Salt Usage

[iheartthed]

Most folks in Michigan don't have to deal with the type of snows that would justify purchasing snow tires...

Aren't snow tires illegal in Michigan?

[Gpwrangler]

Aren't snow tires illegal in Michigan?

No, but most tires are already mud and snow rated. Studs are illegal in Michigan.

"snow tires" used to go on the rear drive wheels of a car. The newer front-wheel- drive crap would need four Blizzak or equivalent tires.

[Johnnny5]

No, but most tires are already mud and snow rated. Studs are illegal in Michigan.

"snow tires" used to go on the rear drive wheels of a car. The newer front-wheel- drive crap would need four Blizzak or equivalent tires.

From what I have found there is a drastic difference between tires rated "Mud and snow" and winter specific tires. I run Michelin LTX MS2 [[Mud and snow) tires on my van in the Spring, Summer and Fall and then switch over to Michelin LTX Winter tires around this time of year. While the regular LTX MS2 tires do work in snow the LTX Winter tires are substantially better. The weird part is the tread pattern on both is identical! It's the compound of the rubber that is the difference. I would go as far to say that with quality winter specific tires the performance of a 4x2 truck would be close to matching the performance of a 4x4 truck with regular all season tires [[And the 4x2 with snows would stop much better).

Also with winter tires a set of 4 is always best, but just putting 2 on your drive tires [[Whether it be front or rear wheel drive) will improve traction. The problem with just using 2 on a front wheel drive is it can lead to issues with the back end wanting to come around when the front tires grip and the rears do not when braking hard.

Most folks in Michigan don't have to deal with the type of snows that would justify purchasing snow tires...

I have to disagree. Winter tires are not just useful in deep snow, but the softer compounds offer better stopping in cold weather, provide better ice traction and improved steering in quick stop situations. They make an amazing difference! Cost wise, a good set of winter tires can last for many seasons and reduce the wear of the regular all season set. I expect to get 5-7 winters out of my Winter tires and at the same time increase the life of my regular all season by at least 2 years. In my case the tires were $650 plus another $200 for a used set of steel rims, mounting and balancing. Spread that out over 5+ years and the increased life expectancy of my regular tires and I'm looking at barely $100 per Winter! For those with much smaller tires the cost would likely be even less. One avoided fender bender [[or worse) and they've easily paid for themselves. The best part it driving right past all those slipping on the ice and snow!

[Zacha341]

Seems I've heard that too... anyway I've never been able to afford two sets of tires so I go with all-season tires and us my over-drive and traction control on my car for extra grip as needed. And try to stay off roads when weather is super bad.

When I used to drive stick shift cars I rarely got stuck no matter what tire I had. I miss that.

Aren't snow tires illegal in Michigan?