Need tip with snow driving

[RVD98072]

I live in Seattle and the last couple of days have been rough. We still have our minivan for this week so we just drove it instead of risking it with my shiny new MX.

The minivan is only front wheel drive and it was really bad slipping and sliding. I have a long driveway that slopes down and I made the mistake of trying to driving into the driveway instead of leaving the car at my home entrance and walking in. That poor decision was made because the car was full (wife + 3 kids) and 2 of the kids were sleeping so it would have been a pain to carry them down on the driveway. I probably would have had to wake them up because I probably would have slipped, etc.

Anyway, as soon as I started driving down the car skidded down...braking did nothing...it was just sliding down the long driveway towards the house! Luckily at the bottom there is an open area that flattens out a little bit and there was enough friction to stop the car so I got lucky. I won't make that mistake again though.

I get that winter tires are great but in an area like Seattle where we get at most a handful of snow days per year and many years we get 0 snow days, it seems like overkill. I have chains though so I'm thinking that maybe that's enough on days like this in the future?

 

[andreasmj]

The 8’s I am getting don’t have studs. Our state has banned the use of studded tires. Am I going to be worse off with non studded 8’s?

Nokian 7/8/9 are studded while the R2 are non-studded.
I was considering Nokian R2 (they were too soft on our old S), Michelin X-ice 3 and Continental contivikingcontact6 when we got the new X this fall and decided to go with Continental which has been the non-studded test winner for two years in Norway.

The drawback with Nordic winter tires is that they perform poorly on wet surface and warm weather.
If 90% of the winter driving is on dry/wet surfaces, I'd go for Pirelli, Bridgestone, i.e.

 

[Bijli123]

I live in Seattle and the last couple of days have been rough. We still have our minivan for this week so we just drove it instead of risking it with my shiny new MX.

The minivan is only front wheel drive and it was really bad slipping and sliding. I have a long driveway that slopes down and I made the mistake of trying to driving into the driveway instead of leaving the car at my home entrance and walking in. That poor decision was made because the car was full (wife + 3 kids) and 2 of the kids were sleeping so it would have been a pain to carry them down on the driveway. I probably would have had to wake them up because I probably would have slipped, etc.

Anyway, as soon as I started driving down the car skidded down...braking did nothing...it was just sliding down the long driveway towards the house! Luckily at the bottom there is an open area that flattens out a little bit and there was enough friction to stop the car so I got lucky. I won't make that mistake again though.

I get that winter tires are great but in an area like Seattle where we get at most a handful of snow days per year and many years we get 0 snow days, it seems like overkill. I have chains though so I'm thinking that maybe that's enough on days like this in the future?

Sorry to hear this and glad everything turned out well in the end. Take care!

 

[jackbowers]

I have Pirelli Winter tires on my X, and they make a big difference compared with all-season tires. I was heading up Donner summit in conditions similar to yours a couple months ago, and several other AWD vehicles were stuck or sliding sideways toward the shoulder. I had to do a fair amount of counter-steering, but was able to get around them and continue up the grade. No one else was able the follow me.

 

[Gen3]

I live in Seattle and the last couple of days have been rough. We still have our minivan for this week so we just drove it instead of risking it with my shiny new MX.

The minivan is only front wheel drive and it was really bad slipping and sliding. I have a long driveway that slopes down and I made the mistake of trying to driving into the driveway instead of leaving the car at my home entrance and walking in. That poor decision was made because the car was full (wife + 3 kids) and 2 of the kids were sleeping so it would have been a pain to carry them down on the driveway. I probably would have had to wake them up because I probably would have slipped, etc.

Anyway, as soon as I started driving down the car skidded down...braking did nothing...it was just sliding down the long driveway towards the house! Luckily at the bottom there is an open area that flattens out a little bit and there was enough friction to stop the car so I got lucky. I won't make that mistake again though.

I get that winter tires are great but in an area like Seattle where we get at most a handful of snow days per year and many years we get 0 snow days, it seems like overkill. I have chains though so I'm thinking that maybe that's enough on days like this in the future?

I've heard good things about nokian wrg3 for all weather including rain and snow. I'd go with those if I were back in Vancouver. I need full winter tires where I am.

 

[Dax279]

The 8’s I am getting don’t have studs. Our state has banned the use of studded tires. Am I going to be worse off with non studded 8’s?

Magus, I did some reading and while the 8’s you are getting don’t have studs, the tire itself is still designed to be a great winter tire first and foremost. It would appear that the studs are An are an added bonus on these winter tires that makes them Ben better in certain conditions.

 

[Magus]

Magus, I did some reading and while the 8’s you are getting don’t have studs, the tire itself is still designed to be a great winter tire first and foremost. It would appear that the studs are An are an added bonus on these winter tires that makes them Ben better in certain conditions.

Thank you!

 

[Dakkky]

This winter I tested nokian r2 and Hakka 5 studded tires around my neighbourhood. They were different SUV's granted, but the studded tires were a lot better on ice than the R2. On snow they were similar.

The R2's were a lot better than my all seasons though, and much nicer on dry pavement than the studded tires.

I take delivery of my X on 12/29/17 and am looking to get Nokian R2's. Would you or anybody be able to give the exact tire size recommendations when ordering the R2's? I've seen conflicting numbers on various websites but the stock wheels are what I'll have on the car.

20" Tires - Continental CrossContact LX Sport – an All-Season Crossover/SUV tire designed to combine performance, ride and noise comfort on highway driving, but also with year-round traction, even in light snow.
* Front Tires: 265/45 R20 – 40 PSI (*46 PSI / 317 kPa)
* Rear Tires: 275/45 R20 – 40 PSI (*46 PSI / 317 kPa)

 

[muleferg]

I have this on my X. No slipping or sliding or spinning.
20" Tires - Continental CrossContact LX Sport – an All-Season Crossover/SUV tire designed to combine performance, ride and noise comfort on highway driving, but also with year-round traction, even in light snow.
* Front Tires: 265/45 R20 – 40 PSI (*46 PSI / 317 kPa)
* Rear Tires: 275/45 R20 – 40 PSI (*46 PSI / 317 kPa)