rktskicar

last winter was nothing here in town. Mild winter. Previous winter had a period where Seattle was paralyzed. Then Mayor Nichols refused to use salt due to his eco nature. He is gone now due to this.

Bruce

rktskicar

I will not crash my S4 or any other car, as I know how to drive in the snow. This was a comment about people who feel they need winter tires to drive in the snow. I have driven in the snow in upstate NY and you guys are a bunch of flatlanders. Try driving in the mountains in the snow, very different man.

Bruce

NABS4

It's not the snow that's the main problem, it's the ice. I'm sure you've never seen minus anything in the Pac NW. Poor advice which ranks right up there with "only wusses wear seatbelts."

rktskicar

you are correct NABS4. should have said snow and ice. black ice is the worst. Been there as well though.

Bruce

redrocker55

Nice Bruce...I wake up to be called a 'wuss'.

Example...Last winter there was a snow storm that stretched from Omaha/ Des Moines/ Iowa City/ Waterloo. Look those up on a map if anyone is not familiar with these areas. By the time this storm was almost done there were snow drifts 10 and 12 feet tall! No Joke. They closed the highways. And this is a area of the country that is 100% prepared for snow/ice and use any chemical possible to deal with it.

My wife was pregnant with twins and this was my last business trip out of town. Wanted to be able to get around as quickly and as safely as possible. I thought it would be a good idea to take our Expedition on this trip b/c of the predicted snow storm/ amout of snow, etc. I grew up driving in the snow belt in the great lakes. I'd put those snow's up against anything that happens in the mountains.

If I was smart, I would have taken my RWD Infiniti on Michelin X-Ice Xi2's. It wasn't the deep snow that was the problem since the plows seem to always be where you need them, it's the slippery conditions below the snow. This is were snow tires have no comparison to all seasons. All those cars you see in the ditch during a snow storm are typically 4x4 vehicles (at least a large percentage are). Why? Those people seem to have a huge confidence level due to their vehicles weight/ drivetrain. But getting thru a snow storm usually isn't about ability to accelerate or getting stuck, it's about staying on the road when that huge semi truck is blasting by you or stopping fast or no being bothered by the 50 mph side winds, etc. Only snow tires give you this type of grip.

I'd love to have traveled thru this storm with you on your all season's and me in my dedicated winters and see who might have the advantage. Unless you've driven modern winter tires (and I assume you have not, otherwise you would not be making those recommendations or calling me a wuss ) I'd probably not blast those that have.

I will stand by my recommendation...All season's are a great balance between summers and winters, but if you want the ultimate in security, then I would go with dedicated snow's for the 3-4 months where the snow/ice potential is the highest.

--suggestion from your friendly AudiWorld Wuss. Ha.

Needsdecaf

I would rather have a RWD car with snows than an AWD car with All Seasons. Grew up living in NY, had several RWD performance cars (Supra, 300ZX) with Blizzaks and they are snows for a reason.

Having said that, a couple of other things to consider:

Summer tires don't just suck in the snow, they suck in cold weather. They offer very little grip when the temp gets below 40 degrees. So regardless of the amount of snow, it's the amount of cold time that will drive your need for all seasons or winters. That could extend the need for snows until much later in the year.

If it's wintry mix with not much snow, I would go with the All Seasons. If the car is your wife's DD, I'd strongly consider that route. If she's going to HAVE to drive in the snow, and you get a lot of snow, get the snows.

I moved from NY to VA. We get plenty of cold snaps, but not much snow (well, except for this year!). So for me, all seasons it is and will be doing the UHPAS swap out when the S4 is ordered before it is delivered. Yes, I am sacrificing some dry performance, but around here, it's just not accessed all that much.

BTW, interesting comparison between tires here at Car and Driver. Compared UHPAS, general AS, dedicated snow and dedicated Ice tires:

http://www.caranddriver.com/features...mparison_tests

HyperS4

To the OP.

On my previous car, 335i RWD I had used General UHP's year round. They were awesome tires but in the deeper stuff I would get a little stuck. Otherwise, they were great.

This time, Im going with the DWS(mounted on other wheels) like you had stated. The biggest thing going for them is their 50k mile warranty. I will not need to buy another set of tires during my lease and I can even put them on the stock wheels to turn them back in and sell the OEM summer tires and probably break even.

I hear nothing but good things about the DWS so you cant make a bad decision. With the AWD, I doubt you need dedicated snow tires.

trigoe

The advantage of being from New York is being able to spot a punk a mile off. You're a punk.

'I will not crash my S4'... please. Accidents happen and they can happen to anyone. Professionals know this. Only ignorant amateur punks don't. Those are the idiots you see in the 4x4's driving 75 in the snow thinking they're impervious. You see them again in 2 miles, usually upside down.

The pros and the evolved amongst us, always, ALWAYS err on the side of caution, intelligence and for the worst. Your beautiful S4 won't save you from yourself.

Your ego will be your undoing but please don't give ****ty advice to others looking for a balanced opinion for car safety. Remember this discussion when you crash your car, because I'll bet any amount of money you will. I only hope you aren't injured.


Lastly, you made this thread about YOU and YOUR perceived abilities. It's not about you, it's about what this dude should do to feel secure in his car.

snowbeer

Thanks for all the info! I didn't realize this could become a controversial topic!

99% of people in Milwaukee drive cars analogous to a pontiac grand am or a civic, and never change the tires, and even drive all seasons nearly bare in the snow. That said, I have almost spun my civic out on a freeway onramp twice, and put my wife's old TSX in a ditch last year. I grew up in Phoenix and lived in Los Angeles before Milwaukee, so my snow driving skills are still developing!

Out of the 15 days which have snow in Milwaukee, 5 of which will occur on the weekend and you just stay inside and watch football and drink beer. 5 others will be at night and the roads are clear by the time I wake up or leave work. This leaves the dreaded 3-5 days per year when you need to get into work with 2-4" of slush on the roads and more coming down.

Based on what I read, if I want the ultimate in winter performance to go with the ultimate-ness of the S4, I should go with Blizzaks or step down to 18" rims and choose from a larger variety. If I don't want to switch back and forth I could get all seasons and suffer the couple days in the winter (with a risk of being in the ditch, but no more so than my other cars).

If I were to get rims for winter, does the construction of the rim matter? I notice tirerack.com has rims that are in the $200 range and then they jump to $600 right away. I assume there is something different between the two groups.

LeadToRome

Go someplace really snowy - Burlington, Syracuse, Cleveland, International Falls, Billings, Jackson, and see how many people change tires for the winter. The biggest target market for snows is people with money who visit the snow - folks from SF, Seattle, Denver, NYC, etc - mainly for recreation. As such, they are essentially for people who don't know how to drive in the snow (and a smaller subclass of people who know how but want to go fast in it).

The guy behind the counter at Dinosaur BBQ in Syracuse drove there in a car with AS on it at best. If Bruce knows how to drive in the snow he is right, snows are largely superfluous (although they might save him from some kind of random craziness), and AS will serve him just as well as snows as long as he avoids unplowed roads.

edit: faulty parallelism corrected.