Driving to Orlando

[beverlee]

Good Morning All:

We live in Toronto and usually fly down to DW out of Buffalo. We are going again late March and my son in law wants to drive down this time. Although I have driven down several times before it was never at that time of year - usually in the fall. This will seem like a silly question however should I have my snow tires removed before we go or leave them on. I have heard that the hot pavement can destroy your winter tires and have also heard you can run into some iffy weather/road conditions at that time of year in the northern part of the USA. Any advise would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

 

[nokidz]

Good Morning All:

We live in Toronto and usually fly down to DW out of Buffalo. We are going again late March and my son in law wants to drive down this time. Although I have driven down several times before it was never at that time of year - usually in the fall. This will seem like a silly question however should I have my snow tires removed before we go or leave them on. I have heard that the hot pavement can destroy your winter tires and have also heard you can run into some iffy weather/road conditions at that time of year in the northern part of the USA. Any advise would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

In my opinion, I would leave the snow tires on your vehicle. I realize you will be traveling down at the end of winter, but you just never know. Unless your other set of tires are really good all-seasons.
The hot pavement can damage your snow tires but it will not be that hot down in Florida at the end of march. Plus, you will not be down in Florida, driving on hot roads, long enough to do any sort of real damage to your snows.
I am traveling south at the end of Feb, and both cars I am taking will have their snows on.

 

[PanamaMike]

If you lived in a warm climate and chose to drive on snowtires, they would wear out faster than regular tires do but driving in Florida is not going to destroy your winter tires.

 

[maryliz]

So glad this ? was posted! DH and I were just having this conversation on the weekend. We are driving down for March break ... he wants to remove the winter tires, and I say "no way ... if we get snow/ice in Kentucky or Ohio, I want to be more prepared than the rest of the vehicles on the road."

I know putting those kind of miles on the winter tires seems unnecessary, but we've been caught in nasty storms before. That and mid-March is not necessarily the end of winter weather around here , so would we end up putting them back on anyway.

 

[beverlee]

Thanks everyone for your answers. Conclusion - I am leaving my snow tires on my car for the drive.

Thanks again

 

[rjan67]

I guess I'm in the minority, but my snow tires come off before my drive down in March and will so this year.

 

[twokids0204]

I would remove them as well.

Just my opinion.

 

[nokidz]

Well to each their own, for the amount of wear and "damage" compared to the safety factor in a winter storm or a fast freeze, I would leave them on. We were travelling back from Florida early one January, a bunch of years ago, and Georgia was hit with a snow storm and we decided not to spend the night there. We drove straight through, thankfull for snow tires. The state was basically snowed in, by their standards. It think they had two snow plows for the entire state.

 

[rjan67]

I would leave them on in January or February....mid March...off.