snow tires - when do you make the switch?
 

when do you cold weather guys switch to snow tires (A or B)?

A - consistently below freezing temps or

B - when you see snow / ice?

appreciate your comments.

Well I dont personally run winters...but I know others will switch once the temps get to 50 and below consistently because the rubber for summer tires arnt meant to be used in that cold of temps.

when im satisfied with my summer tire experience ....so B

Mine are more cold weather tires than snow (high performance allseason Goodyear F1); I made the switch about 3 weeks ago because I'd rather make the change when it's above 50 degrees than below.

I loathe the thought of having winter tires. I might be moving back up north soon, but I think I would rather spend $1000 on a beater than pay for winter tires, plus the possibility of smashing my car up. I always had beater cars in the winter when I lived in Pittsburgh.

Yah here in MO we really dont need full fledge winter tires...i got a set of fd rims im gonna put a cheap set of allseasons on for winter

i wait until it snows, run my summers in it for a bit to relearn how to drive in the snow with bad tires, then i switch em out to all weathers and get a better action curve than if i did the total switch right away. I have AWD so its a lot less dangerous than 3's, the only thing i have to worry about is going up steep hills and stopping on them in the summer tires.

Last year, I installed them on Nov 28th. We'd already had a few light snow showers, nothing that stuck, but enough to prompt the counties to start salting the roads. I figured, it was time.

This year, I installed them a week before Thanksgiving while it was 50*. It was warm enough for me to hose down the stockers comfortably and install them in my garage. I ran them at a higher PSI for a week until the temps dropped. Now, they should have settled down.

I run Dunlop Wintersport M3's.

My Blizzaks went on over thanksgiving.

Temps below 40F and the potential for precipitation, be it cold rain or potential sleet / snow, means it's time for the switch for me.

Seemed like a great time to get it out of the way since I don't want to be outside during a blizzard changing tires if I don't have to.

As a side note, anyone have any leads on a source for some decent looking 16" wheel covers to stick on my steelies?

I put on the winter setup in early November. The way I figure it, you can never be too sure when it comes to New England weather and I don't want to wrap my car around a tree. But, I also live on top of a steep mountain with a few switchbacks. Going slow in the winter it can be a long 10 minutes creeping down the mountain in snow and ice without winter specific tires. I probably won't get as many season's out of them, but that is the price I pay for peace of mind. There are a lot of variables to put into the equation. IT all depends on where you live and what type of risk you are willing to run for waiting.

I do know friends that will wait until the first snow, then get up early in the morning and swap them before work.

Hoping to have mine on next week Monday. Might have to endure 2 days of light flurries between now and then, so if it sticks to the roads at all I will probably carpool and leave the MS3 in the garage.

i put mine on probably 2-3 weeks ago... weather was getting in the 40's on avg and in the mornings the car shook alittle so i figured it was time... next day, 60's -_-... wtf lol, then it cooled down and i don't really regret it

Put the Blizzacks on yesterday. Better to have them on before you need them since trying to drive in the snow with summer tires can get your heart pumping pretty good.

With a good set of snow tires this car drives great in the snow and slush.

for some reason here in tennessee,.... we have winter coldness but never snow, such a pity.... anyways i have never driven my car in the snow so im not sure if it would drive descent or not with or without snow tires

I've still got my summers on here in Jersey, but the winters are going on this weekend. I just haven't had the time, but we already got some accumulating sleet/snow a few days ago, so it's time.

put the snowsports on today :)

and i need to get the bitch aligned since i never did it when i put on the bc coilovers... The inner wear on my rear summer tires was horrid compared to the outer. Looked like slicks LOL (fronts were perfect though...)

I don't have winter tires, so my fancy summer tires will have to get me through all the stupid snow. I tested them out yesterday, and apart from having very little control and little steering ability, braking wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. YAY!


Do you have SPC ball joints up front? If not, get some.