Studded vs Studless
11-14-2011, 11:55 AM
#1
Studded vs Studless
I did some research on this site but I could not tell if anyone had run Studded snows on the RL.
I have regular winter tires but they have a couple seasons on them and I nearly slid off the road last week while driving on an icy section. They are good for snow still but boy I drive in a lot of icy cold weather.
I can get a set of winterforce through tirerack for about $400 plus s/h and the cost to stud them. But I am considering studless as well.
I have never used a studless ice tire - only snow tires or ones that have the studs. How are they?
How is the RL with regular metal studs?
I am trying to keep the set for around $500 because that is what I think I can get for my Rims and snows and I don't want to pay much more than that.
Any info would be great. Not in a huge rush, but I want to get an ice tire that I will be happy with.
I have regular winter tires but they have a couple seasons on them and I nearly slid off the road last week while driving on an icy section. They are good for snow still but boy I drive in a lot of icy cold weather.
I can get a set of winterforce through tirerack for about $400 plus s/h and the cost to stud them. But I am considering studless as well.
I have never used a studless ice tire - only snow tires or ones that have the studs. How are they?
How is the RL with regular metal studs?
I am trying to keep the set for around $500 because that is what I think I can get for my Rims and snows and I don't want to pay much more than that.
Any info would be great. Not in a huge rush, but I want to get an ice tire that I will be happy with.
11-14-2011, 10:01 PM
#3
Drifting
There are good and bad things about both types of tires. Really, the only downsides to studded snows are the amount of noise they make and the impact they have on our roads. If your car is registered in a state that allows studded snows you are okay driving anywhere as far as I know so I wouldn't worry about legalities too much.
Studded snows have superior ice traction. They rely on the studs to maximize ice traction. This allows them to have a more aggressive tread design that will move through snow and slush much better. They also don't have to have such a soft silica compound so they typically last a lot longer than most full studless tire.
Studless tires rely on an advanced silica compound and heavy siping to get the job done. This is great and all for people that either don't like studded tires or live in an area that doesn't allow studs, but when it comes to actual snow/ice traction they are inferior. They have to put down a lot of surface area to maximize grip on ice. This means they give up the aggressive wide spaced tread design that improves traction in the deep stuff.
All this being said, I personally have full studless Hankook W300 IceBears this winter. I get free set of snow tires every winter so I like to try different tires out. I don't like studdable tires because their aggressive tread generally destroys ride quality and generate a lot of tire noise. I've had Cooper Weather Master ST2's studded, Hankook W409's unstudded, 2 sets of Blizzak WS70's and now the W300's between 3 different cars. I liked different things about all of them but I will probably never run a studded tire again. We just don't see enough glare ice in the Denver area to utilize such a tire and I'm just left with a loud and rough ride.
Studded snows have superior ice traction. They rely on the studs to maximize ice traction. This allows them to have a more aggressive tread design that will move through snow and slush much better. They also don't have to have such a soft silica compound so they typically last a lot longer than most full studless tire.
Studless tires rely on an advanced silica compound and heavy siping to get the job done. This is great and all for people that either don't like studded tires or live in an area that doesn't allow studs, but when it comes to actual snow/ice traction they are inferior. They have to put down a lot of surface area to maximize grip on ice. This means they give up the aggressive wide spaced tread design that improves traction in the deep stuff.
All this being said, I personally have full studless Hankook W300 IceBears this winter. I get free set of snow tires every winter so I like to try different tires out. I don't like studdable tires because their aggressive tread generally destroys ride quality and generate a lot of tire noise. I've had Cooper Weather Master ST2's studded, Hankook W409's unstudded, 2 sets of Blizzak WS70's and now the W300's between 3 different cars. I liked different things about all of them but I will probably never run a studded tire again. We just don't see enough glare ice in the Denver area to utilize such a tire and I'm just left with a loud and rough ride.
The following 3 users liked this post by BDoggPrelude:
11-15-2011, 09:17 AM
#4
There are good and bad things about both types of tires. Really, the only downsides to studded snows are the amount of noise they make and the impact they have on our roads. If your car is registered in a state that allows studded snows you are okay driving anywhere as far as I know so I wouldn't worry about legalities too much.
Studded snows have superior ice traction. They rely on the studs to maximize ice traction. This allows them to have a more aggressive tread design that will move through snow and slush much better. They also don't have to have such a soft silica compound so they typically last a lot longer than most full studless tire.
Studless tires rely on an advanced silica compound and heavy siping to get the job done. This is great and all for people that either don't like studded tires or live in an area that doesn't allow studs, but when it comes to actual snow/ice traction they are inferior. They have to put down a lot of surface area to maximize grip on ice. This means they give up the aggressive wide spaced tread design that improves traction in the deep stuff.
All this being said, I personally have full studless Hankook W300 IceBears this winter. I get free set of snow tires every winter so I like to try different tires out. I don't like studdable tires because their aggressive tread generally destroys ride quality and generate a lot of tire noise. I've had Cooper Weather Master ST2's studded, Hankook W409's unstudded, 2 sets of Blizzak WS70's and now the W300's between 3 different cars. I liked different things about all of them but I will probably never run a studded tire again. We just don't see enough glare ice in the Denver area to utilize such a tire and I'm just left with a loud and rough ride.
Studded snows have superior ice traction. They rely on the studs to maximize ice traction. This allows them to have a more aggressive tread design that will move through snow and slush much better. They also don't have to have such a soft silica compound so they typically last a lot longer than most full studless tire.
Studless tires rely on an advanced silica compound and heavy siping to get the job done. This is great and all for people that either don't like studded tires or live in an area that doesn't allow studs, but when it comes to actual snow/ice traction they are inferior. They have to put down a lot of surface area to maximize grip on ice. This means they give up the aggressive wide spaced tread design that improves traction in the deep stuff.
All this being said, I personally have full studless Hankook W300 IceBears this winter. I get free set of snow tires every winter so I like to try different tires out. I don't like studdable tires because their aggressive tread generally destroys ride quality and generate a lot of tire noise. I've had Cooper Weather Master ST2's studded, Hankook W409's unstudded, 2 sets of Blizzak WS70's and now the W300's between 3 different cars. I liked different things about all of them but I will probably never run a studded tire again. We just don't see enough glare ice in the Denver area to utilize such a tire and I'm just left with a loud and rough ride.
11-15-2011, 06:41 PM
#5
There are good and bad things about both types of tires. Really, the only downsides to studded snows are the amount of noise they make and the impact they have on our roads. If your car is registered in a state that allows studded snows you are okay driving anywhere as far as I know so I wouldn't worry about legalities too much.
Studded snows have superior ice traction. They rely on the studs to maximize ice traction. This allows them to have a more aggressive tread design that will move through snow and slush much better. They also don't have to have such a soft silica compound so they typically last a lot longer than most full studless tire.
Studless tires rely on an advanced silica compound and heavy siping to get the job done. This is great and all for people that either don't like studded tires or live in an area that doesn't allow studs, but when it comes to actual snow/ice traction they are inferior. They have to put down a lot of surface area to maximize grip on ice. This means they give up the aggressive wide spaced tread design that improves traction in the deep stuff.
All this being said, I personally have full studless Hankook W300 IceBears this winter. I get free set of snow tires every winter so I like to try different tires out. I don't like studdable tires because their aggressive tread generally destroys ride quality and generate a lot of tire noise. I've had Cooper Weather Master ST2's studded, Hankook W409's unstudded, 2 sets of Blizzak WS70's and now the W300's between 3 different cars. I liked different things about all of them but I will probably never run a studded tire again. We just don't see enough glare ice in the Denver area to utilize such a tire and I'm just left with a loud and rough ride.
Studded snows have superior ice traction. They rely on the studs to maximize ice traction. This allows them to have a more aggressive tread design that will move through snow and slush much better. They also don't have to have such a soft silica compound so they typically last a lot longer than most full studless tire.
Studless tires rely on an advanced silica compound and heavy siping to get the job done. This is great and all for people that either don't like studded tires or live in an area that doesn't allow studs, but when it comes to actual snow/ice traction they are inferior. They have to put down a lot of surface area to maximize grip on ice. This means they give up the aggressive wide spaced tread design that improves traction in the deep stuff.
All this being said, I personally have full studless Hankook W300 IceBears this winter. I get free set of snow tires every winter so I like to try different tires out. I don't like studdable tires because their aggressive tread generally destroys ride quality and generate a lot of tire noise. I've had Cooper Weather Master ST2's studded, Hankook W409's unstudded, 2 sets of Blizzak WS70's and now the W300's between 3 different cars. I liked different things about all of them but I will probably never run a studded tire again. We just don't see enough glare ice in the Denver area to utilize such a tire and I'm just left with a loud and rough ride.
Which tire did u like the best?
11-16-2011, 09:05 PM
#6
Drifting
Kind of hard to say. They all have their pros and cons and they were on 3 different cars so it's hard to compare them. The TL has had Coopers and Blizzaks. The Prelude had 409's and Blizzaks. The RL currently has W300's.
The Cooper ST2's were by far the best in terms of overall snow and ice traction. They have a very aggressive tread design and were studded. They were crazy loud though, rode like a mud-terrain truck tire and were miserable in dry conditions. They were on a different car previously for a few snow seasons. A customer of mine purchased a new car and couldn't use them anymore so they were just tossing them when purchasing new winter tires for their new car. I just decided to slap them on the TL since they were 235/45/17's and the OEM tires were basically shot. We used them for one season and they probably would have gone another season but my wife couldn't stand the ride and noise.
The Hankook W409 I-Pikes were great in slush and deep snow and decent on ice and packed snow. They were not overly loud but I had them on my Prelude that isn't exactly a quiet car to begin with, especially with a Greddy Evo2 cat-back. I will say they were scary at highway speeds. I had to keep both hands on the wheel and constantly correct the back and forth swaying motion they created. Again, hard to really give a fair review because the Prelude had a full race suspension and anything with a soft side wall and squirmy tread is significantly multiplied in the steering.
The Blizzaks were a bit disappointing in snow and slush compared to the W409's. They have a much more closed up tread design that can't evacuate a larger volume of snow and slush like the W409's. That's not really what their designed for anyway. They are built more to handle packed snow and glare ice. On the highway they were quite a bit better than the W409's, not requiring near the amount of steering corrections. They are also ultra quiet and smooth riding when new. I only had them on the Prelude for one season before I sold it. The TL's set of Blizzaks are on their second season. I noticed they are quite a bit louder now compared to when they were new. They also wear rapidly. They probably won't last a 3rd season on the wife's car. This is the other trade-off with a studless tire, they wear quickly.
The Hankook W300's are currently on my RL. They handle like a performance all-season tire in dry conditions. I've had them into triple-digit speeds on the highway without any handling issues. They ride decently and are relatively quiet. It's only snowed once and they did great as far as I could tell. This is my first AWD vehicle so it's hard to compare since AWD is inherently better in bad conditions. The snow was light and gone the next day but I can say for sure they aren't anywhere near as good on ice as the Blizzaks. Probably equal to the W409's but I haven't really had enough opportunity to really put them to the test.
Long winded again, I know. I just love tires and can go on forever about them. For my personal driving style and the general Denver metro conditions, I would say the Hankook W300's have been my favorite overall. I'm a fairly aggressive driver and the non-performance oriented winter tires are just a little too crippling on dry roads for my taste. That's just me though. If you ask my wife she will tell you she can't tell the difference, but she drives like a grandma. Honestly, you can't really go wrong with any winter tire over an all-season if you live in a cold weather area. That one time that you have to make an emergency maneuver in crappy weather makes all of the bad things about them more than worth it.
The Cooper ST2's were by far the best in terms of overall snow and ice traction. They have a very aggressive tread design and were studded. They were crazy loud though, rode like a mud-terrain truck tire and were miserable in dry conditions. They were on a different car previously for a few snow seasons. A customer of mine purchased a new car and couldn't use them anymore so they were just tossing them when purchasing new winter tires for their new car. I just decided to slap them on the TL since they were 235/45/17's and the OEM tires were basically shot. We used them for one season and they probably would have gone another season but my wife couldn't stand the ride and noise.
The Hankook W409 I-Pikes were great in slush and deep snow and decent on ice and packed snow. They were not overly loud but I had them on my Prelude that isn't exactly a quiet car to begin with, especially with a Greddy Evo2 cat-back. I will say they were scary at highway speeds. I had to keep both hands on the wheel and constantly correct the back and forth swaying motion they created. Again, hard to really give a fair review because the Prelude had a full race suspension and anything with a soft side wall and squirmy tread is significantly multiplied in the steering.
The Blizzaks were a bit disappointing in snow and slush compared to the W409's. They have a much more closed up tread design that can't evacuate a larger volume of snow and slush like the W409's. That's not really what their designed for anyway. They are built more to handle packed snow and glare ice. On the highway they were quite a bit better than the W409's, not requiring near the amount of steering corrections. They are also ultra quiet and smooth riding when new. I only had them on the Prelude for one season before I sold it. The TL's set of Blizzaks are on their second season. I noticed they are quite a bit louder now compared to when they were new. They also wear rapidly. They probably won't last a 3rd season on the wife's car. This is the other trade-off with a studless tire, they wear quickly.
The Hankook W300's are currently on my RL. They handle like a performance all-season tire in dry conditions. I've had them into triple-digit speeds on the highway without any handling issues. They ride decently and are relatively quiet. It's only snowed once and they did great as far as I could tell. This is my first AWD vehicle so it's hard to compare since AWD is inherently better in bad conditions. The snow was light and gone the next day but I can say for sure they aren't anywhere near as good on ice as the Blizzaks. Probably equal to the W409's but I haven't really had enough opportunity to really put them to the test.
Long winded again, I know. I just love tires and can go on forever about them. For my personal driving style and the general Denver metro conditions, I would say the Hankook W300's have been my favorite overall. I'm a fairly aggressive driver and the non-performance oriented winter tires are just a little too crippling on dry roads for my taste. That's just me though. If you ask my wife she will tell you she can't tell the difference, but she drives like a grandma. Honestly, you can't really go wrong with any winter tire over an all-season if you live in a cold weather area. That one time that you have to make an emergency maneuver in crappy weather makes all of the bad things about them more than worth it.
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ichi d (11-17-2011)
11-17-2011, 06:20 AM
#7
She said: it's GINORMOUS!
this, i can so agree with.
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11-17-2011, 12:11 PM
#8
Thanks for the info - did you ever try studded tires on the RL? or just the TL? I was wondering if it messes with the AWD or not. I drove to Vail yesterday and the snows I had did fine but it wasn't too icy. I just drive in worse conditions than a normal commute. And I hit a lot of ice in the mountains or in Wyoming off of I80.
i have studded tires on our Volvo so I am acustomed to the noise but I am more concerned with the RL's drive train with 4 studded tires. I suppose I could carry 2 sets of chains if the roads get too bad - but I would prefer a dedicated set of studs or studless tires.
i have studded tires on our Volvo so I am acustomed to the noise but I am more concerned with the RL's drive train with 4 studded tires. I suppose I could carry 2 sets of chains if the roads get too bad - but I would prefer a dedicated set of studs or studless tires.
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