# when do you put on your snow tires?



## MrMagic (Oct 7, 2009)

I am thinking of all things winter this week( since its getting closer ) I know a lot of people don’t run them  but if you do when do you put on your winter tires?
 I have two Volvos a 93, 240  wagon which is rear wheel drive and the slightest bit of snow will send the car into a barrage of 360’s  I  have a pair of hancook ice pike studded snows that I always put on right after Thanksgiving just in case of early snow fall. My Volvo v-70 is front wheel drive with limited slip so I don’t put the snows on till first or second week of dec. and with them on the car is a tank no matter what the weather is


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## mondeo (Oct 7, 2009)

I keep my summers on as long as possible; probably change over the day before my first day skiing.

I hate winter tires unless it's actually snowing. No grip and just so unresponsive. I celebrate the changeover to summers every year.


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## Moe Ghoul (Oct 7, 2009)

I got new Fortera's for the Pilot in July, super nice treads and what a difference it makes for a smooth ride. Should be able to tackle 99% of NE conditions.


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## Sky (Oct 7, 2009)

I look at the temp range around 1 Nov and start strategizing about getting my wife's snow tires on.

We've had this and similar threads before so @ the risk of repeating...my wife has V Redistien (sp?) snow tires and loves them.  They are a Dutch tire (I think)....and when we bought them for her Chrysler Sebring (front-wheel drive convertable)...because for whatever reason NO ONE had her size...we went to "Direct Tire" (sort of a high end market).  When I choked on the price, the dealer said...errahhhh....they're a little "over-rated" for your wife's car."  Apparently they are rated for super speeds and cornering (Audi, Porsche, etc).

But my wife fears driving in the snow UNLESS she has these tires on.  A tad noisy...and anything over +15C....they wear out very quickly.  So, like I said...I check the temps starting 1 Nov and go from there.

I've got a 4WD SUV with new tires this summer.  I'm set.


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## WWF-VT (Oct 7, 2009)

I usually do the switchover first week of December or earlier depending on the weather.  I have Dunlop Winter Sport M3's which are a good tire for dry roads around Boston and handle the snow well in VT.  My wife's Outback needs new tires and may go to snows by mid November.


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## deadheadskier (Oct 7, 2009)

They went on a couple of weeks ago this year.  Summer tires were shot and would not pass inspection.  I didn't really feel like dropping a bunch of cash on new Summers, only to have to switch to snows in November.  So, snows went on early this year.  Last year it was mid November.


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## andrec10 (Oct 7, 2009)

Day before Thanksgiving...


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## billski (Oct 7, 2009)

I put the winters on after I take the summers off 

I'm usually so exhausted from leaf bagging that I don't put them on until I'm pretty sure I'm going to hit snow or ice somewhere in the next week or two.  Often its Xmas, last year it was early January.  That was even with the beautiful December 08 skiing.  Frankly, the roads were just fine till then.


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## ctenidae (Oct 7, 2009)

I just bought used rims and tires for my car. Haven't decided when I'll start thinking about deciding when to think about putting them on.


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## billski (Oct 7, 2009)

ctenidae said:


> I just bought used rims and tires for my car. Haven't decided when I'll start thinking about deciding when to think about putting them on.


 
'cmon boy, that's teenage-talk!   :razz:


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## riverc0il (Oct 7, 2009)

Any time in November usually works for me though earlier the better. Four years ago, there was a massive dump in early November and I was driving to Burke on I-91 cussing myself out for not having had my car ready for winter prior to driving into a snow storm.

Though this year, I will probably put them on towards the end of October when I get my inspection done. Might as well get everything done at the same time and not need to worry about it. My commute to work is 7 miles round trip so it is not like I am putting much extra wear on them considering how far they go throughout the winter.

Interestingly enough, I am researching what to replace my X-Ice's with this season as I felt the X-Ice's were way too much money for not much, if any, better snow performance (though they were bomb proof on icy and slick roads). Tread went WAY too quickly as well, thumbs down. My car is at 150k so I may just go cheapest possible since it will only be a two season tire.


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## wa-loaf (Oct 7, 2009)

Hmmm, just got new All-Seasons. They have a sort of aggressive tread. I may just try them out for a while and if I think I need snows get some later on. November is usually the change over.


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## Glenn (Oct 8, 2009)

When I had my old car, I used to change over on Thanksgiving weekend.


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## noski (Oct 8, 2009)

Since I live on a gravel road the early snows don't stick on the road (but does on the grass). Once the road temp drops and snow starts sticking for good, then I switch them- usually end Nov/early Dec.


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## Warp Daddy (Oct 8, 2009)

wa-loaf said:


> Hmmm, just got new All-Seasons. They have a sort of aggressive tread. I may just try them out for a while  .



Been using Aggressive All Seasons  on my vehicles since mid 80's --------------never had an issue


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## Geoff (Oct 8, 2009)

riverc0il said:


> Any time in November usually works for me though earlier the better. Four years ago, there was a massive dump in early November and I was driving to Burke on I-91 cussing myself out for not having had my car ready for winter prior to driving into a snow storm.
> 
> Though this year, I will probably put them on towards the end of October when I get my inspection done. Might as well get everything done at the same time and not need to worry about it. My commute to work is 7 miles round trip so it is not like I am putting much extra wear on them considering how far they go throughout the winter.
> 
> Interestingly enough, I am researching what to replace my X-Ice's with this season as I felt the X-Ice's were way too much money for not much, if any, better snow performance* (though they were bomb proof on icy and slick roads).* Tread went WAY too quickly as well, thumbs down. My car is at 150k so I may just go cheapest possible since it will only be a two season tire.



That's what studless friction tires are for.  With a soft compound and lots of siping, you're not going to get the 50K miles you'd see out of all season radials.  My snow tire selection is usually based on trying to optimize for black ice.   I can get around just fine in the snow.  It's ice when the temps are near freezing where I'm concerned about safety and keeping control of the car.... and that's independent of whether I'm driving FWD or AWD.

I have an SUV so I'll wait as long as possible before putting the snow tires on the VW.  With my last one, I had a number of years where I held off until Christmas.   Now that my VW is parked in Vermont, "as long as possible" is probably closer to Thanksgiving.   With the summer performance tires, I have to put sand under the tires just to move it to make space for the plow guy.   I'll dig the studded Nokians out of my basement pretty soon and get them on the SUV.


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## BigJay (Oct 8, 2009)

Warp Daddy said:


> Been using Aggressive All Seasons  on my vehicles since mid 80's --------------never had an issue



Nut now, winter tires are mandatory in Quebec...

I usually install mine in late-november / early december... Depends on the weather really... The wheels are stored at the country house... so if there's snow, i can put them on when i get there and since we're low compare to Jay, chances are we'll get nothing but the mountain will be white... It takes about 30min to change all 4...

Now, i got new all-season last week... so i'm not scared of changing them late... But 2 weeks before, i was scared about rain... so snow wasn't an option on those tires!


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## TheBEast (Oct 8, 2009)

Moe Ghoul said:


> I got new Fortera's for the Pilot in July, super nice treads and what a difference it makes for a smooth ride. Should be able to tackle 99% of NE conditions.



Those Fortera's look like some great tires.  Did you get the TripleTred or the SilentArmor?

I'm in the market for some all-season for my 2006 Tundra and my wife's 2005 Highlander.


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## eastcoastpowderhound (Oct 8, 2009)

my studded snows are mounted on steel wheels...so the day before the first snowfall I'll roll 'em out and put them on myself.  Wife's need to get swapped on the rims so usually Dec 1st for her car.


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## Moe Ghoul (Oct 8, 2009)

TheBEast said:


> Those Fortera's look like some great tires.  Did you get the TripleTred or the SilentArmor?
> 
> I'm in the market for some all-season for my 2006 Tundra and my wife's 2005 Highlander.



I got the tripletreds.


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## riverc0il (Oct 8, 2009)

Geoff said:


> That's what studless friction tires are for.  With a soft compound and lots of siping, you're not going to get the 50K miles you'd see out of all season radials.  My snow tire selection is usually based on trying to optimize for black ice.   I can get around just fine in the snow.  It's ice when the temps are near freezing where I'm concerned about safety and keeping control of the car.... and that's independent of whether I'm driving FWD or AWD.


Different strokes for different folks here. Snow is why I need winter tires, not ice. Never had a problem with ice in all the years I used to drive to the mountains from MA. Getting going in snow, especially on an uphill... now that is why I buy winter tires. I think folks driving up from SoNE would have more need for a tire that performs well in the ice because up north ice is less of an issue compared to down south or driving north through a variety of temperatures in which it could be wet for miles and then flash freeze. Further north you go, the less you need to deal with ice since it stays colder longer and the temp doesn't bounce around between freezing and not freezing quite as much. Just my experiences here. I also have a super light weight sub-compact coupe, so take my thoughts with a grain of salt.


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## skijay (Oct 8, 2009)

I changed usually the  week of  Thanksgiving.  

If anybody has a 2002 - 2007 Saturn VUE and is interested in a snow tire package, let me know.


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## Philpug (Oct 9, 2009)

12/15-3/15 Is my usual time with snows on.


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## Johnskiismore (Oct 9, 2009)

Hee, hee, I'm glad this thread was started as I just realized that my snow tires are still in my landlords garage!  Moved into the house last week.


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## TheBEast (Nov 4, 2009)

Moe Ghoul said:


> I got the tripletreds.



Do you mind if I ask how much you paid all in?  I'm getting a $744 quote from Town Fair tire including mounting and alignment.  Just not sure if that's a good price or not.  Works out to $186 per tire.


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