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I could imagine doing that if I was still in upstate NY but in NC it would be overkill.
Yes, my thoughts exactly. If one third the cars on the road have them, you don't stick out like a sore thumb....but if no one has them and you run around town with those on your nice car, it's horrible.
Fine in Buffalo/Rochester/Syracuse, middle of Pennsylvania
Remedial warning: Are rims the same as wheels? Meaning to have 4 snow tires I would have to buy 4 new Lexus alloy wheels? Is it hard on the tire to be mounted/unmounted twice a year?
I get refurbished OEM wheels from eBay for lot less $$ than dealership. Once winter tires are mounted I do seasonal change myself. Biggest I have to deal with is 20" ones. For winter tires I down size by one. if possible. 20" summer and 19"summer to have little narrower width and taller side wall height
I have snows on my OEM 17's. I have aftermarket 19's. I swap out myself - but like someone else mentioned, the TPMS needs to be reset.
I live in Toronto - our winters get pretty bad. I used to have a minivan. Never used snow tires. One day I drove like normal, in the snow...went to stop at a stop signed intersection, and slid all the way through.
Just think of the value this way. You're extending the life of your main tires by a factor of 2. So you're buying two sets at one time, so its money, but you'll have them twice as long.
And you get better control in the process. FWD only means you get moving in snow easier than RWD. But, snow tires are about control and stopping, not about getting moving.
I was just in NC a few weeks back on the bike, and I can't imagine how those roads down there would be in slippery conditions.
The worst snow tires are better than the best all seasons...
To add to my previous posting - I don't have to reprogram my TPMS! I notice when I am in the garage near the stored summer tires, they override some of the sensors so my car thinks a couple pressures are off. But when I drive away, the sensors resync to what's on the car and all is back to normal.
first time i ever moved up to the colorado i kept all season tires on and slid into a curb broke my will broke bend the Lower control arm cracked the axle cost me like 1500 in repairs never again i have put snow tires on my car every winter since and im so happy
Makes a huge difference on the GS. I never felt it necessary if I was careful and you have the right all season tires, but if you want even more snow traction, then yes - helps tremendously. I started using the General Altimax artic couple years ago.
We just got (and are still getting) hammered with the earliest serious snow I can remember in 37 years of living here; ... -2C and so far about 15cm blowing in from the NE. Ugly ***** and heavy (for us...we are used to light, dry powder, not this "East Coast Cement"). Took wive's RAV to get groceries because it's got snow tires on it (had them put on last week when getting the brakes checked "just to save my back from having to do it". I was going to take the Lexus and see how it handled in this crud but decided wisdom was better than valour. Do snow tires make a difference? Well of course dependent upon where you live and your local climate and winter driving conditions. BTW, last week I made an appointment for this coming Tuesday to get the ES fitted with snow boots.
