Snowtire Question (Off Topic)

Steamhead (in transit)

snow tires (which can be all-season tires if they have a M&S "mud & snow" rating) or chains are only required when a Snow Emergency Plan is in effect.

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Unknown

Are people in the U.S. northern climates,

required by any government law to run snowtires in the winter months?
Or do you just use all season. Just Curious.

jp_2

not in michigan

I run off road tires, or large lug road tires

[Deleted User]

i don't think it's changed,

but when i lived in pa, there was no such law, or if there was, it wasn't enforced. i think studded tires are a diff story, and they're only allowed from nov to march

and i think canada may be enacting a snow tire law

EJW_3

Snow Tires

The only law I know of is in regard to when you need to take studded snows off. I think NJ has a law for that.

bruhl_2

Dave, I only know a small bit about my region, New England.
At least in Mass. where I am you don't need snow tires by mandate. Most people run all weather tires.
I have heard that out in the Western states, like Colorado, you sometimes even need chains to go through some of the passes.
However, some of the local residents in that part of the country can provide more accurate details.
bruhl

joel_19

snows

ae not required in N.E. but they are so much safer than all season it's not even funny. Do you play basketball in your Sunday go to church shoes??? Driving on slippery roads on regular tires is the same deal

bill nye_3

Law

There are no laws that I know of that mandate snow tires, But the Law of Nature says if you don't run real honest to goodness aggressive tread snow tires you Will get stuck.

I have lived here in New England all my life and never ever cheaped out on snow tires. I have driven employers trucks at times with "all season" tires and had to be towed on more than one occasion.

I'll stay home before I drive in bad weather w/o 'em.

Unknown

Maryland have snow?

Maryland have snow? Sorry, had to ask this, with all the policatial(sp) hot air wave coming from D.C....

Unknown

Thanks guys,

again, I was just curious. You`re right mike, Canada is going to mandate snowtires, and in Ontario anyway, studs have been outlawed for quite awhile now.

My recollection of snowtires was those old whiny, growling things my Dad had on his 65 Ford wagon, but things have come along way since.
I , like most , have been in the *all season* scope of things, but I do agree with joel and Science Guy to there being a huge difference.
Frank, did you know the M&S rating dosen`t mean they`re actually genuine snowtires?

Haven`t yet, but next winter I`m putting all *genuine snow-grippies* on my vehicles,, mandated or not!

Dave

mtfallsmikey

Yes, it snows here

I work 20 mi. west of Ground Zero...also very windy and cold a lot during winter...D.C. air does not come west too often!

Boilerpro_5

I just put some Bridgestone Blizzaks on my van.....

and now I can actually drive when the roads aren't clear. They get great traction on glare ice and deep snow, not quite so good in slush. They ar the only ice/snow tires rated for the weight that these heavy duty full size vans can carry. These are NOT old fashioned knobby snow tires, but a whole different breed which have special tread compounds that even outperform studs on ice. I 've been running these new generation snows on several vehicles for some years now and the difference in driving safey is startling. Take a look at tirerack.com for a view of the huge selection of these tires that are available and test results.

And, I agree, the M/S rating on tires is a joke. Some of the worst tires I have ever driven on snow had this rating, while others without the rating were much better.

Here In Cold and snowy northern Illinois



Boilerpro



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Tim_41

tires

I put the Nokian Hakka CQ's on the sprinter van. Snow/ice tires. Its a day and night difference. Its not a law but when feel the difference, you will change your tires in the winter.

Harold

When you go over the WA, OR mountain passes the state gets to decide if "traction tires" are not required, advised, or if you don't have them, they will not let you drive through the pass.

It can gut scary up there.

I suspect this is common in places with real mountains.

mtfallsmikey

I'll concur about the Blizzaks

Ran them for one winter on a '92 Accord..great in snow, but handling not so good, wore down quickly...and, I run around 150 mi./ day on my commute

Unknown

What got me

even more curious about snowgrippies was this Canadian TV show that aired a few weeks ago.
Here`s a few facts, if you`re interested.

Jim Bennett

I second....

the Blizzaks! I just put a set on my Astro and was amazed at the difference! The thing was barely drivable before. (read Unsafe)

If you live in an area where you get snow a few times in winter, then you can probably get away with all seasons. In the snowbelt, you need dedicated snow treads.

A side benefit to having two sets of tires is both now last twice as long.

Jim