Winter tires worth it?

Lone Wolf 75 · 12-29-2009, 02:14 PM

My $0.02:

Yes, winter tires are worth it. I spent around $1300 for a set of 18" winter wheels and Blizzaks from Tire Rack (I opted out of spending the $360 for TPMS).

With the Summer tires:
I slid once and scared myself pretty good on a rainy night, it was probably around 50 deg F outside and I took a sweeping curve at a little more than normal speed.
I also got stuck in the mud (I helped a friend who works at a brewery at an outdoor festival on a rainy day and they made me park in the grass). Now I know that I will never do that again, I had to have three friends help push to get me out.

Needless to say, I was a little skeptical about how the winter tires would perform on a +300 HP RWD sports car. We had our first big snow the weekend before Christmas. I didn't leave my house until the streets were somewhat plowed (down to hardpacked snow and ice in my neighborhood) on Monday morning. The Z has performed flawlessly with the Blizzaks and traction control on. Mind you, I am not driving like Mario Andretti on snow packed roads, but it is nice to know that the car is manageable/drivable when there is a good amount of snow on the road.

I also looked at getting a winter beater, but I could not find one for around $1300 (equivalent winter wheel cost) that I would feel safe driving around in and that would be reliable enough to get me where I am going. I used to have an '86 Toyota Camry back when I was a poor college student, and that thing was the worst car I ever owned on snow, it would get stuck if there was less than 1/8" of snow on the ground.

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12-29-2009, 02:14 PM	#12 (permalink)
Lone Wolf 75 Base Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: The Future Age: 51 Posts: 191 Drives: 09 370Z PG 6M Rep Power: 18	My $0.02: Yes, winter tires are worth it. I spent around $1300 for a set of 18" winter wheels and Blizzaks from Tire Rack (I opted out of spending the $360 for TPMS). With the Summer tires: I slid once and scared myself pretty good on a rainy night, it was probably around 50 deg F outside and I took a sweeping curve at a little more than normal speed. I also got stuck in the mud (I helped a friend who works at a brewery at an outdoor festival on a rainy day and they made me park in the grass). Now I know that I will never do that again, I had to have three friends help push to get me out. Needless to say, I was a little skeptical about how the winter tires would perform on a +300 HP RWD sports car. We had our first big snow the weekend before Christmas. I didn't leave my house until the streets were somewhat plowed (down to hardpacked snow and ice in my neighborhood) on Monday morning. The Z has performed flawlessly with the Blizzaks and traction control on. Mind you, I am not driving like Mario Andretti on snow packed roads, but it is nice to know that the car is manageable/drivable when there is a good amount of snow on the road. I also looked at getting a winter beater, but I could not find one for around $1300 (equivalent winter wheel cost) that I would feel safe driving around in and that would be reliable enough to get me where I am going. I used to have an '86 Toyota Camry back when I was a poor college student, and that thing was the worst car I ever owned on snow, it would get stuck if there was less than 1/8" of snow on the ground.