In this episode, Consumer Reports' resident 'tire guys' break down everything you need to know about winter tires. We discuss the differences among every tire category on the market, the conditions best suited to each segment, how to prep your vehicle for winter, and how our test program works. Find out which tires will work best for you and what to avoid when it's time to buy new tires for your car. We also answer a question about the use case for studded snow tires and how tire chains can help drivers in extreme climates.
SHOW NOTES:
0:36 - Intro
1:12 - Winter car prep tips
5:17 - When is it time for new tires?
7:00 - Tire buying tips
9:50 - Winter tire availability & installation
12:17 - Winter tires and road noise
13:09 - Tire categories
18:51 - Tire replacement & rotation
20:25 - Winter traction evaluation
23:48 - Ice testing
35:09 - Audience question: Are studded snow tires worth it?
LINKS:
Send a Question to Talking Cars: https://www.consumerreports.org/talkingcars/?EXTKEY=YSOCIAL_YT
Winter Car Prep Tips: https://www.consumerreports.org/cars/car-repair-maintenance/keep-car-in-peak-condition-during-freezing-winter-weather-a5638747903/?EXTKEY=YSOCIAL_YT
Winter Driving Survival Guide: https://www.consumerreports.org/cars/winter-driving/winter-driving-tips-from-consumer-reports-experts-a8223951679/?EXTKEY=YSOCIAL_YT
When to Replace Your Tires: https://www.consumerreports.org/cars/tires/when-to-replace-your-tires-a3107469842/?EXTKEY=YSOCIAL_YT
Best All-Weather Tires: https://www.consumerreports.org/cars/tires/best-all-weather-tires-a8621335540/?EXTKEY=YSOCIAL_YT
Best SUV & Truck Tires: https://www.consumerreports.org/cars/tires/best-suv-and-truck-tires-a3436694441//?EXTKEY=YSOCIAL_YT
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Welcome back to Talking Cars.
00:00:42
I'm Michael. Crossan.
00:00:43
I'm Gordon Ginger.
00:00:44
And I'm Ryan Pouliot
Koski also known as the tire guys.
00:00:46
So I think that's what
we're talking about this week.
00:00:50
But we'll get into tires in a little bit.
00:00:51
But it is that time of year.
I'm in a hoodie.
00:00:53
Ryan's ready to go to the beach, but, no.
00:00:55
So winter is on the way.
00:00:57
And there's a lot of things
that, as vehicle owners and drivers
00:01:00
that we should probably be doing,
we need to do.
00:01:02
So want to talk about
what are some of those things,
00:01:03
get them, you know, fresh in our mind
and, well, eventually we'll get to tires.
00:01:07
That's why we have the tire guys here.
00:01:08
And for the people listening,
they may be getting ready to buy tires
00:01:11
or thinking about,
do they need winter tires?
00:01:13
So we'll get into that here, too.
00:01:15
Lots of,
I think. Good winter info coming up.
00:01:17
So what are some of the things you guys do
to prep your vehicles for winter time?
00:01:20
So, yeah, I mean, first and foremost,
I mean, you should always
00:01:23
you should be constantly
checking on your car.
00:01:25
Checking your tires once a month, for age
cracks, all that kind of stuff.
00:01:29
Tread depth. But,
you know, you're coming out of summer.
00:01:32
You might want to get the beach chairs out
and put the snow brush back in.
00:01:35
That kind of stuff, you know,
check your fluids.
00:01:37
I mean, make sure your batteries up
to snuff.
00:01:40
Batteries don't like the cold.
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You know, all that kind of stuff
because you, you know,
00:01:44
you're you're going to be making trips
up north or,
00:01:46
you're just commuting in the snow to work.
00:01:48
Last thing you want to do is run into,
you know, issues with your
00:01:52
car, it or what can you tell us about cold
temperatures and tire pressures?
00:01:56
Yeah.
00:01:56
So you're going to lose tire pressure
as the temperature goes down.
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It's about one
psi for every ten degrees, give or take.
00:02:06
So, you know, if you
00:02:08
are, last time you filled your tires,
it was 90 degrees in the summertime.
00:02:12
It's averages
maybe 20 degrees in your area.
00:02:16
You know, you could be down
potentially 6 or 7 psi.
00:02:20
And all the. Sorry. All the while.
00:02:22
Well, through those temperature changes,
tires are just losing air anyway.
00:02:25
Air does bring it through the wrong time.
00:02:27
And I mean, from being a former dealership
technician, that first cold morning,
00:02:31
our whole service lane would be full
of people with the tire pressure light on.
00:02:34
You know, everyone's
now running late for work,
00:02:35
and they got to get the car checked
and the techs aren't making any money
00:02:37
because we're all just resetting tire
pressure lights
00:02:39
so you can save yourself quite
a lot of hassle by checking them monthly.
00:02:42
But when that temperature does swing,
you know, from the 90 degrees summertime,
00:02:46
send them cold on a cold morning
and theoretically should be good
00:02:50
at least as a baseline
for the winter. Right.
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And you can save yourself
that annoying light,
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you know, checking for leaks
or having to go to a tire shop or dealer.
00:02:56
Right. Save a lot of time.
And you want to be mindful.
00:02:58
You want to use the pressure
that's, in the,
00:03:01
the doorjamb has a placard in the doorjamb
or in the owner's manual.
00:03:04
Don't go by the max pressure
on the sidewalk.
00:03:07
That's meant for max load, right?
00:03:08
So it's for the tires physically capable
of holding that pressure.
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Right? But the car is not designed to ride
at that pressure. Right.
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And it translates to a lot of things.
00:03:16
I mean, the car was designed
with those tires and that size,
00:03:19
the contact patch, the area of the rubber
that's touching the road,
00:03:23
at a certain
pressure is the proper size to maximize
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the handling, all the,
performance aspects of those tires.
00:03:29
So if you put too much air in them,
you actually shrink that contact patch
00:03:32
or to low to there
too low that it gets bigger.
00:03:34
But you also, run into heat issues
because the tires are deformed,
00:03:38
you know, deforming and reforming.
00:03:40
A lot more so that rubber tires basically
just stretching all the time is around.
00:03:44
You're building up heat
that's no good or low tires is very bad.
00:03:47
But, overinflated is not really that good.
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So, is anything else
you guys do specifically for winter?
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I've got a couple that I'm thinking of
that I do, at least on my own vehicles.
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I mean, you mentioned the snow brush.
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Make sure your winch washer fluid is full,
but also,
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there are like, summer formulas for.
00:04:00
Or if you live in a place,
it's really cold.
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They have some
00:04:02
that are like the extra winter formula
that are, basically stay liquid.
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They don't freeze
at such a low temperature.
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And one thing that I've started doing in
00:04:10
my own cars
is carrying one extra wiper blade.
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It's like the old one that I took off,
after a road trip in snow
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where the wiper blades
started coming off the middle night,
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I couldn't find wiper blades,
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so I just throw like the good one
in the trunk of the vehicle.
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I have one as a backup. Yeah, exactly. So,
00:04:26
also, I mean, just safety
00:04:27
wise, I mean, you might want to make sure,
you know, you have some,
00:04:30
even your roadside flares, like,
all your safety stuff.
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Make sure you have all the stuff
for a spare tire if you have it. Yeah.
00:04:35
So make sure gloves, make blanket,
cell phone charger, stuff like.
00:04:39
Right. Yeah.
00:04:39
Because I mean, you know,
we're we get winter here in Connecticut,
00:04:41
but it's not the harshest of
00:04:43
winters are certainly places
that experience more winter than us.
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And, you know,
if you live in one of those places,
00:04:49
you might actually be a little bit more
of an expert on cold weather than we are,
00:04:52
because, you know, we do get winter,
00:04:53
but we sometimes have mild winters and we
sometimes have worse winters, right?
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But in general,
you know, cars are machines
00:04:58
and they like to operate
within temperature ranges.
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You know, that's certainly within most of
what we see, at least in, continental US
00:05:04
for temperature extremes
and things like that.
00:05:06
And because we have the tire guys,
I think it's a good sort of transition
00:05:10
into tires.
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If you're looking at your tires
and you're wondering, do you need tires?
00:05:15
And maybe I should do something before
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winter,
that's not a bad time to do it, right?
00:05:18
Because you kind of need most available
traction, you know, in the wintertime
00:05:21
in New England,
this is a popular time of the year to,
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look at your tires, assess
whether you, need new ones or not.
00:05:28
You know, check your Ted tread depth.
00:05:30
You know,
00:05:31
if you're getting down to for 30s,
you should be looking at, buying tires.
00:05:35
You know, you can buy
a little tread gauge for cheap,
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or you can use a quarter, flip a quarter
over the gap between, the top edge
00:05:42
of the quarter and the top of, George
Washington's head of about four 30s.
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And then a penny.
00:05:47
It's two 30s from Lincoln's
head to the edge of the two 30s.
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You're done those tires and then, like,
00:05:51
two 30s is like the legal sort of tread
limit, right?
00:05:53
Yeah, in many states.
00:05:55
And, I mean, you hit a puddle
or you hit some snow with that,
00:05:58
you're going to you're gonna know
right away on that.
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You're worn down pretty good there.
So you want to start shopping before then.
00:06:04
So, that's that's important.
00:06:06
And I think generally to if you're
thinking you know, do I need to do this?
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The answer might be yes.
So get it checked out.
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And whether you know
you're capable of doing it,
00:06:13
you know, you go to Amazon, buy
the tread gauge or you fish around,
00:06:16
you know, in the jar on your desk
for some coins.
00:06:19
Or you can probably swing through
00:06:20
most tire shops or most shops,
and someone can just take a look.
00:06:23
They have the tools there
real quick and can,
00:06:26
you know, sort of get a reading
and let you know.
00:06:28
I'll keep in mind they are those places
are in the business of selling tires.
00:06:31
So you want to put eyes on them yourself?
00:06:33
I would think, too. Absolutely. Yeah.
00:06:36
The idea here is kind of
get ahead of the problems you want to
00:06:39
you want to fix them
before they become problems.
00:06:41
So you don't want to wait for that
first morning
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when there's four inches of snow
on the ground and be like,
00:06:45
oh, I got ball tires.
I should have done that. Yes.
00:06:46
Yeah, exactly.
00:06:47
Just like you don't want to your car
started to crank slow in the fall time.
00:06:51
You don't want to wait until it's
15 degrees out in the car.
00:06:53
Won't start.
00:06:54
To just get ahead on all this stuff.
00:06:56
Yeah, I we've talked about this
quite a bit over the years, but, you know,
00:06:59
when it comes to shopping and, you know,
you identify you you do need tires, right?
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Do some do some research, use us,
00:07:08
use our ratings, do some research,
figure out what you want.
00:07:11
And then call ahead.
00:07:12
Talk to them ahead of time.
00:07:13
The last thing you want to do
is walk into a car dealer.
00:07:15
Tire dealer?
00:07:16
You know, tire
shop in the middle of the rush
00:07:20
when the first snowflake flies
and everybody's in line.
00:07:23
And listen,
a tire shop can only hold so many.
00:07:25
They can only stock so many tires
in the building.
00:07:27
And a lot of times they are a
they're a dealer for a certain brand.
00:07:30
So they have those brands,
00:07:32
and they have a lot of those tires
and they're going to push those on you.
00:07:33
And they might not be the greatest choice
for you.
00:07:35
So, sometimes you get this like
kind of your good, better best, right.
00:07:39
And people don't know.
00:07:40
So like,
oh whatever, I'll take the better ones
00:07:42
or the cheapest one
because I don't want to spend money.
00:07:45
But if you go into it educated
knowing, like, hey, I want these or,
00:07:48
you know, two options that I might want,
you call them ahead of time.
00:07:50
They'll often they will.
00:07:52
Very often they'll match online prices.
00:07:55
And then give you throw
in some like extra rotations or whatever.
00:07:58
Free mountain balance.
00:07:59
Getting rid of tires cost money too.
00:08:00
So, just knowing all that ahead of
time is huge because you don't go in there
00:08:04
and then you're, you know, flustered
because you don't know what to buy or,
00:08:08
you know, what?
00:08:09
If it's the right price or not,
you have some basis of,
00:08:12
you know, where I should be, roughly,
00:08:13
and you can set an appointment to
so you're not on kind of their schedule.
00:08:15
You can do it in time. That's convenient.
Yeah.
00:08:17
You're not first in on Saturday morning
while everyone's trying to do it.
00:08:19
So you got to do a little time.
00:08:21
We call it a bunch of places.
00:08:23
You can order tires on tire rack
and send them to a recommended dealer.
00:08:26
But I called it. They called me.
00:08:28
I called many times.
00:08:29
I want these tires and boom, boom,
00:08:31
and a couple days later,
they call me back, made an appointment.
00:08:34
I went there and and and I had them put
on, and the prices were competitive.
00:08:39
So calling ahead is definitely.
00:08:40
That's that's the best. Yeah. Particular.
00:08:42
Excuse me, particularly
if you want a certain type of tire.
00:08:45
Yeah, sure. Because,
00:08:47
to rise
point, they're not going to stock those
00:08:49
if you're checking our ratings
and there's something
00:08:51
on the top of the list
that you want to get,
00:08:53
there's a good chance that there's
a chance that they might stock them.
00:08:56
But there's no guarantee, particularly
if you're getting into
00:08:59
some sort of specialty tire.
00:09:00
So we're talking I know we're talking
winter tires, but some sort of special
00:09:04
summer tire, a winter product,
maybe an all weather tire.
00:09:07
Sure.
00:09:08
And these are things that we're all going
to get into.
00:09:10
But, and. Don't forget to size
is another variable, so. Correct.
00:09:13
They have,
00:09:14
you know,
00:09:14
they might have ten different models,
but they also they can't carry
00:09:16
hundreds of sizes
that probably have a lot of 220 fives.
00:09:19
But if you need a 265,
but there are some oddball sizes out there
00:09:22
that you know,
and they might not have them. Absolutely.
00:09:25
And, you know,
00:09:26
I think to everyone, things like you
said, there's
00:09:28
limited stock that all these places,
they have a lot of tires,
00:09:30
but there's tire distribution warehouses
locally where they can get tires same day
00:09:33
next day, but they still have
a lot of tires that they see in the area.
00:09:36
So if it is an oddball tire,
you definitely want to plan ahead.
00:09:38
So you're not stuck
00:09:39
or you're not having someone maybe
try to convince you to put the wrong tire,
00:09:42
the wrong size, the wrong load
or speed rating on the vehicle.
00:09:45
Yeah,
you definitely don't want to do that.
00:09:46
That's important.
00:09:47
But you always want to stick
with the same speed rating.
00:09:49
Or higher end, same size tire,
same type of tire as well too.
00:09:53
Just back, going back for a second,
a winter tires.
00:09:56
If you're in an area where you're going
to, you know,
00:09:57
and you want to buy winter tires,
winter tires, they manufacturer to build
00:10:01
a bunch of them for the year,
and then they sell them and they go away.
00:10:04
The inventory will or,
sure will wane eventually.
00:10:08
So you got to get you want to get on that
00:10:10
or they probably don't
build them in the winter for that winter.
00:10:12
They're they're looking ahead.
00:10:13
They built them.
00:10:14
They're already on shelves
probably right now.
00:10:15
So you you want to get ahead of that
because when they're gone, they're gone.
00:10:18
And I mean, you,
00:10:19
you'll always be able to get something
maybe, but not what you want necessarily.
00:10:22
You might have to pay more premium. Yeah.
00:10:24
To get the tires.
00:10:24
So that's a that's important to know
because they're very real season tires
00:10:27
I mean they're constantly making them
and they're, you know. Right.
00:10:30
Being distributed more evenly.
00:10:31
So that's something to pay attention to.
00:10:33
Are there any other considerations either
00:10:34
when shopping
or maybe having them installed?
00:10:36
Is the is the process to
to mountain balance
00:10:38
the winter tire the same as like a regular
all season for them?
00:10:41
For the most part,
00:10:42
the one thing you got to think about
some winter tires are directional.
00:10:46
Okay.
00:10:46
So if you're going to do
any sort of rotation,
00:10:48
it might not be the,
the cross pattern that you're used to.
00:10:52
It might only be forward, backwards.
00:10:54
There's also
00:10:55
the, what kind of rim
you want to put it on.
00:10:58
You're going to pay it if you want him
round the same set of rims all year round.
00:11:02
So that's fine.
00:11:03
But you're you're going to have to pay
for mountain balancing when you switch.
00:11:05
Right? Right.
00:11:06
All season tire winter,
I think the best option
00:11:09
and I think Ryan would agree,
is that just buy a separate set of rims.
00:11:12
Yeah, definitely the trouble
with just mounting and mounting
00:11:15
and just mounting is mounting is actually
is more gentle on the tire.
00:11:20
Dismounting is more dangerous.
You need to rip a bead.
00:11:23
Even in a skilled person,
I mount it and it's not a doubt.
00:11:26
Yeah, I've done it too well.
00:11:27
And I, you know, I rip
a little bit of a bead on the inside,
00:11:32
and, you know, want to do that
because you want to keep using this tire.
00:11:33
So it's safer.
00:11:34
You just mount them and you leave them on
those wheels until you're done with them.
00:11:36
And then you, you know,
when you take them off, when they're done.
00:11:38
So it's kind of nice to,
00:11:39
you can keep the, the alloys on the car
in better condition.
00:11:41
They're not out in the snow in the salt
00:11:43
and all that kind of stuff
throughout the winter.
00:11:44
And you can, you know,
depending on the situation and you can go
00:11:48
you can go down,
you can, down on a rim size chain,
00:11:52
you can change the size,
the tire, when you go to a winter tire,
00:11:55
from like an 18 inch wheel, do like a 17
year old tires little cheaper.
00:11:57
You just have to make sure you maintain
00:11:59
the same proportions
00:12:00
and, load and everything like that
speed, to be riding stuff.
00:12:03
But, most winter tires are going to have
00:12:05
a lower speed rating anyway
because it is colder and you're should
00:12:07
you should be traveling a lot slower
speed.
00:12:09
That's why I your tire speed ratings
you'll see,
00:12:10
are always usually usually pretty lower
than your regular.
00:12:13
Make sense right.
You want to allow more following distance.
00:12:15
It could be slippery
so it takes longer to stop.
00:12:18
So just slow down anyway. Right.
00:12:19
And is there thing
00:12:21
we do about the noise of winter tires
just that, that highway hum?
00:12:24
Or is that just sort of how they are?
00:12:26
I don't know.
00:12:27
Some of them don't. Yeah,
that some do, some don't.
00:12:29
And that's comes out in our testing.
00:12:31
I mean, we've, we've seen many tires
that are pretty darn quiet.
00:12:34
Any tire as it wears.
00:12:35
If you don't rotate them,
they can start to make noise
00:12:36
because they start to develop
a, you know, wear pattern on them.
00:12:39
But I mean, yeah. Kind of across.
00:12:42
It's hard
to make generalizations by category for
00:12:46
just because we find there's,
you know, all terrains.
00:12:48
For example,
they're known for being noisier
00:12:50
than, highway all season truck tires.
00:12:53
But that's not always the case.
00:12:54
There are some quiet All-Terrain tires
that are just as quiet,
00:12:58
if not quieter, than many regular truck
all season tires.
00:13:01
Yeah, same thing applies for snow
tires, right?
00:13:03
I just think if you're going
to make a generalization,
00:13:07
it's just
that a snow tire does not handle as well
00:13:10
as an all season does,
right on dry or clear roads.
00:13:14
So Gord, I'm glad you brought that up.
00:13:15
I mean, I think we should make this clear
that there are different kinds of tires.
00:13:19
And, Ryan,
can you walk us through what those are
00:13:21
and how we might know
just by looking at them? Sure.
00:13:23
So, Yeah, for the most common tire
00:13:26
you're going to see on, most cars
today is just an all season tire.
00:13:30
This is sort of like a Swiss Army
knife of tires.
00:13:31
It does everything pretty good,
but it's not specialized in one area.
00:13:35
Right?
00:13:35
Then you have, you know,
you know, winter tires.
00:13:38
They're designed to go through
snow and ice, and they do that very well.
00:13:42
What they don't do very well.
00:13:43
Stop.
00:13:44
On dry
and wet roads as well, or handle as well.
00:13:47
The snow tires have a soft, soft
tread compound.
00:13:50
They're typically a little deeper to, to
in that compound.
00:13:53
Supposed to keep the rubber,
pliable and cold.
00:13:56
Cold temperatures. Right.
So they're specific for that.
00:13:58
You put them on in the fall,
you take them off in the spring.
00:14:00
You do not want to drive them
in the middle of the summer.
00:14:03
Then their summer tires.
00:14:04
The other end of the spectrum,
these are tires
00:14:05
designed for,
well, summer, dry condition, dry and wet.
00:14:09
Not nothing below 40, 45 degrees.
00:14:12
Because the rubber wheel gets hard
and it doesn't want to grip,
00:14:15
those tires are
00:14:17
you typically find them on sports cars
or even a lot of aftermarket application
00:14:20
people, short
summer tires for sporty stuff.
00:14:24
And then there's in the middle
of all this more recent category,
00:14:27
all weather tires,
00:14:28
now in all weather tires, basically,
you think of it as an all season tire,
00:14:31
with enhanced snow traction.
00:14:33
So it's fitting between winter tires
and all season tires.
00:14:36
It has they'll carry the same symbol,
three
00:14:39
peak mountain snowflake symbol
that a snow day carries.
00:14:42
But, it carries that symbol, meaning it
passes an industry standard test,
00:14:45
but also has u t QG
00:14:47
rating from the government,
meaning they can be driven on year round.
00:14:50
So it has a traction temperature
and tread water rating on it.
00:14:53
So those tires are great for people
who need a little bit of snow traction
00:14:57
but don't want to,
00:14:58
you know,
00:14:58
if you have an extra set of snow tires
for your car, you have a story somewhere.
00:15:02
You have to swap them on and off.
00:15:03
They're awesome in the snow, but
they're extra in some areas, like here.
00:15:08
If you don't need to drive in the snow
and you can wait a couple of hours,
00:15:11
and, or you take occasional trip up north,
all weather tires.
00:15:14
Great. You can leave it on year round.
00:15:16
If you look at our ratings, they do.
00:15:17
They run the whole list.
00:15:19
I mean, there's some at the very top,
00:15:20
there's some middle
and there's some at the bottom.
00:15:22
So they very competitive tires
in that category.
00:15:25
So those are a great option
00:15:26
for people that don't want to have
an extra set of wheels sliding around.
00:15:29
And our data shows
00:15:30
they are superior than all seasons
in the winter, you know, snow,
00:15:33
snow and ice traction.
00:15:35
Not as good as winter tires,
but better than all seasons.
00:15:38
And they still hold their own, in most
categories for, the other three seasons.
00:15:43
So as someone who has had the wrong tire
on the car
00:15:46
for the weather situation
more than once, I'm a ashamed to admit,
00:15:50
you know, I was in North Carolina
00:15:51
and it snowed, and I had summers on a car,
a rear wheel drive car.
00:15:55
I made it to work.
It was sketchy. I don't recommend it.
00:15:57
But if you live in one of these
00:15:58
sort of in-between zones,
we don't really expect snow.
00:16:01
But maybe does snow like,
Florida can get snow
00:16:03
or Texas can get snow once in a while?
00:16:05
Well, what does driver and a buyer do?
00:16:07
Yeah, I think the best thing to do
is to stick with an all season tire.
00:16:11
Just like any,
00:16:13
any if there's any chance
that there's going to be cold weather,
00:16:16
stay away from a summer tire.
00:16:17
Really, summer tires are meant
for really top tier performance
00:16:21
on on dry pavement, dry and wet pavement.
00:16:24
But they they're they're not meant
for even even cool weather.
00:16:28
Really cool. So yeah.
00:16:30
So in that case
I would stick with an all season tire.
00:16:33
You don't need to go
00:16:34
to a dedicated winter tire unless you're
doing a lot of driving on snowy year.
00:16:38
Icy roads.
00:16:40
I would say a lot of places
in New England, even in the Midwest,
00:16:43
a good all season or all weather tire
would probably be a better choice
00:16:46
than switching over
00:16:47
to a dedicated winter tire, unless
you really do have to drive in the snow.
00:16:51
I guess I would add too.
00:16:52
I mean a good tire
that's still in good shape.
00:16:54
You know, it's a tire.
There's that 100 miles.
00:16:56
That was once a good tire.
00:16:58
And is now like at
or past its life, right?
00:17:01
Yeah, definitely.
00:17:01
I mean any we I would say this any,
any tire that's new is
00:17:05
is going to be better than a worn out
tire.
00:17:07
I think that takes us back
to, to the beginning
00:17:09
about
just doing some periodic maintenance,
00:17:10
checking your tire pressures,
looking to tread depth,
00:17:13
you know,
looking for bulges in the sidewall.
00:17:15
Did you hit anything? Stuff like that.
Because the roads are rough place.
00:17:17
Yeah. These tires
take the brunt of all of that. Yeah.
00:17:19
And your your car also,
00:17:21
the only four points of the car
that touch the road are the tires.
00:17:25
So as you can have a $100 car
with all the safety systems, but
00:17:29
it's useless that it doesn't have tires
that can,
00:17:31
you know, grip the road underneath that.
00:17:32
So, that's that's huge.
00:17:35
So paying attention to your tires
of all the where all that stuff is, is,
00:17:39
is paramount and at the, at my expense
here, I'm gonna ask another question.
00:17:43
I again,
once had a rear wheel drive vehicle,
00:17:45
that I live somewhere else and moved here
with,
00:17:47
and I got caught out in some tires
that weren't the best of shape I was.
00:17:51
I got to go buy some snow tires
00:17:52
because I live on a hill
and I couldn't get up the hill.
00:17:54
I was cheap and bought two,
put them on the rear
00:17:56
so I had forward traction and I was like,
forget the rest of the traction.
00:18:00
And I mean, I made it
through was an ideal.
00:18:02
Probably not. But like,
should you do that?
00:18:04
Definitely not.
00:18:05
Yeah, yeah.
00:18:06
We recommend putting all four tires
on. Okay.
00:18:08
The reason being but you alluded to it.
00:18:11
Well, if you have a rear wheel drive
and you put snow tires on the rear
00:18:15
axle, well,
that's great for getting up to speed.
00:18:17
But, you know, the front tires
00:18:18
do a lot of the stopping and turning,
which I would argue
00:18:21
is probably more important
than acceleration.
00:18:23
Yeah. Yeah.
00:18:24
So yeah,
you definitely I go with all four tires.
00:18:27
And if let's just say
00:18:28
the budget was a concern,
would I really been better off
00:18:30
just getting new rear tires
that match the front
00:18:32
because the fronts weren't
totally worn out?
00:18:34
This car
maybe I've done some a little tire spins
00:18:37
once in a while that accelerated the way
or those rear tires.
00:18:40
So I would have been better off
just matching that
00:18:41
all season to the front,
but still in decent shape.
00:18:43
Yeah, assuming
you're not doing a lot of snow driving,
00:18:45
that probably would have been
your best option.
00:18:46
Okay, always good to know right?
Because I mean tires are expensive.
00:18:49
Yeah.
00:18:49
And especially now you got extra
set of wheels
00:18:51
and maybe another set of tire
pressure sensors
00:18:53
and you're having to either do it yourself
00:18:55
or take it down somewhere and transport
and store all this stuff for all tires.
00:18:58
You really want to replace them
in sets of four?
00:19:01
Yeah, that's and that's easy to do.
00:19:03
If you rotate them regularly.
00:19:05
You rotate your tires every 5 to 8000
miles, the wear more evenly,
00:19:09
because they're seeing
different positions on the car.
00:19:11
And then when they're worn out
nice and evenly,
00:19:12
then you'd replace all the setup
00:19:14
for some people, get into the situation
where you're buying two at a time.
00:19:17
And I understand, you know, for money
purposes and whatnot, people can do that.
00:19:19
But ideally you replace all four at once.
00:19:21
Yeah, particularly
if you have, all wheel drive
00:19:25
certain companies, I believe Audi and
Subaru, maybe you have them.
00:19:31
You got to make sure that the tires
are symmetrically worn.
00:19:34
You can. Yeah, it's
probably a differentials.
00:19:36
Yeah.
00:19:36
The in the owner's manual will tell you
00:19:38
sort of what
the deviation from tire tire is.
00:19:40
But it can cause transfer case problems.
Differential problems.
00:19:42
Just because the circumference
of the tire is different.
00:19:45
And when you're going down the road,
they're all traveling at different speeds.
00:19:47
So like your diffs are working overtime
00:19:49
basically to compensate
for that builds up a lot of heat.
00:19:52
You know, and you will see that.
00:19:53
So that is a good point to bring up.
00:19:54
And I get you,
00:19:55
if you're one of those cars,
it can be frustrating
00:19:57
because it's like that
tire looks still pretty good.
00:19:59
But you know, not just go ahead and buy
for, you know, don't do what I did.
00:20:02
I'm always usually a lesson
in what not to do on a car.
00:20:05
There are some rare situations
where you can actually, you know,
00:20:08
you could buy a tire
00:20:09
and have it shaved down
so that it matches a little bit closer.
00:20:12
You know, that hurts.
00:20:13
You buy a brand new tire.
Now we're saving it down.
00:20:14
But that's probably that might be better
than buying all four. So
00:20:19
Yeah, that'd be like a situation
where you have a blowout,
00:20:21
a catastrophic blowout.
00:20:22
You might need to go replace those tires
instead of buying for sure.
00:20:25
But in your situation, you have four
is the best.
00:20:28
If not, stick with all seasons.
00:20:29
So I remember last winter,
you guys were out there,
00:20:32
a couple of Subarus,
and I got roped into it.
00:20:35
I might have volunteered,
00:20:36
to drive a camera car
00:20:37
because we've got some really cool footage
of you guys testing tires.
00:20:40
I think you even did, like, a winter
versus all season on a similar car.
00:20:44
You just kind of run us through some of
the process of testing these winter tires.
00:20:47
Yeah.
00:20:47
So, you know, our tire testing is separate
from what we did that day.
00:20:51
That was that was sort of an all wheel
00:20:53
drive evaluation
allowing us to see the differences,
00:20:57
with all wheel drive and different types
of tires on those vehicles.
00:20:59
But our regular, our our no tire.
00:21:01
I'm sorry.
00:21:02
Our tire testing
snow traction test is a 5 to 20 mile
00:21:06
per hour,
acceleration on a packed snow surface.
00:21:09
So think of a, you know, a road
that's been traveled on with snow
00:21:12
and it's packed
a little bit loose stuff on top.
00:21:15
We prepare a surface like that,
00:21:17
and then we're celebrating with
best effort, acceleration up to 20mph.
00:21:20
And the idea is, measuring the
the distance required to get to 20, the,
00:21:25
the the idea is that the tire
that has more traction,
00:21:28
we'll get to 20mph in a shorter distance.
00:21:30
So has more traction, on snow.
00:21:32
So and that's sort of
we turn off stability control
00:21:34
and we're just kind of giving it
our best effort, letting the tire spin.
00:21:37
And we,
you know, we're collecting some data
00:21:38
to see how quick
the tire can get to 20mph.
00:21:41
So what do you do? That test?
I mean, it's pretty glaring.
00:21:43
I mean, where tire just goes right down.
00:21:45
No problem.
00:21:47
You go to turn around, the car
turns around. No problem.
00:21:49
We get on an all season set.
That's not so great.
00:21:51
And it taken you some distance,
and then you got to turn around and
00:21:53
understeer on you. And.
Yeah, I know, yeah, it's very evident.
00:21:56
We did the filming.
00:21:58
You know, I was very aware
once you switched over to the all seasons
00:22:00
because the camera car was pretty close
to the car that you were driving
00:22:03
and sort of being aware that you are
00:22:05
sort of driving towards me on a tire
that doesn't have as much snow grip.
00:22:09
Right.
00:22:09
And then,
00:22:10
I want to just
I want to just sort of commend
00:22:12
you guys because Gordon took me out there
00:22:14
with a truck,
and I think it had all seasons on it,
00:22:16
and I actually tried to do the testing
that you guys do.
00:22:19
I think I did ten runs in
00:22:20
one of my ten runs would have been even
in the realm of acceptable.
00:22:24
So, I mean, it's quite the feat of
00:22:25
just this, this over and over acceleration
on a super slippery surface.
00:22:29
And also,
you guys can feel these mini differences.
00:22:31
You're tired of tire along
with the test equipment, things like that.
00:22:34
So I know it takes some time experience
doing it for sure.
00:22:37
But the key is having a nice level
playing field for all the tires.
00:22:40
So we test at night,
so there's no sun load
00:22:42
because the sun can affect the snow temperatures, and the moisture in the snow,
00:22:47
you know, we put the tires outside
before we mount them on the car
00:22:50
so that they're already acclimated
to the, outdoor temperatures,
00:22:53
because the rubber can get harder
in the cold temperatures.
00:22:55
And that that adjusts, the pressures
as well.
00:22:58
So, so we're paying attention
to all those little things,
00:23:00
to make sure that they all experience.
00:23:01
We were even, picking all
the little pebbles out of all the little.
00:23:04
Yeah.
00:23:04
Because we drive
these tires have be driven on the road
00:23:06
prior,
so there's probably rocks and stuff.
00:23:07
Yeah.
00:23:08
Pull those out
especially for ice testing because that's,
00:23:10
that could actually acted
like a little stuttery.
00:23:12
Well, but,
00:23:13
yeah.
00:23:14
So it's a, it's
a, not an easy test to do, but,
00:23:18
it's a real world test
that people, it's, you know,
00:23:22
when people buy a snow tire
and it does really well in the snow,
00:23:24
they go, wow, this is amazing.
00:23:26
And our testing can really show you
that, like,
00:23:28
snow tires are almost like life
changing the first time you drive.
00:23:31
Yeah.
00:23:32
I'd say owner satisfaction with a winter
tire is really high
00:23:35
because we bought it to do one thing
and go through snow, and they do that.
00:23:38
But when you can just design something
to do one thing,
00:23:41
you better do that, that you know,
you can let the other stuff go.
00:23:44
It doesn't have to really do
that is great for the other stuff.
00:23:47
And tires are a compromise.
00:23:48
You know, if you focus on one thing,
00:23:49
it's going to you're going to lose
some of the other aspects.
00:23:51
But Winter tire, you can do that
because it's only going to be driven on
00:23:53
in the winter.
00:23:54
So Gordon
Ryan just mentioned, ice testing.
00:23:56
And I've seen how you guys do this.
00:23:58
I know we have some footage of this on.
00:24:00
Bring it up so we can,
you know, show it to the people at home.
00:24:02
But talk about,
like, on snow is difficult.
00:24:04
But now you guys are on ice,
and it's like sheet ice.
00:24:07
How do you manage that?
00:24:08
Yeah.
So we're at a local ice skating rink.
00:24:11
And we're doing a ten mile
an hour, two zero braking test.
00:24:15
And the idea it's
kind of similar to the snow traction is,
00:24:19
you know, the tire that starts
the shortest distance on this ice,
00:24:24
it's going to have better traction
all around in winter.
00:24:27
But we find that there's
a good correlation between the snow
00:24:30
traction and traction, generally speaking.
00:24:34
The the thing with this test is,
00:24:37
you have to get up to speed
00:24:38
and stop in an ice rink, and,
that ice rink is really small,
00:24:43
especially winter
and a half ton pickup or.
00:24:45
Or you,
00:24:46
because you do a variety of different
cars,
00:24:47
you might do pick ups,
sedans, sports cars.
00:24:50
So you might be trying to do something
00:24:51
like a rear wheel drive vehicle,
I would assume.
00:24:53
Yeah. Yeah.
00:24:54
We've done it with a, Toyota Gr86.
00:24:58
We'll actually take off in second gear
because the,
00:25:00
the limited torque in second versus
first gear is easier to take off.
00:25:04
It's, it's it takes a little bit and
that the backboard comes up really quick.
00:25:09
The first couple.
00:25:09
Are so many people want to know how have
either of you guys tagged a backboard.
00:25:13
No no no.
00:25:15
When I first started working here
two years ago, we were doing it from 15mph
00:25:19
and that was spooky.
00:25:20
So we used to put a tire wall
at the end of the road. Okay. Yeah, yeah.
00:25:23
Makes sense.
00:25:23
You know,
00:25:24
and I vaguely remember a few people maybe
bumping it gently, but we don't anymore.
00:25:28
But but since just 20 years ago,
tires have gotten a lot better.
00:25:31
I mean, the compounds are a lot better.
00:25:32
Some of these tires are even.
00:25:33
All seasons are quite impressive on ice.
00:25:35
It's sheer ice.
00:25:36
It's, you know, it's it's not going to.
00:25:39
None of them are gonna do great
because it's.
00:25:40
Yeah, but there is a condition
00:25:41
you might encounter in winter
tires on that surface is glaring again.
00:25:45
They these tires are designed for that.
00:25:48
And it's really super satisfying to see.
00:25:50
And then something that I've learned,
00:25:51
you know, we test cars,
but you guys test tires.
00:25:54
We're testing cars.
00:25:55
We want a really good asphalt surface
most of the time.
00:25:58
So we have, you know, brake lanes
that we use for testing.
00:26:00
But you guys on the facility
have your own brake lanes, though
00:26:04
it was new asphalt,
we actually did some work
00:26:05
to kind of rough
that asphalt up a little bit.
00:26:07
And from what I've learned,
00:26:09
sort of the worse the asphalt is, that's
what separates the better tires.
00:26:12
Like all tires are pretty good
on like good new dry asphalt.
00:26:16
Yeah.
00:26:16
So the tire testing
you're kind of looking for,
00:26:19
we're looking for the extremes
in order to spread things out.
00:26:22
So stopping on ice, it's
something that you can encounter in the.
00:26:25
Real world and certainly extreme.
00:26:26
It is an extreme, but, by testing
on, you know, glare ice,
00:26:32
we're testing the worst case scenario
for this car with the braking.
00:26:35
The reason we we've burnished the surface
is we're trying to lower the friction,
00:26:39
the idea being that maybe a either cheaper
or a lower technology
00:26:44
tire will do as good as a, as a good tire
on a really grippy surface.
00:26:49
When you start lowering the friction
level on the surface, it spreads out.
00:26:53
The result here, and it kind of separates
the good from the bad tires.
00:26:57
Yeah, sure.
00:26:58
Yeah. Like to work a little harder,
I would assume.
00:26:59
You know, you can just call out
the things the tire doesn't do so well.
00:27:02
Yeah.
00:27:03
The truth is, I mean, the,
the roads across this country vary
00:27:07
drastically for sure,
00:27:08
because the asphalt we use here
comes from the local plant,
00:27:11
and we have a lot of granite hard
stone up here.
00:27:13
You can go across the country
00:27:14
and they're using the softer, different
type of stone, more round, blah blah blah.
00:27:18
So our Moo values are, above the track.
00:27:21
We use a, Connecticut dot recipe,
00:27:24
so we use a asphalt that the date uses
on, Connecticut roads.
00:27:28
So we use that as well,
but it's a higher moo value.
00:27:30
It's grippy, in other words.
00:27:32
And also the track doesn't
get driven on every day like a highway,
00:27:35
so it doesn't get worn down as much as
that wheel leaks on and stuff like that.
00:27:38
So that bring that that Moo value down
00:27:41
that Gordon was talking about
to more realistic levels.
00:27:44
Because we did this cover years ago.
00:27:45
Like if a really grippy wet surface tires,
they they're all doing
00:27:49
all they're all doing pretty well.
00:27:51
Not great but pretty well.
00:27:53
You start to lower them.
00:27:54
You value if you were to really pull apart
the tires that have more technology
00:27:57
for that.
00:27:58
And that's what we wanted to see.
00:27:59
So, it was it was sort of an effort
to be more real world to.
00:28:03
Yeah. Yeah. No, it makes sense.
00:28:04
I mean, like when we test cars,
00:28:05
we don't want to evaluate ride
on the smoothest road possible.
00:28:08
You need it on rough
road to see how the car handles it.
00:28:10
So, Yeah.
00:28:11
No, it all makes sense.
00:28:12
I think if we had to take away from this,
would it really be
00:28:14
that tires are specific to circumstances
and you pick the tire
00:28:17
for the kind of driving activity
that you do?
00:28:20
It's really the best,
the best way to go about this.
00:28:22
I've been saying that for a long time.
00:28:23
It depends on your situation.
00:28:25
You know, the snow tire thing,
if you don't have to be at work
00:28:28
and you can wait till the road's clear off
or good, but also using maybe not.
00:28:31
Whether tire is good
depends on your situation.
00:28:33
If you have to be at work,
00:28:34
you should, you know, your safety
or I'm sorry, like a, first responder or.
00:28:38
Yeah, doctor never got to be there. Yeah.
00:28:40
So then maybe there's a,
you know, an opportunity to,
00:28:43
to do that, you know, by
something like that.
00:28:44
But everyone's situation different.
00:28:45
You can live down south
and not even care about snow traction.
00:28:49
Look for tires.
00:28:50
Maybe somewhere on the list,
I don't they might not do
00:28:52
well in snow or ice traction,
but you don't need that, right?
00:28:55
Yeah. If,
you know, it's very situational. You.
00:28:57
I guess you think about, like, shoes
too, right?
00:28:58
Like, you know, there's different shoes
for different activities. Yeah.
00:29:01
You don't go run a marathon and like,
some steel toe,
00:29:03
you know, insulated boots kind of thing.
00:29:04
So, you know,
00:29:05
pick the pick your shoe for your activity,
pick your tire for the type of driving
00:29:09
that you plan on doing.
00:29:10
So in related to this ice testing,
00:29:11
this question we get and I think we can
see it in the video clips.
00:29:14
Tires and wheels are locked up.
00:29:16
When you guys are testing on the ice.
00:29:17
It doesn't appear to that
the car has working ABS.
00:29:21
What's going on with that?
00:29:22
Yeah.
00:29:22
So everyone who drives a car,
this model now has ABS.
00:29:26
They have electronic stability control,
but unfortunately, when you're doing
00:29:30
some testing, there's inconsistencies
with some of those systems.
00:29:34
When you're trying
to compare a tire to the tire.
00:29:36
So for example, ABS, doesn't work
that great under ten miles an hour on ice,
00:29:40
we found out.
00:29:41
So in order to separate the tires,
we do a locked wheel test on the
00:29:45
at the ice skating rink. Okay.
00:29:46
Kind of similar situation
goes for the snow acceleration.
00:29:51
Everyone's using traction control.
00:29:54
We shut that off.
00:29:55
Ryan and I are kind of acting
as our own traction control.
00:29:57
The difference is
we're doing hundreds of runs.
00:30:01
So we're kind of.
00:30:02
We're trying to take away the vehicle
and to separate out because you're.
00:30:04
Really just interested
in testing the tire,
00:30:06
and no other kind of outside influence.
Right.
00:30:08
Removing variables essentially.
All right. Very cool.
00:30:11
So going back to my questionable
00:30:12
automotive choices with the wrong car,
wrong wheel drive, wrong tire,
00:30:15
wrong temperature.
00:30:17
If I just went and bought
an all wheel drive
00:30:18
or even maybe a four wheel drive vehicle,
00:30:21
can I just go rip around through
all the kind of deep snow and over
00:30:23
ice and do whatever I want?
00:30:26
You can, but,
00:30:27
you might find yourself stuck in a ditch
somewhere.
00:30:29
Here's here's
the thing with all wheel drive cars,
00:30:32
you know, typically you just go out
and bought an all wheel drive.
00:30:35
Cars can probably have an all season
tire on it.
00:30:37
Whatever.
00:30:39
You're going to get up and go,
00:30:41
from our cameras, we've seen, like,
you know, it's going to accelerate
00:30:43
because you have all wheel drive,
so a lot of forward traction.
00:30:45
Yeah. Now, now you're moving.
00:30:48
You have this 4 or 5000 pound mass moving
00:30:50
and you got up to speed kind of easily
because has all wheel drive.
00:30:54
But now once you're moving,
you kind of forgot about that.
00:30:56
And now you got to slow down
a turn. You're coming down.
00:30:58
You know, out of the out of a ski resort
or something, and you get what you want.
00:31:02
You just the same for tires.
00:31:04
All wheel drive doesn't help you steer.
00:31:07
The tires had better be decent.
00:31:08
Yeah.
00:31:09
So I'm not going to remember
testing way back in the day.
00:31:13
We, you know, we tested like an Acura RSX
front wheel drive, made snow tires on it.
00:31:17
And, you know, you take off the tire,
spend a little bit.
00:31:19
Oh, wow. It's slippery. Okay.
00:31:20
But then you're more cautious
while you're driving.
00:31:22
But you can stop.
00:31:23
You can turn, you know, I can tell you
how many times I see this big Range Rovers
00:31:27
as fancy SUVs
and they're off in the ditch.
00:31:29
In a snow snowstorm
because they got the speed pretty easily.
00:31:31
Yeah,
but now this thing's floating on the snow,
00:31:34
these big tires and all this stuff,
and they're not probably the proper tires,
00:31:36
or they're half worn
and off the side of the road they go,
00:31:39
and meanwhile
you see this little front wheel drive car
00:31:41
with snow tires and I just scooting
right up the highway. No problem.
00:31:44
In control.
00:31:44
So, all wheel drive is a good thing,
don't get me wrong, but it can be a false
00:31:48
sense of security at times,
because it always comes back to tires
00:31:51
that are on the car because you
you still have four tires.
00:31:54
They're going to stop you in turn.
00:31:56
So you need to make sure the tires
are up to snuff because all wheel drive,
00:31:59
can actually get you in a little bit
of a trouble in a little bit of trouble
00:32:02
if you're not paying attention
to that kind of stuff.
00:32:04
I mean, the laws of physics still apply.
00:32:06
Yeah.
00:32:07
You know, once it's
00:32:07
objects in motion, it's going to stay
and you get help in one direction.
00:32:10
Really. Right.
00:32:11
So it's just good to keep that in mind.
00:32:14
While you, you know, I have that.
And again, all wheel drive is good.
00:32:16
It's a great thing,
but it's, you know, you
00:32:18
it can be a false sense of security
sometimes in really slippery condition.
00:32:21
And so, Gordon,
you know, I was I call you guys tire guys
00:32:24
because you're a tire guys.
00:32:25
But you drive our fleet of test cars
as well.
00:32:27
And you participate in driving those
and testing those or anything like that.
00:32:30
So we have this fleet of 75 cars,
give or take.
00:32:34
And I think this might be interesting
for a little behind the scenes
00:32:36
for people, you know, what's
sort of our philosophy on these tires?
00:32:39
Most of our cars do come with all seasons,
00:32:41
but every once in a while
we do get a car with summers on it.
00:32:43
Whether it's. And sometimes you can
all wheel drive karma with
00:32:46
that all seasons.
00:32:47
And one of the electric Mercedes had them.
00:32:49
So how do we manage that?
00:32:50
Because it's Connecticut.
We get winter, you know. What do we do.
00:32:53
Just kind of give people an idea.
00:32:55
So typically
if it's kind of a, a normal sedan
00:32:58
touring car, if it came
with some sort of summer tires, which I.
00:33:02
Don't think it's rare,
but every once in a while.
00:33:05
We try and keep those cars off the road,
completely in the winter.
00:33:08
So as we, Marcum, do not drive
and they don't go out.
00:33:10
Okay.
00:33:11
How many times I, you know, paying Big
John about like, oh, this one got snow
00:33:16
summer tires on it.
00:33:16
So like, once,
you know, November or December, it's
00:33:20
because it's not even just a snow.
00:33:21
The actual raw snow traction.
00:33:22
Yeah.
00:33:22
It's they they don't
00:33:24
they don't they don't grip
well under like 45, 40 to 45 degrees.
00:33:27
They turn into almost like plastic.
00:33:29
Yeah. Like a, like a big wheel
kind of tire.
00:33:31
They can just spin it.
00:33:32
Did I mean sorry, we did have
I can remember having, some Range
00:33:35
Rover sports back in the day that had
summer tires on them from the factory.
00:33:39
And it's like they don't they
didn't look necessarily, but they were.
00:33:42
And it was like,
that's the potential for that.
00:33:45
You know, false sense of security
right there.
00:33:47
Yeah. So so we choose to park those cars,
00:33:49
you know
when to let them go out on the road.
00:33:50
But then we just stick with, with
all seasons basically on everything else.
00:33:54
And I will say we had a couple of Mercedes
that had, one was like
00:33:57
a summer tire, almost like a European
three season weird thing.
00:34:00
Yeah, yeah,
we did put a set of all weather tires, a
00:34:04
because the tires were tough to get,
and we kind of wanted to use the car
00:34:07
because they were all wheel drive cars.
And once the leaves do in the winter,
00:34:10
so again, for the, for the people
that maybe have some winter in their life,
00:34:14
but they don't want to commit
to a full winter tire.
00:34:17
These, these all weather tires
seem to be pretty good.
00:34:20
And I know, Andrew, who's a video guy
he mentioned.
00:34:24
Right.
00:34:24
We started this, that he has 78 miles
on a set of, I think, all weather tires,
00:34:29
78 miles on, on a Mazda.
00:34:33
So I recommended those to
you can imagine who
00:34:35
maybe he reads Consumer Reports thought.
00:34:37
No. Well,
so that was so that was a situation,
00:34:39
where they used to use, winter tires.
00:34:43
And we don't get snow
quite like we used to.
00:34:45
And I think there, there needs
to get to work weren't quite the same.
00:34:48
But now the all weather tire fits in there
00:34:50
perfectly because it stays on the car
and not to worry about snow,
00:34:54
if they need to drive in it, but,
Yeah, sure.
00:34:57
And, this is where you guys
give out your emails, right?
00:34:59
So when people have started questions,
they go directly to,
00:35:01
you know, just kidding.
We won't put that work load on you.
00:35:04
You have lots of questions.
00:35:05
In an era of AI generated answers,
it's important to know who you can trust.
00:35:10
Asker and tap into thousands of product
ratings.
00:35:13
Safety investigations. And expert advice.
00:35:16
But I think, speaking of questions,
we always take questions from our audience
00:35:19
and for the viewer and listener
00:35:20
if they want to get their question
answered by some of us here,
00:35:24
it's going to be talking cars@consumer.org
is the email address to use.
00:35:27
And if your question gets selected
by Dave and ends up on the podcast,
00:35:30
Dave will send you a shirt, a hat,
some kind of gift, swag, stuff like that.
00:35:35
And again, he doesn't send them out.
00:35:36
He has someone who does that for him.
00:35:37
So it's not coming directly from Dave,
00:35:39
but it's coming from Dave,
at least in spirit.
00:35:41
So, send us those emails and, we love to,
to answer and entertain questions.
00:35:47
So this
00:35:47
week's question is, from Derek
from Denver, Colorado.
00:35:50
And Derek says, as a courier and rideshare
driver, I drive extensively in need.
00:35:56
New winter tires for my 2009 and 2015
Toyota Priuses PRI.
00:36:02
Because of the unique traction laws
in Colorado, only winter tires will do
00:36:05
change too.
00:36:06
Of course, I'm considering storable tires
this year and wonder if getting studs
00:36:10
increases tread wear
compared to just using the same tire model
00:36:15
without studs installed on the one hand,
they're metal, not rubber.
00:36:18
On the other hand,
the metal is talking the rubber.
00:36:21
Could you check with one of the big brains
around us here, like Ryan, to see what
00:36:25
the data says?
00:36:25
So big brain Ryan.
00:36:27
Oh, what do we say?
00:36:30
Because we did not talk about studs
anywhere,
00:36:32
sort of in this winter tire extravaganza.
00:36:34
Yeah.
00:36:35
So I, we did, some years back,
we did a little, stud studded
00:36:39
snow tire evaluation,
and we tested saddle balls, snow tires.
00:36:43
I actually started
we have a stud gun, by the way.
00:36:45
It's kind of neat, actually.
00:36:46
Like, pulls the rubber part
and pops a stud inside the.
00:36:49
I actually want to check that.
00:36:50
I've never done that. Neat. Yeah.
00:36:51
So a snow tire will have these little
pockets in it that you can put a stud in.
00:36:55
Sometimes you buy from the factory
that already have the studs in them.
00:36:58
So, studs, it's what you think.
00:37:01
It's a loose little metal,
00:37:02
and they have a little carbide tip,
and they are some mechanical traction.
00:37:05
These things will grab ice, and grip it.
00:37:08
And they do work on ice.
00:37:11
Our testing showed those snow.
00:37:12
Traction wise, it was no different,
00:37:14
than a regular, a good,
00:37:18
stud list, no tire.
00:37:19
Now, there's a lot to this
because you can,
00:37:21
if you grind through the snow
and you hit an asphalt
00:37:24
surface with the studs,
you're going to grab the surface, right?
00:37:26
They also ruin the surface.
00:37:28
So which is why studs are,
00:37:30
you know, you have to take them off,
and they're illegal in many areas.
00:37:33
You know, outside of this, snow window,
if you will.
00:37:37
But our testing showed even on ice,
they stopped better.
00:37:39
But it wasn't as earth shattering
as we thought.
00:37:42
A really good Douglas, winter tire
with a good compound stop on ice.
00:37:46
Really? Well,
00:37:47
these days,
it started. Snow tires are loud.
00:37:51
And then they.
00:37:52
And they do, like, a little
wrap up your driveway.
00:37:55
They did the destructive because
the carbide tips a hard piece of metal.
00:37:57
Right.
00:37:58
And answer his question.
No, you're not going.
00:38:00
They're not going to last longer because
the rubber is still meeting the road.
00:38:02
And a lot of the studs, actually
have there's, like, almost like a little,
00:38:06
air pocket behind them and,
and even into the tire soft,
00:38:09
the stud pushes in a little bit.
00:38:10
So it's just making pressure contact.
00:38:12
And there's a little bit of pressure
as it's rolling.
00:38:14
Like right at the surface
kind of level. Yeah.
00:38:16
Yeah I mean I think Nokia has a technology
00:38:18
where there's actually like an air pocket
and it kind of retracts a little bit and
00:38:23
to make them less aggressive, if you will.
00:38:24
But they still have the bite on the snow
on the ice.
00:38:27
Studded snow tires are for folks living,
like in the Arctic Circle or somewhere
00:38:30
real aggressive in Finland, somewhere
00:38:32
where you're just on icy snow roads
and all the time around here, I really
00:38:36
I mean, you'll see them up in northern
Vermont, Canada and places, but,
00:38:39
I, I don't, I don't think it's
you can get away with just by a good set
00:38:43
of, studies, winter tires,
and you'll be okay.
00:38:44
And again, this comes out,
I think the use case.
00:38:46
Right.
00:38:46
Like, if you happen to have a long, like,
incline of a driveway in a shaded
00:38:50
and always has ice on it.
00:38:51
Yeah, it might be worth investing in that.
00:38:53
So you can get your car up your driveway.
00:38:55
And they do work, in that sense.
00:38:56
But, you see, less and less of
that is no tires, especially around here.
00:39:00
I mean, back in the day,
they were always around
00:39:01
because we didn't have a compounding.
00:39:02
So they relied on mechanical traction
like nuts. Right.
00:39:05
So now the soft, the rubber stays soft.
00:39:07
And there's so many sipes
a little slits in the rubber.
00:39:09
And they just they, they make really good
00:39:11
snow tires or instead of wool
ones are like just not as popular.
00:39:15
So cool.
00:39:16
And Derek also mentioned,
00:39:18
snow chains and Gordon,
you strike me as a fellow
00:39:19
who's maybe used a set
of snow chains once or twice.
00:39:22
Yeah.
00:39:23
So kind of similar to the studs, really.
00:39:24
The snow chains
are for really specific scenarios.
00:39:27
I mean, if you're if you're stuck,
if you really need to get through.
00:39:30
I know in Colorado
00:39:31
they have certain laws where to go through
certain mountain passes.
00:39:34
You have to have these chains.
00:39:36
It's not something
the common everyday person is going.
00:39:39
To just like go to the grocery store
with some snow on
00:39:41
the ground is probably not
where you want to be, right?
00:39:43
Just so you know, snow tires are already
kind of a specialty product.
00:39:47
And then start of all snow
tires are even more of a specialty.
00:39:50
And then snow chains
is really for a particular use.
00:39:54
I have some I have personal experience
with snow chains actually just going out
00:39:57
west, snowboarding and,
some of the mountain passes they make you,
00:40:00
we rent a car and it has all season
tires on it to come out of a regular area
00:40:03
where there's no snow,
and then you get up on the mountain.
00:40:05
So, and snow chain,
putting a snow chain on is difficult,
00:40:09
especially now you put it on
when you are just before.
00:40:12
It's just hopefully
just before you encounter snow.
00:40:14
But if you are in snow,
they're difficult to put on.
00:40:18
I mean, you're,
you're laying this thing down on the,
00:40:20
you're underneath the car,
reaching around.
00:40:22
We even tested the snow socks.
00:40:23
These, like, fabric material things
that you wrap around a tire in a pinch
00:40:27
to get you out.
00:40:28
And they did work, but,
we did some of that testing here
00:40:31
years ago, but it's it's difficult
to get in. You're freezing cold.
00:40:34
You're laying in the snow
trying to wrap this thing around.
00:40:36
You're better off
just having a winter tire on the car
00:40:38
if you're going to be
in that kind of area.
00:40:40
And, you know, a Prius with winter
tires on it,
00:40:41
you'd probably be surprised
how well you're dealt with it.
00:40:44
So and this might be a little inside
baseball, but,
00:40:46
when I was a teacher,
I actually showed that video
00:40:48
of you guys installing the tire
socks on cars and and kind of different.
00:40:52
So that was a video
I used in class one day.
00:40:55
They're just they're difficult to put on.
00:40:56
And for the average person, not my mind.
00:40:58
I'm someone that's dealt
with tires for a long time.
00:41:00
And I knew what to do with it.
00:41:02
And I was on a flat surface,
not on the side of a busy highway.
00:41:05
So I had the odds are in my favor
and still is not fun.
00:41:08
So. Sure. Yeah. Yeah.
00:41:10
Well great question, Derek. Thank you.
00:41:11
Dave's
got something in the mail already for you.
00:41:14
I saw him back there,
putting stamps on the envelope.
00:41:16
So, I think that's going about
do it for us this week on talking cards.
00:41:20
But before we go, we do want to mention
if you're watching on YouTube,
00:41:22
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00:41:25
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00:41:28
you could donate something to us.
00:41:30
We are a nonprofit
00:41:31
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00:41:34
So, any help that we can get
is certainly appreciated.
00:41:36
And, some people do like to,
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00:41:39
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00:41:40
So we do appreciate that.
00:41:42
And, you know, as always,
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00:41:45
send them to talking cars at consumers
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00:41:48
guys can answer those questions for you.
00:41:50
So keep those coming.
00:41:51
Check the show notes,
all the kind of stuff we talked about.
00:41:54
There's going to be, like links
00:41:54
down there to tire ratings and the reviews
and all that kind of stuff.
00:41:58
Add something you can.
00:41:59
New truck tire
readings, for this year are live on CRO.
00:42:02
This is a big one for you.
And, all the new.
00:42:05
Yeah, the new truck, all season truck,
all terrain and truck, winter tires.
00:42:09
That Gord and I and Julian, tested
this year, I hope to one evening. You.
00:42:13
Did you help? Yeah,
I was there every time I was there.
00:42:16
Everyone helps tires in some way
at some point. Yeah.
00:42:18
Appreciate everyone. But,
yeah, those ratings are live.
00:42:21
So check it out.
00:42:22
Yeah, all those notes are down there.
00:42:23
And, thank you guys for being on the show
this week with us.
00:42:26
And thank everyone for watching,
listening.
00:42:28
We'll talk cars with you next week.
00:42:38
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