# Studded vs. Non-Studded Tires



## skiNEwhere (Sep 25, 2014)

Which do you prefer?

I have studded nokian hakkapeliitta 7's on my outback.

Snow tire technology has come a long way, and having used blizzaks on my last car, I'll be the first to admit they outperform my current setup in the snow.

Tire manufactures claim that studless tires perform just as well on ice as studded tires, but I'm still convinced that having metal pressing into the ice is more effective. Not to mention, blizzaks just about have the tread life of a pencil eraser.

CO is one of the few states that allows studded tires year round, and since there is only a 2-3 month window where I won't get snow I keep them on year round. 20k miles later, the treads and studs are still in great shape with my current setup.


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## deadheadskier (Sep 25, 2014)

When I lived in Northern VT and didn't travel much, I had studded Haks for the winter.

Now I live in the flat lands and travel way too much on the highway to consider studded.  The noise from the winter tires is plenty annoying as is.


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## Savemeasammy (Sep 25, 2014)

We studded the tires in my wife's Jetta wagon because it's only front wheel drive.  I like knowing that the car has that little bit of extra traction. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Glenn (Sep 25, 2014)

I always chuckle when I hear someone rolling on studded tires in the middle of July. 

Studless tires here. Although, up north, on dirt roads, I can see how they would be helpful. Our neighbor has a longer driveway and I've see it become a sheet of ice.


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## drjeff (Sep 25, 2014)

Glenn said:


> I always chuckle when I hear someone rolling on studded tires in the middle of July.
> 
> Studless tires here. Although, up north, on dirt roads, I can see how they would be helpful. Our neighbor has a longer driveway and I've see it become a sheet of ice.



Plus, I hate to see the amount of debris that Glenn could kick up into the air with studded tires while driving behind him as he's either doing donuts or peeling out going into/out of various parking lots!  :lol:


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## Puck it (Sep 25, 2014)

I prefer these.


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## bvibert (Sep 25, 2014)

Puck it said:


> I prefer these.



Those must be awesome on pavement!


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## St. Bear (Sep 25, 2014)

bvibert said:


> Those must be awesome on pavement!



How do you think they get those grooves on the shoulders of the highway?


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## Nick (Sep 26, 2014)

Are you even allowed to use studs in Massachusetts? 

Other than going skiing I don't do too much driving in the snow mostly to avoid the other dipshits on the road. I'll work from home on snow days.

I do have snow tires but I don't think I've actually ever driven w/ studs. I'm sure using studded tires is way better esp. on ice than just non-studded tires. It can't even be comporable.


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## skiNEwhere (Sep 26, 2014)

Nick said:


> Are you even allowed to use studs in Massachusetts?




Yes, you can.



> Studded tires are permitted November 2 to April 30 unless otherwise authorized by Registrar.




 http://drivinglaws.aaa.com/laws/studded-tires/


Oddly enough, Alaska, does not allow metal studs, while Wisconsin and Minnesota don't allow studs of any kind.


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## wa-loaf (Sep 26, 2014)

Unless you are spending 50% or more of your time on snowy roads I don't see it being worth it.


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## Geoff (Sep 26, 2014)

Nick said:


> Are you even allowed to use studs in Massachusetts?



Yes.   The only snow belt states that ban studs are in the midwest.  Places like Illinois, Minnesota, and Wisconsin.   Most states insist you get them off sometime in April.

I run studded Nokians on the SUV and Nokian friction tires on my VW GTI.   My Mountaineer is white-knuckle on black ice with stock tires.   It's heavy so it wants to go straight no matter what you do with accelerator, braking, and steering inputs.   It drives like farm equipment with lots of transmitted vibration and road noise with studs but I don't daily drive that vehicle any distance.   I opted for the studs because they perform so much better.   I wouldn't recommend them for somebody with a daily flatland commute.

My VW GTI with studless Nokian Hakka friction tires performs very well on just about any winter driving condition until the car bottoms out in deep snow.  I ran Blizzak WSx0 friction tires on it initially.   Those were superb on ice for the first 12,000 miles but then were so bad on ice that I got rid of them with plenty of tread life left.   If I were rolling in money, I'd put brand new Blizzak WS80's on it every November and toss them in the dumpster in the spring.

The handling in my GTI sucks with 17" Nokians compared to the 18" Michelin Pilot Sport performance summer tires I run in the summer.   It feels like I have four gum erasers for tires.   My summer tires are laughably bad on snow and ice.   I can't even back out of my Killington parking spot that has a very modest grade without dumping sand on the ice.   I try to hold off as long as I can before I put on the Nokians but I occasional get caught.


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## deadheadskier (Sep 26, 2014)

Same deal with the summer tires on my Mazda3.  I've been caught each winter waiting too long to put on the snow tires and always curse myself.  I wait because of the road noise difference.  If I have one complaint on the Mazda is that there's not a ton of insulation in the cabin, so road thunder from snow tires is pretty bad.  I assume the lack of cabin insulation is both to keep cost down and weight down, hence the great gas mileage I get out of the car.


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## ski stef (Sep 26, 2014)

I have studded snow tires, same as OP -nokian hakkapeliitta. (is that how you spell it? ha). I have never had them before but after last winter I don't think I could go back to regular snows during the winter (so long as i'm still living here, I never put studded tires on back in VT).  My car was a beast last winter and with the location of our home this year, they will be much needed.


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## Not Sure (Sep 26, 2014)

Yeah ...But Can your tires do this?


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## dlague (Sep 26, 2014)

I use all season tires year round.  I can manage steep climbs like at Jay Peak and Bolton Valley without problem!


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## steamboat1 (Sep 28, 2014)

Blizzak WS 80's. on my Subaru. Been very happy with them.


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## ScottySkis (Sep 28, 2014)

I getting these this winter lots of snow on my curvy road last winter my car was a plow on the road.


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## mister moose (Sep 29, 2014)

dlague said:


> I use all season tires year round.  I can manage steep climbs like at Jay Peak and Bolton Valley without problem



I run my all seasons bald in the summer, and by winter the wisps of exposed steel belt are almost as good as studs! Bonus!


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## dlague (Sep 29, 2014)

mister moose said:


> i run my all seasons bald in the summer, and by winter the wisps of exposed steel belt are almost as good as studs! Bonus!



lol


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## xwhaler (Sep 30, 2014)

We have 2 vehicles we'll take on ski trips...when as a family we use my wife's Kia Sorento with Firestone Destination LE2s....highway all season tire but very well regarded by TireRack for snow performance (they are siped)
Last yr they did quite well for us. Wanted to get all terrains for the vehicle but they are not made in the size (235/60/18)

When I'm solo or making my 80 mile R/T commute in the snow I will be in my 4x4 Tacoma currently sporting Firestone AT's---nearly 70k on these have taken me through 5 winters.
Will be replacing this season with a more aggressive A/T, the Goodyear Duratrac...supposedly incredible in the snow and since the truck is now only driven 5k miles/yr it will be the last tire I ever buy so I'm going to spend a bit more for very good performance when I need it.


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## Glenn (Oct 2, 2014)

drjeff said:


> Plus, I hate to see the amount of debris that Glenn could kick up into the air with studded tires while driving behind him as he's either doing donuts or peeling out going into/out of various parking lots!  :lol:



That doughnut thing seems to happen every now and again. ; )


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## bigbog (Oct 3, 2014)

xwhaler said:


> We have 2 vehicles we'll take on ski trips...when as a family we use my wife's Kia Sorento with Firestone Destination LE2s....highway all season tire but very well regarded by TireRack for snow performance (they are siped)
> Last yr they did quite well for us. Wanted to get all terrains for the vehicle but they are not made in the size (235/60/18)
> 
> When I'm solo or making my 80 mile R/T commute in the snow I will be in my 4x4 Tacoma currently sporting Firestone AT's---nearly 70k on these have taken me through 5 winters.
> Will be replacing this season with a more aggressive A/T, the Goodyear Duratrac..



That Duratrac looks like their best tire in decades _*X*_...  Hopefully good enough in highway travel...the tread looks good enough for normal Spring mud/rocks.


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## xwhaler (Oct 3, 2014)

bigbog said:


> That Duratrac looks like their best tire in decades _*X*_...  Hopefully good enough in highway travel...the tread looks good enough for normal Spring mud/rocks.


I've heard really incredible things about them. Highway travel on this truck is minimal so I'm not overly worried about road noise.
Last tire I will ever buy for the truck being its an '08 and I'm only driving 5k miles/yr on it these days. It'll rust out before the tires are ready to be replaced most likely.


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