littlD

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I believe the adage is "all season = no season"!
Yep, and also "all seasons are mediocre in all seasons"
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Scott H

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Yes low ground clearance means, FE AWD all. season tires m+s can no longer drive where the Macan used to. A yearly once route for me, dint ever see snow here before at this time of the year, just as I decided to go back after 20ft of snow, Got beached in snow late evening, and had us stuck with no cell reception nearest population was 40miles away.. Had to spend the night in the car up in griffith pinchord national forest, luckily dint snow that night. Next day morning, Was able to walk 4 miles to call 911 get a tow trailer, only to learn that in tow mode you can only tow forwards. No tow hook at the back. Had to gently tug at the wheels, cleared snow with a shovel below the car before that and it came loose and drove back all fine like nothing happened.

Was a horrifying night in the cold, only could use seat warmer for heat, the battery drains if the heater is on 2% every 5minutes. With seat warmer it was draining 1% an hour.
Me and wife were in there for 14 hours before we got out, Ford's roadside assistance would answer the call and then cancel without saying a word. We really need wider tires, and better ground clearance.

Lesson: learn to measure snow height before going on and carry a shovel. Snow chains do not help either..

Yes yes I understand I shouldn't have gone there, but the only way was to go further and turn around or stop and go back. It's when I stopped when it got stuck. No.issues as long as it was moving.

I've done this same route multiple times in a lot of cars at same.time of year, so went on with that.

Purchases made after this:
Tire Grabbers
Foldable Shovel
Heated Blanked



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Gifford Pinchot - Wikipedia please. ;o)
 

ajmartineau

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I'm adding a hatchet to my winter bag. Maybe some freshly cut limbs will help with traction.
 

Icedriver

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What is it with you Americans and all season tires? Don't get me wrong, I love the US, Americans in general and most things about you, but you are terrible at choosing tires :p
If you are going to spend a lot of time in snow, then get winter tires. They work.
(Sorry, i dont want to come across as a dick, but in those kind of conditions only winter tires will help you. Get dedicated tires for both summer and winter, much better than all season)

To be a bit more constructive. I'm from Norway and frequently drive in remote ish winter areas.
Here is a few items I think are mandatory on such trips:
Snow showel, blankets, warm clothing (remember hat and gloves), something to drink and eat, blanket scraps (for putting under car tires if stuck), a large knife or small axe, emergency booster starter for 12v battery, powerbank and wire to charge hour phone.

If you are really going remote, without cell phone coverage, you might also consider something like Garmin inreach. We have a gpsmap86i for backup sat. com. in our boat and bring it along with us on car trips in winter. Great safety device if you ever are really stuck.
 
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kgautam28

kgautam28

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D
What is it with you Americans and all season tires? Don't get me wrong, I love the US, Americans in general and most things about you, but you are terrible at choosing tires :p
If you are going to spend a lot of time in snow, then get winter tires. They work.
(Sorry, i dont want to come across as a dick, but in those kind of conditions only winter tires will help you. Get dedicated tires for both summer and winter, much better than all season)

To be a bit more constructive. I'm from Norway and frequently drive in remote ish winter areas.
Here is a few items I think are mandatory on such trips:
Snow showel, blankets, warm clothing (remember hat and gloves), something to drink and eat, blanket scraps (for putting under car tires if stuck), a large knife or small axe, emergency booster starter for 12v battery, powerbank and wire to charge hour phone.

If you are really going remote, without cell phone coverage, you might also consider something like Garmin inreach. We have a gpsmap86i for backup sat. com. in our boat and bring it along with us on car trips in winter. Great safety device if you ever are really stuck.
Did not expect to have snow there, but that snow is normal when we do have snow. Its just a bad part of the road that we were stuck in. In my 15 years of driving, never had any trouble in snow, this is not my first car you know :)
 


Awmustang

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Glad you're okay!

I've been wondering about snow tires for my future (hopefully!) MME Premium AWD ER. I've taken to putting snow tires on my two PHEVs, the C-MAX Energi and the Pacifica Hybrid, since they're FWD and are usually running on the OEM low-rolling-resistance "all seasons," which aren't great on even light snow. (I have the garage around the corner swap the tires onto the factory wheels each late fall, and back again each early spring, rather than buying and then changing and balancing new wheels and new TPMS sensors each time.) I've been thinking I *won't* need to do that with the MME, with AWD balancing out the grip issue on the OEM tires it comes with. (I live on Long Island, east of New York City, so we get snow but not *SNOW* most winters, and I don't tend to explore mountain roads.)

So, am I right that, in normal (i.e., not like the OP found) snow conditions, I should be okay with the OEM tires and AWD? Thanks. {Jonathan}
I guess it really depends how much you like steering and stopping. The AWD doesn't change the fact that the exact same number of wheels will be doing the steering and stopping as in your FWD vehicles. When we moved to WI from FL, we had a FWD Explorer on All-seasons and a Mustang with summer tires. Winter tires were purchased for the Mustang and it was our preferred car during snow storms.
 

RockDaphne98296

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Glad to see OP and Wife are safe and sound and the car wasn't damaged.

My Daddy always used to say (long before AWD was a thing), "4 wheel drive just means a longer walk home". I have been stuck on roads just like the one pictured by the OP in vehicles with all the right equipment - off road kits, snow tires, shovels galore - sometimes Mother Nature just says "Nah" :-D All the while my daddy's quote ringing in my ears!

It happens, there is no one vehicle that gets you through everything, that being said - I prefer AWD for my area, we have 9-10 months of drizzle, mist, rain and sometimes snow. AWD and the right tires help - but they are not guaranteed to keep the tow man away.

My point? It happens, to every vehicle, save maybe those with treads instead of tires... Like someone said earlier - in a little while you get to laugh about it!
 

JonathanEzor

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I guess it really depends how much you like steering and stopping. The AWD doesn't change the fact that the exact same number of wheels will be doing the steering and stopping as in your FWD vehicles. When we moved to WI from FL, we had a FWD Explorer on All-seasons and a Mustang with summer tires. Winter tires were purchased for the Mustang and it was our preferred car during snow storms.
I can definitely see the difference between summer and winter tires. I'm more interested in the difference between low-rolling-resistance all-seasons and winter tires for an AWD vehicle like the MME in the types of winters we get here in the NYC metro region, which certainly wouldn't compare to those in Wisconsin (or Florida, for that matter). Thanks. {Jonathan}
 

JonathanEzor

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all-weather versus snow tires are a weather-specific choice for sure.... The main differences in snow tires are: 1. the rubber itself is formulated to remain softer (stickier) at lower temps. 2. the tread usually has little 'siping' grooves that are designed to provide multiple 'edges' to provide a *little* grip on ice, 3. The tread 'lugs' are usually staggered rather than aligned to provide edges and clearance in loose snow.

whether or not you NEED snow tires is certainly up to you... but there are definite traction advantages to 'snow tires' if you have periods of low temps, ice, and snow even if it's not 'deep'.
Agreed. The question will really be whether the advantages are sufficient, and sufficiently necessary, to balance the cost/hassle of maintaining two sets of tires for the MME. TBD. Thanks. {Jonathan}
 

louibluey

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Agreed. The question will really be whether the advantages are sufficient, and sufficiently necessary, to balance the cost/hassle of maintaining two sets of tires for the MME. TBD. Thanks. {Jonathan}
I never did snow tires in my years on LI (Suffolk county), but here in upstate, NY, most EV "all season" tires just don't hack it. My preference in recent years is Michelin X-ice. I go back and forth between having one set of rims with annual installation and balancing and the much more convenient, but more expensive two sets of rims, with change out in the driveway (which is more fun).
 

JonathanEzor

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I never did snow tires in my years on LI (Suffolk county), but here in upstate, NY, most EV "all season" tires just don't hack it. My preference in recent years is Michelin X-ice. I go back and forth between having one set of rims with annual installation and balancing and the much more convenient, but more expensive two sets of rims, with change out in the driveway (which is more fun).
I do exactly that (one set of rims, two sets of tires, snow tires are X-ice) for my two PHEVs here in Nassau County (I let my around-the-corner mechanic do the changing/balancing), but they're both FWD. I suppose I can try it with the OEM tires once I get my MME, and see what happens. Thanks. {Jonathan}
 

dtbaker61

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I never did snow tires in my years on LI (Suffolk county), but here in upstate, NY, most EV "all season" tires just don't hack it. My preference in recent years is Michelin X-ice. I go back and forth between having one set of rims with annual installation and balancing and the much more convenient, but more expensive two sets of rims, with change out in the driveway (which is more fun).
I was planning on buying a second set of lighter Wheels anyway, so The Logical choice in my case was to put snow tires on the stock wheels and just leave them mounted and balanced. I have a compressor and air wrench, and decent floor jacks, so it takes maybe 10 minutes to change all the tires and I usually check the brake pads at the same time.

In Santa Fe we don't get snow that often in town but when we do it's usually fairly significant, so I will switch to snow tires after a good snow and head up the Mountain for a ski day. It is usually melted off in town after a day or two and I'll switch back to all season to save the tread on the snow tires
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