OT: Time for a new set of tires for summer only

[Tony Hwang]

Hi, Need a set, not all season type, summer tires. Have a set of winter, snow/ice tires on rims. Any suggestions/recommendations please. Size is

2255/55-18 for my main daily driver(SUV) TIA,

[Percival P. Cassidy]

Check out TireRack.com, but don't necessarily buy from them.

Perce

[Tony Hwang]

Hi, I wish we had good prices like Tirerack. Even if we could order from them, local shop don't like to instaall some one else's tires. Always hassle.

[Percival P. Cassidy]

But at least you could check out their reviews and get some ideas about what would suit you best.

[Arthur Conan Doyle]

I used to be a cheapest set possible guy. Then I decided to replace the original tires on a Dodge Durango, worn out after 48K, with a set of Michelin LTXs. Amazing difference in ride (much quieter) and wear (50K and they still look new).

All Season isn't just winter - they work well in rain and on dusty roads that just got wet.

[J Burns]

Wherever you inquire, be sure to tell them you want their inflated price. I've been around the block a couple of times, and that's about how long tires last if they're not inflated.

[clare]

Well, you basically have a choice of a performance touring tire or an all-season. For every-day driving I would likely use a mild all-season.

[clare]

In my experience all season tires are all-season tires only where it does not freeze or snow. Usually excellent 3 season tires here in Ontario.

[Tony Hwang]

Hmm, Another catch is my car tires have TPSM. Another money eater. Reprogram or repelace with new set?

[Percival P. Cassidy]

But don't those sensors go with the wheels rather than with the tires? When I had new tires (shipped by TireRack to one of their nearby cooperating installers), I don't recall anything having to be done about the pressure sensors.

Perce

[clare]

You NEED a second set of rims - best to put TPSM on them too. 255-55

18 inch tires are too pricey to take chances mounting and demounting twice a year. What kind of SUV? There might be reasonably priced alternative rims - would there be smaller rims that would allow higher profile, lower cost tires to be installed? A 5.4mm sidewall is ridiculous on an SUV if you are off pavement, or on rough pavement.

[rbowman]

Unless your TPSM is smarter than the one in my Toyota, ignore it. My winter rims with studded tires don't ahve the sensors. The light stays on all winter. BFD. A least on that cars you can rewire the module and throw in a resistor to make it happy but the light isn't that obnoxious. Black electrical tape is the low tech solution.

[Tony Hwang]

Hi,

2008 Acura MDX, logged almost 60K miles on the odo. winter tires are mounted on separate steel rims. All our cars are AWD, even at that all has separate winter tires on steel rims. Most popular at Tirrerack seems Conti crosscontact LX20 for this vehicle.

[rbowman]

From about Thanksgiving to sometime in April, I run studs. I sort of like staying on the road.

[Terry Coombs]

Around here I can't get studs ... , so I'll be picking up a set of chains for the front of my wife's 4x4 Forerunner . Old Farmers Almanac says hang onto your longjohns , it's gonna be another winter like last year ... with even more snow . My truck will have 2 sets , since it's only 2wd and I don't ever want to be in the situation I had last winter . The wife flipped her car in icy conditions , I was trapped down here because I had no chains and it was so slick you couldn't even stand up .

[clare]

I ran them back in the sixties and early seventies but they've banned them up here. Ran on all seasons for a few years in the early 2000s, but went back to snows again.

[Tony Hwang]

Hi, Studs are illegal where I am. Chain is not.

[clare]

I've used chains in the past. I've used snow-grippers as well. Neither are any good for driving any distance at any speed, and the grippers are a lot easier to put on and take off. There is nothing like stopping at the side of the road to install repair links in a blizzard at -30 or worse. And they can do a heck of a lot of damage to a car when (not if) they let go. The only vehicle I felt comfortable with chains on was the old Ex Army Dodge Power Wagon (1943-46 vintage) I used as a tow truck for a number of years - with the old military issue lug tires that were pretty useless in snow without the chains. It had a top speed of just over

45mph, so speed was no issue.

[rbowman]

I noticed it without really noticing it but an email from a friend called it to my attention; I think the hummingbirs and swallows have already left for Capistrano or wherever they go.

It tends to hover around 32 for a lot of the winter, so icy is a fact of life. Studs on the car and YakTrax on my boots. I've had mornings where I've had to put the YakTrax on to make it the 50' across the comapny parking lot without falling on my ass.

[rbowman]

Typically we don't have that much snow in the valley but ice abounds. Every year the 4WD crowd with their fancy tires have a learning experience on the first icy morning.