# Getting snow tires installed this evening



## evo77 (Sep 5, 2011)

How often are you driving on the road with inches of snow on the ground in Michigan?

I live in the Chicagoland area and I'd say we usually get hit with some hard snow a handful of times a year. But I never have felt the need to buy specific snow tires. In fact I just replaced my original Goodyear Fuel Max's (79k miles) with another set. I left Discount Tire with a couple of inches falling hard and got home 40 miles later no sweat. I mean there was some slippage here and there but nothing I couldn't maneuveur through. I'd be annoyed with having to switch out wheels/tires every season.


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## BowtieGuy (Jan 4, 2013)

The OEM Goodyear Fuel Max is a great tire as far as OEM tires go. But I think I will be replacing them with a different tire when they wear out, which won't be anytime soon (at 30k miles currently).


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## Vetterin (Mar 27, 2011)

I just came back from a week in Florida Saturday and finally put on my Artics yesterday. It took me all of 30 minutes to do the swap in my garage. Believe me Dvan5693, you WILL notice the difference in cornering and stopping as soon as the street has any snow/ice on it.


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## Dvan5693 (Jul 8, 2014)

evo77 said:


> How often are you driving on the road with inches of snow on the ground in Michigan?
> 
> I live in the Chicagoland area and I'd say we usually get hit with some hard snow a handful of times a year. But I never have felt the need to buy specific snow tires. In fact I just replaced my original Goodyear Fuel Max's (79k miles) with another set. I left Discount Tire with a couple of inches falling hard and got home 40 miles later no sweat. I mean there was some slippage here and there but nothing I couldn't maneuveur through. I'd be annoyed with having to switch out wheels/tires every season.


Yea I most likely will. I drive ALOT. I work full time, have school 2-3 nights a week, on top of physical therapy and other things. I'm constantly on the go. It's the stopping and cornering that I'm worried about. I drive in prime time rush hour for most of driving, with a ton of @sshats. So for a measily 500 bucks, it's a great peace of mind and cheaper than my deductible if I hit someone because I'm not able to stop or turn. Plus now my OEM tires will last that much longer. Anyways....who likes getting stuck in the snow? Not this guy 



Vetterin said:


> I just came back from a week in Florida Saturday and finally put on my Artics yesterday. It took me all of 30 minutes to do the swap in my garage. Believe me Dvan5693, you WILL notice the difference in cornering and stopping as soon as the street has any snow/ice on it.


Glad to hear! I'm having the tire shop do the swap for free and they said they'd swap them back for free as well. It's a great peace of mind for safety to me.


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## Dvan5693 (Jul 8, 2014)

In case anyone was wondering, yes all four tires fit in the backseat lol.


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## jcihos (Jun 9, 2013)

100% worth it imo. The handling on snow and ice is much better. Here in MN even though the snow might be off of the road there is ususally hard packed snow or ice in turn lanes and snow tires help out greatly with getting moving and stopping.


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## S-Fitz (Jul 16, 2012)

You'll like them! They grip really well on ice and work well in slush too. Pretty much anything is good in the snow. I have the same tires in the stock 16 inch size, this is the 4th winter with them and they are wearing well, still decent tread. They're even pretty quiet for a winter tire, not much noisier that the Firestone's that LT's come with. Handling is OK, slightly squishier than stock. They wander a little on the highway when it's windy and steering isn't quite as sharp feeling.


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## Dvan5693 (Jul 8, 2014)

Did a short drive through my sub, which some parts still had a few inches of snow on the road. Total night and day! These are seriously awesome! Was coming to a stop down hill that was snow covered, and abs kicked in a little but stopped very well. Accelerating up a hill through snow is no issue at all now. Don't really need to take of different or wait for the tires to grip, just go. 

Also the ride is so soft now from the tall sidewall, it's like riding in a Cadillac lol. Also washed my ECO rims and tires by hand in the basement haha. Letting them dry tonight and then bagging them up and stacking them until its above 45 consistently! You'll see the pictures below.


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## Vetterin (Mar 27, 2011)

I'm sure you are aware of this but just in case....these tires are unidirectional so if/when you rotate them just switch front to back and back to front.


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## Dvan5693 (Jul 8, 2014)

I did not know this! So they don't have to go in a special pattern?


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## Nobody (Feb 12, 2012)

evo77 said:


> How often are you driving on the road with inches of snow on the ground in Michigan?
> 
> I live in the Chicagoland area and I'd say we usually get hit with some hard snow a handful of times a year. But I never have felt the need to buy specific snow tires. In fact I just replaced my original Goodyear Fuel Max's (79k miles) with another set. I left Discount Tire with a couple of inches falling hard and got home 40 miles later no sweat. I mean there was some slippage here and there but nothing I couldn't maneuveur through. I'd be annoyed with having to switch out wheels/tires every season.


Fellow Chicagolander. I love my winter tires. I'll probably put a set of winters on every car I own from now on. Living out in the country where the snow drifts. Snow tires really help.


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## TDCruze (Sep 26, 2014)

You don't realize how much of an improvement winter tires are over all seasons until you drive with them. The car handles so much better, I would not go back to all seasons in the winter.


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## mikestony (Jan 17, 2013)

@dvann5693 --I'm a little confused, sorry but what are ULRR tires? And you went from 17" wheels/tires to 15" wheels/tires? No issues with caliper clearance?
Glad the snow tires helped! I installed some winter tires on my stock 16" rims and they work fantastic!!


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## Daryl (Nov 10, 2013)

We put a set of these on my Wife's Cruze. Thing goes like a tank now.


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## Dvan5693 (Jul 8, 2014)

mikestony said:


> @dvann5693 --I'm a little confused, sorry but what are ULRR tires? And you went from 17" wheels/tires to 15" wheels/tires? No issues with caliper clearance?
> Glad the snow tires helped! I installed some winter tires on my stock 16" rims and they work fantastic!!


ULRR stands for Ultra Low Rolling Resistance, they're tires that come on the ECO model. Yes I ordered the 15" rims for the sonic from tire rack, through Belle Tire and they fit with no issue. I know the fronts are VERY close, but they fit! 

Yes like someone else said, you don't realize how great snow tires handle compared to all seasons until you use them. We haven't even had anything more than a few inches of snow to drive through yet and the difference is night and day. I can now pull out of my subdivision onto the main road without having to wait forever for a clear huge opening. Even just driving in the cold temps, was -2 this morning, the tires handle better. Don't forget snow tires are better under 45 degrees. 

For 500 OTD all installed, you can't beat it. Not to mention all the wear and tear and corrosion I'm saving my ECO wheels from during the winter.


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## Vetterin (Mar 27, 2011)

Dvan5693 said:


> I did not know this! So they don't have to go in a special pattern?


If you look at the sidewall you will see an arrow and the words "direction of rotation". The arrows always have to be pointing towards the front of the car (direction of travel) so these tires have to remain on the same side of the car and only rotated front to back.


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## Gnfanatic (Oct 2, 2013)

I have the same snow tires as the OP stated he got. I bought the Altimax tires and steel rims(mounted) at tire rack for $550 shipped I beleive. Awesome snow tire, last year we got hammered in snow (10inchs in one night) and the car went through everything. Kicked but!


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## Dvan5693 (Jul 8, 2014)

Gnfanatic said:


> I have the same snow tires as the OP stated he got. I bought the Altimax tires and steel rims(mounted) at tire rack for $550 shipped I beleive. Awesome snow tire, last year we got hammered in snow (10inchs in one night) and the car went through everything. Kicked but!


Sweet! We haven't got any major snows since I got them on, but in the super cold temps we've been having in Michigan the confidence of the tires is nice to have.


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