Snow Tires are they needed or Not really

[arp123]

I like all the comments. We live in SE Minnesota and I'm a firm believer in snow tires even before we got the MME. We also have a Subaru Forester and have had a set of snow tires for it since the 2nd season.

Think about it this way:

• All Season tires are mediocre at everything. They give and take features and performance to be usable all year round. Snow tires are designed specifically for winter driving.
• Purchasing snow tires is like buying a set of tires in advance. On our Subaru we are at 91,000 miles and since we have been using the snow tires every winter since we got the tires, the summer set is still the original tires from the factory.

We got our MME in April and haven't experienced snow with it yet but I have already ordered a set of General Altimax Artic 12 tires for it. Those tires seem to be the best bang for the buck to me.

And a story from last winter after about a 3 inch snowfall. Wife was driving the Subaru home from work and was wondering why everyone was driving so slow. She had no trouble accelerating, turning or breaking. I said "Dear, you have those snow tires and others don't."

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[tboo72]

Im 53 and have lived in Wisconsin most my life. I have driven through most winters just using all-season tires(on RWD, FWD, 4WD, and AWD vehicles) and even one winter with performance summer tires. I do not recommend trying to do it in summer tires but all-seasons is entirely doable.

 

[steveg95]

Live in Minnesota Twin Cities and I have a 26 mile commute daily.

How are the factory tires? I really don't want to get snow tires never had them before and I know how to drive in the snow so are they needed or just a nice to have?


What am I going to expect with battery mileage when it is below -20?

I have a 2022 RWD. I went through last winter with the factory tires and was pleasantly surprised about their performance on snow. I did turn off the One Pedal Drive, as recommended, when it was slick out. I live in the Midwest, so had a fair amount of slick conditions to deal with.

 

[BusyRN]

Live in Minnesota Twin Cities and I have a 26 mile commute daily.

How are the factory tires? I really don't want to get snow tires never had them before and I know how to drive in the snow so are they needed or just a nice to have?


What am I going to expect with battery mileage when it is below -20?

I live in Michigan on a dirt road that does not get plowed for days after it snows and I have no problems driving in the snow at all. I have all wheel drive GT. As far as charging goes, I have no idea if this change is related to updates, changing from sport mode to bridle mode or just plugging it in, however my mileage increased drastically from one winter to the next. The first winter I only plugged my car in when it needed a charge and I was only getting about 180 miles a charge in the winter. The following winter I plugged it in daily and got the full 240-260 miles everyday. I frequent my cabin which is 180 miles away and the first winter I would need to stop and charge on my way there, the second winter I no longer had to do this. My speed for 2.5 hrs is around 75-85 on the expressway and I still arrive with the same amount of miles left over whether it is the summer or winter. As I previously stated I dont know if the extra miles came from daily plug in during winter months, an update, or switching from sport to bridle mode but whatever it is, it worked. Please note I also have a 2021 GT which seems to have a few extra bugs to work out, if your car is a newer model you should be beyond the updates I have needed and hopefully don’t have any winter issues at all with charging.

 

[dtbaker61]

Live in Minnesota Twin Cities and I have a 26 mile commute daily.

How are the factory tires? I really don't want to get snow tires never had them before and I know how to drive in the snow so are they needed or just a nice to have?


What am I going to expect with battery mileage when it is below -20?

I put Vredestien Wintrac Pros on the stock wheels, stock width, and bought some nicer +1 width wheels for summer and put on Conti dw6 when stock tires wore out after 20k miles....

range effect of cold will be 'significant', on the order of -25%, especially if you store vehicle outside at night.

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