New tires... Two sets or one?

[Blindeye_03]

I just moved to Northern Kentucky from Atlanta and have heard winters here are pretty mild. The roads here also suck where I am, there are lots of potholes and “mountainous/curvy” roads that are cracked over where I live. Having said that I was shopping for wheels/tires for winter and colder weather use because my stock tires are getting a little worn and honestly suck in the rain – with their tread rating, I don’t know if I want to be on these when it gets colder than 40 degrees out.

Would it be recommended to have two sets of tires and wheels here? I would be going with a 16” wheel so I could get a slightly larger sidewall tire due to the roads and my past experience with my FoST and blowing tires left and right in the year I owned it. I don’t want to deal with that again..

This will probably be subjective but my style of driving is slightly aggressive but for the most part I just commute to and from work on the twisty roads instead of the highway.

I was looking at Continental Extreme Contact DWS 06 or Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3 for use in the colder months and Firestone Firehawk Indy 500 tires for summer/warm weather use. Comparing the Michelin and the Firestone tires they are fairly similar, couldn’t I just get away with the Continentals or Michelins all year?

 

[Bizzareo]

Winter tires are always worth it in cold regions. But it depends on how cold it gets there. Does it drop below 5c? Does it snow/ice/freezing rain a lot?

 

[Blindeye_03]

Winter tires are always worth it in cold regions. But it depends on how cold it gets there. Does it drop below 5c? Does it snow/ice/freezing rain a lot?

I dont think so? This will be my first winter here.. In Atlanta it would stay under 4-5c and sometimes dip down below 0c so I assume its like that with not much snow or ice. Its weather you dont want to have summer tires for, and I think I could get by with some good all seasons instead of snow tires.

 

[CanadianGuy]

Get two tires but you can probably get away with all seasons for "winter". Still better in cold than summer. Could even drop to 15" for winter to not wreck the rims taking and putting tyres one every year. 15" drift sparco for example are cheap.

 

[Blindeye_03]

I had my eyes on the Sparco Terra, I forget what size 15" tire I was looking at but for the 16" and some all seasons I was going with 205/45/16 or 205/50/16. The reviews on the Continental tire I mentioned is rated better in the wet and dry compared to our stock tires, so thats why I was wondering if that would be a good call to just get the one set or go for a different summer tire for the hotter months. I was going to also get a 16" wheel for that too since the roads here are the way they are (205/45/16 for those).

 

[Waterfan]

...couldn’t I just get away with the Continentals or Michelins all year?

Probably would be completely OK.

 

[Kazz]

Your issue is ice more than snow, I'd guess. I'm a devout believer in separate wheel and tire sets for winter vs. summer. I'm on Michelin X-Ice3s and they've been a blast when I've pushed them a bit. LOL Interestingly, it made the ride a bit bouncier as opposed to the harsh of the shorter & stiffer sidewall of the OEMs. They're also 15s, FWIW. I pretty much do all my shopping at The Tire Rack and strongly recommend them. They're even happy just to talk and help you decide even if it doesn't end up in an order.

Regardless, do a dedicated winter setup. And don't look back!

 

[thePete]

^ what he said.

xIce 3s, ipikes, or hakkapelittas. I'd lean towards the xIce or the hakkas, since you'll have more ice than snow. I run a 195/55r15 iPike on a 15x8, personally.

The only people who don't think you need a set of 4 winters below 7*C haven't driven on them. Especially on a dedicated summer compound, the difference is orders of magnitude. Winters only on the drive axle is just asking for problems too.

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[Waterfan]

^ what he said.

xIce 3s, ipikes, or hakkapelittas. I'd lean towards the xIce or the hakkas, since you'll have more ice than snow. I run a 195/55r15 iPike on a 15x8, personally.

The only people who don't think you need a set of 4 winters below 7*C haven't driven on them. Especially on a dedicated summer compound, the difference is orders of magnitude. Winters only on the drive axle is just asking for problems too.

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+1 on temperature being as much or more of an issue for summer tires as snow or ice.

In my limited experience summer tires start losing grip at less than 50degF. Under 45degF (~7degC), even with running ~5-10psi lower pressures they take a few minutes to warm up "enough". Grip gets far worse the colder it gets.

 

[Blindeye_03]

Again I have no idea what winters are like here... When I came here for my interview back in the middle of March this year, it was pretty damn cold with some flurries that werent sticking to the pavement.

A major concern I have IS ice and maybe some snow.. Due to the type of work that I do I dont get the option of staying home during inclement weather. Having said that, what are the thoughts on the following tires:

https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tire...ewall=Blackwall&partnum=955HR5XI3XL&tab=Sizes

My concern would be tread life.. Could I realistically drive on these from November to the end of March and be able to use them for multiple seasons? I might drive 4000 miles at most during that time.. I am from Atlanta so I didnt really have to ever deal with these decisions prior to now.

 

[thePete]

Yes. Those are a good choice.

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[Blindeye_03]

Any elaboration on the tread life of those tires?

 

[FiSTofGlory]

I live in Central Indiana and our weather is probably a little worse than northern Kentucky. I've lived here my entire life and never have had snow tires. It would probably had been nice on some of my other vehicles, but I've never had any major issues using all seasons. If you have the money I would say to go for it. I was just considering this. I purchased my car in January and didn't research the tires. The salesman told me that they didn't put the summer tires on it because of complaints and the car did pretty good even in the snow. I just purchased 16" rims and 205/45/16 Falken Ziex ZE950. I'm going to see how they do this winter. If it's anything like my 2014 Focus SE was it will provide plenty of grip in the snow.

 

[Joker328]

Again I have no idea what winters are like here... When I came here for my interview back in the middle of March this year, it was pretty damn cold with some flurries that werent sticking to the pavement.

A major concern I have IS ice and maybe some snow.. Due to the type of work that I do I dont get the option of staying home during inclement weather. Having said that, what are the thoughts on the following tires:

https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tire...ewall=Blackwall&partnum=955HR5XI3XL&tab=Sizes

My concern would be tread life.. Could I realistically drive on these from November to the end of March and be able to use them for multiple seasons? I might drive 4000 miles at most during that time.. I am from Atlanta so I didnt really have to ever deal with these decisions prior to now.

I have those exact tires and have used them for a couple of winters now with minimal wear. They definitely don't have the dry/wet traction or responsiveness of the stock tires (as expected), but they are good on snow and are very quiet and comfortable.

 

[thePete]

You should get 2 or 3 seasons out of them if you don't leave them on too long in the spring. I've run them and got 3 winters out of them, they still had life but I have high expectations of my tires and bought replacements at that time. That was in Canada, so our temperatures are a bit colder. Given how little you expect to drive on them, I figure you'd get 3 or 4 seasons at best.

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[tiggerbren]

Check out a YouTube video that compares stopping distances of summer vs winter tires. I saw one recently that really surprised me. Even if it's just cold out, winter tires win.

I went my first winter in the FiST on summer tires and always had to change my driving for cold wet weather.

If you have a convenient place to store a set of winter tires on dedicated rims then it might be worth it.

 

[Blindeye_03]

Thanks for the replies, I have narrowed it down to the Michelin X-Ice Xi3 or General Altimax Arctic. Both are 195/55-15.

Now I just have to decide if I want to shell out the extra money for bronze Sparco Terra wheels or settle on steelies...

Does speed rating affect how stiff the sidewalls are on a tire?

 

[thePete]

I'd vote for the xIce if you're more likely to see ice and cold, the Altimax style tread does well in slush and deep snow.

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[Blindeye_03]

Thanks for the suggestions.. I am about to pull the trigger on a set of 15" Sparco Terra wheels and some michelin xice tires unless a crazy good deal pops up in the classifieds this week. Question: Do most people get TPMS for their second set of winter/track wheels and tires?