worth it to buy snows?
#1
10-31-2008, 05:38 AM
worth it to buy snows?
hi all-
New owner of a 2001 4DR 4WD LT here.
The Blazer needs a new set of tires. Is it worth it to buy snow tires for winter, if I'm thinking of buying some knobby oversize stuff (whatever will fit without a lift or trimming) in the spring?
I don't intend to replace the wheels before winter ($), though I was looking at doing so next year. Right now though, I need to get something with treads on there before the real snow hits. If I can put decent off-road, snow-friendly rubber on the stock wheels, making only one tire purchase instead of two, that'd be ideal.
New owner of a 2001 4DR 4WD LT here.
The Blazer needs a new set of tires. Is it worth it to buy snow tires for winter, if I'm thinking of buying some knobby oversize stuff (whatever will fit without a lift or trimming) in the spring?
I don't intend to replace the wheels before winter ($), though I was looking at doing so next year. Right now though, I need to get something with treads on there before the real snow hits. If I can put decent off-road, snow-friendly rubber on the stock wheels, making only one tire purchase instead of two, that'd be ideal.
#2
10-31-2008, 07:38 AM
RE: worth it to buy snows?
Short answer: Yes, they're worth it.
But if you want more opinions than mine, here's a recent thread on another forum I frequent that's all about snow tires....
http://www.racepa.com/content/index.php?topic=6397.0
But if you want more opinions than mine, here's a recent thread on another forum I frequent that's all about snow tires....
http://www.racepa.com/content/index.php?topic=6397.0
#3
10-31-2008, 07:51 AM
RE: worth it to buy snows?
ORIGINAL: z28jeff
Short answer: Yes, they're worth it.
But if you want more opinions than mine, here's a recent thread on another forum I frequent that's all about snow tires....
http://www.racepa.com/content/index.php?topic=6397.0
Short answer: Yes, they're worth it.
But if you want more opinions than mine, here's a recent thread on another forum I frequent that's all about snow tires....
http://www.racepa.com/content/index.php?topic=6397.0
I'll reiterate: are snows truly worth it over decently knobby whatevers that will fit on an unlifted Blazer with stock wheels?
#4
10-31-2008, 09:02 AM
RE: worth it to buy snows?
Asking a tire to be good in both snow/ice and mud is quite difficult. For one, typically, when someone is looking at offroad tires, the inclination is to get them wider than stock. This allows your vehicle to float a bit better when in loose, sticky, wet, or snowy (etc). In snow, you want to bite through it so a wider tire actually hurts your traction capability (unless you add weight to the vehicle).
I have had snow tires on the past 2 cars I have owned and would not have any other 2wd vehicle with out them with what I am expected to do whenever my pager trips. For my 4wd vehicles, I have just had good all terrain tires. My old Bravada just had 235/70R15 Uniroyal Laredo tires and that thing was a tank in snow. My Rainier has 255/60R17 Bridgestone Dueler H/L Alenza and it handles snow/ice very well, but not as well as my Bravada did, primarily due to the tread width difference. Between these two tires, the Laredos had a tread width of alittle under 8" (235mm = 9.25" section width which is not the actual tread width) while the Duelers have tread all the way out to the shoulder (~9.75" tread width) and are much flatter than the Laredos so they tend to float more.
Anyway, I said all of that to say this, you have to decide what you want the vehicle to be good at. If you want it to be good in both the snow and offroad, your best bet would be either a good allterrain tire with a fairly open tread and no large solid blocks or go with a set of winter tires and a good set of aggressive M/T tires for the fairer months.
I have had snow tires on the past 2 cars I have owned and would not have any other 2wd vehicle with out them with what I am expected to do whenever my pager trips. For my 4wd vehicles, I have just had good all terrain tires. My old Bravada just had 235/70R15 Uniroyal Laredo tires and that thing was a tank in snow. My Rainier has 255/60R17 Bridgestone Dueler H/L Alenza and it handles snow/ice very well, but not as well as my Bravada did, primarily due to the tread width difference. Between these two tires, the Laredos had a tread width of alittle under 8" (235mm = 9.25" section width which is not the actual tread width) while the Duelers have tread all the way out to the shoulder (~9.75" tread width) and are much flatter than the Laredos so they tend to float more.
Anyway, I said all of that to say this, you have to decide what you want the vehicle to be good at. If you want it to be good in both the snow and offroad, your best bet would be either a good allterrain tire with a fairly open tread and no large solid blocks or go with a set of winter tires and a good set of aggressive M/T tires for the fairer months.
#5
10-31-2008, 09:05 AM
RE: worth it to buy snows?
ORIGINAL: swartlkk
Asking a tire to be good in both snow/ice and mud is quite difficult. For one, typically, when someone is looking at offroad tires, the inclination is to get them wider than stock. This allows your vehicle to float a bit better when in loose, sticky, wet, or snowy (etc). In snow, you want to bite through it so a wider tire actually hurts your traction capability (unless you add weight to the vehicle).
I have had snow tires on the past 2 cars I have owned and would not have any other 2wd vehicle with out them with what I am expected to do whenever my pager trips. For my 4wd vehicles, I have just had good all terrain tires. My old Bravada just had 235/70R15 Uniroyal Laredo tires and that thing was a tank in snow. My Rainier has 255/60R17 Bridgestone Dueler H/L Alenza and it handles snow/ice very well, but not as well as my Bravada did, primarily due to the tread width difference. Between these two tires, the Laredos had a tread width of alittle under 8" (235mm = 9.25" section width which is not the actual tread width) while the Duelers have tread all the way out to the shoulder (~9.75" tread width) and are much flatter than the Laredos so they tend to float more.
Anyway, I said all of that to say this, you have to decide what you want the vehicle to be good at. If you want it to be good in both the snow and offroad, your best bet would be either a good allterrain tire with a fairly open tread and no large solid blocks or go with a set of winter tires and a good set of aggressive M/T tires for the fairer months.
Asking a tire to be good in both snow/ice and mud is quite difficult. For one, typically, when someone is looking at offroad tires, the inclination is to get them wider than stock. This allows your vehicle to float a bit better when in loose, sticky, wet, or snowy (etc). In snow, you want to bite through it so a wider tire actually hurts your traction capability (unless you add weight to the vehicle).
I have had snow tires on the past 2 cars I have owned and would not have any other 2wd vehicle with out them with what I am expected to do whenever my pager trips. For my 4wd vehicles, I have just had good all terrain tires. My old Bravada just had 235/70R15 Uniroyal Laredo tires and that thing was a tank in snow. My Rainier has 255/60R17 Bridgestone Dueler H/L Alenza and it handles snow/ice very well, but not as well as my Bravada did, primarily due to the tread width difference. Between these two tires, the Laredos had a tread width of alittle under 8" (235mm = 9.25" section width which is not the actual tread width) while the Duelers have tread all the way out to the shoulder (~9.75" tread width) and are much flatter than the Laredos so they tend to float more.
Anyway, I said all of that to say this, you have to decide what you want the vehicle to be good at. If you want it to be good in both the snow and offroad, your best bet would be either a good allterrain tire with a fairly open tread and no large solid blocks or go with a set of winter tires and a good set of aggressive M/T tires for the fairer months.
Snow capabilities are a must right now. Off-road is secondary, and not something I'd need to be concerned with right now at all. It sounds like buying narrower snow tires for the stock wheels for now is the way to go, then by the time spring rolls around, I hope to be looking at new wheels and somewhat aggressive, somewhat wider tires. I don't want to kill mileage, the Blazer will still be hauling me and my dog up and down stretches of highway and rural routes.
edit: Are the stock replacement options displayed by default on Tire Rack the way to go, or do I want a different size for snows?
#6
10-31-2008, 11:32 AM
RE: worth it to buy snows?
ORIGINAL: abadinalbany
what does that thread have to do with this one? we're talking a 4WD light truck on which I can put some fairly aggressive rubber, not cars with all season road tires.
ORIGINAL: z28jeff
Short answer: Yes, they're worth it.
But if you want more opinions than mine, here's a recent thread on another forum I frequent that's all about snow tires....
http://www.racepa.com/content/index.php?topic=6397.0
Short answer: Yes, they're worth it.
But if you want more opinions than mine, here's a recent thread on another forum I frequent that's all about snow tires....
http://www.racepa.com/content/index.php?topic=6397.0
Like swartlkk said, no one tire is going to be perfectin all conditions. If you want to go without fear in the snow, get snow tires. If you spend alot of time off roading, get mud or a/t tires. If you just want tires that suck at all of the above, get all seasons.
For me personally, I run winter tires on the 15" stockers for the winter, and whatever kind of cheap all seasonsmounted to a different set of rims for the summer. I don't go offroad, so that works for me.
The title of this thread suggests you want to know if snow tires are worth it. I told you my opinion and listed a thread with dozens ofothers aggreeing with me in order to help you with your decision.Sorry for trying to help.
#7
10-31-2008, 12:09 PM
RE: worth it to buy snows?
ORIGINAL: z28jeff
Did you actually read the thread or just disreguard it because they were talking about a car? Tires are tires,it doesn't matterwhat they're on. A 4wd isn't going to stop or turn on snow/ice any better than a fwd car.
Like swartlkk said, no one tire is going to be perfectin all conditions. If you want to go without fear in the snow, get snow tires. If you spend alot of time off roading, get mud or a/t tires. If you just want tires that suck at all of the above, get all seasons.
For me personally, I run winter tires on the 15" stockers for the winter, and whatever kind of cheap all seasonsmounted to a different set of rims for the summer. I don't go offroad, so that works for me.
The title of this thread suggests you want to know if snow tires are worth it. I told you my opinion and listed a thread with dozens ofothers aggreeing with me in order to help you with your decision.Sorry for trying to help.
ORIGINAL: abadinalbany
what does that thread have to do with this one? we're talking a 4WD light truck on which I can put some fairly aggressive rubber, not cars with all season road tires.
ORIGINAL: z28jeff
Short answer: Yes, they're worth it.
But if you want more opinions than mine, here's a recent thread on another forum I frequent that's all about snow tires....
http://www.racepa.com/content/index.php?topic=6397.0
Short answer: Yes, they're worth it.
But if you want more opinions than mine, here's a recent thread on another forum I frequent that's all about snow tires....
http://www.racepa.com/content/index.php?topic=6397.0
Like swartlkk said, no one tire is going to be perfectin all conditions. If you want to go without fear in the snow, get snow tires. If you spend alot of time off roading, get mud or a/t tires. If you just want tires that suck at all of the above, get all seasons.
For me personally, I run winter tires on the 15" stockers for the winter, and whatever kind of cheap all seasonsmounted to a different set of rims for the summer. I don't go offroad, so that works for me.
The title of this thread suggests you want to know if snow tires are worth it. I told you my opinion and listed a thread with dozens ofothers aggreeing with me in order to help you with your decision.Sorry for trying to help.
I'm trying to save money here. Kyle seems to be saying I could, in fact, get away without spending on snows. That's the kind of info I'm looking for, and I've tried to explain that twice now. I've owned, worked on or driven for significant periods of time some 8-10 cars in the past 12 years, and 3 or 4 4WD trucks, but I've never had to put rubber on the trucks. Snow tires are great compared to all season performance for FWD cars, but are they NECESSARY if one has aggressive off-road tires on a 4WD truck? The answer would seem to be no. Your linked thread, while informative to someone else who didn't have that conversation the better part of a decade ago already, didn't come anywhere close to answering what I was asking. I do, however, appreciate your efforts at helping me. Believe me, I know I come off curt, and asshat-ish, but working 80-110 hours a week, I don't have time to care, I just need to find the answers to my questions.
#8
10-31-2008, 12:49 PM
RE: worth it to buy snows?
It really comes down to what you want to do. You really still have not detailed that to the extent where I would feel comfortable telling you which direction you want to go in.
As a volunteer fire fighter, I am on call all of the time. Winter gets here and we are the people driving to emergencies regardless of the weather and more often than not, we are in a hurry. Given the conditions I know I can expect (and have experienced), I still do not get snow tires. It comes down to knowing how to drive your vehicle, what it is capable of, and staying within those capabilities.
You may get better traction with snow tires, but do you really need them? You said that snow capabilities are a must, but what capabilities are you needing? The ability to make it up a mountain pass with 12" of fresh powder? Or just to make it to the grocery store in the middle of the night for some ice cream?
As a volunteer fire fighter, I am on call all of the time. Winter gets here and we are the people driving to emergencies regardless of the weather and more often than not, we are in a hurry. Given the conditions I know I can expect (and have experienced), I still do not get snow tires. It comes down to knowing how to drive your vehicle, what it is capable of, and staying within those capabilities.
You may get better traction with snow tires, but do you really need them? You said that snow capabilities are a must, but what capabilities are you needing? The ability to make it up a mountain pass with 12" of fresh powder? Or just to make it to the grocery store in the middle of the night for some ice cream?
#9
10-31-2008, 12:59 PM
RE: worth it to buy snows?
ORIGINAL: swartlkk
It really comes down to what you want to do. You really still have not detailed that to the extent where I would feel comfortable telling you which direction you want to go in.
As a volunteer fire fighter, I am on call all of the time. Winter gets here and we are the people driving to emergencies regardless of the weather and more often than not, we are in a hurry. Given the conditions I know I can expect (and have experienced), I still do not get snow tires. It comes down to knowing how to drive your vehicle, what it is capable of, and staying within those capabilities.
You may get better traction with snow tires, but do you really need them? You said that snow capabilities are a must, but what capabilities are you needing? The ability to make it up a mountain pass with 12" of fresh powder? Or just to make it to the grocery store in the middle of the night for some ice cream?
It really comes down to what you want to do. You really still have not detailed that to the extent where I would feel comfortable telling you which direction you want to go in.
As a volunteer fire fighter, I am on call all of the time. Winter gets here and we are the people driving to emergencies regardless of the weather and more often than not, we are in a hurry. Given the conditions I know I can expect (and have experienced), I still do not get snow tires. It comes down to knowing how to drive your vehicle, what it is capable of, and staying within those capabilities.
You may get better traction with snow tires, but do you really need them? You said that snow capabilities are a must, but what capabilities are you needing? The ability to make it up a mountain pass with 12" of fresh powder? Or just to make it to the grocery store in the middle of the night for some ice cream?
I commute each direction 10-15 miles, that's my utmost primary concern. Second, I occasionally travel, so regardless of road conditions, as long as the jets are still flying, I need to get the couple miles to the airport on time. Third, my parents live 40 minutes north of here, all highway, but in several inches or more of snow, it's not fun in a car but sometimes, regardless of weather (reasonably), I still need to be making that drive. No, if it's a foot of snow, or a sheet of ice, I probably don't NEED to be going much of anywhere, or at least not anywhere that's not decently plowed and sanded by the time I'm on the road.
I probably want to get new wheels for off-road tires ... so, being on stock wheels for now, it probably wouldn't make sense to buy off-road tires, if I'm going to buy new wheels probably needing different tires in 5-6 months. Which leads me to conclude, snow tires on stock wheels for now, off-road tires on new wheels later.
#10
11-01-2008, 02:54 PM
RE: worth it to buy snows?
It does really depend on your need to drive, your skill, and your acceptance of risk.
The snows will help out. A decent all season M/S will do you pretty well as well. I bought a set of BFG AT KO tires last year and was fairly happy with the snow performance. I drive conservatively in the snow and ice, so I have not had any issues.I take a two hour trip up into the CO Mountains (not on the intersate) at least once per week, and I plan on studded snows this year since we had a lot of ice on the roads last year. I am willing to pay for the extra piece of mind with the two young kids in the vehicle.
The snows will help out. A decent all season M/S will do you pretty well as well. I bought a set of BFG AT KO tires last year and was fairly happy with the snow performance. I drive conservatively in the snow and ice, so I have not had any issues.I take a two hour trip up into the CO Mountains (not on the intersate) at least once per week, and I plan on studded snows this year since we had a lot of ice on the roads last year. I am willing to pay for the extra piece of mind with the two young kids in the vehicle.
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