Got stuck on a sidestreet with deep snow with Kumho KW17 snow tires. I didn't think I would get stuck, but the snow is simply too deep.

got stuck twice in deep packed snow for 30 mins yesterday.
fuck that was not fun.

i had to use hot water and dirt shovel to get myself out

oh.. tires: hankook ipike

http://www.sfu.ca/~lcheung/images/rs...k/DSC00881.JPG

^nice touch on the steelies

first year running WS 60s, so far so good.

BFGoodrich AT's on the 4x4 and chains when I head into the bush. no problems anywhere :D

My side street is a pile of slush, was fishtailing it down the whole way this morning :(

My alley is a pile of slush, kept falling off to the sides because the snow in the "middle" [ where the people usual drive] is packed and beside that, it's all slush. I'd go and slide off to the side and the either have to rock back out or reverse and go again. It's a lot better today, I think I was the first one on the slushie shit last night.

Now that this round of snowfall has ended, let's discuss when you plan on taking off the tires. Do you think there any major snowfalls expected for the rest of this winter? I hate to be driving around with the snow tires if it's just going to rain for the rest of this winter.

Currently, my I*pikes kept me quite sturdy in the crappy side streets

http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k1...s/IMG_0787.jpg

My winter tires aren't coming off until about February or so. There's still ice and cold temperatures to face in January/February.

If it was unseasonably warm (and predicted to continue that way) I might consider switching back to all-seasons, but otherwise the Blizzaks stay.

Winter officially started about a week and a half ago.

There's certainly going to be more snow this year...

last year i recall a few bad snowfalls in february, and this year is worse than last :o

I usually keep mine on till around April or until the temps are above 7C consistently.

This is my second season on 4 Toyo Observe Garit KX's. They've saved my ass more than a few times. It's amazing the difference from the Yoko all seasons I used to run, to the Toyo's. It's a night and day difference. Worth every penny so far, and still lots of tread to go.

http://www.1010tires.com/tire.asp?ti...serve+Garit+KX

tire chains... does anyone have experience with these?

http://www.etrailer.com/pc-tire-chai...utm_medium=ppc

good for lowered cars because it needs minimal inner wheel well clearance... but it's limited by tire size. damn expensive too.

Tire chains are not recommended to be driven on over 30 km/h. You need to get under the car to secure the chains.
If you unfortunately snap on, they can whip around and damage your car.

did you look at the link? the chains run parallel to the tread, and you don't have to go under the car. it dosen't say anything about a speed rating though...

the other one is this: http://www.autosock.com/

it's rated to 50km/h, but it can wear out on dry pavement, and is not recognized in north america as a substitute for tire chains for conditions where you're required to have them on.

Kinda like those tire claws they sell in the states. Not recognized by the DOT for use where chains are required.

To be honest, no, I didn't look at the link. But they are all the same. They wrap something around the tire to give you the extra bite in snow and ice. That means the tires are no longer smooth or balanced and if you drive over 50 km/h, it will not be a smooth ride and on dry pavement, there may be enough force to break them.

i'll take your word for it... i've never used chains before, and i thought by having the chains running parallel to the the tread the rough ride would be a non issue.

i was watching a news broadcast out of washington state and they were reporting on how the roads up on the pass were becoming deadly because of all the broken tire chains littering the pavement... they showed a highway works truck overflowing with trashed chains in the bed and this unfortunate worker running out in traffic trying to collect them :o

When running chains/cables, imagine those mud trucker tires. To get traction in snow, you need tread that runs across the width of the tires. Since these chains run parallel, they still have 4 arms that is used to attach the chain to wheel, so it may not be as smooth as you would think.

Normal chains/cables can snap very easily. Imagine trying to get unstuck, you step on the gas and the tires spins slightly. That is enough to snap them.

There's a lot of quality variance in chains too... and then there's cables as well. Modern quality chain systems like those from Tellesfsdal are robust enough to run up to 30 mph, and won't break when you use them properly (you're more likely to bust an axle), but for most people on snow-covered pavement, cables are a better alternative.

can you imagine the damage they'd do if it broke at 50km/h? It'd probably look like a Monkey with ADD driving a forklift tried to roll your fenders

Buy quality products, apply them properly, and RTFM.

I've never broken a chain, and I use them every year.

I've been trying to find snow tires for my new Acura CSX, and almost every place is out of stock or backordered on those in my size.

I haven't been able to get into contact with the Costco tire dept, but I'm not holding out much hope there.

On the other hands, Tire Trends still has stock of the General Arctic Altimax... anyone used that tire before? Or is springing for the X-Ice Xi2 worth the extra $50+ per tire?

Yeah, don't count on any tire stores to have any stock of winter tires this late in the season. I've found that most of them get their winter stock during fall, and basically sell what they have, and that's it. I've tried getting steelies around January last year and had problems finding any.

Another option is to go to the US to buy them. Tire Rack probably has the best select - I just checked and they have some closeout stock starting from $50 for Firestone Winterforce 205/60R15 which is a pretty good deal. They'll also mount and balance for free if you buy the wheels from them as well. I'd suggest picking them up in the US if you can otherwise, you could potentially be waiting for a while to get them.