Winter tires, or no winter tires?

[Vortlimpa]

The question is: Should I get winter tires for my 2016 MX 90D? Not studded, just (softer rubber) winter tires.

Last winter, it drove great, but now the original factory tires are wearing down (I've heard this is not uncommon) and we have a number of mountainous snow drives and road trips to do in the coming months.

Thanks,
Mark

 

[Super_Popular]

Why can't you get all weather tires?.

 

[Vortlimpa]

We could get another set of All-Weathers (that was our original plan), but, since we do get a fair bit of winter driving (in town with the ice storms, and up to Mt. Hood as often as possible), I wanted to get more opinions about winter-dedicated tires (not to mention that we were considering putting them on the stock wheels and getting a set of black wheels for all-weather tires for the rest of the year). Are winter tires worth having?

 

[DFibRL8R]

Why can't you get all weather tires?, that's what mine came with.

Model S owner here.

All weather tires do not perform well in real winter weather (sub freezing with snow/ice). They even perform worse in cold dry weather in terms of braking/handling. After suffering (sliding) through 2 winters on OEM Goodyear all seasons then replacement Michelin all Seasons, I now switch out to winter tires (Michelin X-ice) for winter driving. I use the older OEM 19s for winter and switch out to 20" T Sportlines in the spring. I'm in Virginia so not exactly the frozen tundra but we get our fare share of winter slop and the winter tires make a big difference. Granted I have a rear wheel drive Model S but we all have 4 wheel braking!

 

[DFibRL8R]

The question is: Should I get winter tires for my 2016 MX 90D? Not studded, just (softer rubber) winter tires.

Last winter, it drove great, but now the original factory tires are wearing down (I've heard this is not uncommon) and we have a number of mountainous snow drives and road trips to do in the coming months.

Thanks,
Mark

The other thing to consider is are your winters too warm in Portland? I think you would be happy with winter tires for your mountain snow driving but if it is too warm, I have noticed the winter tires with their softer rubber can feel a little floaty. In Virginia, we get the odd 60 degree day here and there in the middle of winter.

 

[Vortlimpa]

Our winters vary widely, so I think the potential floaty feeling would just be something we'd live with. It's starting to sound like winter-specific tires would be a benefit over all-seasons. Any other opinions?

 

[Leopold Stotch]

The question is: Should I get winter tires for my 2016 MX 90D? Not studded, just (softer rubber) winter tires.

Last winter, it drove great, but now the original factory tires are wearing down (I've heard this is not uncommon) and we have a number of mountainous snow drives and road trips to do in the coming months.

Thanks,
Mark

Definitely winter tires. Just gotta be aggressive on timeline to change em out before snow melts or you’ll burn em up. With tires - composition is everything when it comes to ice. Need some good material to stop that 6000lbs beast.
I’m going to use my new all season this winter but get winter rubber next winter.

 

[Vortlimpa]

Now, I'm planning on driving from Portland, OR to Los Angeles, where I'll be tooling about for a week. Am I at risk of burning thru the winter tires during that week of heavy driving, since it's gonna average 50-60ºF?

 

[Leopold Stotch]

Now, I'm planning on driving from Portland, OR to Los Angeles, where I'll be tooling about for a week. Am I at risk of burning thru the winter tires during that week of heavy driving, since it's gonna average 50-60ºF?

Good question. If it was me I’d have some conversations at a couple tire shops and check what the tread life is on the tires. Would give you an estimate but ambient temps will play an unknown variable to life I’d think that only an honest tire shop rep could tell you.
Personally when I do those trips and weather forecast is good, I swap out to all seasons and brig the torque wrench with me to retorque lugs on the trip.

 

[DFibRL8R]

Here's an interesting study by CAA on performance of winter tires -v- all seasons at warm temps (20C, 68F) which is coincidentally the average winter high temperature in LA. 10% worse dry and 26% worse wet braking performance and avoidance at these temps. Also tread life will be worse.

https://www.caaquebec.com/fileadmin...en_ETE_Version_finale_Septembre_2008ABANG.pdf

 

[Buook]

Why put yourself and your car at risk? Get winter tires if you have snow that actually stays on the road over winter.
Everyone knows that all season tires are only "all-seasons" if you live somewhere it doesn't snow.

 

[Vortlimpa]

Good question. If it was me I’d have some conversations at a couple tire shops and check what the tread life is on the tires. Would give you an estimate but ambient temps will play an unknown variable to life I’d think that only an honest tire shop rep could tell you.
Personally when I do those trips and weather forecast is good, I swap out to all seasons and brig the torque wrench with me to retorque lugs on the trip.

An honest tire shop rep? How do I find one of those?

 

[Vortlimpa]

https://www.caaquebec.com/fileadmin...en_ETE_Version_finale_Septembre_2008ABANG.pdf

That's some good info. Their conclusion is what I would expect. Softer rubber makes for issues in warmer temps. I guess I just have to talk to some tire people and see what the best winter tire options there are for these circumstances.

 

[Leopold Stotch]

An honest tire shop rep? How do I find one of those?

Step 1 steal underpants.
Step 2 ?
Step 3 profit!

 

[comanchepilot]

I'm not sure you need winter tires in Portland, OR. . .

Find some very good M+S all Seasons with good wet traction - you should be 'ok' Looking through TireRack tests and reviews is a good start.

Unless you live where there is regular accumulating snow - you don't need snow tires.

You will burn through winter tires just in normal conditions in Portland - the tread is snows is designed for under 50f and many rubber compounds are designed for under 40F - you routinely see temps above those even in winter.

And you don't want soft winter rubber on the 5 going 75 . . .

 

[ilovemycoffee]

We have a set of Nokian WRG3 All-Weather (as opposed to All-Season) tires. The Oregon coast does not get the ice storms you do, but we make frequent trips to the valley and over the Willamette and Sexton Summit passes. I found them to perform very well in the snow.

The tires are rated for severe winter weather, and you can use them as winter tires. They are not as effective in full time winter conditions, but they can tolerate warm weather. I also find them to be excellent rain tires.

Nokian WRG3 - All-Weather Tires / Nokian Tires

 

[Yvan@OptiCoat]

I would highly suggest winter tires. All season tires loose adhesion when temperatures drop below 40f. Unlike what our parents has as winter tires in the 70’s today’s tires are not just for snow.

My personal favourites are Toyo.

 

[pdaddy]

I live in Eugene which has pretty much identical weather to Portland. For the past 10 years I've had two sets of wheels for each car which are swapped with the seasons. Les Schwab will do a wheel swap for no-charge. One set for late November to Feb/Mar has winter studless tires and the other set has warm weather tires.

With this set-up you're always ready for the snow storm or a trip to the mountains. Will you travel over mountains on your upcoming trip to LA? If so, I'd prefer to have snow tires and burn a tiny bit of rubber driving around the city for a week. With this swap set up, tires last for 3-5 seasons so I don't notice extra wear.

 

[Vortlimpa]

Hearing the many and varied (and sometimes contradictory) opinions on this forum is like listening the the voices in my head. I will look at some reviews on TireRack, but will likely be getting some winter tires (looking into Toyo, Michelin X-Ice...) Any other particular brand recs?


EDIT: After a peek around, it looks like the only winter tires for the 20" wheel 2016 MX 90D is the Pirelli Scorpion Winter.

 

[mikevbf]

We have a set of Nokian WRG3 All-Weather (as opposed to All-Season) tires. The Oregon coast does not get the ice storms you do, but we make frequent trips to the valley and over the Willamette and Sexton Summit passes. I found them to perform very well in the snow.

The tires are rated for severe winter weather, and you can use them as winter tires. They are not as effective in full time winter conditions, but they can tolerate warm weather. I also find them to be excellent rain tires.

Nokian WRG3 - All-Weather Tires / Nokian Tires

I think you will be happiest with the above suggestion. It was also suggested in a very similar thread last year:
Winter tires for Model X

Personally, I went with Nokian R2's on an extra set of 19" wheels which worked amazingly well on the worst winter driving days last winter. The all seasons are good enough that I will not rush to change to them until real winter hits because they are a little louder than the all seasons. Real winter is not just snow but consistent temperatures that stay below freezing during the day. But I think you know that already. Good luck in your search.