studs or studless snow tires??

[jackelope]

ok...so let's throw this out there right off the bat...i am from the northeastern U.S. and studs/chains/etc are all illegal where i come from. i have never used studs or chains for on-road driving and don't know which winter tires to get for my wife's jeep. she's decided that she will need studs or something more than her regular tires for her jeep. so curious to know if anybody thinks pretty highly of the new studless snow tires or just the regular old studded snows....don't really care much about the cost, just want whats best for her car. i understand that this is not the end-all solution to traction in the snow, but if it will give her a little warm fuzzy feeling in her tummy, then that'd be good.
lets not turn this into a learn how to drive in the snow thread...just looking for some input regarding the tires...thanks.

[Bookworm]

The wife has the studless snow tires on her car. They seem to work well.

[rougheye]

Where i live ( Cle Elum ) seems studs are the norm . I dont use them on my truck but i got some for the wife with her new Rav4 and i have to admit , that thing gets around like a snomobile . Peace of mind for me because she is a chitty driver 

[hunterbuilder]

I put the les schwab wintercat sst with studs on my wifes Jeep Grand Cherokee last winter. It was her first winter really driving on snow/ice. She didn't have any problems all winter and we had constant snow on the roads here in Wenatchee all winter. I don't run them on my own rig but I must say, it was the best/easiest driving vehicle on snowy/icy roads I've ever driven. We sold the Jeep and I'm now looking for some studded tires for her Mazda Tribute.

[jackelope]

thanks guys. i appreciate the feedback.

[ICEMAN]

I have studded tires premounted on rims for four rigs, love them. Wife has been driving/commuting to work all this icy time with no problems in her Explorer.

[cohoho]

Jack,  I have had studs for the past 10 years on my wife's car, all front wheel drive on a second set of tires...  I could literally drive that her cars places on hard pack snow and icy roads that I wouldn't dream with my 4 x 4 unstudded.  When the roads in Anchorage freeze solid studs are the only way to go.  They make noise when it's dry but man they are like super glue on slick icy roads.  Starting and stopping distances are cut to a complete min...  We used Nokkias (spelling stinks), top of the line tire, costly, but man they are the cat meow for cars and smaller suv's...  I used Cooper's studded once, man unreal for a full sized truck, but come spring didn't want to buy a new set of tires so off to popping out each one with a small screw driver...  My friends wife tried last week to get studs put into a new set of tires at Les Swuabs (Maple Valley/Covington), they wouldn't do it?  Maybe it is not PC here but they work excellent...

[needs2hunt]

Any tire store will install studs!!! On tires that have never been driven on, If they have been driven on even the shortest distance they will not install studs... insurance issuses...

[robodad]

Yeah Josh, I too grew up in the studs and chains are illegal part of the world so when I moved here and saw that the road care in a winter storm is less then ideal and the ice is really greasy I tried a new set of M/T tires on my Toyota and had them siped when they were new and never had a problem, they stuck to the ice really well and it suprised me. I or they don't recomend siping them if you are doing a bunch of off road driving but most of what your wife will do should be on the road and the siped ones should do great.

Not a big fan of the studs or chains but that could be a different thread all together !!!

[rasbo]

no studs or chains on my rigs .If I need the chains to get to the store,I dont need to be at the store.I do like to have chains in the woods,in case I get stuck..

[Slider]

My daughter has an 05 Civic EX. We (I should say I) put Michelin X-Ice on her car she's 18 this is her second winter and she has never been stuck. We live in Wenatchee.

http://www.consumerreports.org/rssfeed/eng0511tir.html?KEYID=I58RSS1

[257 Wby Mag]

Just put 4 on the old lady's car last week Jack, only way to fly!! Like Cohoho said, starting, stopping issues are about non-existent, handling on compact snow and ice is superb. Best $350.00 I've spent in a long time. Pretty cheap piece of mind.... Later.

[Rick]

Any tire store will install studs!!! On tires that have never been driven on, If they have been driven on even the shortest distance they will not install studs... insurance issuses...

Its not an insurance issue to stud tires that have been driven on. The issue is that the holes for the studs get filled with dirt and crap and you can't install the studs correctly.

[Rick]

For the West side,I prefer studless. Its not very often we get snow and ice like we've had the last week. Studded tires actually have less traction on wet/dry roads. You're partially riding on the studs and that compromises traction.

If you lived on the East side and got weather like this all Winter,then I'd lean towards studs.

When I worked at a tire store in high school,we got to try the Blizzaks right when they came on the market. We actually got to drive a couple different cars on an ice rink. The Blizzaks are an amazing tire. Another awesome tire are the Nokian Hakkapeliittas.

[Gutpile]

I have studded tires for my truck since I'm hunting in nasty weather a lot and I love them. Wife wife doesn't but the grand cherokee seems to do just fine.

I did put studs on my wifes car back when she drove a Honda. Studs can't be beat for icy conditions. I'll own them as long as they're legal.

[bearhunter59]

I have a 07 Saturn VUE that according to the owners manual, I cannot put chains on the tires that came with the vehicle. (Didn't read this until after I had already purchased two sets of chains).  What kind of BS is that to #1 even manufacture a vehicle with such tight clearance that you can't put chains on the vehicle.  (My wife has a Saturn Aura that you can't put chains on period...), and #2 how can you sell a car in one of these states that does get snow often enough that you'd need the chains? 

Anyway, back to the original topic...so I went to Les Schwabie the other day and told them I either need studded tires, or I needed a set of the new studless tires, in a size that I can put chains on incase they don't work good enough.  So $700 later I had new studless tires all the way around.  And, I gotta say, I am happily very surprised by the traction of these tires.  I have driven to and from my place in Covington, and down into Renton and back everyday since getting them on and haven't slipped or spun tires hardly once.  Hell, I can't hardly even get the tires to spin from a dead stop on ice.  These suckers grip!!!  I like em.  I'd recommend the studdless from Les Schwabiee!!!
I drove down to Lacey and drove my friend around and over to Cabela's and never had a problem once.  I just wish all these other idiots would either get these tires, or chains, or studds, or stay home.  Too many idiots out there with regular street tires, thinking because they have AWD, or 4x4, or front-wheel drive that they can go anywhere...as long as they only go 5mph.      Idiots...STAY HOME or get some decent traction tires or devices. 

[Bofire]

it all depends, ice alot and studs are cool flip side is wet paving alot and stopping distances are terrible with studs.
Carl

[Grizzly95]

I worked at Schwabs for 10 years, an alternative to chains for low clearance vehicles is a product called spider spikes. The will usually clear the strut and are easy to put on and take off. Downside is they take up a bunch of room in the trunk.

[demontang]

I put a set of nitto terra grapplers on my wifes 06 explorer and man want a difference it made. She runs them year round and they seem to be great tires, I would look into them if you get a chance. We have drove the explorer in some nasty ice and never had a problem, I have thought about putting some on my bronco tell I found some mud grapplers which seem to do about the same but it does tend to kick out a little more at street pressure.


If you want just a winter tire go studless, studs in dry weather wear fast, make stoping a pain, and tend to tear up the road if you spin them at all .

[sisu]

I vote for no studs and if need be use cables or chains.

[dbllunger]

I have used and currently use both.  If I had a choice I will continue to use a studless tread pattern/design that accepts studs.  Current stud quality sucks as most are aluminum with a hardened core.  Don't last for crap.  The old steel bodied and carbide core lasted and worked much better.  Studs do make a difference on ice and glazed hard packed snow.  I also do not put my snow tires on until the snow is here for good.  This year was just last week, and they will come off the end of Feb or First of March. 

[shorthair-on-point]

no studs

[jackelope]

thanks again, gang. i have the toyo A/T's on my truck and they are a realllllyyyy good tire in this weather, i think she might end up with a set of them on her rig too.

[rasbo]

I drove through Spokane earlier this year.Are the ruts on I-90 there a result of studs and chains..Wow those are bad

[ducksdoom12]

i work at les schwab so i like to think that i have some athority on this subject nothing can beat studed tires as far as traction is concerned, (with the exception of chains witch i would not recomend because most people dont know how to use them or when and unless u have 6 inches of slush on top of solid ice dont use them), but if you dont like studs for what ever reason, impact on the roads or other wise studless tires do well too cuz they are made of a different type of rubber that stays soft in cold weather that helps to grip the road better and in addition to that the ones we sell have ground up acorn shells in them that give some extra gripping power, dont run studless snows year round however because they will run down QUICK in warm weather due to the different type of rubber
so just rember that nothing beats studs, however studless will work just as good in anything but extreme road conditions

hope this helps

[robodad]

i work at les schwab so i like to think that i have some athority on this subject

Your a pretty funny guy !!!

[thinkingman]

studless
Tire technology is so good right now, no need.
I've driven countless thousands without.
Plus, look what they do to the roads.....