Winter Tire Value - CT

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Obviously for those of us in NH, VT, ME, etc the winter tires are almost an absolute must. I'm in Norwalk, southwest CT though (barely New England area) and am debating whether or not winter tires are worth the value or if a good set of all-seasons could handle the job.

 

For those in this general area, do you think that we qualify as having extreme winters? I can't decide if it's worth the winter set.

 

Thanks.

 

 

No you do not need snow tires.

 

Get a good all season tire like a Michelin MXV4 or whatever takes it's place. I had those on my 92 Honda Civic and my first 2 Legacy GT's. I have driven all those cars to VT every winter weekend skiing since 1995. Never had a issue. I put Michelin Pilot Alpin PA2's on my 05 because of the increased HP.

 

I have driven the all season tires in some of the worst conditions you can think of with out any issues, (picture having to slide to the car in the driveway in VT beacuse the icey driveway was to slippery to walk on, then drive 2 hours to CT, that was with the all season tires)

[Osei]

Here in the Catskills, we had almost a full week of below 40 temps and some high 20's, so I've already made the change.

 

Now that' it's warmed back up, I'm not going to bother. Besides, it's time for some new KDW's anyway.

 

O.

[VtspecB]

Sounds like it comes down to personal preference and driving style. I've always run snows even when I lived near New Haven, CT. FWIW I also pull my ABS fuse in some bad conditions, if you're driving hard on limited traction ABS is worthless.

 

BTW - snows went on 11/29, we've already had slushy stuff come down. Killington opens today!

[shutterbc]

To the OP, it sounds like you may have already made up your mind since it's been a couple months now. As others have hinted, winter biased all seasons like ContiExtremeContacts or Nokian WR / WR G2 may work out for you (sounds like you have 2 sets of wheels already). For my Impreza, I just bought Nokian WR "all seasons" for year-round use and found them to be quite fun even in the worst storms around Boston. They're practically snow tires but treadwear was good enough to get close to 50K miles.

 

My LGT has Nokian Hakka R's courtesy of its previous owner, so I'm driving around on snows in 65 degree (!) weather this time of year. Can't wait to try them out in a decent storm and stop chewing them up on warm pavement; I've never had "real" snow tires before and I'll probably have to remind myself that ice doesn't care how good the tread pattern is.

 

Regardless of what you chose, I hope you were able to make a decision you're comfortable with.

[ScoopMan]

If you want to be economical, a decent set of all-season M+S tires should be fine in Fairfield County. That eliminates the RE92's of course

 

I went the less economical route. Three years ago I decided to get some Blizzak LM-25's on the cheapest wheels Tire Rack offered, which were ASA's at about $110 each. Very happy with my decision. The Blizzaks are very nice driving tires regardless of weather, not just snow. Of course having snows on their own set of wheels allowed me to replace the craptastic RE92's with dedicated summer rubber, Michelin Pilot Sports to be exact. Those are just about worn out and will be replaced in the spring with something....

 

Honestly tho, you will be fine around here with some GOOD all-seasons. I have had several fwd cars with decent AS tires, never ever been stuck.

 

I think Tire Rack is a fantastic source of information as well as a very reliable and cheap place to get tires, wheels, wipers, etc. Check out their surveys and reports.

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I see you are from Norwalk, CT

 

the last two storms we had the one that dumped 5 inches or whatever it was I'm on A/S I had no problem if I pushed the car hard enough I could end up sideways but it was pretty predictable.