Treat it like it`s the only one in the world.Post Thanks / Like - 1 Likes, 0 Thanks, 0 DislikesRonkh liked this post
Before moving permanently from the Northeast to South Carolina this year, I always drove dedicated winter tires. Nokian Hakkapeliitta and Michelin X-Ice were the tires of choice. I always viewed all season tires as "Jack of all trades, Master of none" for winter performance. Both of my cars were RWD, so I opted for true winter tires and they never let me down. We added a Subaru Outback for my son and had we stayed North, the Nokian WR all weather tires were on my radar.
As for the bugs, we have a great pest control service and have never had an issues in 3 years. Either way, I`ll take the warm weather and ocean over the cold and snow of NJ everyday and twice on Sunday!
Islander Beach-1.jpg
Don`t know if they`re "hybrid" but the Cooper Discoverer HT tires we put on the Liberty are absolutely awesome! They have a deep tread pattern so that combined with the Quadra Drive 4wd system the thing is unstoppable apparently. Driving to work in the eye of the storm was a little sketchy. The roads were pretty much unplowed and the two FWD cars infront of me when I was going up the mountain become stuck. I was at a dead stop at the steepest part of going up, but I was able to maneuver around them without even a slip. Going down the mountain threw it in 2nd and it pretty much crawled itself through the fresh powder. Got off the mountain and everything was still almost untouched. It`s electronically locking so a couple turns onto a different road were, uh, interesting. The back roads had a bunch of varying steep hills and I didn`t slip once. Got into Maryland and it started raining which turned everything into a slush of a mess. There was a couple times it wanted to break loose, but stability control kicked in. I`m not normally a fan of those electronic nannies, but I will say I`m impressed. This is the first decent storm for the Jeep and I can say it did better than my expectations. It was a gas hog being locked in 95% of the 30 miles there, but that`s expected.
2022 Toyota Tacoma TRD OR 4x4 6MT - 2023 Toyota Camry SE
Post Thanks / Like - 1 Likes, 0 Thanks, 0 DislikesLonnie liked this post
The only thing I miss about Chicago winters is the fresh snow fall, but that lasts for a few hours at most.
Uh oh. I had to wear a sweater today
Treat it like it`s the only one in the world.
Do any of ya`ll winterize your doors . I used to do it back religiously in the days, gummiphledge. Have not done any in the last couple of years.
Frozen door llatches, uggh. The bane of our existence. Thought we broke one but we got lucky. Going to need to winterize these not so friendly latches...
Thanks for mentioning the Nokian WR`s. I`m 2 sets of wheels/tires all the way, but if I wasn`t I`d strongly consider them in an attempt to be better equipped for winter.
I`ve got friends that run the Altimax Arctics and are big fans of them.
I`ve got the Nokian Nordman 5`s on my avant and have been very happy with them. Maybe not ultimate ice performers (if you`re trying to defy physics), but overall a really good tire. I`ve got 38000 miles on them and still have plenty of tread (I`m mindful of the fact they`re snow tires so I`m not driving like a teenager on them in the dry). One thing I like about the Nordmans versus other snow tires I`ve had is that they actually brake very well on dry/warm pavement. I had some Dunlop Graspic DS3`s on a different car that were TERRIBLE under braking. Actually ended up just tapping an SUV`s receiver hitch in a WTF-Why`s-everyone-stopping-for-nothing situation because the tires were not interested in any kind of modulation.
The lil lady`s Q5 is on Blizzaks for precious cargo`s sake.
I`m lucky to be able to drive other people`s cars for work so I can be reminded what everyone else is going through on the road (read: Not on correct/appropriate/good tires). Drove a 335i (RWD) 6 Speed on all seasons in the snow. Was reminded it`s not a matter of lacking the skill to do it (I got around just fine), I just don`t have the patience to deal with that low of grip. Light turned green? I want to go. NOW.
Also drove my wife`s dad`s Accord on all seasons (grand touring...) - that was downright miserable. Couldn`t stop, couldn`t go, and was constantly worried the car wasn`t going to be able to execute simple inputs. And this is from someone who Loves winter driving because it moves the traction envelope so far down and really makes you drive.
Post Thanks / Like - 1 Likes, 0 Thanks, 0 DislikesMattPersman liked this post
Obviously things are different in MN vs. NJ, but my SO was so afraid of driving in the snow that she had Hakka`s for the winter and WR`s for the summer...I don`t have a good read on the WR`s in the snow (only happened once I think) but the tread life was terrible. I tried a set of the similar Vredestein Quatrac...and I can say that whatever marginal improvment (if any) in the snow over an all-season was certainly offset by the noise and poor tread life. (Disclaimer: these were older versions of both Quatrac and WR, not what is for sale now) Let`s just say I`m not sold on the "snowflake on the mountain" tires as any kind of solution to winter/summer or regular all-season.
Now that the snow tire forum is kaput, we`ll just have to rely on TireRack to prove whether these tires have evolved to the point of usefullness.
Post Thanks / Like - 0 Likes, 1 Thanks, 0 DislikesOneheadlite thanked for this post
Setec - Awesome info - Thank you!
I`ll be sticking with dual wheel/tire combos for my wife and me; years from now when my daughter is driving she`ll be enlisted in helping change her car over as well.
I miss the days with my last car where I actually had 3 sets of wheels (15" snow wheels/tires, 17" summer wheels/tires, plus the 16" all seasons the car came with that were still good). Come spring time I`d switch to the "Intermediates" to save wear and tear on the snows, yet be safe to drive on the frigid days or for the intermittent snow storms.
Also got me off the Graspics mentioned above...
Glad to hear at least others recognize the importance of good rubber. You got 4 things the size of a dinner plate or less that your life rides on ! Recognize that and respect the rubber that is on ur cars
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