Should I get snow tires?

johnnyg123 · November 13, 2013

i put a set of takeoffs on after buying the new ride that didnt have the sensors. i was asked if i wanted them when i bought the tires and wheels and i said no since i didnt think i needed them. i was wrong the display came right up and i wound up buying the sensors. mine is a 2013

DanMan_S · November 14, 2013

I'm trying the Michelins this time too, suprisingly they're about $22/tire cheaper than the blizzaks @ tirerack. Anyone know what happens if I don't add TPMS? Will it leave a warning on my display all season like my G8?

I pretty much have to drive through any weather any time so I want to make sure I have the best traction possible. And, it'll be fun to do some offroading on snow paved trails/fields when the time comes too....

The light comes on but you can just ignore it, it won't effect the operation of the vehicle. Has never bothered me as I usually have a traction control light on and tow/haul light on anyhow.

ShadowGM · November 16, 2013

Winter tire vs. all-season - the endless debate

Winter tires obviously exist because many people need them. Here in western British Columbia, you legally MUST have winter tires or chains for many common roadways, and signs are posted for exactly this. If someone is caught on "three-season" tires between October 1st and April 30th they'll be turned back, and even face a fine; though, probably depending upon the severity of conditions at any given time. Where I live, we didn't get our first snowfall until the beginning of November, but the temperature hovered at freezing since mid-0ctober; and, by March, the snow is gone and the temperature stays above freezing.

It's all to do with cold-temperature traction. A "three-season" tire gets too hard in freezing temperatures, and does not maintain its effective grip in icy conditions when needing to change the momentum of a vehicle's travel (slowing down, cornering, speeding up). The colder it gets, the harder the tire ends up. It's the same principal at a drag strip where a basic, cheap tire will likley be composed of harder rubber in order to last longer. That tire will provide less traction because it's more likley to slip against the pavement than grip it. The rubber of a winter tire maintains its flexibility in colder temperatures for the purpose of maintaining traction. It's the exact same thing when hitting the brakes, which is what should be of utmost concern in the debate. Too many people tend to only think about whether or not they will have a lot of snow to drive on. Even a good mudder tire will go through snow, so that type of traction should not be the most important question.

Tire Pressure Monitors - this one is also different between places. Tire shops here are legally required to install them if your vehicle was originally equipped; otherwise they won't mount the rubber. A close friend is a manager at the tire shop I buy from, and I asked how people get around that. He says that things have changed since the Firestone / Ford fiasco, and that he must ASK the customer what kind of vehicle the tires are for. If his system says there are TPM sensors for that model, he is required to install them... and, bloody hell, they are not cheap.

I run two sets of tires/wheels with TPM sensors in both, basically just to make my life easier. Having the 'in' with the tire shop has saved me a bit of money, so I guess that's my excuse. I change the wheels myself, but all that is otherwise required each season is to take it in for the five minute sensor reset (which my friend provides to me for free). I don't know if other shops charge for this service... maybe it depends on whether or not you bought the tires from them; or if you're paying them to change rubber on one set of wheels each season. I figure they would charge, considering the new vehicles require that rather expensive programming/scan tool to change sensors.

Hope this read wasn't a complete waste of your time.

DanMan_S · November 17, 2013

Winter tire vs. all-season - the endless debate

I run two sets of tires/wheels with TPM sensors in both, basically just to make my life easier. Having the 'in' with the tire shop has saved me a bit of money, so I guess that's my excuse. I change the wheels myself, but all that is otherwise required each season is to take it in for the five minute sensor reset (which my friend provides to me for free). I don't know if other shops charge for this service... maybe it depends on whether or not you bought the tires from them; or if you're paying them to change rubber on one set of wheels each season. I figure they would charge, considering the new vehicles require that rather expensive programming/scan tool to change sensors.

Hope this read wasn't a complete waste of your time.

You can easily do the reset yourself. The DIC has a sensor reprogram mode and you can easily do it with a magnet or simply by letting air out of the tires in the order specified in the manual. These new trucks also do not require any special programming to change sensors.

Whenever I buy new tires, I always sell the old ones as a set (wheels + tires+ sensors), so I'm always buy new sensors (roughly 40 - 45 dollars a piece). My '09 Silverado has already gone through 3 different sets of sensors and I've never had an issue adding the new set.

LaserBlueZ71 · November 19, 2013

Winter tire vs. all-season - the endless debate

Winter tires obviously exist because many people need them. Here in western British Columbia, you legally MUST have winter tires or chains for many common roadways, and signs are posted for exactly this. If someone is caught on "three-season" tires between October 1st and April 30th they'll be turned back, and even face a fine; though, probably depending upon the severity of conditions at any given time. Where I live, we didn't get our first snowfall until the beginning of November, but the temperature hovered at freezing since mid-0ctober; and, by March, the snow is gone and the temperature stays above freezing.

It's all to do with cold-temperature traction. A "three-season" tire gets too hard in freezing temperatures, and does not maintain its effective grip in icy conditions when needing to change the momentum of a vehicle's travel (slowing down, cornering, speeding up). The colder it gets, the harder the tire ends up. It's the same principal at a drag strip where a basic, cheap tire will likley be composed of harder rubber in order to last longer. That tire will provide less traction because it's more likley to slip against the pavement than grip it. The rubber of a winter tire maintains its flexibility in colder temperatures for the purpose of maintaining traction. It's the exact same thing when hitting the brakes, which is what should be of utmost concern in the debate. Too many people tend to only think about whether or not they will have a lot of snow to drive on. Even a good mudder tire will go through snow, so that type of traction should not be the most important question.

Tire Pressure Monitors - this one is also different between places. Tire shops here are legally required to install them if your vehicle was originally equipped; otherwise they won't mount the rubber. A close friend is a manager at the tire shop I buy from, and I asked how people get around that. He says that things have changed since the Firestone / Ford fiasco, and that he must ASK the customer what kind of vehicle the tires are for. If his system says there are TPM sensors for that model, he is required to install them... and, bloody hell, they are not cheap.

I run two sets of tires/wheels with TPM sensors in both, basically just to make my life easier. Having the 'in' with the tire shop has saved me a bit of money, so I guess that's my excuse. I change the wheels myself, but all that is otherwise required each season is to take it in for the five minute sensor reset (which my friend provides to me for free). I don't know if other shops charge for this service... maybe it depends on whether or not you bought the tires from them; or if you're paying them to change rubber on one set of wheels each season. I figure they would charge, considering the new vehicles require that rather expensive programming/scan tool to change sensors.

Hope this read wasn't a complete waste of your time.

Where are you in BC? I am in the Lower Mainland

crushNchowda · November 25, 2013

I ended up buying the Michelin Latitude snow tires 275/55/20 on Ultra Gauntlet black 20x9"s - going to look badass going down the road on my already blacked out All Terrain.

c0boy · December 9, 2013

I fully agree with 4x4 auto, it's a great feature that I use the most. The stock Duelers were good last winter, but since we have our first kid on the way and I have to respond to fire/rescue calls usually in my own truck I decided to go with snows. Since you know the benefits there is no reason to explain them. It is late in the year and many places are out of stock, but Discount Tire was able to get me a set of Cooper Weather Master WSC which I had them stud. I can pretty much drive in 2wd most of the time now with 120lbs in the bed.

newdude · December 9, 2013

I have a set of Hankook iPike RW11's on mine. I ended up with those vs. an all terrain because they were cheaper and I had a set of wheels to throw them on. Keeps the factory 18" Z71 wheels away from the salt.

ShadowGM · December 21, 2013

Where are you in BC? I am in the Lower Mainland

30 kms between Nelson and Castlegar in the south-west Kootenays.

LaserBlueZ71 · December 22, 2013

30 kms between Nelson and Castlegar in the south-west Kootenays.

What do you do for work?

I always hear there is no work in the interior.

ShadowGM · December 28, 2013

What do you do for work?

I always hear there is no work in the interior.

I'm a general manager in the retail and bulk petroleum sector. About the only places that work exists is with Tech Cominco and smaller trades. Things are pretty flat, economically. Not much happening in construction. Real Estate is a buyers' market and many places are listed. People are still spending money, but the jobs that pay out aren't producing growth in the region. It's not getting worse, but it's not getting better since the downturn of the forestry industry here.