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Snow Tires w/ Traction Control?

5K views 18 replies 12 participants last post by  tryin 
#1 ·
I was just curious how many of you with traction control are using dedicated snow tires as well?

As we approach the winter, I'm debating on whether or not to get a set of snow tires for my car. Obviously it will be better with them but I'm just wondering if it will be that much better to justify the cost. BTW, my OEM tires are the Michelins.

On a side note, I asked my neighbor whose wife drives an '02 Accord V6 and they have not put snow tires on it in 3 winters. In fact, his exact quote was "If she can drive without them, anyone can." :lmao:
 
#2 ·
Snow tires definately give you a traction advantage.. When we got buried in 3 feet of snow overnight last winter, I was able to plow out of my parking space with no problems, but my friend's Matrix with all-seasons were slipping and sliding... When I went on a ski trip, the cabin we rented had a medium, short slope covered in snow and every car had problems trying to get up the slope (all of them with all-season tires). My car went up without slipping at all..

Traction control only lets you use whatever traction there is available to get you moving. If your tires have no traction, having TCS isn't going to do much. Having ABS is the same thing. It doesn't help you stop, it helps you from getting out of control.
 
#5 ·
It all depends on where you drive when the weather is bad. Your profile says you live in CT. That in and of itself doesn't necessarily mean you need snows with traction control. But if you travel to ski country or in other hilly terrain that gets snow most of the winter, dedicated snow tires are the only way to go, and traction control just gives you that much more of an advantage.

Let's face it - having traction control kick in when your tires won't dig in the snow won't make much difference than without the TCS - I think that Icy inclines are about the only time that TCS will improve a situation without snows, since then you're really talking about rubber grip on something slippery, and slower is better.....

andy (32 year driving veteran from NH.....)
 
#7 ·
Your car's performance is only as good as the couple of square inches of rubber that connects you to the ground. This is true whether you're talking a grippy tread to enhance dry performance or a rubber compound that's specifically designed to work in colder temps. All seasons are good compromises but they're just that - a compromise.

Running snow tires with traction control and even AWD will only increase your car's ability to transport you safely and keep you out of trouble. If your tires are not digging through the snow or able to claw their way over an icey road, 4 driven wheels or traction control won't be much help. But couple them with snow tires and you'll be amazed at how you can get through the white stuff. I run 4 studded snows on my RT4WD wagon. I also run Nokia Hakka 2s on my Accord. The difference in their winter performance is nothing short of amazing. The Wagon will outperform the Accord in the winter in braking, cornering, and even acceleration - because it's better equipment. I didn't get studs on the Accord's snows because I use it for mostly highway travel and wanted a quieter ride.
 
#8 ·
Not to mention that TCS only works during acceleration. ABS works during braking. You can't break the laws of physics. If you got slippery tires, even the best electronic gizmos in your car aren't going to save you.

BTW, you get more traction if your tires aren't slipping. That's why there are TCS and ABS. Besides better control, they also offer better traction that an spinning or locked wheel! :)
 
#10 ·
SSMV6 said:
BTW, you get more traction if your tires aren't slipping. That's why there are TCS and ABS. Besides better control, they also offer better traction that an spinning or locked wheel! :)
Not in all cases. Serious off-roaders lock wheels intermittently to help them stop in shorter distances on loose surfaces. I don't know if the same is true for braking in snow, but I'm pretty sure that in certain cases you will get better acceleration if you can let your tires slip a little.
 
#11 ·
I can tell from expereince that my 98 accord was GOD awful in the snow with all seasons. I called her my "Sit-N-Spin". When I flipped over to 4 snows 2 years ago, made all the difference in the world. (that was the year was got 2 blizzards in 2 weeks). Car went from sliding and spinning all the time to a tank, went anywhere in the snow without a spin at all.

Not sure on my new one, but I can tell you I have 4 Bridgestone Blizzaks on order from Tirerack.com. I have to agree with earlier comments, you can have all enginers in the world design a traction and braking system in your car, it don't mean squat if your 4 tires have bad traction..........
 
#12 ·
I'll be getting snow tires this year for the first time, which guarantees that it will never snow in Ohio this winter.

I wanted to ask people what their experiences are buying them...I want to get one of the Tire Rack packages - has anyone done this before? If so, how simple is the process of having them shipped to a local installer?

I'm wanting to go with an installer, because when I told my other half I was getting them shipped, the reaction was like I was ready for the nuthouse - "Tires in the mail? WTF?"

Any input appreciated.
 
#13 ·
You should have them shipped to your house... It's a simple change... If you got the wheel/tire combo and asked Tire Rack to mount and balance them for you (why wouldn't you?? :dunno: ), all you got to do is jack up a corner, remove the OEM wheel, replace with the snow tire, torque to 76 ft-lbs, repeat for the other corners... Just got to make sure that the tires aren't directional. If they are directional, they'll have a big arrow pointing in the direction they're going to spin when you're moving forward. Shouldn't take longer than 15 minutes to do. :)

I ordered snow tires for my old car through Tire Rack and they even used stick on weights to balance them! Overall, I ordered from them 5 times and each time had a very positive experience. :thmsup:

Never had them drop shipped to an installer but I imagine you will get notified by the installer when it comes in and all you got to do is go there and pay the guy to install 4 wheels.
 
#14 ·
If shipping is pretty trouble free, I'll do that to cut out the middleman. Then I'll feign ignorance when they 'accidentally' get shipped to the house.
 
#15 ·
It's shipped by UPS or FedEx, so if you can receive those packages fine normally, then the wheels won't be any different... The only thing is, you're going to get them shipped in 4 different "packages", that's all.
 
#16 ·
Your going to be much happier if you take care of this one on your own! Don't screw with the middleman, only another link to someone to screw up your car. This is as simple as it gets, take care of it yourself.

I would love to get snows too. I actually might get a set for my civic and let the wife drive it all winter.
 
#17 ·
Cool, thanks for the info....my in-laws south of Pittsburgh got 5 inches of snow last night. Yes, 5. Place your orders asap!
 
#18 ·
yeah, and the foothills also got 3-6, along with the mtns 6-12+ inches......
 
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