I have done some searching and reading and I really can't decide what to do.

I live in Maryland so we dont get huge snowfalls very often. And if we do I take my girlfriend's car (she's a teacher) or I call in sick or the guy I carpool w/ can drive. So the only time my car will be out in snow is if I am caught by suprise.

I really don't have room for 2 sets of wheels and don't want to spend a lot of extra money on a dedicated set of snow tires when we get very little snow.

So if I were to get a set of summer tires - I was leaning towards the Toyo T1R's - would I at least be able to nurse the car home if I had to?

I know the tires need to be warm when the weather is cold and I probably won't push the car that hard on cold days. A few of the Mid-A guys think it would be fine. Others have said it is impossible.

So please help steer me in the right direction based on my circumstances.

thanks.

 

i bought my car in early december and not long after that i decided to go on a long drive south along the beach. by the time i got to laguna beach i was getting close to my first oil change interval so i decided to turn around and i figured the fastest way was I-5N. before leaving LA there were signs that the road was gonna be closed due to snow somewhere around ventura. i knew there had to be a way to get to SR101N but i took a wrong turn towards palmdale. after a couple of hills i could see snow falling so i turned around. the elevation couldn't have been that high, 1000-2000 feet? the temperatures were below 40, close to freezing. on the way back traffic came to a virtual standstill because a few cars had gotten out of shape. as i tried to accelerate again from a stop, my tires started spinning and my VSA was trying to help but my car was barely moving. i tried feathering the throttle but the road was frozen. i made it out of there, but i'm lucky i didn't get stuck, even 4wd trucks were sliding around. on 101 the snow was still falling but it didn't stick

so where i'm normally at we usually don't get any snow, just some rain. the stock tires don't work well when it's cold out so i take it easy. i plan on using summer tires in the future as i don't see any snow in my future.

in my opinion i don't think you should run summer tires even if all you see is light snow. since you don't have room for snow tires/wheels, i recommend you go all-season tires

 

Just need to find some decent all-seasons. I am looking at the Toyo Proxes 4.

 

Highly unlikely. Those T1Rs are dedicated summer "performance" tires. They will be completely useless in any kind of snow/slush/ice or when the temps get near freezing. An "all season" tire is "nurse-able" in deep snow. The T1R will make your car "dead in the water" (or snow, as the case may be).
How do you propose to get a summer tire "warm enough" when the roads are frozen? Won't happen. A performance tire just don't get warm in the snow.

 

Fair enough. GUess I may have to suck it up and getting 2 sets of wheels.

 

Get winter performance tires. It's worth it, different compound. Summer tires turn to hockey pucks below 40 degrees. Besides, the S is a blast in the snow w/ winter tires.