I live in Hagerstown MD and travel to Montgomery County about once a week where the snow is suppose to be more severe this year. As we all know, Subaru made the very wise decision...:shakehead: of going with summer tires for an AWD car. While they grip the road well during the warmer months, it doesnt make much sense for what most people use these cars for. That being said..
Are winter tires necessary? I have experience driving in the snow but had All Weathers on my old 05 WRX. I don't want to invest in new tires unless it is truly necessary.
And how would you suggest I vote...I have snow tires on 2003 LGT wheels, and a 2011 WRX....they are technically stock Subaru wheels, just not for my car.
Get performance winters unless you are in real mountains or real north country. I had a great drive today on a very twisty road in the rain and low 40's. I was trying to get loose (safely - after the corner is completely in the bag give a little extra flick and mash the gas) to little effect. The only ones I have tried are the Pirelli Winter Sottozero Serie II and they get two big thumbs up from me. They wear very long (I abused them for a whole summer) and they are actually great handling tires. They hold great, don't roll over too much, and give up traction in a predictable manor. I would not hesitate to drive them from here to Canada in a blizzard (I'd say California too but a couple of those passes can require real winter tires).
sorry guys n gals i totally forgot about a great service. cant afford a set of snows and steels? ask a tire shop you trust about tire siping. great way to improve winter/ice driveability. not a replacement for snows at all, but if you have any kind of life left(like 5/32nds or better) its a great, inexpensive way to improve winter driving. i have siped anything from a smart car to a school bus and the result is always the same. better of the line, better braking, safer car. cost 40$ here.
i did it to my 84 camaro's toyo proxes px-4 245-50-16 summer performance and could at least drive in the snow. before, stop signs scared me in the winter.
that sounds like a really bad idea as it destroys summer grip, and does not add low temp grip.
The compound used in summer performance tires does not grip the road well in the cold. Adding siping will not change the characteristics of the compound to allow better cold gripping. All this will do is help clear a small amount of snow slush from under the tire.
Then when summer hits, your tread is all mushy due to the siping so you now need to buy new summer rubber anyway.
You would be better off buying the cheapest generic all season you could find than siping summer rubber
true. although siping my tires were a emergency stop gap(normaly i wouldnt sipe summer tires) to get me by until my snows came two weeks later. and i did sipe shallow, about 3/32nds. got me by on the ice which was my biggest problem. still got stuck in deep snow until i bolted on 205-70-15s winterforce firestones. even that wasnt enough to get me by all the time, so i upgraded to WRX.....and mean A%% blizzacks. not having a problem anymore
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I just wanted throw an update out regarding the general altimax tires.I just got them put on my 13 wrx today and to be honest so far I hate it. Maybe it needs some more breaking in but after 50 miles I can say they are not for gripping the road. Obviously a snow tire is for snow so this is expected but I thought for other people thinking about getting them it would be nice to know. I haven't tryed them in snow since I just put them on today but for general driving they are not very good. Personally I loved the stock tires they are the best grip I have ever felt on the road surpassing the tires on my g37x. I hope the altimaxs perform well in the snow because I feel very compromised with general driving right now
A winter tire will not compare to summer tires in terms of grip! If you're looking for a tire that grips like a summer tire and can perform in the snow, you're not going to find for what you're looking.
I wasn't expecting them to grip like summer tires that is what I said. I just wanted to let anyone know who's considering the tires to know the tire doesn't ride well, its not a great ride
Rockstar....please also note that today was rather warm in many parts of the northeast.....snow tires grip less in warm weather than they do in cold weather.
Here in Pittsburgh it was 60 degrees todsay but mid last week it was 35. you can really tell the difference with snow tires in both grip and road noise when it warms up.
It was 29 degrees I don't find that warm. If you don't like what I have to say just don't comment. My point is I'm disapointed with the tire. I would go with a different brand next time they don't feel quality
Rockstar....Your location only says 'New York', I was not sure if you meant state or city....if you were closer to Buffalo it would have been 50 today.
No reason for attitude mang. We are just providing you with additional info on what to expect from those same tires in differnt conditions.
I am sorry you are currently disappointed with them, but I assure you they are quality. I have had them in the past, and am currently running Nokian which is the best you can get. Neither the Altimax nor the Nokians I am running are going to be good for performance, but they will keep you on the road and make you stop in slick snow conditions.....which is the reason for snow tires, to keep you and your car whole.
I just figured people might be chill on here but most of the time I've been disappointed to see people here can be about as friendly as the gear heads working at the local shops. Lol whatever I'll be alright I love my Rex keep trolling the subby forums like your somebody. Cya on the track
I just figured people might be chill on here but most of the time I've been disappointed to see people here can be about as friendly as the gear heads working at the local shops. Lol whatever I'll be alright I love my Rex keep trolling the subby forums like your somebody. Cya on the track