Winter Tire Value in CT

[spect2k]

Hey there,

For all of us tri-state people, I am looking for some feedback as to whether or not you all feel like we qualify as having extreme winters in this area. I am in Norwalk, southwest CT and can't decide if winter tires would be worth the effort. What do you all think?

[STiSubie109]

I have run blizzaks LM 22's or Dunlop wintersport M3's, wouldn't describe either as extreme and make runs to VT every weekend and they handle just fine up there as well.

[CTSubiefan]

CT shoreline gets a lot of rapidly melting snow and slush. I find that to be more dangerous than when i'm skiing up in VT. Up there you're driving on a dry packed snow. It's only when heading south into MA and CT where they apply de-icing solutions that things get hairy.

 

IMHO, A/S tires just don't cut it compared to summer tires, so as a result you've got to run 2 sets. That said, I have found the "winter performance" tires to best meet my combined winter driving needs. Our roads are dry most of the time, this isn't ski country. I was looking for performance and the ability to handle snow and slush without a big increase in road noise from big blocky tread patterns. I was very happy with Michelin Pilot Alpin PA2s and just switched to Vredestein Wintrac Extremes.

 

Ultimately, figure out what type of driving you'll be doing most and choose a tire accordingly. I laugh my ass off when I hear people talk about AWD and their winter tires when they're the first to call out from work bc of snow. I look forward to it and any excuse to drive in it...as long as no meathead in a brand new Escalade comes sliding at me. 99% of the vehicles I see in a ditch are oversized SUV's with drivers who don't understand that 4WD/AWD doesn't do shit for your brakes.

[Ridgeracer]

CT takes forever to plow the roads. Might want to invest in some if you drive a lot.