Winter Tires? All Season tires?

[mpierotti@cellular1.net]

I have a Fusion Hybrid 2013 and the stock tires didn't perform during last winter and I am looking on suggestions to handle Illinois driving with trips across In., Oh, and Pa.

[dalesky]

If you don't mind the cost of tires, plus mounting and/or new rims, winter tires are superior to all season. They are built without compromises while all season have to perform reasonably well in a wide range of conditions. Probably expect more noise. A neighbor always swapped his tires (rear drive car) for winter ones and it drove well in Minnesnowta.

Where I live now I have ultra high performance on my Mustang GT, and have to be a bit more cautious in cold rainy conditions. I don't drive it if the roads are freezing, which is extremely rare here.

[corncobs]

Winter tires no question!

 

IMHO the additional expense is well worth it for couple reasons.

 

- if you travel a lot you get caught in some nasty winter weather nothing beats real winter tires without a snowplow in sight

 

- like dalesky said they are made for winter conditions

 

- protect your rims from harsh winter conditions (snow and ice)

 

- your "summer tires" last longer

 

- smaller footprint = better traction ( if you have the 18" option)

 

I bought a complete set of wheels at TireRack already mounted including TPMS sensors and the teaching tool for $1200.

[acdii]

If two sets are not an option(storage comes to mind) the Continental Pure Contacts have rated well in snow. I will know for sure next time it snows (Was supposed to today, but never happened).

[Silver Bullet]

Winter tires. This subject is so much a function of one's individual situation, I'll just tell you about ours. We live in far northern California mountains, 12 miles from town, 1 mile off the paved road, at 3000 ft elevation. Winter weather is very variable, from mild, like last winter with one 12-in. drop of snow in December, to the previous winter with two storms bringing 3 ft. of snow each. When the snow is heavy, we simply park the Fusion and use either the '97 Explorer or '91 F-150, both of which are 4WD with studded snow tires. We have a tractor to plow the drive.

 

The question is how to equip the FFH for the rest of the winter when snow depth precludes its use. Our choice this year was to replace the Michelin LRR 225/50R-17's with studded Cooper Glacier Grips of the same dimension. We'll have the tires switched in the spring at a cost of about $50 including balancing. Our bill for the new snow tires came to $638.13 with all the California taxes and fees. We expect to get two, maybe 3 seasons from the Glacier Grips.

 

We go with the studs more for ice than snow. This morning, for example, one week after the studs went on, wife reported driving through fog on black ice the first twelve miles of her commute to work. She really appreciated the studs.

 

We enjoy a situation that I do not think is too common. Our two-man independent tire shop stores our off-season tires. The Explorer and F-150 have two sets of wheels, one summer one winter.

The tire shop swaps them for us each fall and spring at no charge. With the Fusion they store the unmounted tires between seasons. Really neat.

 

If we lived where there was snow most all winter, I'd seriously consider a set of narrower 16"wheels with snow tires (either studded or studdless) for the Fusion. (Making sure the tire diameter was close to that of the 225/50R-17.)