How effective are snow tires?
 

Hey guys,

Just a little background: I live in northern Massachusetts and on a medium length dirt road with a small hill on it. Sometimes it gets kinda snowy but never anything I haven't been able to handle in my civic.

I just ordered my BRZ (first new car ever!). I am trying to decide if I should keep my civic and drive it as a winter car or if snow tires will make the BRZ something I can drive in the winter. I have never had a problem with my civic and all season tires in the snow. The roads in my town are almost always plowed out instantly after a storm and I can work from home if the weather is bad. The only real issue is that my road is a dirt road with a hill that we pay to have plowed and sometimes it gets moderately icy/snowy if the plow guy doesn't make a final pass.

I have no experience with rwd cars in the snow, I have driven lots of trucks in the snow but they always have 4wd for if/when I get stuck. I need some advice on what I should do here. Also advice on a good set of snow tires would be appreciated. Do people still use chains? How effective are chains?

Good Snow tires like Blizzaks are like a revelation for any car :)

I suspect you will be fine with snow tires on a RWD car.

Snow tires are very helpful to be honest. I used to live in Rochester, NY/chicago/nebraska and I would get hit with snow storms all the time. I used snow tires on all wheels on my corolla and mustang gt. On the mustang I would add about 120lbs weight in the trunk over the axle. This would help a lot.

However, my honest opinion, I would advise that you drive the civic with snow tires in the winter, and save the BRZ. If you can afford car insurance on both, GO WITH THE CIVIC and make it a winter road monster. Snow and salt can do mean things to your new baby, and even worse if god fobid you hit a patch of black ice.

IF you must drive the BRZ, i recommend snow tires, and some weight on the rear axle, the good things is that the car comes with traction control and an LSD, so may not even need the extra weight.

Good luck, and if you decide to get snow tires, we can help when the time comes.

Pretty much exactly what I was going to say. A good set of snow tires (I use Continental's brand, they have been fantastic thus far) while not making your car a tank in the snow, will help out tremendously.

But, if you can afford to keep both cars, why not?

I can definitely afford to have both on the road. I have a completely clean driving record so insurance isn't much of a problem. The real issue is storage of whichever one I am not driving. That said... Ill probably keep the civic anyway unless they offer me something ridiculous for trade in when my BRZ shows up.

Thanks for the advice guys!

it's super effective

blizzaks have an outer layer that is good for snow/ice

that outerlayer tends to be destroyed by MOST people who drive these tires in urban environments in less than 10K, even less if you have little snowfall.

I would not recommend blizzaks for people who drive in the city unless they are willing to buy a fresh set every winter

once the compounds wears off the blizzak is no better than a conventional (and affordable) winter tire.

Thats what carports/car covers are for ;)

Though I doubt you will get much of an offer for trade-in.

I actually just kbb the value of my civic. Turns out its value has gone up since I bought it! Thank you rising gas prices!

The used market for civics is pretty huge so maybe I will just use this winter as an experiment to figure out how badly I need a winter car and if I don't I'll just sell it.

Snow tires are amazing! I'd never live in a winter weather climate without them!

Snow tires really are amazing. I never thought a winter tire would make that much difference from an all-season tire, but I was wrong. I had studless winter tires on my WRX and I could pretty much go anywhere with that. I would stop on a hill with several inches of snow, and be able to get going again quickly with the traction control system kicking in only on occasion. I've seen people spin out or get stuck on hills, while I can simply pass them. Compare that with my Legacy which had all seasons, and the difference was night and day.

Remember, RWD only effects you while accelerating. AWD has no impact on stopping or turning (unless you also accelerate while turning). I will be driving my car in the winter and will be picking up winter tires myself.

We have both a Civic and RWD (RX-8) in the family. The Civic with all-seasons, FWD and skinny tires is easier in the snow.

Still, the RX-8 does OK with snow tires. It's mostly just trickier when getting started at snowy intersections, or especially when starting out on a hill since the rear can slide sideways a bit until you get traction. But I've managed my way through eight winters now (with a 22 mile commute) without any serious "oh no!" moments on snow-packed roads. I actually prefer the RX-8 on level, snow-packed roads because of it's balance, predictability and electronic nannies. But it can't compete with the overall traction of the Civic, especially when the snow gets deeper.

I live in northern MA as well and mine will have a set of Blizzaks on it. They are simply AMAZING! I have them on my TSX and it turned that car from a skid fest into a tank...it's unbelievable.
RWD will probably reduce that result a bit...but I will probably throw a couple bags of topsoil in the trunk for good measure. In the spring take it out and throw it in the garden!
Go to tire rack and check out a set of winter tires and wheels...all mounted up and ready to go. Take your summers off and put the winters on yourself...no dismounting of tires off of your nice wheels...
Just don't drive your blizzaks in any weather warmer than about 50-60 degrees...that will wear the soft outer layer off very quickly.

Once you drive with snow tires you'll never go back to all-seasons. I have Dunlop Wintersport 3Ds (Performance Winter Tire). They are a good tire for places that don't get constant snow. They work good in the snow (much better than all seasons) but are perfectly fine on dry road too. If you want the absolute best snow and ice traction go with Blizzaks or another dedicated snow tire like others have suggested.