Snow tire dilemma

[mommaU4]

I'm hoping some wise DISer or two will be able to help us with this.

We are leaving for WDW the day after Thanksgiving. We will be driving there from MI. so it will be about a two day drive.

It is snowing here now, big time. Got our first snow of the season today and it was a doozy!
We haven't put our snow tires on yet because we didn't want to have to drive on them all the way down to FL.
We figured once we got out of the state we wouldn't hit much more snow. But we still have a few more days of nasty weather here to deal with and we could really use the snow tires on now.

So I don't know what to do.
Do we chance driving around here without snow tires and hope we don't end up all over the road?
Or do we put them on now and have them for around here and driving through the state, but then will driving on them there and back with no snow for half the trip ruin them some how?
We are in northern MI so we have a ways to drive thru the snow before we are out of the state.

Ugh, I'm so confused. If anyone knows anything about snow tires, snow, driving, or is just bored and wants to comment, I need help. Thanks guys!!

 

[Free4Life11]

I lived in Minnesota for 12 years and I don't remember a single time that we put snow tires on our vehicles. Also, we've lived in Chicago and now Nebraska and get quite a bit of snow, but still no snow tires. We always just stayed off the roads as much as possible until they were cleared and drove very carefully, slow and steady! Wish I could be of more help, but we've never had them.

 

[lovemygoofy]

We drive up to MI every winter (well when Matt is in this country) and do not have snow tires. Every year when it's time to go home a huge snowfall hits and it takes us two days to get home on I65 but we have no snow tires and do just fine in the car. We take it slow and easy.

 

[WebmasterAlex]

It would depend on the vehicle and the type of snow tires.

 

[Keli]

I lived in MI for four years and we didn't ever use snow tires. And we lived in a town right on the lake so we had lots and lots and lots and lots of snow! Do you have a front wheel drive? Just take her slow and steady and you should do fine.

 

[golfgal]

I have lived in Minnesota most of my life and I remember my dad putting snow tires on our cars when I was young, before all season radials came out. Since then I don't know anyone that puts snow tires on their vehicles anymore. You should be fine without them. Also, warmer weather is on the way so most of your snow will be melting/gone by the end of next week.

 

[aprilgail2]

Snow tires?? I didn't even think they made those anymore...I can remember my dad putting them on his car in the late 60's but I didn't think anyone did that anymore since radial tires came about....

 

[chris1gill]

I think if most people tried snow tires on their car, they would live by them for the rest of their lives! We always had All Season Radial's up until ten years ago.... we then bought a car that had a more sporty tire & they warned us that we'd want to put snow's on... of course I knew better & said, I just won't drive in the snow... First time I took the car out I made it to the end of the road & spun the thing in a 360... back home I went. I then went & got snow's put on... Now we put them on ALL our vehicles, they make an incredible difference....

Anyhow, I have to ask, what kind of vehicle do you have & how good is it in the snow with the All Season Radial's? If you have a more sporty tire that isn't so good in the snow, I would put the winter's on... if you can get by going slowly, I'd keep the tires currently on... the problem with Winter's, is that they only keep their winter ice breaking properties for about 15000 miles.

 

[snels]

I didn't know that snow tires were still being used. I thought people stopped using snow tires when radials came out.

 

[mudnuri]

omg never used snow tires?

LOL thats funny. Here, EVERYONE runs snows heck 3/4 of us run studded snows. That said-

We put our snows on Generally 1-2 weeks into November, and they come off sometime in the beginning of April.

You can put your snows on now and drive to Florida- nothing will happen to the car or the tires. When we drove to florida my Envoy had its snows on- was fine....

Brandy

 

[golfgal]

omg never used snow tires?

LOL thats funny. Here, EVERYONE runs snows heck 3/4 of us run studded snows. That said-

We put our snows on Generally 1-2 weeks into November, and they come off sometime in the beginning of April.

You can put your snows on now and drive to Florida- nothing will happen to the car or the tires. When we drove to florida my Envoy had its snows on- was fine....

Brandy

Studded snow tires and chains are illegal in MN. The chains chew up the asphalt too much.

 

[powellrj]

I am also surprised they still make snow tires. I know when we first got married we still had them, but now with radial ( and front wheel drive) we haven't used them in years.

 

[mudnuri]

Studded snow tires and chains are illegal in MN. The chains chew up the asphalt too much.

yeah studs can only be run from nov 1st to april 15th here.....

But we can run chains if we want

But we get real snow, so that might make the difference?

And have limited asphalt roads...

Brandy

 

[golfgal]

But we get real snow, so that might make the difference?

And have limited asphalt roads...

Brandy

As opposed to our FAKE snow????

 

[Nancy]

I live in Buffalo, we get "real" snow and I haven't put snpow tires on in over 20 years. I use the all season radials and I get through everything with the mini van and also with my Tempo when we had it. I was just looking at my front tires yesterday and think I need new ones, the tread is looking a bit worn so I'll be tire shopping in the next few weeks.

I remember my Dad putting snows on, but only on the back tires.

 

[bananiem]

As opposed to our FAKE snow????

I could have sworn the stuff on my lawn was real too....

 

[Cruisin]

I really don't know much about the tires myself but we do have snow tires for our cars. We've found that it really makes a major difference in how the cars handle in the snow.

Now, if we are driving south to Florida (from Ontario, Canada) my husband does not want to have the snow tires on the car. He says that the heat of the warmer roads is not really good for them

Don't know if it's true or not but that is always his reasoning.

 

[Towncrier]

I would be lost without snow tires on my Saturn SC2. That being said, I wouldn't worry too much about having snow tires on for your trip. You will be out of the snow belt soon enough and snow tires are generally a bit noisier and may give a rougher ride once you get out of the snow. I have driven to/from WDW in our minivan a couple of times in the past 5 years and the worst weather that I ran into (in the mountains of West Virginia) was not a barrier to my getting to my destination. As long as you stay on the main roads, the path should be clear to get to/from WDW.

As far as all season tires go, I purchased a set of Assurance Triple-Tread tires for our minivan this past June. I am actually looking forward to see how well they handle our NE Ohio snow and ice. The ride quite nicely, aren't too noisy, and they are very highly rated for snow/rain/ice/dry pavement. And the treadwear rating is decent too. They seem like the perfect tire for those who drive in varying weather conditions.

 

[WIcruizer]

Add me to the list... I'm shocked anyone still uses snow tires. All season tires work perfetly fine as long as they're not worn of course. I live in WI, and I don't know anyone who has snow tires.

 

[WebmasterAlex]

I still thinks it depends on the car, DW's volvo was awful in the snow, a set of good snow tires made it an entirely different vehicle.