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Originally Posted by sharp1183
What kind of winter tires do you have/are you getting? I think putting winter tires on is a good idea even though I have the all-seasons, because I read since the car is RWD, it will probably perform better in the snow with winter tires. Also, are you buying separate rims?
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I will choose from what sizes of 17" non-staggered runflats are available for the next season--a narrow market, and obviously there isn't a lot available in June. I will be buying a set of non-staggered 17" wheels to mount them on. I live in Kentucky and have never had snow tires before--only all-seasons, but the Tire Rack tests seem to indicate that snow tires have about 33% more traction on snow than all-seasons do. Also, RWD/FWD/AWD does not matter in that a given car will always perform better in snow with snow tires, although a car with a RWD drivetrain may receive a greater
benefit from snows than an AWD car.
There are lot of variables that go into whether winter tires are "right" for someone who is running all-seasons, such as:
* Whether the "all-seasons" you are running are performance all-seasons with marginal winter traction compared to standard all-seasons
* The desirability of replacing the all-seasons with summer tires when they wear out should you get winter tires
* The frequency and severity of snows you see in your driving environment, and the length of the snow season
* The added expense and short treadwear of winter tires
* If you continue to run all-seasons in conjunction with the snows, the convenience/ability to wait until after the first few snows before switching to winter tires, and take them off before the absolute end of the snow season
* The treadwear saved on the main tires through use of the winter tires