darsky Posted December 9, 2012 Report Posted December 9, 2012 In La Belle Province its the law that you must have installed winters by Dec 15. I squeeked em on today with a sucky forecast. Many call this law a bigtime money grab for the tire industry and others. I for one think the opposite. Winter tires mean less accidents-which means less insurance claims which could lower premiums. I drive better with winters and have more confidence.I think there is no such law in Ontario although maybe there should be one.
Sinker Posted December 9, 2012 Report Posted December 9, 2012 Im all for snow tires in the winter! I drive an all wheel drive vehicle, and still swear by dedicated snows. There is a HUGE difference!! S.
misfish Posted December 9, 2012 Report Posted December 9, 2012 When I had the truck,I always had mud/snows on, 12 months of the year. Now that I am a car driver,I went with a directional tread. Very impressed with them. The mrs,s also runs a winter tire. I have seen guys put just snows on the front. it dosent work. You need all 4 to match up.Yer ass end will slide out of control.Theres a reason tire dealers will not put just 2 tires on.
kickingfrog Posted December 9, 2012 Report Posted December 9, 2012 The difference between winters and all seasons is huge. The costs are mitigated a bit by extending the life of tires by not having them on your vehicle for 3-4 months a year. In the end what is your and your families safety really worth? Eight hundred to twelve hundred over 4-5 winters is cheap peace of mind. I'll take a front wheel drive car with winter tires over an all wheel drive with all seasons.
DRIFTER_016 Posted December 9, 2012 Report Posted December 9, 2012 I'm all for proper snow tires as well. Even before I moved North I always ran 4 snows on my cars back in Ontario. For 12 years I drove Honda Civics to get back and forth to work and I had much better traction than with the stock all seasons. In fact the stock all seasons were downright dangerous as soon as there was as little as 1cm of snow on the road. I didn't buy expensive snows either as I drove so many miles that they were replaced every 2 years. The snows I ran were Coopers that were priced at around $70 a piece. The last year I owned my last Civic I was on vacation in Alaska in the fall and ran into some serious snow in the mountains. I had to pull in for gas in the middle of nowhere. The lot was unplowed and there was over a foot of snow on the ground. I filled up and went inside to pay (inside the local bar) and the locals looked at me like I had three heads!!! LOL I paid and walked out the door and I can just imagine that all the locals inside were betting on me being stuck as I was plowing quite a bit of snow on my way in. I hopped in started the beast up and drove away as if there was no snow at all. Would have loved to see the looks on the locals faces as I left the station.
Fisherman Posted December 9, 2012 Report Posted December 9, 2012 Im all for snow tires in the winter! I drive an all wheel drive vehicle, and still swear by dedicated snows. There is a HUGE difference!! S. Big time, I think it should become mandated. All season tires are for places where the likely hood of winter conditions are rare.
misfish Posted December 9, 2012 Report Posted December 9, 2012 Rob,I spent $1200 for rims and tires.It blew me away,but after thinking,they will last me 4 years or more,as they are for what,4 months of the year. My low profiles,will last just as long.
Old Man Posted December 9, 2012 Report Posted December 9, 2012 My winter tires go on the middle of November and come off mid April. Wouldn't operate a vehicle in this part of the country with out them.
misfish Posted December 9, 2012 Report Posted December 9, 2012 I didn't buy expensive snows either as I drove so many miles that they were replaced every 2 years. The snows I ran were Coopers that were priced at around $70 a piece. LOL Dave I ran Coopers on my truck. 375 a piece. Good soft tire tread.
lew Posted December 9, 2012 Report Posted December 9, 2012 I'm another one that always uses dedicated winter tires and rims. There's nothing worse than having your vehicle all set up for winter driving and then being stuck in traffic behind guys who are too cheap to properly equip their own vehicle for the nasty weather and are slipping & sliding on their all seasons. The problem with making winter tires mandatory though, is lotsa folks just leave the car in the garage when the roads are bad and only bring it back out when things clear up. When my folks got up in years and it wasn't necessary for them to go out on nasty days they just stayed home and waited till things were cleaned up. Winter tires/wheels are expensive and it's tough to force them on folks who don't drive when conditions are bad...at least that's the way I look at it.
DRIFTER_016 Posted December 9, 2012 Report Posted December 9, 2012 LOL Dave I ran Coopers on my truck. 375 a piece. Good soft tire tread. Yours might have been a bit bigger than the ones on my little Honda.
SlowPoke Posted December 9, 2012 Report Posted December 9, 2012 I'm all in favour of MY government having NO SAY in what tires I choose to have on MY car. Give consideration to those that are able to choose when to drive or avoid the conditions. To those that may only drive a handful of kilometers a week. And to those that have a choice of vehicles to drive when the conditions are appropriate. Do I recommend snow tires? Absolutely, to those that have no choice but to drive in adverse conditions. (sub-zero/snow/ice) My wife's Elantra gets snows tomorrow and my Ram, Suburban and Volvo will go without.
Spiel Posted December 9, 2012 Report Posted December 9, 2012 Last week I had the winters tires (all four) put on both my daughters vehicles as always. Worth their weight in gold in my opinion.
lew Posted December 9, 2012 Report Posted December 9, 2012 Two years ago we were having a group of friends over for an evening and 8" of snow fell that day. I'm a mile and a half down at the end of a dirt road and my bud was driving a 4x4 Jeep with winter tires and he couldn't make it thru the snow and I had to go out and get him. A lady friend of ours had all seasons on and made it thru the snow with just a little trouble. It's good to be properly equipped for winter driving, but you also have to know how to drive.
ketchenany Posted December 9, 2012 Report Posted December 9, 2012 [quote name='lew' date='09 December 2012 - 04:11 PM' timestamp='1355087511' A lady friend of ours had all seasons on and made it thru the snow with just a little trouble. It's good to be properly equipped for winter driving, but you also have to know how to drive. Lew, I owned a Jeep Grand C 4x4 for 15 years, used the 4 wheel about a half dozen times. Just drove with the conditions. No need to speed in winter.
GBW Posted December 9, 2012 Report Posted December 9, 2012 I have two set of wheels for my subaru, fun ones and the more fun ones (snow's). The wife's van however rarely get's driven most of the time so it's got all-seasons on it. If I had the cash to get that junker a second set with snow's I would.
outllaw Posted December 9, 2012 Report Posted December 9, 2012 i just bought some t/a for my jeep agressive yes. but getting out of the way of inept drivers is my goal.folks gotta learn drive to the conditions.i will not drive or go out during peak hours. i have been hit so many times its a wonder i get behind the wheel.if you can drive in windsor ont rousch racing or penske can use your skills
G.mech Posted December 9, 2012 Report Posted December 9, 2012 I'm all in favour of MY government having NO SAY in what tires I choose to have on MY car. Give consideration to those that are able to choose when to drive or avoid the conditions. To those that may only drive a handful of kilometers a week. And to those that have a choice of vehicles to drive when the conditions are appropriate. Do I recommend snow tires? Absolutely, to those that have no choice but to drive in adverse conditions. (sub-zero/snow/ice) My wife's Elantra gets snows tomorrow and my Ram, Suburban and Volvo will go without. EXACTLY!! Amen to that brother!!!
BillM Posted December 9, 2012 Report Posted December 9, 2012 Im all for snow tires in the winter! I drive an all wheel drive vehicle, and still swear by dedicated snows. There is a HUGE difference!! S. This man knows what he's talking about.. Even the cheapest winters are better then the best all seasons when the snow hits.
glen Posted December 9, 2012 Report Posted December 9, 2012 If you do low KM per year (12k or less) the Hankook optimo 4S are good. They are winter rated but you can drive on them year round. No tire changing and no getting caught without the winter tires on.
irishfield Posted December 9, 2012 Report Posted December 9, 2012 (edited) Not sure what I'm missing guys, but it probably wouldn't be the first time. I get nailed with more snow than most here do, sitting on the high ridge (180 feet) above wide open Georgian Bay and the first to "catch a cloud" and get dumped on with snow. We can have mornings with a foot to 18" of snow, when even Midland has barely received a dusting. I run the all terains that come on the truck from the mfg. Have had a total of 7 or 8 different sets and vehicles since being on this property, with a 1400 foot laneway to get to the house from the generally unplowed concession road. I've never been stuck..... I even plow said laneway with a 7'6 blade and a truck with all terrains on it! Now with a lighter car... my Tbird SC wouldn't move with regular tires on it, it received a set of Mud and Snows every fall. Son same deal with his light little Ford Focus. ... and what Brian said! We're getting close to communism as it is, we don't need more shoved down our throats. Can't believe Quebec bent over so quick on the issue. Edited December 9, 2012 by irishfield
darsky Posted December 10, 2012 Author Report Posted December 10, 2012 Not sure what I'm missing guys, but it probably wouldn't be the first time. I get nailed with more snow than most here do, sitting on the high ridge (180 feet) above wide open Georgian Bay and the first to "catch a cloud" and get dumped on with snow. We can have mornings with a foot to 18" of snow, when even Midland has barely received a dusting. I run the all terains that come on the truck from the mfg. Have had a total of 7 or 8 different sets and vehicles since being on this property, with a 1400 foot laneway to get to the house from the generally unplowed concession road. I've never been stuck..... I even plow said laneway with a 7'6 blade and a truck with all terrains on it! Now with a lighter car... my Tbird SC wouldn't move with regular tires on it, it received a set of Mud and Snows every fall. Son same deal with his light little Ford Focus. ... and what Brian said! We're getting close to communism as it is, we don't need more shoved down our throats. Can't believe Quebec bent over so quick on the issue. It's been only 2 years since the law was implemented and the difference in accident #'s have been staggering. That's good enough for me. Quebec implemented the " no holding the cell phone in the car " law and Ontario followed suit. Just wait-it'll come.
dhickey Posted December 10, 2012 Report Posted December 10, 2012 I look at it this way. The average price for winter tires is about 800 insalled on a car 1200 on a truck. 2 sets of tires should last about 6 yrs for winter 4-5 for all season tires. During the winter it only takes 1 trip into the ditch to justify the cost of snow tires. Lost time from work 2-4 bills/towing150-300 bills not to mention repair cost 4-1000 depending on deductable. cost min 750 bills Winter tires work and save you money. Not to mention you probably wont end up in the ditch if you have snows...
irishfield Posted December 10, 2012 Report Posted December 10, 2012 (edited) No arguement Darsky... just speaking out loud. Never been in a ditch in my life.. have always got home.. motored up to Tremblant from Montreal thru 16" of snow that hadn't been plowed. Use to do the back way in from Hull on that windy road.. (yah I know.. just jinxed myself).. but maybe growing up in the Ottawa Valley and always making it to ski hills BEFORE the roads were plowed or the lifts had even been started taught me how to drive in the winter! (and that was with cars that my old man didn't even know what an "all season" tire was!) Edited December 10, 2012 by irishfield
cram Posted December 10, 2012 Report Posted December 10, 2012 Dedicated snows are definitely better but the gov has no business mandating them.
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