Coloradoans - need your advise!
 

I just moved here about 8 weeks ago from Nova Scotia. For the past 4 winters, I was running 19" winter tires. But they are now bald, and so are my summers. I was wondering if I needed actual snow tires in Colorado? I live in Fort Collins where I hear that the city clears the snow pretty quickly and the sun melts it off quickly. I was wondering if I could run my OEM 20's with all-season and be fine. I travel to Denver about once a week via I-25 and probably will not go up to the mountains with the X5 (will take father-in-laws MDX).

Thanks!

I run winter tires on each of our X's but I think you would be fine on the Front Range if you run A/S tires that have plenty of tread life. It is a bit of a compromise, but its not the same ball game here as it is in NS (I grew up in Maine so I can relate somewhat).

As you probably know, winter tires are better even if there is nothing on the ground b/c they generally remain more compliant and grippy on cold roadbeds.

You are absolutely correct that the sun typically melts off any snow in short order. It is extremely rare that secondary roads hold snow for any length of time. CDOT puts so much mag chloride on I-25 so it'll be the rare days that there is any snow/ice on it. Some neighborhoods do go unplowed in the winter so you might want to check that.

Final thought is that even if you run winter tires, invariably you will be stuck on I-25 behind a Highlander with 50% worn all-seasons, so you won't be able to take advantage of the extra grip of winter tires anyway.:D

You're probably ok with just all season tires.

We only have about one bad snow storm each year.

However, I got a good deal on a set of snow tires / wheels on Craigslist and there is a huge difference on the ice / snow.

I bought my X5 in CO in 2009. I also grew up driving in Maine, so learned very early how to drive in the snow (the occasional track day in my other bimmers also taught me a bit about car control :)

Almost immediately after purchasing the car, CO was hit by a severe cold snap and some light snow. While my 20" tires had plenty of tread, it felt like I was driving on roller skates! The rubber compound on my all seasons was not up to the challenge of sustained subfreezing temps. The pseudo-performance rubber in the all seasons gets VERY hard and has no give at all. Whether you are driving on snow or dry pavement, you need your tires to have a little flexibility in order to maintain control.

In addition to different tread patterns, snow tires have significantly different rubber. They use a compound that is more forgiving in severely cold temps which allows for more of the rubber to contact the pavement when dry or the snow when it exists.

My advice is to buy a set of cheap 17-inch wheels (or 18's if you have an is and need to fit over the larger brakes) off ebay or craigslist and put a set of snow tires on the truck. The 17's will be the least expensive option for tires. You should be able to get a brand new set from tirerack or discounttiredirect for less than $500 for the set. Pretty cheap for peace of mind that will last you at least 3-4 seasons. (and you can save your more expensive summer tires to use when the roads are dry and more fun!)

Hope that is helpful...drive safe...

Winter tires are about maximizing grip when the tempature drops below 7 C / 40F, not necessarily about snow falling. I am in Maryland and have 2 sets of winters and would not think about runnning AS. As many here will agree All-Season is really -> No Season tires!

One set of winter tires is cheaper than even the most minor front end repair becoz your braking was long by a foot.... You already have the wheels, even a set of cheap winter tire will perform better then AS tires.