is it feasible to mount the snow tires on the stock wheels, then remount the stock Contis back on in the spring? Does mounting/unmounting affect the tire in any way?
is it feasible to mount the snow tires on the stock wheels, then remount the stock Contis back on in the spring? Does mounting/unmounting affect the tire in any way?
There are a few reasons why I wouldn't recommend this:
1. It's expensive. It's about $80-$100 every time you dismount/mount/balance. That means you pay that in the winter and you pay again in the spring to remove.
2. The bead on the tires takes a beating. If you lube it correctly, it's OK, but there are some shops that do not have properly trained tire technicians. If they do it to quickly, they could damage the bead of the tire, which leads to rim leaks.
3. It's more time consuming to do the mount/dismount/balance. It's much easier to zap off 12 lug nuts, take the whole wheel/tire assembly off, put on the new tires/wheels and zap back 12 lug nuts. Once you have the car up, you could easily do it in 5 minutes or less. It's like changing tires at a Nascar event.
is it feasible to mount the snow tires on the stock wheels, then remount the stock Contis back on in the spring? Does mounting/unmounting affect the tire in any way?
That is what I did. I could not afford anything more at the time when I got the tires. I'm not too worried at the place I went too. (There was lubricant EVERYWHERE! )
LOL, anyways swapping the tires is my only choice. Maybe when I get out of school and obtain a job I'll invest in some wheels, but in the meantime I am swapping in and out.
That sort of what I'm thinking. Not everyone who puts snow tires on has an extra set of wheels sitting around the other 8 months of the year. Althought for this year, I might just buy the smart chains
This is a no brainer for me. We all talk about Tridion Cells. We talk about ABS. We talk about electronic stability systems, but that my friends is not safety. You know what the safest thing you can do to your car? Put on the right tires for right season.
If you have bad tires, the rest of the safety features are useless because you will be in a ditch.
Imagine stopping 10 feet shorter. Imagine no sliding sideways. Imagine going into a corner and be able to steer.
You cannot do this with stock tires. I don't care how many people say that stock Contis are OK or they get around OK. If you want to make the Smart a safer car, you put on some snows. Period. It's the best safety investment you can make for any car. I will gladly pay $500-$1000 for 3 winter seasons' worth of safety.
I also might add that's why I see so many SUVs in the ditch in MN during the winter. They think because they have 4wd, they don't need snow tires. WRONG. 4wd is worthless on ice. 4wd doesn't help you stop on ice. 4wd won't help you correct your slide on ice. 4wd is only good for one thing-deep snow.
We have a Murano and have considered putting snows on that. An SUV with snow tire will be unphased by snow/ice.
I had both a 1995 Jeep Grand Cherokee, and a 2000 Grand Cherokee, Never needed snow tires. Never every once, got stuck. We get ice here!!! Snow tires really won't help you on ice. Nothing will. You just don't drive on ice. Have not use snow tires on any of my 40 some cars, in the past. The MS tires worked fine, on all my Honda's. Our new little Honda Fit, track great!! I have the stock tires on the Smart. We just got 2-3" of snow, been OK so far. They keep the streets here very clean. Maybe with 6-8" I'll have some issues. You guys get more snow. You can justify snow tires. I'll take the $1,000 whatever, buy a 42" LCD TV, and watch it on a bad snow day.
Paroyboy, I'm not sure many people recommend the chains. Did you notice your wheels are the 9 spoke aluminum. The chains would do a number on those!
I recommend the Blizzak's.
Yeah, after thinking about it and checking Tirerack prices, I'm ordering the Blizzaks. $337 shipped to the door and NTB does Tirerack tires for $14.50 each for mounting/balance. Since the chains are almost $300 and the possibility of wheel damage, guess the Blizzaks are a no brainer.
I had both a 1995 Jeep Grand Cherokee, and a 2000 Grand Cherokee, Never needed snow tires. Never every once, got stuck. We get ice here!!! Snow tires really won't help you on ice. Nothing will. You just don't drive on ice.
It's not only about getting "stuck". It's about cornering and stopping too. All-season tires are a compromise, though many SUV tires lean more towards winter traction than all-season passenger car tires do. Regardless, a proper winter tire certainly WILL help on ice. Do some reasearch on them and you'll understand how and why.
I had both a 1995 Jeep Grand Cherokee, and a 2000 Grand Cherokee, Never needed snow tires. Never every once, got stuck. We get ice here!!! Snow tires really won't help you on ice. Nothing will. You just don't drive on ice. Have not use snow tires on any of my 40 some cars, in the past. The MS tires worked fine, on all my Honda's. Our new little Honda Fit, track great!! I have the stock tires on the Smart. We just got 2-3" of snow, been OK so far. They keep the streets here very clean. Maybe with 6-8" I'll have some issues. You guys get more snow. You can justify snow tires. I'll take the $1,000 whatever, buy a 42" LCD TV, and watch it on a bad snow day.
I'm going to have to disagree with you on this one. Maybe you've never driven on MN roads. If you have, you will see what I see every winter-dozens of 4x4 in the ditch. How did they get there? They got there by sliding out of control when they put on the brakes. It's not about getting stuck, although I've seen a few get stuck in heavy snow. It's about controlled stopping power. How often are accidents caused by one car hitting another because they can't stop in time?
I also disagree with you about snow tires on ice. Years ago, Bridgestone launched the Blizzaks (the older model). They took us to a an outdoor hockey rink and tested two cars: one with blizzaks and one w/o it. You would have been amazed at the results. On a sheet of ice, the blizzaks stopped 15-20 feet shorter. Think of what you can happen in 15 feet? That's almost two car lengths. Asked anyone that has been rear ended or did the rear ending if they can have that 15 feet.
Like I said a million time, you can drive your stock all you want. It may get you from point A to point B, but it won't get you around as well as snow tires. Until you've driven on snow tires like the Blizzaks, you won't know what it can do for you.
BTW, if you have an extra $1000 and want to spend it on a TV, let me know. I just helped my friend and my parents buy a new flat screen recently.
Last edited by blackbeagle; 12-18-2008 at 10:44 AM.
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