Hi, I did some searching on here about snow tires, but was curious if anyone had any insight into how loud they are? Living in Denver, I will be on dry pavement most of the time, the tires are for my mountain excursion, but will be on the car until start of April. I am thinking of mastercraft glacier grip II with studs 190/60/15 for my base model fit. The roads are usually plowed, so it is more of an ice packed snow conditions. Thanks for any insight, BR

 

brand new, they will drive you nuts if you don't have music on. last winter, my studs were so loud. this winter i don't really notice them, or i'm not paying attention to them. either way....worth it for me tho, i need/want studs in the winter, so i deal with it. i always crank my music. the fit is known for not being a very quiet car. to me, the sound is worth it, for when the snow is flyin. goodluck!

 

How often do you do the mountain excursions? Have you considered a set of good snow tires and putting on tire chains only when you need them? I lived in denver for a while with a different car at the time. I used a set of winter tires because I went skiing a lot. That was good enough for me.

 

Thanks, I am in the mountains pretty much a day or two every week. I agree that snow tires would work, I was thinking since the car is so light, the extra stopping when the passes are icy might be beneficial. BR

 

If your concern is stopping distance, the FIT, being a lighter car, is much easier to stop, even with stud less snow compared to a bigger mass car, SUV etc...previous suggestions using snow tires with occasional chains may suffice. Save you from driving on studded tires and feel like driving a tank for the first little while.

If I were you, I would also research if the mountain passes you have to travel are often notorious for accidents caused by icy surfaces.. if so, are those accident involved vehicles you know off fitted with snow tires or studded tires?

 

When I first drove my car after putting in on the studs in October I seriously thought something was wrong. Honda did very little to dampen road and tire noise in this car. I had to turn the speed-sensitive volume control on the stereo to High to overcome the additional noise. (I have Nokian studded tires.)

It's definitely loud. Our studs go on in October and don't come off until April (May, by law). I suspect I'll think the Fit turned into a Lexus when the All Season tires go back on. My ears will thank me.

 

Narrower tires will give you better traction in snow. They dig in better to reach to surface as opposed to floating on top of the snow. Stick with the stock 175/65 size.

Look into top quality "studless" winter tires and you should be able to go anywhere that's sane.