Second set of wheels for snow tires and TPMS Sensors

Have people become so dependant on gadgets and other electrical gizmos that they cannot look at their tyres as they walk to their car and see if it's missing air? If you do miss that, you would immediately notice when driving that there's something up

If it was me, I'd forget about the tpms on the winter steelies and save them for the summers, must less work and expense all round

 

I'm not opposed to tire pressure monitoring. It's great: no amount of conventional vigilance can protect you when you catch a decent sized nail or bolt. Your tire can be fine when you set out, flat in a few kms.

But with my skill set and the costs, I didn't take the plunge with our extra snow tires: just seemed like a tar baby I didn't want to take on.

 

I suppose Toyota wanted to make it hard for us so that some people just give up and pay the dealer twice a year to do everything

 

No. Radial tires could be 20-30% deflated and show no outwardly visible signs of something being wrong.

By the time you're able to actually see a tire is deflated, you're usually below 25 psi, long after you've affected fuel economy, tire wear, handling, and safety by running without enough pressure.

 

Well, it's approaching time to start thinking about those winter tires...

I'm still unemployed though. Part of me is just tempted to tell the insurance company I will not be getting winter tires after all, shove it in the garage, drive it as little as possible in the Toronto winter, borrow a parental vehicle when needed, and see it again in the spring. But then if I do suddenly get a job mid-winter that requires a commute I'd probably have to scramble to get the tires on short notice. So maybe not such a good idea. I just don't relish the expense when I have nowhere important to drive.

 

Take a good look at the new Yokohama iceGUARD iG52c winter tires.... very reasonably priced for your car at $69 (US $$) from the tire rack.
That particular tire has been getting very good reviews at a decent price.
Yokohama iceGUARD iG52c

 

That's 185/60R15 for a C3. I have the Canadian base model which is a C2, and I think that's 175/65R15

Same thing at Tire Rack in my size is US$78 + shipping. If it's going to come out to about $100 CDN per tire anyway all in all, I may as well just stay in the country and buy here.

 

If you're really stretched, just resign yourself to taking transit in event of a job happening?

In the long run its not a big extra expense to have snows, it'll stretch your all seasons life. That's cold comfort when you're facing an immediate cash outlay, I know.

 

I work in an industry where it is exceedingly rare to have a job that can be accessed by transit without significant hassle. Hence the original reason I got this car when I lived in Vancouver.

 

iG52c is CDN$94.42/tire from Active Green + Ross with a $70 rebate on a set of 4. I suppose that compared to US$78+shipping, currency exchange, border duties/taxes and overall hassle, it's pretty comparable.

 

Yeah I hear yah. That's a big frustation. I recall having a 3 hour transfer time-out once, commuting from North coquitlam to a job in North Surrey, which really aren't that far apart. Plus now it'll cost you $6 daily to get across the port Mann bridge. ;(

 

^ Well nobody says it's cheap, or simple to go with dedicated winter tires... but getting in an accident due to loss of traction isn't cheap or simple either.
The Prius is excellent in snow with good winter tires. I tried to get my PIP to misbehave in the snow a few times (at low speeds on empty roads) and it was just a killjoy every time with the X-Ice tires.... it continued to stop straight and refused to spin-out.

 

Until the snow gets deep enough. Then the limited ground clearance levels the playing field, no matter what tires you've got on. ;(