kimokalihi Posted November 3, 2006 Share Posted November 3, 2006 But I can't seem to remember if I did or not and I can't find the post so maybe I didn't. Bad memory(horrible actually), sorry. I have 2 studded snow tires that are mounted on two subaru steelies and a 90 legacy AWD wagon 4EAT with 4 all season tires on subaru steelies. All 6 tires are the same size. Is it ok/beneficial to put these two tires on my car when I go snowboarding this winter? Will this mess with my AWD? If it is beneficial and safe to do, should I put them on the front? I have not had this car very long so I don't know how it does in the snow. I've never had an AWD before, I just have my 4WD toyota pickup. I have probably 90+% tread on the all season tires. How do you think they'll perform in the snow? Is it even necessary to bring chains or mount studded tires to go up the pass? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rweddy Posted November 3, 2006 Share Posted November 3, 2006 But I can't seem to remember if I did or not and I can't find the post so maybe I didn't. Bad memory(horrible actually), sorry..... Having only 2 snow tires on any car AWD/FWD/RWD ect is a very bad idea. If you put them on the front then your rear will slide out on you, in the rear the front will slide and the rear will push. Get 4 or just run with you all seasons and depending on how good they are see if you need to buy a complete set. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kimokalihi Posted November 3, 2006 Author Share Posted November 3, 2006 That's what I thought. Had to make sure though. I constantly see people talking about how important it is to have correct PSI in your tires or the AWD will not like it so I figured 2 studded tires would really mess with things. Anyone run all seasons in the snow with AWD? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rweddy Posted November 3, 2006 Share Posted November 3, 2006 That's what I thought. Had to make sure though. I constantly see people talking about how important it is to have correct PSI in your tires or the AWD will not like it so I figured 2 studded tires would really mess with things. Anyone run all seasons in the snow with AWD? Yea Subaru is not a fragile like many AWD systems, i.e. Volvo, Chrysler, etc. but it is important to have the same psi and same size tires. I run BFG Traction TAs, these are aggressive all season and do great in the snow but no all seasons will compare to a good set of snow tires, or All-Weather tires like Nokian WRs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mtsmiths Posted November 3, 2006 Share Posted November 3, 2006 Kimo, you nevah wen answer which islan' you stay go? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kimokalihi Posted November 3, 2006 Author Share Posted November 3, 2006 Kimo, you nevah wen answer which islan' you stay go? Huh? I believe you're asking which island I'm from. I don't know which island I'm from. Maybe my mom does. My dad is full Hawaiian which makes me half Hawaiian/half dutch. I've never been to Hawaii though. Lived in Washington my whole life...so far. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Virrdog Posted November 4, 2006 Share Posted November 4, 2006 I constantly see people talking about how important it is to have correct PSI in your tires or the AWD will not like it so I figured 2 studded tires would really mess with things. Anyone run all seasons in the snow with AWD? The overall diameter is the critical measurement. Otherwise one of your diffs will think one side is constantly slipping and heat up, leading to premature wear. I have run 4 bald summer tires with my turbo... but I would not recommend it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Setright Posted November 4, 2006 Share Posted November 4, 2006 Subaru manuals recommend snow chains on the front wheels only. Not sure why. Of course snow chains set a very low speed limit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nipper Posted November 4, 2006 Share Posted November 4, 2006 Chains on the front for two reasons, the cars are biased towards the front, and there is more clearance in the front wheel wells. The majority of people run all season tires here on subarus with no problems. Actually at this point in time in the universe, thats sort of like asking if radials are better then bias ply on the car nipper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kimokalihi Posted November 4, 2006 Author Share Posted November 4, 2006 All Seasons in the snow? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nipper Posted November 4, 2006 Share Posted November 4, 2006 All Seasons in the snow? last i checked winter was a season.... hence why they are called all season. Or si somoeone selling three season tires, or every season but snow tires hehehehe nipper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rweddy Posted November 4, 2006 Share Posted November 4, 2006 last i checked winter was a season.... hence why they are called all season. Or si somoeone selling three season tires, or every season but snow tires hehehehe nipper Yes but all seasons are a compromise, they are for all weather types but excell at not. Best is to use them for three season and get a set of real snow tires. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nipper Posted November 4, 2006 Share Posted November 4, 2006 Yes but all seasons are a compromise, they are for all weather types but excell at not. Best is to use them for three season and get a set of real snow tires. best place to go is www.tirerack.com they are a great resource for info. There are alot of cities and places where AWD vehicals with all seasons are exempt from a chain requirement. nipper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kilroy Posted November 4, 2006 Share Posted November 4, 2006 I run all-season tires in the spring/summer/fall, but come snowfall you can't beat a set of winter tires for traction. Sure, you can save yourself a few $$$ by running all-season tires year round, but when you are paying $$ to fix somebody's vehicle or a tow truck to get you out of the ditch, the winter tires suddenly seem like a good idea. You can't put a price on safety! If you have a family in your vehicle and you are driving on crappy winter roads, get snow tires! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Virrdog Posted November 5, 2006 Share Posted November 5, 2006 All seasons are OK in the winter with AWD. They are a compromise like has been mentioned. Snow tires are great if you can afford to get a set. I get 2 sets of wheels for every car as soon as possible to have a set of summer and winter tires. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kimokalihi Posted November 5, 2006 Author Share Posted November 5, 2006 I can't afford another set of tires and the all seasons were purchased earlier this year so I think it'll be fine. It only snows where I live maybe 3 times a year and it's only a couple inches. But I do snowboard a lot during the winter. We drove a diesel jetta (I love those things) up there last winter several times without chaining up and it just had regular stock tires on it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rweddy Posted November 5, 2006 Share Posted November 5, 2006 I can't afford another set of tires and the all seasons were purchased earlier this year so I think it'll be fine. It only snows where I live maybe 3 times a year and it's only a couple inches. But I do snowboard a lot during the winter. We drove a diesel jetta (I love those things) up there last winter several times without chaining up and it just had regular stock tires on it. If you made it in a jetta with regular tires, you will be more than fine with the subaru, you will be amazed. When you can afford it throw on some snow tires next year and you will be too confident at times! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aboone1970 Posted November 5, 2006 Share Posted November 5, 2006 I would think you will get just about anywhere with good all seasons in the snow. I am a big fan of studded tires but if you don't have them on all four wheels, just stick with the all seasons. Do they police check to see if you have chains or studs in Washington? Here in Oregon, they just post signs but don't actually have anyone checking for traction devices when the weather gets ugly. In California, you get turned around at the checkpoints if you don't have the right tires. My point being maybe it's worth getting a cheap set of studs if you are planning on driving in snowcountry a lot this winter or if they check for chains. Craigslist.org always has a bunch of winter tires for sale. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subarupusher Posted November 5, 2006 Share Posted November 5, 2006 I am against ever getting studded tires especially in Western Washington. Think about how much you really use them here. We get a real snowstorm in the lowlands maybe once every few years and it results in 3-4 days of slush. The rest of the time you only encounter snow and ice when you get within 10 miles of the ski areas. That leaves a lot of people pulverizing perfectly good snow free roads with studs for 5-6 months without ever seeing snow. I have driven various Subarus up to the ski areas in Washington for 20 years and never gotten stuck. Never even needed a push. Just drive smart and and have a good set of all season tires. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rweddy Posted November 5, 2006 Share Posted November 5, 2006 I am against ever getting studded tires especially in Western Washington. Think about how much you really use them here. We get a real snowstorm in the lowlands maybe once every few years and it results in 3-4 days of slush. The rest of the time you only encounter snow and ice when you get within 10 miles of the ski areas. That leaves a lot of people pulverizing perfectly good snow free roads with studs for 5-6 months without ever seeing snow. I have driven various Subarus up to the ski areas in Washington for 20 years and never gotten stuck. Never even needed a push. Just drive smart and and have a good set of all season tires. This is why you get a 2nd set of wheels and tires and only put them on when there is snow. Even with AWD dedicated snow tires are awsome. Our Honda with front wheel drive and good snow tires will out handle our subaru with all-seaons in the snow. This is until I put the snows on my roo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frag Posted November 5, 2006 Share Posted November 5, 2006 Tests have been made up here (Montreal) which show that four seasons tires suck when the time comes to brake on snowy-icy surfaces. Four seasons might be an acceptable compromise for traction, but, where winter brings snow and ice and when the wheather is very cold (rubbert of 4 S. becomes too hard), they are dangerous when comes braking time and when your life and that of others is at stake. My dollar worth of comment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nipper Posted November 5, 2006 Share Posted November 5, 2006 Tests have been made up here (Montreal) which show that four seasons tires suck when the time comes to brake on snowy-icy surfaces. Four seasons might be an acceptable compromise for traction, but, where winter brings snow and ice and when the wheather is very cold (rubbert of 4 S. becomes too hard), they are dangerous when comes braking time and when your life and that of others is at stake.My dollar worth of comment. wouldnt that be a toony worth of comment? hehehe nipper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nipper Posted November 5, 2006 Share Posted November 5, 2006 http://www.consumersearch.com/www/automotive/snow-tires/index.html nipper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frag Posted November 5, 2006 Share Posted November 5, 2006 wouldnt that be a toony worth of comment? hehehe nipper Don't know, but we're all a little loony up here cause the season we call winter is not exactly the same as the season they call winter in california. Maybe that's where four seasons tires paradise is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frag Posted November 5, 2006 Share Posted November 5, 2006 http://www.pfmmag.com/fall2003/fall2003severesnowtires.htm Reading the the first paragraph is quite enough. Lots of other tests confirm this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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