Blew a tire... Snow tires necessary? And more.

[jwkuipers]

What should I do?

I have Toyo Proxies TPT. They have a fair amount of tread left. Not sure how many miles are on them, they came with the car when I bought it used. Should I:

A. Replace two with similar tires
B. Replace all four with all season tires.
C. Replace all four with snow tires and get preformance tires in the spring.
D. Other - please explain!

The reason I ask is because the last rear wheel car I drove was horrible in the snow, and I couldn't drive without snow tires. With the STS system do I still need snow tires? I live in Massachusetts, so the winters arn't too bad.

 

[02V8Sport]

I used my stock Michelins in the snow and they did ok. On bad snow days I put 6-60lb cement mix tubes in my trunk from Home Depot, 3 on each side and traction was great.

This year I have purchased Blizzaks on all 4 corners, I did that to my wifes Volvo last winter and the car drove around like an SUV.

Depends on how much snow you get and how safe you want to be. You cant go wrong with Blizzaks.

 

[taylor414ce2003]

guess it depends on your personal finances
if money was an issue I would replace only 2 tires with decent all seasons and put them on the rear
if money wasnt an issue I would buy 4 top of the line all season michelins touring tires
I just replaced all 4 with mich. agility from sears was $500 with mnt /bal-seems ok in the wet but it is a harder compound tire rated at 80k but I realy dont notice the harshness compared to the old worn out mich symetrys the car rides like new

 

[HDDave]

I have the Toyo Proxes on my car too and they are definitely not good in the snow! I'm almost ready for a new set and I will not be getting these again unless I get a different set for the winter. Don't get me wrong I love the tires the rest of the time but as soon as it even looks like it's going to snow I start heading home
My last car was a '95 Trans Am. I put the BF Goodrich Traction TAs on it and it handles way better than the LS in the snow. I don't know if they offer those in the size you or I need, but I might look at those again...

Maybe I will look at the Blizzaks like 02V8Sport got - I have heard good things about those too

 

[02V8Sport]

Maybe I will look at the Blizzaks like 02V8Sport got - I have heard good things about those too

I wont take my LS out in the snow w/o them anymore. I got very spoiled by Blizzaks. The car rides like its not snowing at all. I got mine at Firestone for $700 with 3 years of free mountings and balances in case I want to mount my summer tires on the stock wheels in the spring time. They do a price match guarantee, so tell them TireRack or someone online sells them much cheaper and they will match the price.

 

[HDDave]

02V8Sport - What size BLizzaks did you end up getting? Don't you go with a taller and narrower tire with snow tires?

jwkuipers - I don't mean to hijack the thread , but you might need to know too...

 

[jwkuipers]

Do you guys use the LS rims? Or grab an extra set for the snow tires?

 

[02V8Sport]

Do you guys use the LS rims? Or grab an extra set for the snow tires?

I use the stock 04' 17" wheels for winter and I have a set of 19" for the summer. Wouldnt be a bad idea to get a cheap set of 17's for the winter tires. They are VERY cheap now.