Date: Sat, 6 Feb 2010 07:28:16 -0500
Reply-To: Joseph Doré <josephpdore@GMAIL.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Joseph Doré <josephpdore@GMAIL.COM>
Subject: Re: Snow tires... 2 or 4?
In-Reply-To: <D1DC1EB7-7002-4AC6-8FB9-A02626635082@kippert.com>
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I know, I'm WAY behind on this one but I figured I would chime in
since I own Blizzaks and I am religious about snow tires.
The Blizzaks are RIDICULOUS! I've never experienced anything like
them. I drive a big Ford service truck for work with all-seasons on
it and I'm all over the road, all the time. My wife, driving the
Honda with Blizzaks doesn't even notice the snow and ice and slush and
drives merrily on her way. I don't regret the purchase at all.
As for the 4 vs. 2 argument, I look at it this way: steering is just
as important as moving. When you have good traction on drive tires
you will inevitably drive to match their grip. Unfortunately, if the
steering/braking tires don't have the same traction, you can find
yourself in a bit of a pickle at intersections and parking lot
entrances (for some reason that's where I've had the most close
calls). If the vehicle is front wheel drive and you're considering
leaving all seasons on the back, I guess that's a little less
problematic but my friend once lost the back end of her Ford Escort at
highway speeds and hit the retaining wall a few times because she had
nearly bald all-seasons on the back and winters on the front.
My two cents.
Joe
1982 Westfalia Vanagon
Stratford, ON
On 2-Jan-10, at 12:59 AM, Mark A Kippert wrote:
Not looking to start another tire thread, just a question on how many,
and how old. I'm looking at a set of 4 Blizzak tires at a local used
tire store.These are actually new that I'm considering, I just don't
know their age. They want $200 for a set of 4, mounted and balanced
(no warranty that I know of).
First, am I better off with just putting tires on the rear or is there
an advantage to running them on all four corners?
Second, since snow tires are only run a few month out of the year (at
least here in Indy) I'm guessing they spend a lot of time stacked in
the garage. I don't drive my van much as it's a 3rd car so snow tires
won't see a lot of miles (maybe a 1000 or so a year). So is there a
life expectancy on snows?
BTW, Is there a way to determine how old a tire is? These look good
but I don't want to buy a set of tires that are so old they'll only be
good for a few seasons.
Mark K
1986 GL/2WD/4SPD