There's an easy fix for that.

For the past 15yrs, I've put my vehicles on jackstands, removed the wheels, removed all weights and cleaned them spotless prior to delivering them to the shop for tire mounting. No chance of dents/dings in vehicle and any tire mounting damage to wheels is visible (I have the manager verify wheel condition at dropoff, this ensures his best tech does the work and not some floorsweeper. The manager knowing the wheels will be inspected at P/U ensures good work).

I disagree. I think EVERYONE driving a car in snow should be required to some sort of training like this. And truly, EVERYONE should be doing some type of skidpad training on dry and wet summer conditions as well.
Car enthusiasts will just have more fun doing it :)


@TiAgX5
I do the same thing with my wheels/tires, less the cleaning. Bring them in loose so that I'm the one installing them and I know they are torqued properly and not with an impact gun.
Thanks for the tip on the cleaning and removing the weights I didn't think of that!

Winter tires yes, winter driving practice, also yes!
 

We drive the best cars in the world, we should be the best drivers!
I live on the "wet coast" of BC, and swap out my tires for winters on halloween, and off again in march. I think that in some parts of the country we have to have the mountain snowflake symbol on the tire. failure to do that in the event of an accident usually results in a ticket for "over driving the conditions" or a tailgating citation.
that said, agree with above posters, an empty parking lot, or even a roundabout after a late night shift presents an invaluable opportunity to drive these cars like they do in the commercials, the ones where they drift around a corner, after all, isnt this what drew us to these vehicles!!!! a person should know what the limits of their vehicle is and also what the limit of their skill set is too. I learned how to drift in winter as a kid, mostly for fun! then when things get serious and scary on the roads, i could drift my way out of trouble, (although i would probably be better off just slowing down!) i was usually by myself, without input from my better half!
I think my daughter was about 4 or 5 before she learned that "going for donuts" actually involved going out and getting some donuts, rather than hopping in my jeep and ripping up a muddy field and coming home covered in mud and having to explain to my wife our current need of clean clothes!!
front wheel drive cars took alot of the fun out of snowy parking lots. You can still get an X5 to drift if you try hard enough and take off the traction control!! :)
Winter driving and summer driving are two completely different things, requiring two completely different mind sets, and driving styles.
I would also venture to say they require two different tire types as well!

@Rfaber, I can almost wave to you across the water here in Port Angeles.

I think its the same driving style, just slower in winter. Although when I'm on the track I try to avoid drifting because it hurts the lap times and destroys the tires faster. OK, I guess it is different, because drifting on snow is more fun and doesn't hurt the tires :)

If you live where you expect more than occasional snow, and it is your daily driver; definitely get snow tires - or at least good M&S.

@racing, hello! if youre ever in Vancouver, PM me for coffee!
drifting does eat tires, and makes for a crappy lap time, but.... its so cool!!!
Drifting lets you know where the traction limit of the tires / track is (for future reference of course!!)
ever come up here to Mission Speedway? 15 min from my place! :)
I do a fair bit of driving up the mountains, so i like my snowies! :)

Drive up to work this morning made me think of this thread and super happy I put those snow tires on. We have been getting loads of snow up here. Fortunately I was down south for new years. X5 tore it up on the way home from the airport last night.

I expected the highways would be cleared for work this morning but they had more snow on them. I was behind a camry on an open 3 lane highway with a couple inches of packed snow. I was really shocked that this guy was going 55. I was doing 50 or so but if I didn't have snow tires or was an a vehicle that didn't have awd, or if there were any other vehicles around or behind me, there is no way I would be going over 40. Sure enough this guy fish tales out in front of me and spins around then slides into the guard rail.

The more I think about this it is really reckless how people are just never trained to drive in snow. For those of us who enjoy driving and playing around with cars you train yourself but I know a lot of people that are clueless. They should not be allowed on snowy roads.

:iagree:
I feel the same way about the same people on dry or wet roads also! Can't wait for self-driving cars to get here.

:iagree: Yeah peope here can't even drive when it's raining, and when it's snowing, they feel compelled to try to turn left in front of you when you're already in the intersection.

Hankook Ventus A/S on the front, Bridgestone A/S on the back, and handling like a beast. I was going to get winters, but seeing how it was handling in the snow and slush, I decided to just be my cheap self and not bother. ;)

Can't wait for self-driving cars?--don't go outside, you will be hit by lightning.