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4-Wheel Drive or Snow Tires?
- Thread starter TheHitman
- Start date
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- tires for winter
Thanks for the suggestions. I will look into getting possibly some snows the following winter. I'll drive the stock tires for the winter and then the following fall will look into snow tires but only if I can get my tire place to store them either for free or a nominal charge. If not then it's off to the next best thing. Some sort of hybrid similar to my Duratracs. We all know that snows in the winter are best. However, I am glad there are amazing choices if proper snows aren't an option.
Just stick the tires in your living room, two high, with a wide board over them and call it a coffee table.
Just stick the tires in your living room, two high, with a wide board over them and call it a coffee table.
I'm planning on running the Rotiivas year around. They are surprisingly quiet on the road. I get more wind noise than tire noise at 75 mph. I'm hoping they wear well during the summer and can handle some light duty offroad. I'll report back if I run into any issues.
After talking with someone on here I learned that there are places that store snows for you and it's relatively nominal. As long as I have my Wrangler I'll keep my Duratracs on all year. However, when I get my Crosstrek I'll definitely look into snows. My SO is due for new tires this year and now that we found this place he's thinking about getting snow tires instead in the fall. It's good to have options
After talking with someone on here I learned that there are places that store snows for you and it's relatively nominal. As long as I have my Wrangler I'll keep my Duratracs on all year. However, when I get my Crosstrek I'll definitely look into snows. My SO is due for new tires this year and now that we found this place he's thinking about getting snow tires instead in the fall. It's good to have options
It's not exactly like storing a bus sized RV...
A stack of tires four high can fit almost anywhere. Or are actually living out of your Wrangler?
True but we live in a small duplex in Fairfield County, CT where my backyard is bigger than my living room, no garage. We maintain a small offsite climate controlled storage unit where we keep things in off season i.e. skis in the summer, camping stuff in the winter.
Until we have a garage, a shed in the backyard or a friend with some garage space to lend us we have no choice but to seek the storage services at the tire place. Fortunately it's not terribly expensive and the $$ includes swapping out the tires twice a year and storage in the off season (summers in winter and vice versa).
Until we have a garage, a shed in the backyard or a friend with some garage space to lend us we have no choice but to seek the storage services at the tire place. Fortunately it's not terribly expensive and the $$ includes swapping out the tires twice a year and storage in the off season (summers in winter and vice versa).
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Trust me when I say I want to move. I hate Fairfield County and most of the people in it. I know we can get much more bang for our buck if we got out from under the Fairfield curtain. Plus if we had a garage we wouldn't need the storage unit. My SO has a couple more years in this job before his position is phased out so we are kind of stuck. In the meantime, I have a cushy gig in Greenwich so I'm hanging out here for as long as they'll have me. If we didn't move to Vermont I'd be content living up your way. We are lucky to have a cool landlord with cheap rent which gives us weekend play money.
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I parked next to a Macan Turbo sporting X-ice Xi3's today. It's been in the 90's here this week.
I still have my Hakka's on my truck, but it's just sitting. Too busy to change another set of tires. I'll get around to it before I drive it much.
Got me thinking how snow tires are a pain in the butt.
In spite of the hassle, I'll still always have them on my vehicles. They are very much worth every bit of the trouble.
I still have my Hakka's on my truck, but it's just sitting. Too busy to change another set of tires. I'll get around to it before I drive it much.
Got me thinking how snow tires are a pain in the butt.
In spite of the hassle, I'll still always have them on my vehicles. They are very much worth every bit of the trouble.
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Come October you will forget about the hassle
But yes, been hot for weeks it seems. Tire melting hot.
You have no choice in Calif. They check at chain control and you must have AWD or 4x4
else you must put on chains. Absurd (Ive never had to engage AWD -so 2WD with snow tires
should be fine but will not pass)
else you must put on chains. Absurd (Ive never had to engage AWD -so 2WD with snow tires
should be fine but will not pass)
I've never understood this thinking? You've got 4WD and drive around in the snow with it in 2WD because it is 'good enough'?
Why?
Why not? It'll stop as fast. And most of the older 4WD vehicles were designed to run in 2WD mode until needed. Certainly be more fuel efficient too.
I've never understood this thinking? You've got 4WD and drive around in the snow with it in 2WD because it is 'good enough'?
Why?
First, because intentional, controlled drifting is fun.
Second, because it's far more pleasant to have the ass end start stepping out at 30 MPH than it is to have the whole truck sideways at 45. I'm on my third true 4WD vehicle, and I leave the selector in 2WD until either I need to do something with more precision (e.g. backing a sled trailer uphill into my driveway) or the speed I can maintain in 2WD gets low enough that I'm comfortable dealing with a four-wheel slide. I'm not convinced I have the skillset to truly maximize traction on all four wheels at once (and I definitely don't have the practice).
Finally, in patchy or grippy snow, where you're back and forth between slippery and not-slippery conditions, a true 4WD system (not an AWD or 4-auto type system) can bind up on the non-slippery segments, should any of them happen to involve turning.
On the subject of DuraTrecs and other snowflake-rated AT tires versus dedicated winter tires, I really wish someone (magazine/website/etc) would do an up-to-date comparison of a bunch of them, specifically in the LT range. I've got off-brand AT tires (Radar Renegade AT5s) that are snowflake-rated and terrifying on packed snow and ice, but they work pretty well in deeper and softer snow. I don't find it hard to believe that other AT tires could be better in winter conditions, but I'm happy enough with the Nokian LT2s as a dedicated winter tire.
Also, if you think storing winter tires for a Crosstrek is bad, try storing winter tires for a full-size pickup. I've almost always swapped wheels and tires for winter, but LT tires on 18" truck wheels are a different ballgame than P-metric tires on car rims.
On the subject of chains/cables, make sure your vehicle has clearance for them. You'll probably need low-clearance devices and even then they may not be recommended by the vehicle manufacturer on certain tire sizes. If you do end up driving in places where you might be made to install them, practice at home on a nice day in a dry, clean driveway. It will make things go faster (but not fast) when you're laying on your back in three inches of nasty slush trying to reach the last connection point.
Also, if you think storing winter tires for a Crosstrek is bad, try storing winter tires for a full-size pickup. I've almost always swapped wheels and tires for winter, but LT tires on 18" truck wheels are a different ballgame than P-metric tires on car rims.
On the subject of chains/cables, make sure your vehicle has clearance for them. You'll probably need low-clearance devices and even then they may not be recommended by the vehicle manufacturer on certain tire sizes. If you do end up driving in places where you might be made to install them, practice at home on a nice day in a dry, clean driveway. It will make things go faster (but not fast) when you're laying on your back in three inches of nasty slush trying to reach the last connection point.
That would be awesome if a magazine would do a comparison. I bought my duratracs upon recommendation from a fellow jeep driving coworker at my last job and I thank him every time I drive in snow with these things. I keep it in 2 wheel much of the time as my traction control is pretty awesome. However, whenever it's snowing and the ground is covered I put it in 4x4. I have driven in light snow and heavy snow and these tires in conjunction with my wrangler are nothing short of outstanding. I'm a careful driver but feel very confident with my jeep/duratrac combination. I've never slid, wound up in a ditch, been sideways and am one of the few in my office whenever there's a snow storm. Duratracs are special as far as I'm concerned. I'm not remotely interested in arguing that they are as good as snow tires because snow tires are superior. However, as far as I go and my Jeep goes they are stellar for me. If I were keeping my jeep and had the snow tire storage option I would still get duratracs. What was terrifying on my jeep was the stock tires that were on the thing when I first got it, that was an ugly winter. Got the duratracs the following fall and never looked back. I know there's lots of good tires out there that people are happy with so glad there are choices. I know there are other like tires so it would be cool if a magazine or an online place like tire rack would do a write up of like tires.
I will happily store winter tires for my crosstrek but imagine it could be a lot worse if I had a truck with full sized tires. I'm looking forward to the many journey's I'll have with my snow tires on my crosstrek. I think september will be the happy month for that.
Installing chains doesn't sound like much fun to me. I had different 4 wheel drive vehicles when I lived in so cal and with my snowflake rated tires and the 4x4 I carried chains because it was the law but I never, ever had to put them on heading to big bear or mammoth. I don't currently own chains but then again I'm just driving to the mountains in new england and eastern canada so not dealing with the gnarly mountain passes out west.
My SO needs tires so will likely get some snows for his AWD Rogue now that we have the storage option. He's got some kind of mischelin tires on there now that are better than the stock tires but still not amazing. We had a harrowing drive from Killington to Mount Snow last winter in his car and I would have much preferred to have been in my Jeep.
I will happily store winter tires for my crosstrek but imagine it could be a lot worse if I had a truck with full sized tires. I'm looking forward to the many journey's I'll have with my snow tires on my crosstrek. I think september will be the happy month for that.
Installing chains doesn't sound like much fun to me. I had different 4 wheel drive vehicles when I lived in so cal and with my snowflake rated tires and the 4x4 I carried chains because it was the law but I never, ever had to put them on heading to big bear or mammoth. I don't currently own chains but then again I'm just driving to the mountains in new england and eastern canada so not dealing with the gnarly mountain passes out west.
My SO needs tires so will likely get some snows for his AWD Rogue now that we have the storage option. He's got some kind of mischelin tires on there now that are better than the stock tires but still not amazing. We had a harrowing drive from Killington to Mount Snow last winter in his car and I would have much preferred to have been in my Jeep.
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I've never understood this thinking? You've got 4WD and drive around in the snow with it in 2WD because it is 'good enough'?
Why?
Many are also part time 4WD which can be detrimental if used on pavement.
Saves gas, and wear on the 4x4 system. Plus it lets you know how slippery things are before you're in a turn with too much speed.I've never understood this thinking? You've got 4WD and drive around in the snow with it in 2WD because it is 'good enough'?
Why?