Snow tires in July

dajonga · #1 (**permalink**) 07-22-2009, 08:50 AM

A bit early to talk about snows, I know. Forgive me.

I bought these from fitfreaker TurnOnTrance yesterday. He even delivered them to my office (thanks brother!)...

Base Model Fit Steels with 2 Bridgestone Blizzacks WS-50 (snows) and 2 Bridgestone INSIGNA (all-season) 175/65R14. Both tires are pracitcally new.

So the question is, when November rolls around, where should I put the snow tires, front or back? My local tire guy always says to put the tire with the best traction on the rear to prevent the tail end from sliding out in turns. This would seem to make sense. But, the snows on front also make sense on a front wheel drive.

Thanks.

Fitguy07 · #2 (**permalink**) 07-22-2009, 10:08 AM

Always put your best tires to the drivetrain side. FWD, put them in front, RWD, put them in the back.

OglinTatas · #3 (**permalink**) 07-22-2009, 12:22 PM

Always use 4 matched tires. You need to buy two more Blizzaks by November.

Fitguy07 · #4 (**permalink**) 07-22-2009, 12:50 PM

You don't always have to use 4 matching tires. Just don't put different treads on the same axis.

kenchan · #5 (**permalink**) 07-22-2009, 03:19 PM

rule of thumb is to put the better traction tires on the rear despite FF/AWD/MR/FR/RR. why? cause it will prevent spin outs.

i agree that you should run 4 snows instead of in pairs. snow tires have like 10x the trip of a/s tires in deeper snow. we ran W60's on my GE last winter. was like driving an AWD car. unbelievable grip.

will run W60's on my GD this winter for sure.

JCLW · #6 (**permalink**) 07-25-2009, 09:48 PM

Control and braking are always more important then acceleration. If you only have two snow tires they should go on the rear.

As previously mentioned, you will be best off picking up two more WS-50s before winter rolls around.

Texas Coyote · #7 (**permalink**) 07-25-2009, 09:59 PM

I'm glad I don't have to worry about snow here.... Ice storms are a bitch though but far and few between.

wdb · #8 (**permalink**) 07-25-2009, 10:29 PM

Since you care enough about traction, control and safety to go the trouble of buying winter wheels and tires, do the job right and get two more WS-50's. Anything else is a potentially dangerous compromise.

dajonga · #9 (**permalink**) 07-27-2009, 10:41 PM

Please enlighten me. Why would 2 snows on the rear and 2 all seasons in the front present any safety issues? Traction is traction. I can see an AWD car wanting similar treads, but with only 2 wheels under power, I can think on no reason why mixing tire types would be bad.
Thanks.

polaski · #10 (**permalink**) 07-27-2009, 11:09 PM

What a friend of mine said- put the good ones on front, then he spun out 3 times in an hour. Oops. They weren't even snow tires.

Forget acceleration. No one who drives a fit cares about that, LOL. It's the braking and cornering stability. If they're not the same front and rear, most especially if front traction is greater than the rear for any reason, it'll feel like you coated the rear tires in oil. The car WILL repeat WILL resist any attempt to take away its momentum, and if that means swinging around the front tires to do so, it'll do it before you can start screaming obscenities.

If the rears have the good tires and the front the all-seasons, well you won't spin out but you'll have to slow down to about 2 mph to do a turn on any kind of ice over 10 deg F, and you'll still get stuck all the time anyway. Besides, any time you get on the brakes, the car will go STRAIGHT in the direction of whatever is DOWNHILL, period. There will be so much traction in back that any steering effort will be completely negated, as if you tied a cable to the back of the car pulling against something to make it stop.

Get two more or don't run them at all. Michigan lake-effect wisdom.

Type 100 · #11 (**permalink**) 07-27-2009, 11:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dajonga

Please enlighten me. Why would 2 snows on the rear and 2 all seasons in the front present any safety issues? Traction is traction. I can see an AWD car wanting similar treads, but with only 2 wheels under power, I can think on no reason why mixing tire types would be bad.
Thanks.

Your answer is summed up in one word: UNDERSTEER.

Make that two words: SEVERE UNDERSTEER.

True, you put the better tires at the back to prevent oversteer, but in snow and ice you need all the grip you can get. If your front end has no grip you can't turn and you just tend to go straight. Granted, this is safer than having the back end outrun the front, but you still don't have a very usable car.

It's a good thing you asked this early. Pony up the extra moolah for the front W60s so you're ready come November.

wdb · #12 (**permalink**) 07-28-2009, 10:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dajonga

Please enlighten me.

Winter Tech - Winter Tire FAQs

http://www.tirerack.com/winter/tech/...urrentpage=120

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/...ay.jsp?ttid=34

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ObVLNHk-i4

dajonga · #13 (**permalink**) 07-28-2009, 11:25 PM

I appreciate the information. Now I just need to decide if I buy 2 snows or 2 all season tires. The winters in NJ are not that bad and I have never used snow tires before. Is a set of 4 snow tires a bad idear for NJ roads that are snow and ice free 90% of the time?
btw...Today I passed 36,000 miles, so I am done with the warranty game (not that I had any issues). I have owned the fit for 55 weeks. The new job has me driving 1000 to 1200 miles per week. I am planning on a least one set of tires per year, which will give me a chance to try different tire types.
Thanks again.

kenchan · #14 (**permalink**) 07-29-2009, 02:04 PM

if you dont get deep snow you might as well just run the 2 a/s's up front and 2 snows in the rear. (say you only get accumulated 1" at most).

where im at we can get substantial snow 3" + accumulation at times so all 4 snows will be most ideal.

JCLW · #15 (**permalink**) 07-29-2009, 06:09 PM

Winter/snow tires are also made using a different rubber compound. All Season tires will become hard at temperatures below freezing, and traction will decrease even on dry pavement.

polaski · #16 (**permalink**) 07-29-2009, 06:35 PM

Correct. Below about -10F they're near useless. However when temperatures fall between about -10F and +10F, all-seasons do have some usable grip on ice. It's cold enough the the pressure of the car doesn't cause a micro-layer of water on its surface, which is what makes ice so darn slippery in the first place.

Since road salt doesn't work below about +20F, the most dangerous temperature range for all season tires on main roads is +10F to +20F, and anything +10F to +32F for unsalted roads. Snow traction follows the same temp range too. Just a little advice for those who haven't lived in a snowbelt very long.