When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
I believe snow tires are required in Quebec. I guess they do make a difference.*
My colleague showed up in a 300S with Ontario tags, I was thinking dang dude you're not gonna do too well with those 20" low pros. Then I saw it did have 4 snows--255/45-20.
Look at how huge that stripe is, where the pads don't touch the rotor, on the disc near the hat. Even bigger than my LS430 in the rear, but being factory, no rust on the 300S.
My colleague showed up in a 300S with Ontario tags, I was thinking dang dude you're not gonna do too well with those 20" low pros. Then I saw it did have 4 snows--255/45-20.
Look at how huge that stripe is, where the pads don't touch the rotor, on the disc near the hat. Even bigger than my LS430 in the rear, but being factory, no rust on the 300S.
20" snows
Those little brake rotors look silly with such big wheels.
Those little brake rotors look silly with such big wheels.
Great minds think alike!
My next car I want minimum 15" rotors and ugh...six pistion calipers. (This sets the bar pretty high and I might not be able to afford to get anything...)
In most cases, it's just up-front cost, as the long-term running costs are about the same, or in some cases lower. Remember every mile that goes on your winter tires doesn't go on your summer or AS set. To use my wife's car as an example, her factory 21" tires are $388 each, for a total of $1,688 including tax, before installation. A set of Blizzak DM-V2s mounted and balanced on a brand-new set of 19" wheels was $1,712 including tax, delivered to my house, so essentially the exact same price. Future sets will be dramatically cheaper, and we will go longer between replacements on the larger tires. In my case, my winters cost literally half of what my Pilot SuperSports do, and have a dramatically longer treadlife. So I save a ton of money by changing them out for 4-5 months of the year.
For "normals" like my parents, costs are probably about the same, all things considered.
Yep, mine is actually due, at "387 miles to no start" this morning (starts at 999 miles). But it's only $12 for 2.5 gallons, I'll just fill the tank when I change my oil this weekend. It's supposed to last the full Oil-change interval (about 13.5k miles on my car), but consumption is fixed at 2% of fuel usage. Since the tune works by injecting more fuel than the factory tune would, I empty the DEF tank a little quicker, right around 9-10k miles. Not a big deal either way.
Excellent point on the up-front costs. For snows I have always gotten the cheapest rim I can find online. The strange thing was with the BMW, I was getting compliments lol (ASA when they were still made in Korea). With the LS430, I got them before I picked up the car--went down to Delaware and picked them up at the distribution center, so no shipping/no tax, I think they came in at just under $1000. The only car I've ever had where I got multiple sets of snows on were my Volvos. The actual mileage put on the snows since I try to put them on late, take them off early, is not a lot.....I know that some run their LS430's on all seasons, but I wouldn't do that. As mentioned I was stuck already with 2" on untreated side roads.
Smart drivers don't care about what technology is underneath their car. They drive the car for the way it's set up. So a FWD motorist learns how the car handles and learns what all season tires do vs dedicated winter tires. A RWD motorist figures out how that type of setup works and compensates for the fact that there are all seasons in that car vs winters.
I agree 100%. Drivers in the US have no training, Over my life I've taken several advanced driving courses, and when I turned 16 my parents sent me to a defensive driving course using a skid car which really taught me a lot.
Just like the OP says he favors RWD in an LS. Would SW have you believe the same thing in the deep winter states of the US? Probably not.
I don't think my opinion between these two particular cars (FWD Pacifica and RWD LS) would change depending on where I was. If I lived in a deep snow climate, I would buy winter tires and in such case the RWD LS would still be superior to the FWD Pacifica for reasons I've highlighted before. If I lived in such a climate I would have chosen AWD for the LS also.
And mmarshall is correct. His Subaru was the perfect car for those conditions. Too bad Subaru never quite got its head gasket problems sorted out. Those Legacy Outbacks were near unstoppable no matter what tires they were using.
Unstoppable from a traction perspective sure, but no better turning or stopping than anything else.
Originally Posted by Johnhav430
I can also tell you that my RWD LS430 got caught earlier this year in 2" with all seasons because I put the snows on late. It got stuck on a side road.
Lets resurrect this, because its winter, and in the view of the complete clusterpluck that happened on i95 in Virginia earlier this week. I had two employees driving back to NY from Florida, and they were stuck in it. If the US had a winter tires mandate in the NE, most of this could've been avoided.
Lets resurrect this, because its winter, and in the view of the complete clusterpluck that happened on i95 in Virginia earlier this week. I had two employees driving back to NY from Florida, and they were stuck in it. If the US had a winter tires mandate in the NE, most of this could've been avoided.
These things just happen sometimes. We got stuck in the same situation except ours was even worse, it was much colder, and this was in BMFK Arkansas in 2014.
Winter tires wouldn't have stopped a thing, let alone mandates. It was a horrible ice storm and multiple semis had flipped, blocking the whole interstate. It was crazy, choppers flying overhead like CRAZY. Eventually the national guard came out with food, but we somehow made it off the interstate (in my RWD LS??) and into the WORST motel you could POSSIBLY imagine. This with a full car, 2 cats, not much gas... headed out to move to California in 2014. This was BMFK Arkansas west of Memphis.
I prefer RWD in snow if I don't have a true 4x4, FWD is just too compromised with the fronts having every job (braking, steering, power) on them vs RWD having more traction on hand for each task.
Winter tires wouldn't have stopped a thing, let alone mandates. It was a horrible ice storm and multiple semis had flipped, blocking the whole interstate.
Exactly. What happened on I-95 in VA earlier this was pretty much the same thing that cause most of these massive winter accidents/tie-ups. Tires are not the issue...people simply drive too fast for conditions, make up too many excuses for why they can't or won't stay off icy roads (although some conditions and emergencies may justify it), and truckers are under a lot of pressure to deliver heavy loads regardless of the conditions, sometimes over-pushing it. A lot of these pile-ups start when tractor-trailers jackknife and lose control......in general, if the cab slides more than 15 degrees off the angle of the trailer, the driver probably won't recover.
Here in the D.C. area, one absolutely notorious spot for large truck-jacknifings is the Beltway overpass of of the I-270 access. It is clearly marked, with large signs and yellow flashing lights, as a 50 MPH (in good weather) turn to the left...but many motorists and truckers apparently ignore it....with predictable results.
It's a shame that defensive driving/cold weather driving courses aren't mandated in order to earn your driver's license (specifically in regions that warrant it).
It's a shame that defensive driving/cold weather driving courses aren't mandated in order to earn your driver's license (specifically in regions that warrant it).
Most of safe driving in bad weather is not something that you can best learn in a classroom anyway....it is simple common sense. That, and actual practice in a slick parking lot, best done in a vehicle without ABS or electronic traction-systems, to get the feel of what happens when wheels lock up or one end starts to slide.
I learned in the late 60s, in an old-fashioned compact car, totally mechanical, without power-assisted steering or power-assisted brakes, where the lack of those assists helped you feel, in your hands and feet, exactly how the wheels were responding to your steering or brake-input.
We have snow tires on our Matrix. It really is that good in snow as the tires are so grippy. and the car never slides. We also gladly take the insurance discount we get that comes with snow tire installation.
Most of safe driving in bad weather is not something that you can best learn in a classroom anyway....it is simple common sense. That, and actual practice in a slick parking lot, best done in a vehicle without ABS or electronic traction-systems, to get the feel of what happens when wheels lock up or one end starts to slide.
I learned in the late 60s, in an old-fashioned compact car, totally mechanical, without power-assisted steering or power-assisted brakes, where the lack of those assists helped you feel, in your hands and feet, exactly how the wheels were responding to your steering or brake-input.
Had our first snow today, about 3/4 inch but no road salt.....there were three crashes from my house to the range, one of them right by my subdivision where someone rear ended a car. One at the round about off and over the outside curb and the last just flew off the road for no particular reason.
AKA the usual. I took the 460 out to see how it does in light snow with the PSAS4s and while they are clearly not crossclimates they are adequate. When coming home when I reached my culdesac I decided to full off TC and VSC and drift around the circle a few times and then slide half way up my driveway.
The 460 does a hell of a lot better than a 430 at this type of fun! Engine sounds great holding 5700 as well, very easy to correct angle with the right pedal. The tires while not having as good of grip were very predictable and even with the TC full off I could park and maneuver without sliding. Good enough.
We have snow tires on our Matrix. It really is that good in snow as the tires are so grippy. and the car never slides. We also gladly take the insurance discount we get that comes with snow tire installation.
01-17-19, 09:19 AM
What happened on I-95 in VA earlier this was pretty much the same thing that cause most of these massive winter accidents/tie-ups. Tires are not the issue...people simply drive too fast for conditions, make up too many excuses for why they can't or won't stay off icy roads (although some conditions and emergencies may justify it), and truckers are under a lot of pressure to deliver heavy loads regardless of the conditions, sometimes over-pushing it. A lot of these pile-ups start when tractor-trailers jackknife and lose control......in general, if the cab slides more than 15 degrees off the angle of the trailer, the driver probably won't recover.
