Tire talking - thoughts on when is the best time of year to buy tires?

[TippyThomas]

I bought my last set of tires from Samsclub. I don't think there is any price difference depending on the time of year but I really didn't research it too much either.

 

[Skippy918]

Can I ask were are you located? Maybe the way the roads are treated changes something? I mean I could avoid going off the road by going slow before I had the winter tires but when I say I have to go slow I mean like a crawl in a rotary, our new state is full of rotaries so that is a thing and a crawl is no exaggeration like I would annoy myself.

Texas.

 

[bcla]

Honestly, I get tires when I need them vs. what time of year it is.
I've honestly never thought about the best time of year to buy them!
Husband just got 4 new tires for his truck, F350 $1300 - but I don't know what kind/type of tires they were.

I think part of the concern might be having adequate tread depth for winter driving when there's moderately deep snow. Maybe not for dedicated winter tires, where they'll typically go off once there' little chance of snow. But with the "all weather" tires (or even typically all season) the tread depth that works for particular conditions. I would think that getting tires right at the start of winter would maximize the time that they have maximum tread depth.

Some of these tires even have tread depth indicators imprinted into the tread. They might have depth in mm or in the case of Continental D/W/S for suitability for dry/wet/snow conditions.

Nokian used to have these as mm, but now it looks like they use a percentage.

 

[LuvOrlando]

In that case the Michelin CrossClimate 2 or Nokian WR G4. The Nokian might be better in snow.

https://na.nokiantyres.com/snow-winter-tires/nokian-tyres-wr-g4/

Thanks for taking the time to look that up for me, much appreciated.

 

[LuvOrlando]

Texas.

I wonder if the heat by you keeps the tires softer so they grip better? Up here in the NE it tends to be cooler overall and water of any kind cools the temp on the tires even more, that would be my best guess for the difference in experience.

 

[LuvOrlando]

It was last June. I got Michelin defenders.

We put Michelin defenders on all our cars. I used to buy all my tires at Costco, but it has gotten too hard to get in for an emergency repair. We now buy all our tires at Discount tire and have them match Costco’s prices. They are so easy to get into for flat repairs and rotations.

I'll look these up, thanks for sharing!

 

[bcla]

I wonder if the heat by you keeps the tires softer so they grip better? Up here in the NE it tends to be cooler overall and water of any kind cools the temp on the tires even more, that would be my best guess for the difference in experience.

That's important, especially when parked outside and just moving without much time to warm up. Some tire rubber is meant primarily for summer driving conditions and can be dangerously hard when it's cold. If you've seen dedicated snow tires, they can be really squishy.

Ideally one would swap tires. Part of the reason why dedicated winter tires do well is having really soft rubber that grips well in cold temperatures. But it's that as well as the tread pattern with lots of little biting edges (called sipes).

The only place I know with a mandatory winter tire requirement in winter is Quebec. I think they might have some exceptiions for visitors or perhaps rental cars (which might come from outside).

https://www.quebec.ca/en/transports...ter-road-safety/requirements-for-winter-tires

Winter tire compliance​

To be compliant, a tire designed for winter driving must be marked with the pictogram illustrated below or be studded. Tires that are reshaped or remodeled for passenger vehicles must also have the pictogram or be studded.

You'll see these on pretty much all winter tires. I mentioned "all weather", which are supposed to meet the winter requirements, although they might not be ideal. That little symbol is visible on this photo:

 

[LuvOrlando]

That's important, especially when parked outside and just moving without much time to warm up. Some tire rubber is meant primarily for summer driving conditions and can be dangerously hard when it's cold. If you've seen dedicated snow tires, they can be really squishy.

Ideally one would swap tires. Part of the reason why dedicated winter tires do well is having really soft rubber that grips well in cold temperatures. But it's that as well as the tread pattern with lots of little biting edges (called sipes).

The only place I know with a mandatory winter tire requirement in winter is Quebec. I think they might have some exceptiions for visitors or perhaps rental cars (which might come from outside).

https://www.quebec.ca/en/transports...ter-road-safety/requirements-for-winter-tires

Winter tire compliance​

To be compliant, a tire designed for winter driving must be marked with the pictogram illustrated below or be studded. Tires that are reshaped or remodeled for passenger vehicles must also have the pictogram or be studded.

You'll see these on pretty much all winter tires. I mentioned "all weather", which are supposed to meet the winter requirements, although they might not be ideal. That little symbol is visible on this photo:

I think these are the most recent kind I got for one of the SUVs and it is a great tire. I was considering of these for the Civic too but since I did Blizzak full winter tires on the Civic last time with the hydroplaning I am hesitant to give up traction. I guess at the root I'm not really sure if the winter actually have more traction or do they just have deeper treads to be able to dig in through the snow.

 

[tvguy]

That's important, especially when parked outside and just moving without much time to warm up. Some tire rubber is meant primarily for summer driving conditions and can be dangerously hard when it's cold. If you've seen dedicated snow tires, they can be really squishy.

Ideally one would swap tires. Part of the reason why dedicated winter tires do well is having really soft rubber that grips well in cold temperatures. But it's that as well as the tread pattern with lots of little biting edges (called sipes).

The only place I know with a mandatory winter tire requirement in winter is Quebec. I think they might have some exceptiions for visitors or perhaps rental cars (which might come from outside).

https://www.quebec.ca/en/transports...ter-road-safety/requirements-for-winter-tires

Winter tire compliance​

To be compliant, a tire designed for winter driving must be marked with the pictogram illustrated below or be studded. Tires that are reshaped or remodeled for passenger vehicles must also have the pictogram or be studded.

You'll see these on pretty much all winter tires. I mentioned "all weather", which are supposed to meet the winter requirements, although they might not be ideal. That little symbol is visible on this photo:

Two things to know about the Michelin Crossclimate 2s. I have them on a Front Wheel drive Ford Flex. Because of the aggressive tread pattern, they hum a little on dry pavement. And that tread pattern does tend to pickup a lot of little pebbles that stick in the grooves. I bought them on the recommendation of the Michelin dealer. They also recommended a BF Goodrich tire that was $25 a tire cheaper, but the advantage ot the crossclimates was wet traction. I don't expect to ever drive in the snow with them.

 

[monarchsfan16]

I find that around here (NH) many places will run tire sales in October. Usually buy 3 get one for free or for $1 or something like that and they often have discounted mounting, balancing, etc. It aligns with when people are thinking about buying snow tires. Whenever possible I take advantage of those sales for my tires. The dealership I get my car serviced at to will order whichever tires I want for their "tire event", so I research on tire rack and then order the tires through their sale.

 

[_19disnA]

Tires last way longer than in the past. I know my dad used to buy 'snow tires' years ago to use in the Winter for better traction. But back then, most cars used to be rear wheel drive only. Now many cars are FWD or all-wheel drive, so the need for special tires in the Winter isn't that common. As far I know, most modern cars are recommended to use the same tires all year long. I would check your owner's manual for the type of tires recommended by the manufacturer since they know the design of your car best. Unless you live someplace that gets a ton of snow, I don't think there is a need to have tires specifically in the Winter.

Probably should look around to see when various tire stores might be running a sale if your current tires are worn out and/or need replacing.

 

[bcla]

I find that around here (NH) many places will run tire sales in October. Usually buy 3 get one for free or for $1 or something like that and they often have discounted mounting, balancing, etc. It aligns with when people are thinking about buying snow tires. Whenever possible I take advantage of those sales for my tires. The dealership I get my car serviced at to will order whichever tires I want for their "tire event", so I research on tire rack and then order the tires through their sale.

Do you swap winter tires? I don't really have that much experience with them other than being a car nerd. I've actually seen dedicated winter tires around here, which seem odd. I suppose they were on just to take them up to the mountains.

I'd think the big pain would be maybe having a second set of wheels and possibly storage. I've heard that some tire shops will store winter tires for a fee. And then there's the issue of getting factory wheels (mostly aluinum alloy now) or steel wheels that might be a different size/offset than the factory wheels. I've even heard of some going narrower for winter tires so that they don't "float" as much.

 

[monarchsfan16]

Do you swap winter tires? I don't really have that much experience with them other than being a car nerd. I've actually seen dedicated winter tires around here, which seem odd. I suppose they were on just to take them up to the mountains.

I'd think the big pain would be maybe having a second set of wheels and possibly storage. I've heard that some tire shops will store winter tires for a fee. And then there's the issue of getting factory wheels (mostly aluinum alloy now) or steel wheels that might be a different size/offset than the factory wheels. I've even heard of some going narrower for winter tires so that they don't "float" as much.

I don't. I put decent all weather tires on a vehicle with 4 wheel drive. I know lots of people that do swap to snow tires, but I think everyone I know that does drives cars rather than an SUV. I drive a Rav-4.

 

[bcla]

I don't. I put decent all weather tires on a vehicle with 4 wheel drive. I know lots of people that do swap to snow tires, but I think everyone I know that does drives cars rather than an SUV. I drive a Rav-4.

Some of the thinking is that it might make more sense to have both better winter performance and so that non-winter tires can be used longer.

Or all weather tires can be used longer, even if it goes into winter with snow. It wouldn't be so much an issue with the rubber hardening, but adequate tread depth to bite into snow.