Winter tires for AWD (living in Chicago)

gafear

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jun 7, 2021
Threads
16
Messages
113
Reaction score
76
Location
Chicago
Vehicles
Premium AWD ER
Country flag
Given that the car is already AWD and has all the fancy electronic controls, is it worth to get winter tires?

For reference, I live in a condo so would likely need to rent a storage facility to store the tires. Before mach e I had a 11yr old FWD Tiguan and only used all season, which I admit it was scary in a few occasions
Sponsored

 

hybrid2bev

Well-Known Member
Joined
Dec 4, 2019
Threads
75
Messages
4,071
Reaction score
11,093
Location
USA
Vehicles
2021 Job 1 Premium4X - EAP Member
Country flag
Given that the car is already AWD and has all the fancy electronic controls, is it worth to get winter tires?

For reference, I live in a condo so would likely need to rent a storage facility to store the tires. Before mach e I had a 11yr old FWD Tiguan and only used all season, which I admit it was scary in a few occasions
I don't plan on getting winter tires (Metro Detroit, MI area).

If you really want winter tires, maybe see if the tire shops in your area offer winter storage. Belle Tire here offers it as a service.

https://www.belletire.com/tires-and-wheels/off-season-storage

HOW TIRE STORAGE WORKS
  • Bring in your vehicle to any retail location and purchase the Belle Tire Valet Service (Off-Season Storage Solution).
  • Belle Tire removes your tires and wheels and cleans them in preparation for storage.
  • Tires and wheels are placed in a tire glove; a unique bar code is then placed on them for tracking.
  • Belle Tire transports your tires and wheels to our distribution center where we will clean the tire and wheel assemblies (Belle Tire does not clean tires stored without wheels).
  • Your tires and wheels are stored inside of a protective tire glove at our secure, climate-controlled facility until you need them again.
  • Contact any Belle Tire Store the following season to set up a service appointment to have your wheels and tires reinstalled.
 

stroszek

Well-Known Member
Joined
Nov 2, 2020
Threads
4
Messages
204
Reaction score
272
Location
MN
Vehicles
Saab 92x
Country flag
AWD will help you not get stuck, it won't stop you from losing control in a turn or help you stop in time. In an urban area where the streets are well plowed and salted 95% of time you can definitely get by with all seasons, but It's an expensive car, you'll save some of the cost by wearing your summer tires more slowly, and it will be less scary and much more fun to drive with good winter tires.
 

Shayne

Well-Known Member
Joined
Aug 9, 2020
Threads
18
Messages
3,344
Reaction score
2,489
Location
Northern Ontario Canada
Vehicles
2021 MME4x Prem
Occupation
Retired
Country flag
Given that the car is already AWD and has all the fancy electronic controls, is it worth to get winter tires?

For reference, I live in a condo so would likely need to rent a storage facility to store the tires. Before mach e I had a 11yr old FWD Tiguan and only used all season, which I admit it was scary in a few occasions
I have had it since the beginning of February and toke it on snow packed roads to test. For me it is a lot better than my 4x4 trucks with ASR. I found it's weight and traction control unbelievable on the snow. With one pedal on you have complete control of speed going down hills on snow pack without hitting the brake and your back end sliding out. Works great on the snow and the rear follows the nose with the stock ASR; tracks beautifully. Winter tires not on the horizon but maybe new wheels?
 

mr_raider

Well-Known Member
Joined
Dec 22, 2020
Threads
8
Messages
428
Reaction score
318
Location
Montreal, QC
Vehicles
2021 Mustang Mach-E Select AWD
Country flag
Yes. I have AWD and I always get winter tires. We had a Volvo S60 with a gen 3 Haldex clutch which is arguably one of the best AWD systems. With a set of General Altimax Arctics, that thing cut through snow and could take any grade uphill in ice.

Picked a pair of COnti Viking Contact on sale in June in 225/55r18
 


OP
OP

gafear

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jun 7, 2021
Threads
16
Messages
113
Reaction score
76
Location
Chicago
Vehicles
Premium AWD ER
Country flag
Thanks for the tips.

What do you usually do, buy a new wheel and tire? Or just the tire and keep the same wheel while changing it every 6 months?
 

EELinneman

Well-Known Member
First Name
Eric
Joined
May 4, 2021
Threads
92
Messages
1,382
Reaction score
2,258
Location
Littleton, CO
Vehicles
Mustang Mach-E GT Performance Edition
Occupation
Sr. Dir Cloud & Projects
Country flag
My personal experience is based on buying and using a second set of wheels and winter tires for the SVT Contour, my wife's (now totaled) Hyundai Veracruz and her current Audi Q5. I have bought through Tirerack and store them in my basement when not in use.

I have tried Bridgestone Blizzaks, Michelin Artic Pilots and even made the mistake of trying Pirelli's winter ice skates. There is some sort of snow taming voodoo that the Blizzaks have and that is the only that we will buy now.

I live right against the Rockies and the only calendar month we have not seen snow is August, so the snow tires go on in October or early November and come off in April. My wife does real estate appraisal so a lot of mountain driving. Even with Audi's excellent all wheel drive putting the blizzaks on transforms the car in a great way.

I've got a GT PE ordered and will be buying wheels and another set of Blizzaks when the car is near. I'm just hoping that I can time it right to get home in decent weather or wait a day or so. The winter of 2000 I drove with one arm (other had major shoulder reconstruction) a stick shift and my summer slicks. Not even going to try that again.
 

Shayne

Well-Known Member
Joined
Aug 9, 2020
Threads
18
Messages
3,344
Reaction score
2,489
Location
Northern Ontario Canada
Vehicles
2021 MME4x Prem
Occupation
Retired
Country flag
AWD will help you not get stuck, it won't stop you from losing control in a turn or help you stop in time. In an urban area where the streets are well plowed and salted 95% of time you can definitely get by with all seasons, but It's an expensive car, you'll save some of the cost by wearing your summer tires more slowly, and it will be less scary and much more fun to drive with good winter tires.
Winter tires will also not help on black ice. Getting aggressive because you have a set on not a good idea. I drive as fast as I want to go into the ditch during bad winter conditions. The clearance of the mme is more concerning than the ASR it comes with for me. What depth of snow do you think we can plow through in one of these?
 

EELinneman

Well-Known Member
First Name
Eric
Joined
May 4, 2021
Threads
92
Messages
1,382
Reaction score
2,258
Location
Littleton, CO
Vehicles
Mustang Mach-E GT Performance Edition
Occupation
Sr. Dir Cloud & Projects
Country flag
Winter tires will also not help on black ice. Getting aggressive because you have a set on not a good idea. I drive as fast as I want to go into the ditch during bad winter conditions. The clearance of the mme is more concerning than the ASR it comes with for me. What depth of snow do you think we can plow through in one of these?
Shayne brings up some very valid points. Snow tires will let you get enough traction that you can go faster in snow and ice, but they are very limited with respect to stopping. Not that they don't help, but they don't help as much as they do with acceleration. They will also help with traction for turning but are not going to work miracles.

Regarding plowing through snow, it really depends on the type of snow. Fresh winter powder here in Colorado you are likely ok. Heavy wet stuff or the weeks old frozen boulders I experienced growing up in Chicago are going to be trouble. Watch the videos of the $16,000 repair bill from Tesla for a debris hit on the battery cooling. It can happen.

Be safe out there!
 

JoeDimwit

Well-Known Member
First Name
Joe
Joined
Mar 1, 2021
Threads
67
Messages
1,712
Reaction score
3,239
Location
Waterford
Vehicles
Grabber Blue First Edition
Occupation
Electrician
Country flag
For reference, I grew up in the Detroit area, lived in the Colorado Rockies (Eagle and Leadville) for 6 years, and am back in Michigan now. I never tried snow tires until my second winter in Colorado. I had a Jeep Compass with 4-wheel drive, and the Blizzaks made a world of difference in surefootednes.

I literally stopped at my local tire shop this morning while waiting for a windshield replacement (that didn’t happen ?), and checked on the cost of full on winter tires for the Smurfmobile. Pirelli Snow Dragons run about $200 each and Blizzaks run about $225 each. That’s both matching my oem 19” tires. With snow tires, you don’t want to go wider, so if you’re thinking about getting aftermarket wheels, I’d recommend winter tires on the original wheels, and summer tires on bigger wheels for better summer grip.

It’s definitely a more expensive way to do things, but I have a 70 mile round trip commute across surface streets and expressways that get varying priority levels for snow clearing, so I feel like it’s worth it for me to go this route, but everyone needs to decide for themselves what is the best way to go. I don’t like the idea of a 5,000+ pound vehicle on black ice without the best grip I can get for it come winter.

As others have already said, good snow tires don’t invalidate physics, so you still need to drive like you have an IQ over 40, but they give you a wider margin of safety. If you drive like you don’t have the extra grip, that one time you really need a little extra, it’s there to save your backside.

TL;DR if you live in the snowbelt, and intend to drive more than a few miles/day in the winter, there is a good case to be made for snow tires on a car with this much torque off the line.
 

stroszek

Well-Known Member
Joined
Nov 2, 2020
Threads
4
Messages
204
Reaction score
272
Location
MN
Vehicles
Saab 92x
Country flag
Not saying to drive aggressively, just that most of the time you can drive without feeling like you’re going to spin out on every curve. High end winter tires aren’t perfect but on snow especially they do a lot more than keep you moving. Fresh all seasons are actually pretty good at the traction part IME, it’s everything else that’s sketchy.

I’ve had a car with the same ground clearance and unless you have to drive down an intermittently plowed road or something I don’t think it’s a problem.
 

Shayne

Well-Known Member
Joined
Aug 9, 2020
Threads
18
Messages
3,344
Reaction score
2,489
Location
Northern Ontario Canada
Vehicles
2021 MME4x Prem
Occupation
Retired
Country flag
Shayne brings up some very valid points. Snow tires will let you get enough traction that you can go faster in snow and ice, but they are very limited with respect to stopping. Not that they don't help, but they don't help as much as they do with acceleration. They will also help with traction for turning but are not going to work miracles.

Regarding plowing through snow, it really depends on the type of snow. Fresh winter powder here in Colorado you are likely ok. Heavy wet stuff or the weeks old frozen boulders I experienced growing up in Chicago are going to be trouble. Watch the videos of the $16,000 repair bill from Tesla for a debris hit on the battery cooling. It can happen.

Be safe out there!
Seen that vid the $20 plumbing fix? Been driving in snow 44 years and we get snow here. ASR and driving for the conditions is where I am heading. The 4x4 (traction control) on this vehicle is like no other I have driven. I can just picture me hung up on a foot of powder with all wheels off the ground spinning. Big flat bottom on these.
 

Badger_Prof

Well-Known Member
First Name
Randy
Joined
Jun 22, 2020
Threads
4
Messages
759
Reaction score
1,539
Location
Wisconsin
Vehicles
Prior--Leaf,Bolt EV. Mustang Mach-E Premium AWD ER
Country flag
Given that the car is already AWD and has all the fancy electronic controls, is it worth to get winter tires?

For reference, I live in a condo so would likely need to rent a storage facility to store the tires. Before mach e I had a 11yr old FWD Tiguan and only used all season, which I admit it was scary in a few occasions
I got my Mach-E the first week of February and drove it through the February snows in Wisconsin. It did great. No snow tires for me.
 

jcloudm

Active Member
First Name
John
Joined
May 20, 2021
Threads
3
Messages
42
Reaction score
18
Location
Northern Colorado
Vehicles
2021 MachE GT PE
Country flag
My personal experience is based on buying and using a second set of wheels and winter tires for the SVT Contour, my wife's (now totaled) Hyundai Veracruz and her current Audi Q5. I have bought through Tirerack and store them in my basement when not in use.

I have tried Bridgestone Blizzaks, Michelin Artic Pilots and even made the mistake of trying Pirelli's winter ice skates. There is some sort of snow taming voodoo that the Blizzaks have and that is the only that we will buy now.

I live right against the Rockies and the only calendar month we have not seen snow is August, so the snow tires go on in October or early November and come off in April. My wife does real estate appraisal so a lot of mountain driving. Even with Audi's excellent all wheel drive putting the blizzaks on transforms the car in a great way.

I've got a GT PE ordered and will be buying wheels and another set of Blizzaks when the car is near. I'm just hoping that I can time it right to get home in decent weather or wait a day or so. The winter of 2000 I drove with one arm (other had major shoulder reconstruction) a stick shift and my summer slicks. Not even going to try that again.
I'm in a very similar situation - GT PE on order and live in Colorado. What size wheel are you considering to go with the Blizzaks? OEM size is pretty wide. I was looking at the Blizzaks or the Vredestein Wintrac Pros.
 

EELinneman

Well-Known Member
First Name
Eric
Joined
May 4, 2021
Threads
92
Messages
1,382
Reaction score
2,258
Location
Littleton, CO
Vehicles
Mustang Mach-E GT Performance Edition
Occupation
Sr. Dir Cloud & Projects
Country flag
John,

Pleased to meet you. I've been poking around on TireRack and will likely go with something close to the size from the factory. Being in Colorado, you know that most of the time we are driving on dry pavement, but there are those days..... I will get more serious when the delivery date is closer.

In the past I have tried Michelin and Pirelli snowtires, but always come back to Blizzaks. I have not tried or know anybody who has tried the Vredestein, so cannot weigh in.

When is your build date? I'm one month from today! Not that I'm not excited or anything.
Sponsored

 
 




Top