ICE- stud those tires

[Chris]

Studs are to make crappy snow tires not so crappy. If you get a snow tire with a good compound you don't need studs.

Studs are really dangerous on pavement, especially wet. I've had more close calls with studs on wet pavement than anything with tires.

Sure you can go and argue that Arctic claw tires are a lot better with studs, but they're shitty tires. So they need studs not to suck.

 

[Iboc_C64]

Well said, I have a friend that has used studless Artic Claw tires since 2009 summer and winter. I think she has blown out 5 of them and she is a normal driver. They ussually blow durring the summer months though, she only killed 2 of them in the winter I think.

 

[Nigel Prodrive]

you want studded tires? OK, you axed for it...Continental Ice Racing Contact 2s, with 350 7.5mm carbide studs per tyre. we're talking serious GRIP here. (except on pavement, where they're like wearing ice skates on concrete)

 

[Pedro]

I would LOVE a set of those.

 

[katnip]

there is a use for studs. if you have a gravel drive that ices up or you travel on gravel roads, you might want them. I have used them and decided a good snow was just as good. I drove a pickup home in 2WD last night, roads were an icy/slushy mess, but I had no issues and never lost traction. UNTIL I hit our ice laden .2 mile road/driveway. 5% grade, down hill, coasting, NO throttle, the rear tried to pass the front, couldn't steer, aimed for the grass/bushes on the side of the road to get control. Unfort, my sti would have done and has done the same thing. I don't use studded tires, but if you know you might need them, they might be worth it.

 

[Nigel Prodrive]

I would LOVE a set of those.

all the ones we had from Challenge sur Glace ice races are now gone. needed 4x16 wheels to fit, we used OB and Leg wag steelie donut spare wheelZs scavenged out of Norm's junkyard.

 

[Jamey]

I would whimper if I had stud something like that everyday

 

[Pedro]

Doesn't Allen D have them now? I remember seeing a set in his massive tire collection.

 

[Nigel Prodrive]

Allen's are Finnish equivalents to the Contis. We both got denied by scrutineers when we wanted to run em at O'Neil's winter when the event was sanctioned by NASA and it was OK to run studs. I got OKed and then denied, Allen just got denied at tech. No real prob tho, the steelie spares didn't fit over the front GpN 4-pots on the LDR car anyway.

My Contis may well have been sold and resold to who knows who. Last I heard they'd gone back to Canada.

 

[Pedro]

ahh.

Good stuff though. The grip with those things is UNREAL.

 

[Iboc_C64]

The Ice Skating on pavment feeling is the reason I don't use them on my Subaru. My grand am always got studs when I drove that durring winters. I could practically drift corners on dry pavement with the studs, and the car is FWD. LOL.

 

[IBratmanI]

Can't say I have ever had any issues with that. I have had 2 different sets of studded snows, and unless I was pushing the limits anyway, I never had the studs cause any "ice skating" or loss of traction on tar. But I do agree, they are not necessary. Look at the video that Dan posted of the test done by tire rack!

 

[i-wagon]

Not to bring back a dead thread, but I haven't had any traction issues with my yoko geolander ats on any kind of road, wet dry icy or non extant. I've had scary times on studs in A friends jetta, tire engineering and compound paired with skill. Should cover all parts of winter driving. It's the same with the winter treads on our trucks at work, good ccompound, tread pattern and a patient right foot and I can make a two wheel drive dump truck go places that would scare some people

 

[i-wagon]

to ride off my previous post, my forester has "chincy" no name brand tires, but the tread is just aggressive enough and the compound is soft enough, that rig goes better in the snow than my car did with winterforces. price/namebrand/angry tread aren't everything.

 

[CoupedUpSubie]

I'm guessing its a dual wheel dump truck and probably has some weight in the back. Those are not bad at all to drive in the crap, I drive one while home on school breaks and weekends. To clarify a few things. I have never driven a AWD vehicle in the snow or on ice. With a FWD small car studs help you more then you could imagine. My expierence with Jetta's is that the suspension design could be a lot better as I put one off the road due to black ice. My impreza handles 100 times better. The problem most people run into with studs(or even a meaty tire on a truck) is the thought of I have awesome tires so therefore I can drive like normal and it will be the same. If you accept the fact that driving different is what is needed in order to drive with studs then they benifit you much more then you realize. I can't count on my hands and feet how many times I have easily driven over ice once I have my snows on without a problem. Before I put my snow tires on I could put my car sideways on any amount of snow/ice/dirt that I wanted to. Only time I have had my car sideways was in a parking lot that was a layer of ice and I stomped on the gas pulling out of the spot I was in.

An example:

My father has Goodyear Wrangler Duratrac's on his 3/4 ton GMC.

I have General Altimax Arctics(studded) on my FWD impreza.

We both have driven on the same surfaces with the same results. When we got a bit of slippery stuff and ice on the driveway he had to put it in 4wd. I could still make it in pretty easy.

This thread was written after I nearly rolled my car and my uncle almost lost his truck in the same place due to ice. He was running Nitto Terra Grapplers. Point is, studs help with unexpected situations you just have to mindfully drive when you have them.

Are they right for everyone? That is up to you personally. I recommend them if you tend to drive on lots of ice and hills because of my expierence with them.

Now as I was figuring out exactly the tire I wanted I found some facts. The majority of the studdless ice tires were for 75% ice conditions and 25% snow/slush. Simply put, most people said they suck in the slush. Now take the Generals that I run. They are an excellent deep snow/slush tire. They are also filled with siping which gives a bit more traction on ice. Add the studs and you have a lot of traction on ice.

 

[Chris]

I had studded arctic claws on my old legacy for a winter. I will say they did awesome on icey crap like my driveway. But 90% of the time the roads are plowed pretty well (except for bremen) and they're just loud and obnoxious... If I could have organic retractable studs, or something like that. That would be cool, and I'd definitely use them getting to and from my house.

 

[i-wagon]

get on-spots. problem solved

 

[Chris]

The only reason I have winterforces on my GL is becasue I needed a weird size tire and that's all that was available in any tire.

The only reason I have winterforces for my Legacy is beacuse you were selling them on wheels for a wicked good deal

 

[CoupedUpSubie]

The noise is one thing I have heard about the winterforces and arctic claws. that's why I went with the generals. They aren't that bad if they are put on correctly as they are a directional tire.

 

[Chris]

I put about 10,000 highway miles on that year with the studded arctic claws... I about shot myself. It was louder in a 2nd gen legacy than my GL is with no soud deadening and floorpan holes. So that killed studs for me...