OK I am going to NYC Christmas week. I need to drive, & I need to drive my CL-S. All this snow, & ice weather recently directly in my driving path up I95 has me a bit worried. I have 235-45-17 Toyo T1 tires. If I had to drive through snow with these tires, would I face a problem? Anyone know how the tires would be? Would I skid all over the place? I really can't spend $600+ on a new set of tires, I will only use for 1 week.

 

common sense, and the words of my tire dealer who sells Toyo's, dictates that these tires are not/not good in the snow. Most Ultra High Performance tires are designed for ideal driving conditions, with the Toyo's advertising a certain bit of adhesion in the wet, but snow? probably not advisable.

 

I was ok up in the So Cal hills after a snowstorm, but the roadbed had been cleaned and was basically free of snow. There were patches of black ice and snow, icy water, and slush in patches and the tires work very well in COLD temperatures. However, I would NEVER drive the car in the "SNOW" with these tires...

If you are up in the hills or in a "winter" area with snow and/or ice, get some real snow tires or at least think about some good all-seasons.

 

I broke my Acura's steering rack going around a corner in the snow in Toyo Proxies at less than 20 mph. I DO NOT RECOMMEND IT. Cold weather is manageable but don't go in Snow trust me.

 

as long as theres not alot of snow on the roads youll be fine.


if your going to be on the highway the entire time and then going right into the city you should be fine... you wont encounter any snow on the roads.

 

Yeah I'll be on I95 for 1200 miles.

 

those deep tread blocks and grooves that give you such great grip are horrible in snow.

 

The tread blocks are not that deep. And the basic “groove” design has NOTHING to due with how badly it is designed to work in snow. Give me any of the 3-season tires and some snow and you will be missing season #4 (WINTER) The compound just doesn't work on snow and ice -- period!

Pic of T1S:


Toyo T1S comments:

The V/W shaped void area is designed for rain use (it would work better in dry-only conditions with NO blocks [a slick == no grooves/voids]). The great grip is a result of the some excellent design in the casing to enhance cornering stability and high-silica compound design. That V/W tread design is a very common design (in the main) for tires that need to pump a ton of water at speed (think CART and F1).

Alternate view/tire comparison:

Look at the Michelin Pilots Sports (with similar "Aquatred" design):

Now look at the all-season version:


Primary differences: additional siping added to assist grip into packed snow and ice. The compound in the between the center rib and the shoulder blocks is an all-temp compound that keeps working down to snow/ice temps. It basically stays "pliable" at ice/snow temps and covers the largest cross section of the tire.

 

Yeah well, it's not like I want to drive in the snow with them. It's not my intention.

 

The roads are presently clear and generally are a few hours after a snow storm. You'll be fine.

 

that is all true, but what would you know about it living in SoCal, drive thru snow with a performance tire, see all the snow that builds up, i call it snowplaning.

 

That was the lamest comment I've seen in a long time.

Do you suffer from Presumtion/Assumption Deficit Disorder (PDD/ADD) perhaps?

You are making an assumption that I've never had a car with different tires outside Southern California and/or I've never seen snow that builds up in the ANY tire in various snow conditions in areas in my "region."

You are also in need of a geography lesson. The mountains around Southern California get packed with snow. Have you not heard of the Sierras, Angeles Crest, Mt. Baldy, Mt. Wilson? To give you a "clue" on how much snow are up in the Sierra's, the snow melt provides a large portion of our water supply.

I have friends and do business, on occasion, near Mt. Wilson. Ask one of your buddies if there is snow up there and if it is possible to be up there and barely make it home with a freak storm. (My jouneys up there are cause for concern about the "cables" issues on the CLS -- but then your not in CA, so you might not be familiar with that whole issue of needing cables or chains, in certain conditions, even with snow tires...)

BTW, depending on the weather patterns, ocean current, chaos effect, and jet stream, there's enough snow piled up between Reno and Lake Tahoe to match any New York winter (been up there working and playing too).

In about 30-minutes I can get up into sub-zero temps on a snow-cleared road and get the tires into snow. I've been FORCED to do it with a number of tires, including the Toyos, just to be able to get home when I got caught in a fast moving weather front. I also had "similar tires (in a fashion): tires with no siping, 3-season compound, and S-shaped groves (same thickness and depth of the Toyos). Not only did I have the “fun” of seeing what they would do (and not do) during "flash" storms up in Reno Nevada, but I also had the run of a snow closed ex-military airfield to run my car up and down miles of runways with snow drift, packed snow, power snow, ice, and black ice.

Here's a picture of some of the old Michelin tires (XVS and XAS included in set). They basically had no siping and I had plenty of time seeing what they would and wouldn't do in snow and ice:




See pics f and d (yeah, I'm an old guy)

Do me a favor and stop assuming you know what I have and haven't done. You don’t have a clue. I was cracking my vinyl seat material in my car in sub-thirty degree F weather and 8-feet of snow ten years before you were crying for mommy to change your crap filled pants. Do let me know if you made a mistake and want to change your 1981 birth date in your “membership profile”?

 

I'll second that.

Quote:

Originally posted by EricL
...there's enough snow piled up between Reno and Lake Tahoe to match any New York winter...

tuRb0mikEy - ever hear of the Donner Party? Yes, snow is definitely a rare event in California...

Sure, it doesn't snow in the LA basin and below 2 - 3000 feet, but if you assume that the all of southern California meets this criteria then you are a moron, or like the news reports keep telling us, Americans don't know shit about geography.

 

I wouldn't personally drive on those tires. I know I was young(when I was 16 or 17) and I didn't have money for new tires(my old tires were almost bald) and i figured you know no big deal in spring or summer once I got money I'd get fresh tires.(this was on my old car) well i was coming home from school. a big snow storm hit that morning/afternoon(it was like 4 inches of snow and salt trucks hadn't hit that road yet). i was coming up on a stop sign and I stopped plenty early(probably 200-300 ft from the stop sign) but kept on going and there's a dodge caravan coming at my door(cause his way they don't have to stop) I thought OH SH!T he's gonna t-bone me in the side. well luckly #1 the dodge caravan was a alert driver and saw what was happening and he stopped #2. my tires FINALLY grabbed but i missed him by less than a foot.
so is a set of tires really worth chanceing not only your life but someone elses life and maybe totaling the CL-S. so please even if you have to get "cheap-o" all season tires do it.

 

Yup, that was mucho lame!


hey, don't drive in the snow with the toyos. I have them on my car, and I'd never even think about doing that. My car hasn't moved since the snow hit the ground!

 

you're right on one count, i couldn't care less about that cesspool known as SoCal

thanks for the geography lesson though

 

Ooooo...you got our number, Mr. NYC.

 

You write very well. Entertaining yet grammatical.

 

don't even start on philly, the most wanna-be-nyc city anywhere, at least Socal ha sits own identity

 

If there's not a snowstorm go for it. Like soopa said, those main roads get so heavily traveled they will be wet, at most. If there is snow coming down hard tho, you'd better take it easy. What about drivin' to DC and takin the Acela Express into NYC? That might be the way to go.

 

I drove my Kumho 712's on some nasty packed snow...held up pretty good for not being an all season tire. Didn't wipe out but i drove like 30 miles an hour everywhere, im a puss puss.

 

Unfortantly, It's kinda hard to find cheap-o tires in a 17", with the stock size.

I have 2 weeks, so I'm still waiting, Praying for no snow.

 

I guess that you get another one of these:

I'm so glad that this has degenerated to a 'my city is better then your city thread'. They do make so much sense.