WI: snow tires for a Jetta GLI

Greetings, group.

I have recently moved from Atlanta, GA to New Hampshire. Big weather
change for me. I drive a 2004 Jetta GLI VR6. It has 25k miles on it
and I'm finishing off the original tires now. They don't particular
handle well in the snow (got to try that out for the first time on
Thanksgiving).

Looking for suggestions from people that live in similar climates with
similar cars. What do you do for snow tires? One suggestion I received
was to get a set of cheap 15" wheels and keep the snow tires mounted on
that. Swap them out and store my regular 17" alloy wheels and non snow
tires for the winter. I'm ok with that, but I have no idea what to look
for in a snow tire.

If anyone has some suggestions, do tell.

--
David Cantrell >

I live in Ohio. I'm retired now, but when I was working my one-way commute
was 30 miles on freeways. Our winter climate in this area ranges from rain
to freezing rain to ice storms to snow to deep snow. With all of that the
tires for my cars have been the same year-round, just good quality tires
(not studded) with good tread - and I've never been stuck. Of course, in
blizzards I don't drive, but they are rare around here. The last one was in
the 1970s.

The secret to winter driving is not tire type. Rather, it is to allow
yourself plenty of time, slow down as road conditions worsen, pay close
attention to traffic volume, and turn off your cellphone.

(David Cantrell) wrote in
:

> Looking for suggestions from people that live in similar climates
> with similar cars. What do you do for snow tires? One suggestion
> I received was to get a set of cheap 15" wheels and keep the snow
> tires mounted on that. Swap them out and store my regular 17"
> alloy wheels and non snow tires for the winter. I'm ok with that,
> but I have no idea what to look for in a snow tire

I'll second the advice for permanently mounting your snows on steel
wheels and just swapping them twice a year.

I'm using 4 Michelin Arctic Alpins on my '02 Passat wagon and am
happy with them. They work well in deep snow but are also OK on dry
pavement and aren't terribly noisy.

If I wanted to spend more money and get a "better" tire, I'd go with
the Nokian Hakkapeliitta. Some years ago I used Vredestein NordFrost
and they worked very well, but I haven't seen them for sale around
here recentely.

--
Bert Hyman | St. Paul, MN |

David Cantrell > wrote:

> Greetings, group.
>
> I have recently moved from Atlanta, GA to New Hampshire. Big weather
> change for me. I drive a 2004 Jetta GLI VR6. It has 25k miles on it
> and I'm finishing off the original tires now. They don't particular
> handle well in the snow (got to try that out for the first time on
> Thanksgiving).
>
> Looking for suggestions from people that live in similar climates with
> similar cars. What do you do for snow tires? One suggestion I received
> was to get a set of cheap 15" wheels and keep the snow tires mounted on
> that. Swap them out and store my regular 17" alloy wheels and non snow
> tires for the winter. I'm ok with that, but I have no idea what to look
> for in a snow tire.
>
> If anyone has some suggestions, do tell.

I used Nokian Hakka for a while, great stuff. I am now on Pirelli winter
carving, great too. For anything but occasional very light snow you _do_
need winter tires. Cheap steel wheels are good and cheaper than swapping
tires 2ce a year.

--
Hans

On Wed, 30 Nov 2005 19:46:19 GMT, "Papa" > wrote:

>The secret to winter driving is not tire type. Rather, it is to allow
>yourself plenty of time, slow down as road conditions worsen, pay close
>attention to traffic volume, and turn off your cellphone.

I used to think the same thing - that a decent set of all seasons was
all you need. But then I got a set of good snow tires. I'd never
consider going without snow tires any more. The difference not only
in snow, but also on ice (like freezing rain) is profound.

People seem to think snow tires are so you can get somewhere without
getting stuck. What snow tires do best isn't "going" but "stopping"
and "control". The real issue is not sliding through the intersection
when you hit a patch of ice, not losing control on a curve and ending
up in the ditch, upside down, or wrapped around a tree...

--
Remove preceding and trailing X from username for replies
(Sorry, but I'm SICK of spam...)

> The secret to winter driving is not tire type. Rather, it is to allow
> yourself plenty of time, slow down as road conditions worsen, pay close
> attention to traffic volume, and turn off your cellphone.

Pop, I've got to disagree with you on the tire-type comment. Tires are
the single most important part of winter driving (assuming you are a
reasonably competent driver, and not distracted be cell phones, etc. --
which applies year-'round). My own feeling, based on 30 years of
driving in Wisconsin, is that four-wheel-drive is not the secret to
winter driving, good snow tires are. A front-wheel-drive car with a
good set of snow tires is every bit the equal of any so-called "SUV" in
the snow, probably better, because they're lighter and will stop more
quickly. Starting traction is not the issue in winter driving, it's
cornering and stopping. Every winter, we see these dingbats tearing
through town at 40 mph in their SUVs, because they think they're kings
of the winter driving world -- and then they have to stop quickly, and
learn the hard way that four-wheel-drive doesn't do squat for braking,
and that a 5000-pound vehicle won't stop as quickly as a 3000-pound
vehicle. The vast majority of winter accidents around here are caused
by excessive speed, and sliding wide on turns or being unable to stop.
It is exceedingly rare to find any kind of vehicle that's stuck because
of a lack of starting traction, which is the only situation in which
four-wheel-drive is a real advantage.

>
> I used to think the same thing - that a decent set of all seasons was
> all you need. But then I got a set of good snow tires. I'd never
> consider going without snow tires any more. The difference not only
> in snow, but also on ice (like freezing rain) is profound.
>

Snow tires certainly provide better traction, and I agree that a safe driver
is even safer with them. On the other hand, far too many drivers install
snow tires on their cars, then throw caution to the winds. I see (or read
about) local accidents every winter, and many of them involve 4-wheel drive
vehicles and vehicles with snow tires. I have had some close calls because
of other drivers speeding past a whole line of cars on snowy roads - slewing
back and forth as they pass and blinding other drivers with the snow thrown
from their tires.

Using 15" steels and saving yourself the hassel of paying the more expensive
prices for 17" winter tires and having to mount/unmount (this damages your
rim each time... tire guys always seem to make marks on my alloys no matter
how good the shop is) each season is the best idea. Get some 195/65 R15, H
rated snow tires for that Jetta and you'll be good to go... Then use your
205 or 225 width R17 summer tires in the spring-fall seasons.

Winter tires are crucial for stopping.... Yah you can drive and never get
into an accident with all-seasons (even summer tires in winter) but you may
as well be extra safe, just don't think because you have winters on that you
can drive extra fast.... The people behind you/around you probably don't all
have good tires on.
"David Cantrell" > wrote in message
...
> Greetings, group.
>
> I have recently moved from Atlanta, GA to New Hampshire. Big weather
> change for me. I drive a 2004 Jetta GLI VR6. It has 25k miles on it
> and I'm finishing off the original tires now. They don't particular
> handle well in the snow (got to try that out for the first time on
> Thanksgiving).
>
> Looking for suggestions from people that live in similar climates with
> similar cars. What do you do for snow tires? One suggestion I received
> was to get a set of cheap 15" wheels and keep the snow tires mounted on
> that. Swap them out and store my regular 17" alloy wheels and non snow
> tires for the winter. I'm ok with that, but I have no idea what to look
> for in a snow tire.
>
> If anyone has some suggestions, do tell.
>
> --
> David Cantrell >

Any snow tire will be superior to an all-season on snow and ice.

If you are looking high end Nokian RSI, Goodyear Ultra Grip, or Bridgestone
Blizzaks are all good.

Low end Kuhmo, Hankook, etc.

For sizing consult http://www.eunos.com/tirecalc/tirecalcold.html . You
enter your existing tire size and then your size with a 15 rim and figure
out what the right size would be.

DC

"Rob Guenther" > wrote in message
...
> Using 15" steels and saving yourself the hassel of paying the more
expensive
> prices for 17" winter tires and having to mount/unmount (this damages your
> rim each time... tire guys always seem to make marks on my alloys no
matter
> how good the shop is) each season is the best idea. Get some 195/65 R15, H
> rated snow tires for that Jetta and you'll be good to go... Then use your
> 205 or 225 width R17 summer tires in the spring-fall seasons.
>
> Winter tires are crucial for stopping.... Yah you can drive and never get
> into an accident with all-seasons (even summer tires in winter) but you
may
> as well be extra safe, just don't think because you have winters on that
you
> can drive extra fast.... The people behind you/around you probably don't
all
> have good tires on.
> "David Cantrell" > wrote in message
> ...
> > Greetings, group.
> >
> > I have recently moved from Atlanta, GA to New Hampshire. Big weather
> > change for me. I drive a 2004 Jetta GLI VR6. It has 25k miles on it
> > and I'm finishing off the original tires now. They don't particular
> > handle well in the snow (got to try that out for the first time on
> > Thanksgiving).
> >
> > Looking for suggestions from people that live in similar climates with
> > similar cars. What do you do for snow tires? One suggestion I received
> > was to get a set of cheap 15" wheels and keep the snow tires mounted on
> > that. Swap them out and store my regular 17" alloy wheels and non snow
> > tires for the winter. I'm ok with that, but I have no idea what to look
> > for in a snow tire.
> >
> > If anyone has some suggestions, do tell.
> >
> > --
> > David Cantrell >
>
>