Chard

i live in the bay area, so there's no snow here whatsoever. i go to tahoe about 10 times a winter, or more, and am wondering if i need snow tires or would the stock 15 in. all weather tires do? i don't have an extra set of rims yet, so i'd have to swap the tires on/off my sport 16 inchers every time i go or just leave them on all winter. i'd rather get the stock 15's with the all weather tires so i could just swap the rims/tires when i go up, but i question the safety of all weather tires vs. snow tires. also, getting 16 inch snow tires would cost more than getting used non-sport rims. answers? thanks...

Rodney

No, you don't NEED snow tires. In fact, if you're just going to swap out for the season, I would say go for all seasons. You don't want to be mounting and unmounting tires (bad for the tires, and more chance of damage to rims). If you regularly drive through storms/fresh snow on your trips to Tahoe, then snows on steel rims (I got 15" steel rims from a Passat for $25 each), may be worth the investment for their added safety (but all seasons and common sense should get you through most situations).