Driving on dec 1..should we have the winter tires on?

[mom2j]

We will be heading to Florida on Dec1 and back on the 15th...do you think we should change our tires to winter tires? we will be taking the I75. or is it too early to have it on? any advice is greatly appreciated!

 

[bankr63]

We will be heading to Florida on Dec1 and back on the 15th...do you think we should change our tires to winter tires? we will be taking the I75. or is it too early to have it on? any advice is greatly appreciated!

I would say a lot depends on what your other tires are.

If you have a good serviceable set of All-Season tires, I would probably stick with them. Assuming you are coming from Toronto, your chance of hitting much snow South of the snow belt is slim, and your snow tires will provide worse performance for the vast majority of the drive, not to mention the wear from driving them on warm roads. Snows will probably only be the correct tires for the first few hundred klicks of the trip, and maybe some higher altitude passes.

If you have summer or performance tires or your ASR's are getting worn, I think the risk of getting stuck or having an accident in snow country might be great enough to consider changing them. Just remember that snow tires perform pretty poorly on warm wet or dry pavement once you get a bit south.

 

[justjulie]

My snows are on already

 

[minnie mum]

I'm actually surprised that you don't already have your winter tires on!!! Good grief.

Absolutely have them on before you go. Yes, you will be below the theoretical snow line for much of your trip. But you will also have at least one day each way with a serious possibility of snow and/or ice. Why would you risk a serious accident? Safety, to me, outweighs the possible savings in mileage if you leave your summer tires on.

We drove one year and had unseasonably mild weather on the way down. A week later we had snow all the way home from Georgia! We were REALLY glad we had those winter tires. You just never know.

 

[souris]

Without a doubt you should have your snow tires (or very good AS tires) on... as mentioned, this time can be bad for not just snow, but ice.

 

[dancin Disney style]

My DH is in the auto biz and part of what he does involves tires....he says 'yes' you should be driving with a set of snows. He says you will not damage them with the little driving that you will do in the warmer weather. To damage them you would need to be driving on them in the summer heat.

 

[mom2j]

Thank u all for your great advices! I really appreciate it.. I will try to get an appointment asap to have our tires changed. Thanks again!