Our Fit needs a new set of tires. We live in the upper midwest and we do get moderate snow for several months of the year. I haven't had any real issues driving on the stock Firestones that came with that car, though I certainly don't love them for multiple reasons. The main problem we have had with our Fit and snow has been more issues of snow depth rather than traction. The Fit just doesn't have much clearance and risks getting hung up on the chassis if you're trying to, say, cross a place where a snowplow has left an 8" wall of snow. I noted to my wife that a few companies are bringing out "all-weather" (vs. all season) tires. For example, General now seems to sell an Altimax 365AW and it's Altimax RT43 isn't on most tire shop web sites anymore. General describes this as:

The AltiMAX™ 365 AW is a versatile all-weather touring tire for passenger cars and crossovers. Allowing drivers the freedom to drive on one set of tires year-round, this tire carries the 3-Peak Mountain Snowflake symbol for severe winter conditions.

Basically it appears to be RT43 but with a step towards making it more winter capable.

My wife says we should consider getting a proper set of winter tires, and a set of regular all-season. I'm thinking that if the snow is more than a few inches then no winter tires will help a Fit. It will just get stranded on a mound with the wheels spinning in free air. Something with a bit better traction when there's a only few inches of snow would make sense and maybe these meet those requirements without the hassle and expense of two sets of tires. I suspect the main penalty might be loss in fuel economy with a more grippy tire.

 

I use snow tires all winter long. They work really well on these cars. All seasons tires in the snow will just get you stuck with only 1 front wheel powered.

 

I don't have special snow tires. I live in Southern Michigan along Lake Michigan shores. No not on the lake. I don't have Chicago money to afford that. We get lake effect snow that sometimes really nails us. I've found that the Fit is the worst car I've owned for deep snow travel but otherwise, my regular tires have been fine by me.

That said, it can't hurt to have snow tires. I just don't see the benefit for myself. Too few days that I can't travel with this car for the cost of the tires/wheels/mounting costs.

 

Every tire is a compromise. If you live in a location with four seasons, you choose between a single tire that is poor to acceptable year round vs two sets of tires better optimized for cold vs warm driving conditions.

Proper winter tires are better in snow, but more importantly they're also better on ice, on cold wet roads, and on cold dry roads. The low Fit ground clearance is an issue for any tire, so not really relevant.

I do see small declines in my fuel efficiency in the winter, but I find it difficult to separate the effect of my winter tires from the associated cold and winter fuel formulations. I will trade a bit of fuel efficiency for better tire performance in winter conditions.

I use and recommend two sets of tires and rims so that you can swap them yourself. Obviously this is a larger initial expense, but if you consider that each pair of tires will last twice as long there's little difference in the long run. It is generally pretty easy to find used Honda Fit steel rims on Craigslist or Facebook marketplace. You can also find fancier alloy wheels on the used market. I wouldn't pay extra for new wheels to use in winter conditions. I have a set of late 1990s 14 inch Civic rims for my winter tires and they're pretty snazzy.

If you can only have one set of tires, the new all-weather tires are probably better than most all-season tires, but will still be compromised.

Tirerack.com has lots of good review and comparison information. They have also been responsive to e-mail questions I have submitted in the past, so if you have specific questions give them a try.

In the end, remember what they say: happy (and safe) wife, happy life.

 

Whoa, you must be my long lost twin brother separated from me at birth because that's exactly what I was about to write. Anyway I have a full set of studded winter tires which are on for 6 months of the year. We don't usually have a lot of big snowfalls here do it's slippery roads from ice and light snow cover that causes me the most problems. About 7 years ago after a major operation I wasn't able to get my winter tires on so I went for a drive on the highway with my all seasons (previous car, not the Fit). Slid all over the highway. Turned around and parked the car in the garage for the rest of the winter.. To me all seasons and (admittedly studded) winter tires is like night and day.

Yes tires can affect gas mileage, but the cold weather has a much greater effect and the colder it is the worse the gas mileage.

Yes I do wish the Fit clearance was greater for the odd heavy snow storm. On the plus side no one is going to slide under my car and steal my catalytic converter (a chronic problem here) when I'm surrounded by big SUVs with a foot of clearance that even the fattest thief can easily slide under and comfortable work on. I always smile when I park my little Fit next to all the big guys.

 

I leave my winters on all year long.
The car doesn't get driven enough to warrant doing seasonal tire changes.

 

You will get much better mileage driving the car around daily with all season tires on it. Snow tires are softer and will actually wear out faster as well.

 

Keep in mind that our friend is from Canada. Generally a bit cooler up there.
For me, I have a work place that allows me to use sick time if I can't drive in due to weather and I have a LOT of sick time saved up. Assuming that our offices are open in bad weather. So I can sit my happy self at home and ride out a day or two of bad weather. So when I pick tires, I'm looking to balance four things. Noise level, fuel economy, price and life span. Compromises must be made in all four to get what I want. The level and placement of compromise is dependent to my own wishes and don't apply to everyone. So is it worth getting snow tires? Not to me. Would I ride all year on them if I had them? No. For reasons.

For me, my all season tires do what I need all year long except for a day or three on average per year. That does not warrant the expense for me.

 

Agreed
Also, if I were to fill my tank at empty, given the current amount we use this car that would take me about 2 months.
Instead I choose to fill monthly when the tank is at 1/2, as it seems to keep the engine idling smoother...at least to me.

 

I lived in Canada for half my life, and snow is a big problem....so snow tires are a smart decision. But I now live in the mountains of New Mexico. We do get snow in winter, but it is normally gone by 10:00 a.m.
the next day due to sunshine. No-one here uses snow tires, just all-weather quality tires. Those people who are nervous about driving in a bit of snow, now buy all wheel drive vehicles.

But I find the Honda Fit does very well in a bit of snow, as long as you keep good tires with a lot of tread.

 

All wheel drive may help you get going, but it doesn't do anything for turning or stopping. Those tasks rely on your tires and your driving technique.

In winter driving conditions I will take a front or rear wheel drive vehicle with proper winter tires over any all wheel drive vehicle with all season tires. I highlighted "winter" tires in the previous sentence because many folks call them snow tires and assume or imply that they're only for snow. Soft compound, heavily siped winter tires are better than all seasons in all winter driving conditions: snow, ice (if you see frequent ice you may want studded winter tires if they're legal in your area), cold and wet, cold and dry.

I don't trust any other driver on the road to be rational or predictable, especially in bad weather, so I want my Fit (and especially my wife's Nissan Leaf) to have every safety advantage possible including winter tires from roughly Thanksgiving to the end of March or April.

If you're happy with all season or the newer "all weather" tires that's fine, but recognize that you are sacrificing grip and safety in winter driving conditions. Your life, your choice.

 

Snow tires make a huge difference in icy and deep snow traction and stability. Stability is important when your car is light and easily caught by wind, like the GK chassis.

 

Most if not all of these things are true. When I was in the Army, we used to say, get stuck in 2WD and get out in 4WD. While it is true that AWD and 4WD can get you up and moving faster, your AWD or 4WD still only has 4 tires to stop just like my Fit. So yeah, I agree with a lot of things said here. They just don't fully come in to play for me based on the weather and need. To the OP, make your choice based on your need knowing full well that snow tires can be better in a winter climate.