<p>Help northern CCers! I live in North Carolina and always buy all season radial tires. My DD, with a car up north in Western Mass, tells me she needs winter tires! She is doing a winter study off campus that she will need to drive to so I can’t just tell her to not drive for the next several months. Hers is a 4 wheel drive car and I understand that it will need all 4 tires. If I trade a front wheel drive car with her can I get by with just 2 winter tires on the front wheels? </p>
<p>The car she is driving will be sold at the end of next semester and quite honestly, needs new tires anyway. But, nobody wants winter tires here in NC. Would there be a market for winter tires used for just several months up north? Try to sell the car with winter tires up north in the spring? I never thought about winter tires!</p>
<p>I live very near western Mass and I would highly recommend winter tires. You need to buy all four tires - buying two is not recommended because the difference in traction between the front and rear tires could cause a spin out. I would put them on the car she has now. </p>
<p>She needs tires. She does not want to be driving in bad weather with poor tires of whatever sort. She should go to a local reputable tire dealer and buy what they recommend, which is likely different than what a dealer in North Carolina would recommend. </p>
<p>IMHO she should keep the 4-wheel drive car for winter driving in New England and get new tires for it NOW.</p>
<p>Thanks you emilybee for the link and to you and cnp55 for the advice. I will encourage her to get tires when she gets back to school. If they don’t make it on her car (I don’t think she will drive without them), over Christmas break I will get them done by my local mechanic who I trust will know or will do the research in order to put on the right tires for the conditions in her area. Thanks also for the advice about keeping the 4 wheel drive.</p>
<p>We had a four wheel drive Subaru Legacy sedan with all season radial tires (in CT about 30 minutes from the MA line), in the “hills” where it snows a lot. We NEVER put winter tires on that car. BUT we made sure the all season radials were in good shape.</p>
<p>OTOH, we have a Volvo sedan, front wheel drive that gets four snow tires every winter!</p>
<p>I have all-season tires on a 4 wheel drive sedan in NH. It is no problem, but there is one big caveat. I don’t drive in the MIDDLE of a snowstorm. They get the roads clear as soon as it quits snowing. So, unless you live on a back road, you can get around just fine unless you have to go out while it is snowing too heavily to for the plows to keep up.</p>
<p>On the other hand, if you don’t mind the expense of having two sets of rims and switching back and forth between summer/winter tires, it’s certainly a reasonable way to go. I have done that in the past.</p>
<p>Buffalo girl here (or used to be). We not only had winter tires but would load up the trunk with books, firewood – anything to put weight over the back tires to prevent skidding.</p>
<p>You haven’t lived 'til you’ve learned to drive on ice.</p>
<p>I heard some company may store your snow tires during summer/non-snowing seasons if you pay them. At the beginning of the winter season, they will switch your tires.</p>
<p>Does anybody know which company will do this for the customers? For students who live in a small apartment, etc., near campus, they really do not have any space to store an extra set of tires or rims. This kind of service will be very helpful for them.</p>
<p>DS had a friend who grew up in NYC and had no need to drive in his whole life. He even did not have a driver license when he graduated from college. Then he moved to Buffalo and all of a sudden he needed to drive in the Buffalo area and back and forth between NYC and Buffalo. I could not imagine how much stress he had to go through in such a short time. But I heard he drives well in the winter season now.</p>
<p>The local news website is reporting a 70 car pileup on Route 290 in Worcester due to icy conditions. I’d recommend winter tires unless she has the discretion to stay off the roads in bad conditions. We have Subarus and don’t need them, but they are a good idea for a car without AWD.</p>
<p>Is the pile up cleared up yet? DS just left Albany headed through Worcester to get to Maine. Maybe I should call him and tell him to take 495 instead?</p>
<p>Winter tires are always a good idea when you live in an area that gets a good amount of snow. All season tires are made of a different type of rubber and will not do the job that actual winter tires will. It has nothing to do with all wheel drive. Our cars, and our Ds’, all have AWD and we all have winter tires. It’s a safety issue.</p>
<p>Folks…winter tires and four wheel drive will NOT prevent you from sliding on ICE. Some folks get a false feeling of security and think they can drive through anything if they have four wheel drive and/or snow tires. This is NOT TRUE. Ice is dangerous regardless of the type of tires (unless you have studs…and even then…the driving is tricky).</p>
<p>If there is an ice storm, or snowstorm, the smartest thing to do is drive home…carefully.</p>
<p>Yes, nothhing really works on ice except for driving very causiously or staying home, but I’ve found a big difference in stopping when the roads are icy since I’ve gone to winter tires. No sliding at all.</p>
<p>Tyberius, are you suggesting that DD’s AWD vehicle would be OK with all season radials? I suspect she does have the sense to stay off the roads in bad conditions. However, she is in the northwest corner of MA which I suspect may have different conditions than Worcester.</p>
<p>Oh boy did we have ice today just west of Boston! The hills were very difficult for all types of tires when the car just becomes a sled. But fortunately, those weird conditions are pretty rare. I am not a winter tire buyer myself. I have an all wheel drive car that also can be driven in semi manual mode (tiptronic) and the control that gives me makes me feel fairly comfortable when it is slippery.</p>
<p>I live in Maine, and I’ve never had 4WD and never had winter tires. Last year I knew I had to get new all-season radials as soon as we had the first snow because I was suddenly driving a sled. Usually my major problem is getting up my driveway if the plow guy hasn’t come. </p>
<p>Last year I read up on winter tires at great length, because the job I had then required me to drive in some fairly remote areas where the plowing was iffy. But I decided against it. If it were my kid, I would spring for the winter tires, especially if she’s going to be driving in a hilly area.</p>
<p>But really, slowing down and not making sudden moves is what works best. I can’t tell you how many SUVs I’ve seen in the ditch in a particular spot along the road from here to Portland: they seem to think that because they have 4WD they are safe. Nope.</p>
<p>I’m not as far north as some of you, but I did own a VW back when I went to college, Syracuse Uni and often visited my sister at Cornell. </p>
<p>Most important when driving in snow and ice: DO NOT APPLY the brakes quickly! Best is to drive slowly enough, or downshift, so you don’t need the brakes at all or very little. (I learned my lesson early on, driving home in a snowstorm, on route 13, passing open field farms on both sides of the road. I panicked and applied my brakes and did a complete 360. Fortunately, no one was traveling on the other side. (But why was I?) When I started up my little bug, we drove straight back to my sister’s apartment.</p>
<p>Another thing: always carry cat litter in the back of the car in case you get stuck somewhere.</p>
<p>Never needed to purchase snow tires. They decrease your gas mileage and give you a false sense of security. If the weather is that bad: stay home.</p>
Usually my major problem is getting up my driveway if the plow guy hasn’t come. </p>