strange question about tires

[mouseketeer4life]

So we're planning on maybe driving down to Disneyworld on our January trip. We are in Quebec and use snow tires in the winter. My DH is worried about using our snow tires to drive down as he thinks they may get ruined in the southern states...so those of you who drive from northern states in the middle of winter do you use your winter tires or switch to summer/all-season before you leave?

As I said, I know it's a strange question, thanks for your input!

 

[gmeh1]

So we're planning on maybe driving down to Disneyworld on our January trip. We are in Quebec and use snow tires in the winter. My DH is worried about using our snow tires to drive down as he thinks they may get ruined in the southern states...so those of you who drive from northern states in the middle of winter do you use your winter tires or switch to summer/all-season before you leave?

As I said, I know it's a strange question, thanks for your input!

When I drive north in the winter ( I still don't know what I am thinking when I do that), I just use my regular all season tires, the same type I used when I lived in CT.

Not sure why your DH thinks they may get ruined, unless they are studded snow tires, at which point they may get ruined along with hacking up the southern roads.

 

[john1928]

Not sure why your DH thinks they may get ruined, unless they are studded snow tires, at which point they may get ruined along with hacking up the southern roads.

More than that, even many (most?) Northern states ban studded tires for highway use. But I doubt that's what they're talking about as I can't imagine anyone wanting to make 2000+ mile road trips on dry pavement with those.


While the handling performance and gas mileage may be a little lower running on winter tires, unless they're signficantly different that the ones I see around here on the (oh, maybe, 3% of) cars that swap out snow tires they should be fine. I really see very few people use snow tires around here, and our snow season lasts half the year...

 

[Day-Day]

I live in the South. I won't laugh at your snow tires in the South if you tell your shorts-wearing countrymen to quit laughing at my snowsuit when its 32F outside in Calgary ...

 

[Dell]

One thing you may want to consider. Snow tires by design run a little hotter on dry pavement than regular tires. Considering a 2000 mile trip (assuming a fully loaded car/van/whatever) will put extra strain on the tires and MAY overload/overheat/damage the tire. This could lead to a possible blow out or accident causing delays in your trip for repairs/replacement.

And the noise from snow tires would drive me crazy after several hours on the road.

I would consider all season tires over snow tires.

 

[Lewisc]

Snow tires lose about 95% of their winter traction ability at the 50-55% tread wear point. I know it's a big range but 12-18K miles is about the number.


Do you have summer tires? You might as well put them on. Your total mileage will be over 3K.

My answer would be different if you'll be getting rid of the car before you hit the mileage, including miles to Disney. My answer would be different if you already have 15K on the tires. They're due to be replaced even without the trip.

 

[mouseketeer4life]

Thank you for the responses. No they're not studded or anything, just regular tires that have more traction. We are required by law in Quebec to use winter tires from December to March, otherwise we would just use all seasons.

I think we'll probably swap them out for our all seasons before our trip (pita for DH, but better than wearing out our new winter tires!)

Thanks again for your advice!

 

[seashoreCM]

Snow tires don't last as long as comparable summer tires, in terms of mileage. So you need to decide whether consuming their finite lifetime on southern roads is better than spending the time to switch to summer tires before you go.

Not sure whether the gas mileage is less using snow tires.

 

[grimley1968]

Not sure whether the gas mileage is less using snow tires.

I'm pretty sure it's a bit less with snow tires. The reason is the extra traction snow tires give you. More traction = more friction. The reason making sure you have your tires pumped to the right pressure to improve mileage works is because that minimizes tire friction on the road.

Also, in my experience with snow tires on non-snowy roads, they make a lot more noise than regular tires and make for a less comfortable ride.

I'd definitely switch to regular tires for driving to WDW.