@Celia said:
kayamedic I haven’t looked for it. But I haven’t had the time to do any homework on traveling in Quebec either, like tire images or whether I am exempt carrying a US New York state license plate.
You are OK… I mentioned you as you are certainly within driving distance to Montreal. I haven’t snow tire shopped for a couple of years now and was curious if you had a logo on your tires that has a mountain with a snowflake in it… If you get a chance to check I would appreciate it.
Wondering if studded snow tires are allowed on the east coast?
I use to use them in Nevada but couldn’t cross into Cali after a certain date.
@kayamedic Actually you are right, I would love to do a long wknd in Montreal some time. About 4 hrs in real time, like with pit stops. I trying to make some other visits to elderly friends or relatives that need to happen by year’s end. I will just barely hit the deadline, leaving Maine the day before New Year’s from the final visit.
I will take a look at the tire tomorrow. Some frigging movie company is shooting a film all over my neighborhood tomorrow and the car is 4 blocks away right now. They plan to start filming a good bit earlier in the morning than I am willing to be ready to leave the house to move the car. Even blocked the alley so I can’t guarantee getting out of my own back yard. Hence the expletive reference, I thought I had it licked with off street parking.
@grayhawk Studded tires are state by state and they can change their minds… For ex NY allowed them in the 70’s, banned them for some years and permitted them again. Not sure what status is in VT and NH but I think they are yes.
I had studded (snow) tires when I was working on the road in the late 70’s. I didn’t love them, because using them thru the winter but not Adirondacks NY meant that I was driving on a lot of more messy wet than truly snowy roads. In those conditions they were horrid on traction.
After recovering safely from a skid that would not have happened if the tires were regular snows I never tried another studded set. For people who have a truly snowy winter, current snow tires are damned good. What the studs help a bit with is ice. And my old fart opinion is that I simply should not be driving in that stuff.
@grayhawk said:
Wondering if studded snow tires are allowed on the east coast?
I use to use them in Nevada but couldn’t cross into Cali after a certain date.
Grayhawk this is the most current list I was able to find
http://repair.alldata.com/online2help/shopOps/Inspection_Forms,_System_Checklists_and_Customer_Questions/Answers_to_Common_Customer_Questions/Steering_and_Suspension/U.S._metal-studded_snow_tire_regulations.htm
I have friends in the ADK’s who do use them. Mostly they live on roads that are never fully plowed or dirt roads ( like I do ) that become sheets of ice between storms ( I don’t have studded snows. we just have our contractor sand)
@Rookie said:
As to aggressive driving techniques on snow and ice, they’re usually the vehicles rolled over on the side of the road.
One year I observed this as I drove on icy/snowy road in my Chevy Celebrity 8 passenger wagon with Florida plates and all weather tires past the many Indiana (read local) cars in the ditch.
My smugness experience… Years ago I was surprised by a snowstorm in rural Kentucky. I had the misfortune to be driving a little rear-wheel-drive Toyota pickup with an empty bed. Not many things worse in the snow. I fall in behind a woman driving a sedan at a reasonable pace and stay in her tracks a respectable distance back. ZOOM. A shiny, new Ford Explorer zips past in the left lane. Two miles up there he is up against the guardrail. Dumbass. You thought that 4 wheel drive made you invincible. Did you learn anything?
I pulled over at a gas station. I didn’t really need much gas but I wanted to top off the tank just for the weight. I’m standing at the pump and I look across the road and the angels started to sing. It was a Walmart. Thank you, God. Or Sam Walton. Or luck. I slid over to Walmart and bought 300 pounds of playground sand and put it in the truck bed. Good traction all the way home.
While I’m here… no sooner than I post how central NC isn’t really snow country the forecasters predict 6 inches to a foot for Sunday. I’ll see how my not-snow tires perform… and try not to run into any guardrails.
@Rex … I don’t know about the little pickups being the worst in snow. My old 1971 Datsun pickup was pretty good as I recall ( although I was MUCH younger then). I usually carried a shovel in the back & would fill up the bed with snow if I needed more traction. In a lot of ways I prefer the feel of a RWD coming loose over FWD. Especially with a stick I would hit the clutch if it felt loose on an over (or under) pass.
Now though its a Forester with a CVT. I did just put the Blizzaks on this morning.
Hey rival51. Two other vehicles come to mind that were terrible in mud or snow… my wife’s Pinto and some van I was in that got stuck in some WET GRASS. Might have been an Econoline or something similar.
Well, wet grass, especially if there is some slope, can be treacherous. Pintos were a bit notorious for being a bit useless. Vans are/were variable. I remember a D300 Dodge that I drove for an Auto Glass company that I had is some pretty deep snow & mud. I did put the chains on once or twice on some iced over dirt roads.
Always entertaining to cross from Mass to VT on 91 in snow season… There are a couple of deep valleys ( ditches) in the median. Around Guilford there always was an SUV with a snowmobiler trailer in tow in the ditch some 20 feet down and 50 feet in.
as far as Rex country, another entertaining moment was supplied when we passed in to NC from SC on 77 going toward Charlotte… A mile into NC there the snowplow was … off the road some 15 feet partly on its side. This must have been a problem as one snowplow is a significant percentage of the fleet.
@kayamedic No alpine or similar symbols on the Bridgestone Ecologic. One other thing to note, they (and maybe all the 4 season tires) are an unusually dense weave. User reviews seem to back up what the dealership told me, they have a long life. But then again I have never bought the bottom tier of tires, I always get the middle price group. The folks in the reviews may be comparing these to the lower price group.
@rival51 said:
@Rex … I don’t know about the little pickups being the worst in snow. My old 1971 Datsun pickup was pretty good as I recall ( although I was MUCH younger then). I usually carried a shovel in the back & would fill up the bed with snow if I needed more traction. In a lot of ways **I prefer the feel of a RWD coming loose over FWD. **Especially with a stick I would hit the clutch if it felt loose on an over (or under) pass.Now though its a Forester with a CVT. I did just put the Blizzaks on this morning.
Same for me. When FWD loses traction, I feel it through the steering wheel first, which is not a good feeling. Moot point in our household, since all vehicles are 4WD trucks.
Way back when I had a ‘64 Rambler, I would get the wheelset with old-school snow tires put on for the winter and also stash a sandbag in the trunk. Never had any trouble with that combo, even when living in hilly north-central MA.
@Celia said:
@kayamedic No alpine or similar symbols on the Bridgestone Ecologic. One other thing to note, they (and maybe all the 4 season tires) are an unusually dense weave. User reviews seem to back up what the dealership told me, they have a long life. But then again I have never bought the bottom tier of tires, I always get the middle price group. The folks in the reviews may be comparing these to the lower price group.
Not snow tires… Not even on the list… All season is a total misnomer so don’t go where you could get stuck I don’t see Ecologic. I do see Ecopia long lasting everything but winter tire.
My next tire could be Bridgestone Blizzak which is a true winter tire… They do not last long as the rubber is softer than “all season” and are not meant at all for hot pavement
True snows do have the mountain snowflake
https://gearpatrol.com/2018/11/05/best-winter-tires/
As a woman I am leery of anything any automotive salesman tells me unless I go home and research it.
@kayamedic said:
Always entertaining to cross from Mass to VT on 91 in snow season… There are a couple of deep valleys ( ditches) in the median. Around Guilford there always was an SUV with a snowmobiler trailer in tow in the ditch some 20 feet down and 50 feet in.
as far as Rex country, another entertaining moment was supplied when we passed in to NC from SC on 77 going toward Charlotte… A mile into NC there the snowplow was … off the road some 15 feet partly on its side. This must have been a problem as one snowplow is a significant percentage of the fleet.
We have been in 2 nasty traffic jams on 77 , one caused by a road crew doing not much except blocking a lane. We are glad our son moved from Maryland to Atlanta.
Your tires and driveline might only be good as the guy in front of you.
@PaddleDog52 said:
Your tires and driveline might only be good as the guy in front of you.
And behind.
@kayamedic I just deleted a response above. Suffice to say I comprehend how snow tires work, for decades now. You have zero basis to say that I chose to winter over with these Bridgestone tires just based on some car salesman’s word. And BTW I leave dealerships if they don’t have women on the sales floor.
I just knocked around on the web and the confusion appears to be from the relative newness of the all weather tires. As opposed to and different from traditional all season. There are fully vetted and labeled all weather tires that meet a defined standard in snow. These tires have the snow flake and 3 peak symbol. Manufacturers have also designed tires intended to extend into snow weather better than the usual season tires. But they may not make the snowflake standard.
The particular line of tire I have seems to have had a good bit of redesign happening. Best judgement is how they have performed…
I have four decades of driving 20000 miles a year in upstate NY, NH and VT. If I keep clicking on notifications in my mailbox of people telling me how tires work I am going to be sorely tempted to kill this thread.
I opted for Vredestein Quadtrac 5 tires this past summer after reading some very favorable reviews, including raves about their performance in snow. German made and cheaper than Michelins. Equipped my FWD Mazda CX5 with four P225/60R17’s and they were $60 less than Blizzaks. For as aggressive of a tread as they have, they have proven to be very quiet and stable on dry pavement and the vee groove design works well in rain. Have only driven about 100 miles on snowy roads so far but am impressed so far – where I live has very steep roads and I have had no traction trouble on any of them.