Need Snow/tire Help!!

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(AAWADKE @ Sep 12 2007, 03:24 PM) [snapback]511517[/snapback]</div>

I use "Valley Tire" out here in the boonies near Mazomanie, WI for all my car/truck/tractor needs. (About 20 miles west of Madison) They are a couple of brothers working out of a converted Ag building on their farm. They do great work and will get you whatever tires you want at a no bull#$%* price.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(AAWADKE @ Sep 12 2007, 03:24 PM) [snapback]511517[/snapback]</div>

I use "Valley Tire" out here in the boonies near Mazomanie, WI for all my car/truck/tractor needs. (About 20 miles west of Madison) They are a couple of brothers working out of a converted Ag building on their farm. They do great work and will get you whatever tires you want at a no bull#$%* price.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(AAWADKE @ Sep 9 2007, 08:39 PM) [snapback]509794[/snapback]</div>

I would think all seasons would work. One thing I found when I lived in warmer climates (D.C. area, Connecticut and Dallas, although it never snowed while I was in TX) is that the snowfalls there tend to be slushier and slipperier (is that a word?). I grew up in northern MN, and we'd have snow on the ground from Thanksgiving to Easter, more or less, but definitely for more than 3 months continuous, and that was a dry snow, generally easier to drive in. Also, no traffic, so you only had to worry about yourself. College in Duluth was more of a challenge - that city is built on a hill, and not always well-plowed, and I had an old rear-drive car that tended to stall in intersections if I gave it too little or too much gas. Other than with that car, I like the challenge of driving in snow. My last car was a Subaru, great fun in the snow, but only 24 mpg in mixed driving.

Now when there's a major snowfall in Chicago, and Madison will be the same to some extant, everybody slows down because there's too much traffic for the snowplows to throw the snow off the road during the day, and then the intersections get really messy and that just gums up the whole works. So you're never really going that fast (and if you are, you shouldn't be because it won't be long and you wish you weren't), often under 25 mph tops. This is during and immediately after a decent snowstorm, 80% of winter is no problem, another 15% is minor problem. If you can stay home the last 5%, don't bother changing tires. With careful driving you could use bald tires.

But driving in traffic in fresh snow, there can be a lot of start and stops. By leaving space between you and the person in front, I've never had a problem getting started with the OEM tires. In fact, I've tested them going uphill on unplowed streets, etc. and have generally been pretty pleased (some pre-2006 Prius apparently have a stalling problem when they detect loss of traction, so I was trying to duplicate that on my car). Typical FWD behavior.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(AAWADKE @ Sep 9 2007, 08:39 PM) [snapback]509794[/snapback]</div>

I would think all seasons would work. One thing I found when I lived in warmer climates (D.C. area, Connecticut and Dallas, although it never snowed while I was in TX) is that the snowfalls there tend to be slushier and slipperier (is that a word?). I grew up in northern MN, and we'd have snow on the ground from Thanksgiving to Easter, more or less, but definitely for more than 3 months continuous, and that was a dry snow, generally easier to drive in. Also, no traffic, so you only had to worry about yourself. College in Duluth was more of a challenge - that city is built on a hill, and not always well-plowed, and I had an old rear-drive car that tended to stall in intersections if I gave it too little or too much gas. Other than with that car, I like the challenge of driving in snow. My last car was a Subaru, great fun in the snow, but only 24 mpg in mixed driving.

Now when there's a major snowfall in Chicago, and Madison will be the same to some extant, everybody slows down because there's too much traffic for the snowplows to throw the snow off the road during the day, and then the intersections get really messy and that just gums up the whole works. So you're never really going that fast (and if you are, you shouldn't be because it won't be long and you wish you weren't), often under 25 mph tops. This is during and immediately after a decent snowstorm, 80% of winter is no problem, another 15% is minor problem. If you can stay home the last 5%, don't bother changing tires. With careful driving you could use bald tires.

But driving in traffic in fresh snow, there can be a lot of start and stops. By leaving space between you and the person in front, I've never had a problem getting started with the OEM tires. In fact, I've tested them going uphill on unplowed streets, etc. and have generally been pretty pleased (some pre-2006 Prius apparently have a stalling problem when they detect loss of traction, so I was trying to duplicate that on my car). Typical FWD behavior.