You don't necessarily need snow tires; especially if you're mostly in the Bay Area and the majority of your tire's miles is going to not be in snow. 5-6 trips a season isn't that many to justify the winter tires degrading the rest of the non-snow usage in my opinion.
Also most of the time the roads are going to be clear unless you are storm chasing, because global warming.
If you feel you are in a sketchy situation and potentially losing control and you can trust yourself for this judgement call; what you really need to do is stop and take a breath weigh your risks; and throw on a good set of chains despite having AWD and despite caltrans waving you through. You need to be responsible for your own safety if it's that bad.
If you know you're going to be a skier, and you know you're having the same car/tiresize, it's better to spend say $150-$200 on a set of chains that have features to make them easier to put on and take off, shovel, salt/grit or other emergency tools versus winter tires that you know for 99.9% of your miles won't be in snow.
That being said, you can still bias your choosing of All Season tires that are better rated for light snow; even though they aren't snowflake or winter rated.
Also, why not just get a RX 350 or 450h AWD if you like the lexus?
I would say once you bump up your 6 trips more like to 10+ trips on a pre-determined schedule like ski team, then the winter tire option becomes more of a consideration.
Also most of the time the roads are going to be clear unless you are storm chasing, because global warming.
If you feel you are in a sketchy situation and potentially losing control and you can trust yourself for this judgement call; what you really need to do is stop and take a breath weigh your risks; and throw on a good set of chains despite having AWD and despite caltrans waving you through. You need to be responsible for your own safety if it's that bad.
If you know you're going to be a skier, and you know you're having the same car/tiresize, it's better to spend say $150-$200 on a set of chains that have features to make them easier to put on and take off, shovel, salt/grit or other emergency tools versus winter tires that you know for 99.9% of your miles won't be in snow.
That being said, you can still bias your choosing of All Season tires that are better rated for light snow; even though they aren't snowflake or winter rated.
Also, why not just get a RX 350 or 450h AWD if you like the lexus?
I would say once you bump up your 6 trips more like to 10+ trips on a pre-determined schedule like ski team, then the winter tire option becomes more of a consideration.
Last edited: