<p>Again, for the day or two he MIGHT need them, not worth it. If the roads are to the point where he would need them driving from somewhere to the “city” from an hour away, he won’t be traveling anyway. Where is he living that he needs to drive to “the city” from an hour away?</p>
<p>Presumably he’s attending Carleton or St. Olaf.</p>
<p>I used to live in WI. Get the snow tires, since he has rear wheel steering. He can always store the other ones under his bed. He might not have to drive on snow all that often, but it only takes once to get into an accident.</p>
<p>I’m old enough to remember studs…outlawed these days in the midwest…but they worked although they chewed up the roads. But yes, if the kiddo only needs to make a trip a week starting in February that’s about 6 potential bad days this year…he could get by with decent all weather with sacks of dirt or kitty litter OVER EACH TIRE…a 5 pound bag of kitty litter tossed into the trunk won’t cut it. Cement blocks work too…anything to put weight on those back tires to get more traction on a rear wheel car should help. But as I mentioned earlier, I do recommend snow tires if there will be frequent travel in winter in the midwest.</p>
<p>I have no qualms about driving in the snow and have done so for years in rear wheel drive (which I prefer over front wheel drive), front wheel drive and all wheel drive vehicles, in snow from a couple of inches deep to 12 inches or more. When it comes to the safety of my children, I don’t screw around. They each have 4 snows on their front wheel drive cars. Unless you don’t get snow falls of a more than a couple of inches, snows are the way to go for their superior start up traction, braking and directional control. All seasons tires are a compromise which while convenient do not offer the traction and control of snows. Even if your kid will drive only a few times a year in snow, all it takes is one occasion of losing control. And with the typical schedules of college students, you never know when a student could be caught out in bad conditions. A set of snows will last at least all 4 years of college. You spring for dorm and apartment content insurance, a set of snows spread out over 4 years costs no more. I’d rather my kids have snows and not really need them than to need snows and not have them. Just my opinion.</p>
<p>He is south of the twin cities. One of the reasons for having a car is to take advantage of opportunities. He has an internship lined up in the twin cities that would require him to commute there once or twice a week. He is an active, involved, and enthusiastic kid. I expect him to be doing similar activities for all 4 years. Seems like the snow tires, amortized over 4 years, are a prudent investment that will help him get the most out of his time in school.</p>
<p>MichaelNKat, my H loves to go slippy slidey except for one time when his arm was in a sling from a broken collar bone…I know that slippy slidey was not fun… but me not so much.</p>
<p>You can find reviews and ratings of tires on the [Tire</a> Rack - Your performance experts for tires and wheels](<a href=“http://www.tirerack.com%5DTire”>http://www.tirerack.com) website. The original tires on my AWD were great for dry weather, but awful in snow - I used their recommendations to replace them. But with a rear wheel drive, I would insist on snow tires.</p>
<p>We live in an area with lots of ice and snow and the invest in very good all-weather tires.
[Tire</a> Details - Discount Tire](<a href=“Discount Tire | Tires and Wheels for Sale | Online & In-Person”>Discount Tire | Tires and Wheels for Sale | Online & In-Person)</p>
<p>I buy Hakkapeliitta Rs (now Nokian Hakkapelitta) and love, love them. I’ve used them for over fifteen years now. Finnish ice racing tires as i call them… and my old Volvos lovethem, too 
My first Volvo was rear wheel drive and I literally could not make an uphill right turn into my office lot until I bought these. A bunch of car buff engineers pushed me into the lot and told me to go buy a set of rims and these tires ASAP and I did and have never regretted this brand. We also have a 30 degree grade down our driveway up north in Michigan and I had to park at the top of the driveway because I couldn’t climb the hill until I bought the Hakkapelittas. They get my hearty thumbs up.</p>
<p>rhumbob–where is he going to keep them? Depending on where he is “south” of the cities, there are buses that he can most likely take. Sorry, I just disagree that having snow tires will be of any value to him at all, and the hassle of storing them, getting them switched out, etc. is just not worth it.</p>
<p>Momofthreeboys, I’m with your husband. One of the reasons I prefer rear wheel drive in the snow over front wheel drive is that I can kick the rear end out when making turns in deeper snow thereby taking some of the directional load off the front wheels and reducing the risk of front wheel plowing. Plus rearward weight transfer when starting from a stop, particularly on hills, assists rear wheel drive traction as opposed to reducing front wheel traction that afflicts front wheel drive cars.</p>
<p>Yup ridden with my H enough back in the days when he had rear wheel drive…the (automotive) engineers at work said the reason i had trouble turning going up hill from a stop with my rear wheel drive Volvo was the weight distribution of the vehicle (as manufactured). That vehicle had slip differential, but until I got the snow tires I had to time the lights so I wouldn’t stop on an uphill especially if I had to turn sorta like driving a clutch car in winter.</p>