Winter tires vs all season tires vs summer tires....

[Brian B-P]

Originally Posted by dave macrae

I have had studded winters before and they are awesome all the while the studs are fresh but once they are smoothed off a bit I was quite disapointed

I have never run studs on the street, in part for this reason. I do note that the construction of the studs has changed substantially, to a system designed to wear less on dry pavement, and to retain effectiveness with wear. They might be worth trying again.
Nokian Eco Stud 8 Concept

Originally Posted by Vermilye

We generally drive on either dry pavement or hard packed snow; rarely ice. Studs add very little benefit under those conditions, plus they are niosy, and NY has On/Off dates for studded tires.

I agree - specific road conditions are important to the right choice, and Jon's conditions are not right for studs. Since we have long winters but relatively little snowfall here, we have much more ice and rarely packed snow, so choices can be different.

Although we have no restrictions on stud use here, most places which allow studs have an allowed period, which is long enough that it doesn't matter to users who do a seasonal swap... and who would want to use studs year-round?

[dave macrae]

Brian , A co-worker of mine has used the new Nokian studs and they did last a bit longer but the result seemed the same in the end. We both felt that once worn the studs seemed almost worse for braking on polished iced up intersections. I have a friend who owns a tire shop and his opinion is that if you live in a area with full winter road diving all the time then studs are a good thing, for us here in Edmonton where road conditions are mixed and we do drive on bare pavement one of the better quality studless winters are best suited . My experiences seem to agree with him.

[Vermilye]

Originally Posted by Brian B-P

Although we have no restrictions on stud use here, most places which allow studs have an allowed period, which is long enough that it doesn't matter to users who do a seasonal swap... and who would want to use studs year-round?

Our problem is the removal time is designed for downstate - last time I checked, it was March 1st. We still have plenty of snow after that, and some of the iciest weather...

[dbailey]

Here in Ottawa the conditions vary significantly from year to year. My preference is to get my winter tires on a separate set of rims, so I can swap them myself on a moment's notice. Then I watch the weather and change them when they need to be changed, rather than watching the calendar.

But just across the border in QC, the law mandates winter tires must be on by a certain date. That would annoy me...

[dave macrae]

Yes , having the winters mounted and balanced on seperate wheels is best. changing tires on the wheels over and over again is very hard on the tire beads and wheels, not to mention the cost and the pain in the back side. It also means you can just watch the weather and swap when the weather calls for it