Well...I have driven the car (2013 AWD) in some crappy weather this winter, but last night and this morning it was really bad. Last night I zipped around with no issue...I was actually moving pretty quickly up my hill to my house. I live quite a ways up a hill. I got to my house with no issues...no slipping...hit the brakes and slid right past my driveway. This car is so good in the snow...I had no isses going up the hill, didn't even realize it was slick...then realized it was pretty darn slick when I slid past my driveway going UP HILL!
Just though that was a pretty good example how well this car does in the snow...
Yes, real snow tires make all the difference in the world. My Impreza is a snowmoblie in the snow. I've pulled guys in Jeeps and 4x4's out of ditches multiple times. I explain it to people this way an all-season tire is 25% dry performance, 25% wet, 25% snow and 25% longevity. Real snow tires are 100% snow perfomance. Awd only helps with accelerating; stopping and steering is up to the tires. You can have 20wd but with crap tires your car is just a hockey puck.
I'm really looking forward to getting a set of Hakkas for the Kizashi and seeing how it's awd system compares to the Impreza on my snow ""dance floor".
Yeah...I just can't get myself to buy another set of Snows (maybe next year)...I had them on my Mazda 3...they made it a totally different car in the snow. It was horrible before the snows, but really good with them.
Snow tires are great for snow and that's it. I used to live on the mountains in Southern California and was once talked into getting snow tires by my aunt when I was much younger. This was for my first car, a Suzuki Sidekick. Overall, they were a bad investment because they are simply just horrible for anything other than snow. They are very loud and offered poor grip on dry roads. What was most disappointing was how quickly they wore out. They did not even last 1.5 years when kept on all seasons. Snow tires are really JUST ONLY for the winter snow. This was back when I was a kid so I did not have the resources for different sets of wheels and tires.
Living on a mountain in So Cal, I would often descent the mountain where there was no snow. The combination of no snow anywhere other than the mountain plus the curvy mountain roads just made snow tires wear out quickly.
I once read an article on snow tires in which the automotive expert wrote that it is only recommended in conditions where the vehicle is driven in snow over 75% of the time. Based on my experiences, I agree.
After that, I opted with All Season tires and when the snow got deep, put on chains. Chains are simply the best although a hassle to put on.
There was one winter I put on chains on top of snow tires and engaged the 4x4 in the Suzuki after it snowed so much Cal Trans stopped plowing. The Suzuki was unstoppable.
Puckaveli, your snowy Imp pic makes me miss my Impreza (my car after the Suzuki Sidekick). Here's my 1995 2.2 LX.
Since I brought up my Suzuki Sidekick, here's a pic of it too from one of my offroad adventures. My positive experiences from that Suzuki is one of the main reasons I own the Kizashi now.
Snow tires aren't meant for warmer weather. I'm surprised you got a year and a half out of em.
In areas where there's a significant winter season snow tires make a huge difference. You can get by just fine with All seasons but after driving with snow's you likely won't want to. It's a significant initial investment to get dedicated snows on seperate rims but in the long run they likely pay for themselves pretty quickly.
If you intend on keep one set of tires on all year do not get snows because as mentioned, they suck for everything else.
^^ Yep. You should pull them as soon as it gets above freezing. Both sets of mine are on season 3 with probably close to 20-30K miles on each set and they are still good. If possible I always drive on the snow. Even when the lane is partially clear.
I install snows.
I run the crap outta them.
I ruin them with mileage and abuse.
If it's summer I replace them with summers; if near winter I get snows.
There was some pretty bad snow storms this year in Canada and with snow tires my Kiz was like a tank. The day of the worst snow storm in 5 years, I was out driving around while cars like the BRZ, Genesis and Lexus LS were stuck in the snow. It felt great cruising by them knowing that I spent 10-20k less on my car. I also had the chance to really push the car in poor driving conditions and the handling was amazing. It was very hard to get the car to spin out or fish tail.
This car is so good in the snow...I had no isses going up the hill, didn't even realize it was slick...then realized it was pretty darn slick when I slid past my driveway going UP HILL!
