Tires in Winter
09-30-2004, 01:35 PM
#13
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Pilot Sports in Chicago..............no problems..........
To recap the Chicago winter last year:
November - Trace of Snow
December - 1.82 inches - largest single accumulation on December 13 with .4 inches.
January - 14.6 inches with the largest single snowfall of 5.6 inches on January 4 (Sunday).
February - 6.5 inches with the largest single snowfall of 2.2 inches on February 2.
March - 2.68 inches of snow. Largest snowfall .8 inches on March 17.
April - None.
33.4 inches in total.........
I believe Dulles/Washington National/BWI reported 17.4/12.4/18.4 inches respectively of TOTAL snowfall last winter.
IMO you probably won't have too much difficulty without snow tires.....given that you are operating with Quattro.........and probably not actually racing to pick up that half-gallon of milk.
November - Trace of Snow
December - 1.82 inches - largest single accumulation on December 13 with .4 inches.
January - 14.6 inches with the largest single snowfall of 5.6 inches on January 4 (Sunday).
February - 6.5 inches with the largest single snowfall of 2.2 inches on February 2.
March - 2.68 inches of snow. Largest snowfall .8 inches on March 17.
April - None.
33.4 inches in total.........
I believe Dulles/Washington National/BWI reported 17.4/12.4/18.4 inches respectively of TOTAL snowfall last winter.
IMO you probably won't have too much difficulty without snow tires.....given that you are operating with Quattro.........and probably not actually racing to pick up that half-gallon of milk.
09-30-2004, 01:57 PM
#14
Worst recommendation EVAR!!
How would you feel if someone totalled their car from your recommendation?
Quattro isn't going to help you slow down and stop on the snow and ice.
Yes, it happens to people every winter, and we read about it on AW.. snow, summer tires, bent control arms, smashed hood, etc.
Quattro isn't going to help you slow down and stop on the snow and ice.
Yes, it happens to people every winter, and we read about it on AW.. snow, summer tires, bent control arms, smashed hood, etc.
09-30-2004, 02:35 PM
#15
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Downright Dangerous
This is the biggest misconception in winter driving!
Quattro, AWD, 4WD, etc. have absoultely no impact on stopping and turning. Getting started is only a small part of driving in adverse winter conditions. Virtually all accidents in snow/ice conditions are caused because drivers can not stop or turn.
Pilot Sports will land you in a body shop in snowy conditions.
Quattro, AWD, 4WD, etc. have absoultely no impact on stopping and turning. Getting started is only a small part of driving in adverse winter conditions. Virtually all accidents in snow/ice conditions are caused because drivers can not stop or turn.
Pilot Sports will land you in a body shop in snowy conditions.
09-30-2004, 03:04 PM
#16
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Yes, definitely!!
From what I've been told, AWD does help control (i.e., stopping and turning) a small amount... I think it's a oversimplification to say it does nothing. It is definitely a second- or third-order effect, though, and I agree with your assessment-- it ain't gonna save your butt when the tires don't grip.
The biggest problem with summer tires is that the rubber compound will get hard when it gets cold; this greatly reduces the grip on the road, even in dry conditions. Also, the snow will likely stick in the treads because they aren't designed to clear it out.
-JPC
The biggest problem with summer tires is that the rubber compound will get hard when it gets cold; this greatly reduces the grip on the road, even in dry conditions. Also, the snow will likely stick in the treads because they aren't designed to clear it out.
-JPC
09-30-2004, 03:28 PM
#17
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Bickering not withstanding, you can probably get some used B5S4 17 inch wheels here and new M2s...
...from tirerack.com for a relatively reasonable price.
Here's another option:
* Dunlop Graspic DS-2: $119/corner
* AT Italia 5 Razze: $199/corner
That's $320/corner...for 17x7.5 winters that will be an order of magnitude better than summer shoes for a winters there in Illinois.
You can't go over 100 mph on these, but I'm not sure that's what you want to do if you need winter tires. If you want to go fast...you should step up to the performance tires: M3, LM-25 etc. with quality rims. That's some major coin.
Again: Kind of sad that there are not steel wheel options for those of us that just want to get around in the winter.
AlanL also indicated that the Ronal rims were pretty sturdy.
I stuck M2s on my stock wheels 'cuz I bought some cheap summer wheels in May.
Here's another option:
* Dunlop Graspic DS-2: $119/corner
* AT Italia 5 Razze: $199/corner
That's $320/corner...for 17x7.5 winters that will be an order of magnitude better than summer shoes for a winters there in Illinois.
You can't go over 100 mph on these, but I'm not sure that's what you want to do if you need winter tires. If you want to go fast...you should step up to the performance tires: M3, LM-25 etc. with quality rims. That's some major coin.
Again: Kind of sad that there are not steel wheel options for those of us that just want to get around in the winter.
AlanL also indicated that the Ronal rims were pretty sturdy.
I stuck M2s on my stock wheels 'cuz I bought some cheap summer wheels in May.
09-30-2004, 07:32 PM
#20
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All seasons are good, but IMHO the best are sold out until December...
IMHO the best performance all-seasons around are the Pirelli P-Zero Nero M+S, but Pirelli is sold out until December.
The Michelin Pilot Sport A/S is a good alternative but is really, really pricy at $230/tire even at Tire Rack.
If you only get light snow, the best all-seasons have performance characteristics such that you will only notice the difference between them and your summer tires at a track, IMHO.
The Michelin Pilot Sport A/S is a good alternative but is really, really pricy at $230/tire even at Tire Rack.
If you only get light snow, the best all-seasons have performance characteristics such that you will only notice the difference between them and your summer tires at a track, IMHO.