My fairly new all-weather tires just aren't doing the trick. Recently got stranded in my car for a few hours going up a hill to home from the gym. While working out, the roads had really turned into ice-skating rinks (that was after a lot of tire spinning.) The highway was OK but around home - more rural and not at the top of the salting list - it was really dangerous. (As I expected, headlines in the next day's local paper highlighted many crashes.)

I could tell I was about to slide backwards and left off the road and down into somebody's house which lay in a small valley behind me there, so I called for help.

The tow truck driver told me the very worst tows he'd ever had to be involved in were precisely that situation - people whose cars had slid backwards off road into someone's house.

We're due for more "Wintry Mix" Thursday and Friday (that's the worst around here - snow in the day, turning into sleet accompanied by a major temp drop overnight). As much else as I have to fit in before New Year's, I'm ready to get snow tires. I used to have Blizzaks and they were good but for some reason stopped getting them after the last set wore out (kids leaving home?).

If I have any selection these days (with everyone worried about getting places for Christmas in the expected weather), what brand might you recommend? Cost matters but if I have to shell out more for safety, I will. (Ideally from a dealer with a warrantee that includes taking them off/putting them on and rebalancing seasonally as part of the purchase.)

My son (Bay Area) just got a new set of tires from Cosco (dammit I forgot the name of the brand) and between Cosco's discount and some kind of great combination sale with the manufacturer, he got a good set for his Prius for ~$600. (Naturally, they weren't for snow - just tread wear.) Besides we don't have Cosco's near here.

I have a low mileage old Corolla (love the old cars, partly because I'm a Luddite who loses keys).

Don't know how local sales are.

Suggestions, please?

Amanda, the best and smartest thing to do is find out what small, local tire shop is the best/most trustworthy in town, and let them take care of you. A shop like that will know the best tires to get and what the best value is. They will give you free service and warranty the tires, so they are only going to sell what doesn't cost them money later on.

I have put studded snow tires on both our vehicles. The road to our house is a steep luge run. I actually have slid backwards on it. Studs are not optional in those kinds of conditions.

Studded tires or an AWD that uses the system developed by Volvo.
Volvo
Subaru
BMW

Put on Bridgestone Blizzak tires for the winter.

We had the same problem with our VW Golf. Front wheel drive, and all season tires just didn't give my wife sufficient control in snowy driving. Lots of sliding about and feeling like she didn't really have control.

So we bought Bridgestone Blizzak tires, and 4 new wheels to mount them on. Now we simply switch to the winter tires in late fall/early winter, then back to the all season tires in the spring.

They greatly improved traction and control. I don't know what stores you have around you, but we use Discount Tire and they are great about swapping them out as needed. No charge.

Have heard good things about the tires Dan recommended.

What Dan said. Blizzaks are the gold standard for snow tires.

Have you considered tire chains?

We had Blizzaks on MrsTuner's New Beetle years ago that made a huge difference. We had them mounted on cheaper steel rims to just swap out for winter. I see studded tires are legal during certain months in PA, so that might be your safest option.

Thank you all!

A few "unfortunately's", though.

1) As I said in long intro post, I used to use Blizzaks (went through several sets) but they discontinued the size small enough for my car.

2) Also Bridgestown stopped the lifetime seasonal switch out of tires anyhow.

In fact, its looking like NO dealer in town provides that feature. They even charge to mount the tires after you buy them there.

There are a few tiny little shops that include that service, but they're quite far away. Also, their Google reviews are very spotty...

Highly recommended service (also sell cars) took my car in today to fix the damaged undercarriage and I had high hopes that they could also get me good tires based on their notion of my actual need locally.

They recommended and explained well, but don't include the servicing. Since that would cost me an extra $100 Fall and Winter, that's almost like paying for an extra tire annually.
Will try a place called "Tire Town" tomorrow. The tires will outlast my car! (That will be TWO sets of new tires too! Fooey).

Too bad about the Blizzak issue! They were good. The service guys I talked to today recommended snow tires but said in the situation I described (solid ice on a hill) snow tires wouldn't have helped anyway).

FWIW that was a very unique situation - never encountered before in the 40 years I've lived here, and many locals said the same (i.e., no reason to get studded tires for a unicorn event). Some neighbors recommend I add weight to the trunk to minimize skidding (sand bags I guess), but I need the storage.

I've driven in numerous blizzards before, and the only serious problem was the windshield freezing up (so I had to stop periodically to scrape it off for visibility). The scariest part was the other drivers, especially trucks on a Massachusetts highway. Going fast too! I think they just rely on prayer - that and knowing if we collide, THEY will survive.

Fun!

Chains. You need chains. They’re cheap and effective.

quote:

Originally posted by Steve Miller:
Chains. You need chains. They’re cheap and effective.

chains are good for a "unicorn event" and I always carry them. But I hope I never need them, because in the situations in which you need them, you most certainly don't want to be out there putting on chains. Methinks this would be much too much for Amanda to take on. It's not like you can put them on at home and drive around with them on so they'll be there when you need them.

quote:

Originally posted by piqué:

quote:

Originally posted by Steve Miller:
Chains. You need chains. They’re cheap and effective.

chains are good for a "unicorn event" and I always carry them. But I hope I never need them, because in the situations in which you need them, you most certainly don't want to be out there putting on chains. Methinks this would be much too much for Amanda to take on. It's not like you can put them on at home and drive around with them on so they'll be there when you need them.

Dad had chains for our jeep - both indispensable in bad snowy/icy weather for use in our Connecticut town growing up. Although I don't remember his putting them on, I can't remotely imagine MY putting them on as needed (doubled over laughing). Pique is SO right!

I'm a bit confused about just what you all are referring to when you speak of sellers who include lifetime servicing of the tires in the price.

Tire town includes rotation but not mounting and balancing. Sounding a bit scandalized, he said that was very labor-intensive. That he couldn't imagine that being part of the price.

Have I misunderstood your comments about finding a dealer who took responsibility for the whole shebang, for the life of the tires? Or were you just referring to rotation?

Also, Ron spoke of buying new wheels with the snow tires so they could switch them out seasonally. The service station fixing my undercarriage also suggested that, and I was aghast.
(I certainly never did that with my Blizzaks) Wouldn't that be super expensive, and also only something a sturdy man - or two - could undertake?

Or did you take it to a service station to switch the wheels and tires? (Trying to figure out how much storage that would take. Four extra tires take up enough space without the wheels too. Maybe my imagination is getting away from me, as I am picturing practically changing out the whole wheel assemblies including axles!)

And "rims"?
Whatever they are. Googling the parts now as best I can.

Sorry for all the questions!

But I have another one.

A neighbor (tire installer) suggested getting a special kind of Michelin tires called "Cross Climate 2". Said they really were all season tires rated for snow. Another seconded him, saying they were expensive and didn't quite live up to their mileage rating, but that they were well worth it (that their somewhat infamous noise nuisance wasn't that big of a deal.)

More opinions? I'd really like to avoid the cost and nuisance of swapping the tires out seasonally if possible, not even counting the storage issue (shlepping tires to and from my car isn't a breeze for me either, for that matter.)

Maybe I'll just join Sam's Club and get them there, paying the extra for tire warrantee.

Reread your original post.
Get studded tires, chains, or Yaktrax. The latter goes on your boots.
Tires are rubber, they don't work on ice.
Recall hills in Missouri and Tennessee that iced over. No one got up them
because no one had the above.

chas is right. you need studs. chains are impractical in your situation because you don't drive around with chains on all the time.

what we are referring to is shops that sell and put the tires on for you (and of course they charge for the labor involved) often offer lifetime service for the tires they sell. that means you will get your flats fixed for free, you will get them rotated for free (though if you are getting studded snows they come off the car every spring, so you won't be rotating them unless you do a lot more driving than I do). They do not swap out your summer and winter tires for free. Nor do they put them on the rims and balance them for free.

Since you will be getting studded snows, there are two ways to go about this as far as swapping them on an off fall and spring. The first method is get a second set of rims to put the studded snow tires on. This makes swapping them out really easy, and costs a lot less to do twice a year.

the second method--what mr pique and I do (not saying I recommend this, it's just our situation)--is to buy the tires and twice a year take them to a tire shop and have your summer tires removed from your rims and the studded snows put on your rims. Then in the spring, do the reverse. Warning: this is expensive. Some shops charge $20 per wheel to take the tire off the rim and put the other tire on the rim. That's $80 twice a year. You can see why it might make more sense to buy a second set of rims. The guy you talked to is right, taking tires off and putting tires on four rims is a lot of work, including the balancing, getting the air pressure right, etc. It usually takes at least an hour, and we usually have to book it about a week ahead.

So, in the long run, buying a second set of rims might make the most sense if you plan to keep the car a few years. I don't remember how much mechanics charge to swap out rims with the tires already on and balanced (we used to have a jeep with a second set of rims), but you should ask and see which option pencils out.

I have bought tires from every kind of place there is to buy tires. I've always had the best experience and results at a mom and pop local tire shop. Find one that has terrific google reviews and has been in business for decades.