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View Full Version : Studed vs Studless Snow Tires

RacerFreakXXX
10-23-2009, 02:21 PM
What's better for the New Egland winter, studed snow tires or studless snow/ice tires? Where I live they don't plow till it's done snowing so I will get a foot of snow sometimes I have to drive through and then sometimes I'm on cleared highway roads. I want a tire that will last me 2-3 winters/years.
schleppy
10-23-2009, 02:37 PM
I've lived in New England my whole life and I have never been in a situation where I would NEED studded tires. I've always run regular snow tires.

Studs are really only necessary if you're driving on completely unplowed or snow-packed/icy roads.
thebarber
10-23-2009, 02:42 PM
i had studless the entire time i lived out east (*think northeast of maine*) and never had a problem w/ the aveo or the yaris getting stuck in or out of town
RacerFreakXXX
10-23-2009, 03:54 PM
now my next question is what do you guys think about Dunlop Graspic DS? I am trying to spend $80 or less per tire shipped.
thebarber
10-23-2009, 04:15 PM
what size are you looking?

honestly, go for cheap....anything you buy is going to be 100x better than all seasons

firestone winterforce look good in just about any size on tirerack
RacerFreakXXX
10-23-2009, 04:33 PM
I'm actually looking at GeneralAltimax Arctic ... I can get them $66.50 w/o studs, I figured that's a great deal.
WolfWings
10-27-2009, 04:20 AM
Modern Studless tire compounds outperform studded tires in all driving circumstances on modern vehicles. (http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/testDisplay.jsp?ttid=94)

And also, Studded tires will likely lose most of their studs in a season of driving on actual asphalt. Modern studless tire compounds actually stick to ice, and are almost as soft as some racing tires when warm, so they're still reasonably soft even when extra-frozen-cold in winter use.

The ONLY time studded tires are better is when your wheels are locked up from panic-braking without ABS, or in a similair 'sliding across the ice' situation. Don't waste your time with studded tires, get studless tires.

And as long as you do as mentioned, buy your winter tires on seperate wheels, and change back to normal three/all-season/summer tires when it gets dry and warm again promptly, your winter tires will easilly last 3 seasons before wearing through the ice-sticky compound.

I went with Blizzak WS60 XL tires myself, since I don't mind the ultra-stiff ride of the heavy-duty eXtra-Load tires personally. Reminds me the car is not driving on normal tires if nothing else.

I'll throw in a vote of 'spend the most you can afford to' for one simple reason: You'll out-spend that by an order of magnitude just on gas for your car. Thousands of dollars in gas during the time you're worrying about $350 versus $400 for your set of tires. Spend the $400 to get the best you can. Ditto brakes and oil.

Don't be penny wise but pound foolish.
MUSKOKA800
10-27-2009, 08:35 AM
What's better for the New Egland winter, studed snow tires or studless snow/ice tires? Where I live they don't plow till it's done snowing so I will get a foot of snow sometimes I have to drive through and then sometimes I'm on cleared highway roads. I want a tire that will last me 2-3 winters/years.

Check your local regulations.
Not all areas allow studded tires as they do damage pavement.
toad
10-27-2009, 01:52 PM
now my next question is what do you guys think about Dunlop Graspic DS? I am trying to spend $80 or less per tire shipped.


i read where the dunlop graspic ds-3 got 'best budget studless' online(i can't remember the website). the michelin x-ice x2 got 'all around best'(price not an issue). pirelli just released a new snowcontrol series 2 that is specifically made for smaller cars. it's listed at $66 each on tirerack.com, but there's no reviews yet because it just came out.
thebarber
10-27-2009, 02:13 PM
goodyear nordics = win

$79.99CAD for 175-70-14 right now
rhino5
10-28-2009, 09:59 AM
now my next question is what do you guys think about Dunlop Graspic DS? I am trying to spend $80 or less per tire shipped.

I ran them on my bimmer for 2 seasons. I was pleased. I'm running them on the rears of my Yaris with Green Diamond Icelanders on the front this season.
ROCKLAND TOYOTA
10-28-2009, 10:27 AM
now my next question is what do you guys think about Dunlop Graspic DS? I am trying to spend $80 or less per tire shipped.

decent tire as i have them for my celica. i running continental TS 790's for this season at 59 bucks each on the yaris.....
MUSKOKA800
10-28-2009, 03:45 PM
goodyear nordics = win

$79.99CAD for 175-70-14 right now

Yes, very tempting.
I'm shopping stateside for Michelin X-Ice. Tires are sooooooooooo much cheaper south of the 49th. Michelin and Goodyear warranties are NA wide. :thumbup: Bridgestone's isn't. :thumbdown:
thebarber
10-28-2009, 04:04 PM
Yes, very tempting.
I'm shopping stateside for Michelin X-Ice. Tires are sooooooooooo much cheaper south of the 49th. Michelin and Goodyear warranties are NA wide. :thumbup: Bridgestone's isn't. :thumbdown:

true.

im ok for winters right now, but im going to need summers on the aveo next year....going to make a trip to visit the sister-in-law in MI as well as discount tire direct, lol

but id like to bump it up to 15's on the aveo for next year....something funky like red w/ a deep dish
firemachine69
10-28-2009, 11:00 PM
goodyear nordics = win

$79.99CAD for 175-70-14 right now


That's an odd size... Stock tire size is 175-65-14 for a fourteen inch'er.



And the Dunlop Graspic DS are GREAT tires. Love mine!
bwong2
10-29-2009, 05:36 AM
there's a $70 mail-in rebate on a set of michelin x-ice at tirerack going on right now if anyone's interested.

http://www.tirerack.com/specialoffers/details.jsp?promoID=M937
thebarber
10-29-2009, 07:56 AM
That's an odd size... Stock tire size is 175-65-14 for a fourteen inch'er.



And the Dunlop Graspic DS are GREAT tires. Love mine!

odd size, sure....but cheaper than 175-65-14

and personally, i find my speedo less fubar'd at the closer-to-185-60-15 rolling diameter....
minicorolla
10-29-2009, 09:47 PM
I put 4 GeneralAltimax Arctic with studs on last winter. Drove through 12" of snow with snow plowing over my hood, had trouble seeing but the car kept on going. No problems driving in ice storms and black ice while looking at about 30+ cars and trucks piled up along the interstate. I like the studs, never tried the other studless ice tires yet. Downside bad gas mileage. Went from 43 to 38 in the winter some must be from the winter gas. I drive through the snow belt south of Lake Erie with about 120" of snow a year. Putting them back on soon. My 2 cents.
firemachine69
10-30-2009, 05:39 PM
Likely has to do more with the colder, denser winter air.
regal
11-05-2009, 09:16 PM
If you want cheap winter tires I found a set of 14" Michelin snow tires for under $200 shipped, my local shop mounted and balanced them on JY Civic wheels for $50.

I live in PA and will probably put them on over thanksgiving.
toad
11-05-2009, 11:42 PM
If you want cheap winter tires I found a set of 14" Michelin snow tires for under $200 shipped, my local shop mounted and balanced them on JY Civic wheels for $50.

I live in PA and will probably put them on over thanksgiving.

where is that AWESOME deal? i'm assuming that includes the $70 michelin rebate, but it's a good deal nevertheless.