Hello everyone, I'm sure this is a thread that's been made too many times but I'm afraid I'm going to have to make one again. I'm looking for some recommendations for snow tires. I live in Conifer, CO (in the foothills) and I just recently purchased a used 2008 Prius. The reason for my purchase is because I have a 75+ mile round trip commute to my office in Aurora, just in case anyone's curious. I've been aware of the traction control issue before my purchase but my dealer assured me that a good set of snow tires would solve my problems. I essentially live on a windy mountain road that's quite steep and there aren't too many guard rails, so when TRAC kicks in and I'm going down, I would be falling off the edge of the road. The problem with winter here is that the majority of the time, roads are clear, but when it snows, we typically get 10+ inches. Plows are very good here so I'm not concerned about ground clearance. I'm looking for tires that would allow me to traverse in these conditions well without being worried about TRAC kicking in at the worst possible moments. Advise from CO drivers are much appreciated, but advise from anyone else with similar driving conditions are also appreciated as well. Thank you! TL;DR version: Live in the CO foothills, 80% of the time is dry, 20% of the time 10+ inches snow that turns packed and icy, live on windy mountain roads with few guard rails, worried about TRAC turning on at wrong moments. Looking for snow tires advise from someone in CO and similar winter conditions. Thank you!
congrats and welcome! i hear nokia makes some good ones, can't remember the model though. all the best!
I've never had snow tires but I've heard good things about the inexpensive Hankook W409. With some experience, you start to learn when traction control will activate and you can prevent it. You can actually turn the tires slightly faster than the ground and churn through without it activating, but as soon as one starts to spin much more than that, it will activate. I was thinking about Mendel's post and thought of a way TC stopping forward progress could get you in trouble. I've been in a few cases (not in the Pri, but in other vehicles) of an uncontrolled, reverse slide following the stop of forward progress.
Somewhere between 8" and 12" it won't matter what tires you've got; you will get stuck, due to ground clearance. I can't see traction control sending you off the side of the road. All it'll do is ensure the brakes don't completely lock the wheels. I think your best approach is to resign yourself to missing the occasional day's work, if there's been a fresh load of snow: let the plowing/salting happen first.
First off, welcome. As for your tires, I always buy the Michelin X-ICE series. I have X-ICE2 on one vehicle and X-ICE3 on four other vehicle. I know exactly where you are, and the Prius will be fine. Yes the ground clearance is low, but you can plow through the snow most of the time. I've done it with fluff higher than the bottom of the windows. Hopefully the lack of guardrails doesn't impact your driving too much... After all, I wouldn't count on them as a routine driving maneuver! For my "mountain goat", what we call the 2006 Prius, I have the X-ICE tires on and carry a set of real chains (not the crap "bands") in the back. I've only ever needed the chains once, but I put them on once a season at least to make sure they still work and aren't rusted through or something. You should also familiarize yourself with disabling traction control. It must be done before the car is READY'd and it only lasts until the next restart. It is a generally bad idea, however there are times you just need to spin and go.
While living in Denver and driving an Audi A4 quattro, I rode on Hankoook studded snow tires and I was unstoppable!
Nonsense. Theprius will just plow thru it if it's fresh fluffy snow. Will come up over the hood. Just go slow. Besides he said they plow so that's not even the issue. Good snow tires are more valuable than 4wd or all wd.
Thanks for all your replies! Much appreciated! As far as ground clearance goes, I'm not worried. The roads do get plowed starting at around 5 or 6 AM here. I'm worried about the packed snow and ice that are left over after the plows are done. I'll do a little more research about Hankook and Michelin X-ICE before buying anything, but I'm leaning more towards the X-ICE at the moment. 2k1Toaster, what you said definitely makes me more confident in driving the Prius this winter!
I live in Denver and have driven through all sorts of weather, from Grand Lake, Grand Junction, Aurora, and DTC. I highly suggest anything studded. While it's dry more often than not, your drive will likely see a wide variety at any given moment, and you should probably plan for the worst. Check out TireRack.
I would get (and have gotten) Nokian Hakkapeliitta R2 instead off studded tires. In tests they did have better traction even on clean ice than some studded tires. In snow they have better traction than any studded tire. I also think that non studded tire suits the traction control better than studded since with studded sometimes it’s beneficial to spin the tire. They also have very low rolling resistance.
I have Nokian WRG3s on my 2012 and I had absolutely no problem making it through the NY winter last year without missing a day of work. Drove right past several stuck SUVs and trucks who didn't know that their 4WD doesn't mean they're invincible. Never had to turn off traction control and they give me great MPG year round too. iPhone ?
