Winter Tires... Why???
 

I see that a lot of you put on different tires for the winter season. When I was living in NJ I had Toyo Proxes on my Expedition. They were 285mm wide and I had no problem driving in the snow with them.

Would love some input into why change over to winter tires. Is it that the Michelins are terrible in the snow??? Are the winter tires that much better??? I really had no problem driving with the Toyo's.....

Thanks!

Both, its just one less thing to worry about when driving in the snow.

Better to be safe than sorry.

I go to VT to ski and even if it saves me once a year from getting stuck or whatever, it is worth it to me. All of my cars that are driven in the winter get snows, they really make a huge difference when the time comes.

1) It's worth it because if I drove around in the X3 in the snow with summer or even all seasons, I'd be going around corners at 0.5mph and braking half a mile in advance just so I wouldn't lose control. Sure, you need to slow down no matter what in bad weather, but winter tires provide extra confidence.

I unexpectedly lost control and spun out completely a year ago making a normal right turn with just a small bit of slush at a normal speed, not intentionally trying to do anything silly, DSC on. If you think doing a 180 in the middle of an intersection is "acceptable", then by all means stay with summers.

2) The cost of a fender bender or repair is FAR more than a set of winter tires.

3) I have a front-drive Lexus with summer tires on year round. Getting moving in snow/ice is difficult, turning is harder, and stopping is impossible. ABS kicks in and you keep flying forwards past the stop sign with no reduction in speed at all. Needless to say, it stays garaged when frozen precip falls.

When we did our first four winters, back on the Mtn in NC, there
were times early/late in season that we would "try" the run up or
down, with oem Micheys on 18s. It was a decided white knuckle
trip that was only successful due to the knowledge of our 4 mile
road, luck and willingness to "slud" the car around. With the usual
switch to our "winter set" of 17" wheels and dedicated Mich Alpins,
we were in control, and made it down & back up nearly effortlessly,
even on days when neighbors with other 4WD vehicles didn't even try.
It was literally night & day for us in our local conditions, with the snow
set vs. the "all weather" summer set.

All academic, as we are here in sunny SW FLA for the winters, now.

Winter Tires + X-drive = SUPERIOR Grip.

That is why.

You meant Lexus rear-wheel-drive?

1996 Lexus ES300. Definately front wheel drive.

Hey.. thank you guys for sheding some light on this for me!!!

Because my X5 got stuck in 1'5" feet of snow with stock tires.

But to be fair.. the snow was compacted on top of each other so it was hard as hell. Mixed with a lot of ice too. I also didn't gun it up the hill to go to the main road because the snow/ice was so high I was afraid that if I gunned it I would ruin my bumper. So I approached it at like 5mph. Got stuck and had to shovel my way out.

Driving in regular snow (I only tested it on 4-5") was funn.

Oh, I thought newer ones...

winter tires have dedicated rubber compound to stay pliable in sub zero temps. Plus, they have sipes in the tread to bite into the compact snow/ice when there is a thin layer of water over. You can literally stop 30-feet sooner from 30mph on ice/snow with winter tires over all-season tires, and even more if comparing to summer tires.

It's like this. You wouldn't try and walk on snow/ice with dress shoes. You would put on boots with specific tread. Otherwise you'll fall on your arse :)

http://www.tirerack.com/winter/tech/...hid=120#doneed

or how about this:
I was driving 75-80 on unplowed highway with about 2-3 of fresh snow, when everyone else was staying in the right lane barely going 35-40 mph
PIRELLI SCORPION ICE AND SNOW IS THE KING!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The michelins on the stock 17's suck in snow...not necessarily starting or moving but stopping is terrible...I slide on like 2 inches of snow

No intend to flame.....but 70+++ seems awfully fast on snowy roads.

The day we got hit by the ice/snow this season in NYC, I saw a pickup who couldn't stop in time cause his tars were not up to par. There are other lives at stake just short of your own on the road.

Even the newer ES is front wheel drive. As a matter of fact, you can even get an RX with front wheel drive as well. But they do a great job in branding the name plate such that most people think Lexus = rear wheel drive!

The ES is a dressed up Camry, so I'd expect it to be FWD. Of course probably a lot more reliable than my 96 328i :)
As for winter tires, i have Blizzaks on my E30 and they are great. I dont drive the 540 in the winter and we just got the X so I didnt get snows yet. The snowfall around here has been pathetic this winter.. but i'll be looking into a set for next winter! whats the recommended brand?

Yes, that ice/snow mix on Valentine's Day was terrible. Around here it was about 6-7", but it was the most difficult 6" of precip to drive in. Basically that morning, if you did not have AWD, you were stuck.

It was worse when the plow went by our street, and shoved the snow to the side, along my driveway which then froze. I drove the X3 over the heap, but it caused a disconcerting scraping sound along the undercarriage due to the inadaquate ground clearance.