ice has me hooked, I can't see myself going back to regular winter tires any time soon. Mind you, this is on a light RWD pickup, something with more weight in the back and traction/stability control would work ok unstudded.

[msommers]

+1 for studded tires. It's all I'll buy now.

[gpomp]

i've always used blizzaks in the winter but this will be my first season on studded tires. i want to see what the hype is all about.

[Bobino]

Originally posted by Khyron
Need some opinions:

I had blizzaks on the Jetta, but I also commuted a lot farther than I do now. I have a Santa Fe with snows if the weather is really bad.

UrbanX has suggested I get studded for the FRS (stock rims). I've never been in a car with studs, let alone driven one. Is it that big a deal on the dry pavement we get for half the winter? Will I go mad driving to Banff/Edmonton at 130 on them? I'm also hoping to do a winter autoX (or 2) so I expect to wear them down a bit quicker which is fine.

Suggested tires are:

Federal Himalaya WS2-SL 215/45R17

Hankook I’Pike W409 215/45R17

Do you suggest studs or some other tire unstudded for Calgary (light RWD)?

I've run the Federal Himalaya's on my car before, love these tires! Had them on a FWD with limited slip and never got stuck.

Studs are overkill in Calgary IMHO, we have pretty mild winters, so the main roads usually snow-free or close to it by the time I'm on them. Having said that, on a snowy morning you'll love the traction studs provide!

[Abeo]

Another thing: studs are still digging in even if you are completely sideways. On the highway with my X-ice's, I had some tense sideways moments, and I had to get the truck back straight before I could brake. The truck never got tail happy on the highway with studs (which is why I bought them), but playing around doing donuts on ice I got a great sense of the lateral grip the studs. No sudden breakaway, lots of grip to work with after the wheels have broken loose.

[7thgenvic]

I"ve been through a few different brands in the past couple years. On my last car. 2006 TSX I originally bought WS60's and hated them. After all the good reviews on TireRack I assumed they were the best tire at the time. I previously had Pirelli Studded tires on my LS400 and they were invincible and thought maybe the new technology was better. I was wrong

Mid-season I ordered a set of General's from Tire-rack studded and I will never go back.

I now have a 2007 VW Touareg and will be ordering Pirelli Studded tires from TireRack in the next few weeks.

[Hallowed_point]

I have the Federal Himilaya WS2 225's with studs on my Camaro. The traction on ice is unreal. They are pretty annoying though when it is chinooking and the roads dry up. Personally, I'm able to live with the noise factor due to the extra peace of mind..that and occasionally passing wrx's and 4x4s

*I'm surprised that no one is freaking out that you are driving your FRS through gasp... the winter???

[msommers]

Was price a big factor for not looking into the Nokian Hakk 7 (suv), for those studded owners?

[FraserB]

Winter tires are not needed for Calgary driving as long as you have AWD or 4x4.

[roopi]

Originally posted by FraserB
Winter tires are not needed for Calgary driving as long as you have AWD or 4x4.

[Unknown303]

Originally posted by FraserB
Winter tires are not needed for Calgary driving as long as you have AWD or 4x4.

I always wind up putting MT's on my trucks right before winter for some reason. The Duramax with Toyo MTs was awesome, the Rubicon with the stock MTs was pretty hit and miss but still drivable, then the ProComp MTs ni 35s a little better..

But with the Dodge I may actually run a decent tire this winter. Hard to say.

[Abeo]

So how do you guys stop your 4x4's running MT's in the winter? Throw an anchor? As far as I know, 4x4's have 4 wheel brakes, just like the rest of us...

[max_boost]

Yea it's up for debate for sure.

It'll be very useful when it's cold/snowy/ice etc. But you know Calgary, wait 2 weeks, chinook rolls around, everything melts and the temp will hit zero. In addition it may go weeks without seeing snow again so the studs would be annoying.

I'm debating that very same thing right now.

[Unknown303]

Originally posted by Abeo
So how do you guys stop your 4x4's running MT's in the winter? Throw an anchor? As far as I know, 4x4's have 4 wheel brakes, just like the rest of us...

Don't panic and drive like normal. Works every time.

[Mibz]

Originally posted by Abeo
So how do you guys stop your 4x4's running MT's in the winter? Throw an anchor? As far as I know, 4x4's have 4 wheel brakes, just like the rest of us...

Throw it in reverse, duh.