Thoughts on studded tires
Any thoughts from the Northern tier folks on a preferred studded tire for a small SUV (Jeep Liberty or similar) Have to replace the winter tires on the wife's vehicle and, while I have my own expe...
Forum Discussion
I have a 2016 Ford Explorer AWD. However, the 4 wheel drive system, AWD, is awful. We don't get much snow, but the first winter, in 2017, I got stuck twice trying to drive up a hill. When the wheels started to slip, the vehicle basically stopped regardless of how much I pushed on the gas peddle. Basically with AWD, the vehicle only gives power to the wheels with traction. With the stock tires, low profile summer tires, no traction on snow or ice. I ran out and purchased Hancook studded winter tires on wheels 18" in size, since they don't make winter tires for the stock tire size that comes on the vehicle.
I drive all over the NW and over mountain passes and have driven in lots of snow since that first winter. The studded tires make it usable but it is still not a good AWD system and I find the vehicle slipping a lot if I'm not careful. There are different AWD modes and some allow you to spin the tires if you get stuck, like mud mode. This is necessary to drive on snow and ice as the AWD standard mode is basically front wheel drive and not good if you start to slip.
My comment to others is just because a vehicle is AWD or 4WD doesn't mean you are good to go with winter weather. If the vehicle has low profile tires, it's going to be bad on snow and ice. Get winter tires.
My next set will be studless winter tires. Right now we can drive with studs but in the future they will be outlawed. On the coast, you don't know when winter will hit, but when it does, you better be prepared.
I drive all over the NW and over mountain passes and have driven in lots of snow since that first winter. The studded tires make it usable but it is still not a good AWD system and I find the vehicle slipping a lot if I'm not careful. There are different AWD modes and some allow you to spin the tires if you get stuck, like mud mode. This is necessary to drive on snow and ice as the AWD standard mode is basically front wheel drive and not good if you start to slip.
My comment to others is just because a vehicle is AWD or 4WD doesn't mean you are good to go with winter weather. If the vehicle has low profile tires, it's going to be bad on snow and ice. Get winter tires.
My next set will be studless winter tires. Right now we can drive with studs but in the future they will be outlawed. On the coast, you don't know when winter will hit, but when it does, you better be prepared.
