Do you guys in winter climates put snow tires on your vehicles?
My mother just moved to north/central Kansas from Florida and all of her neighbors are telling her that snow tires are not necessary. She grew up in St Louis and as a kid her father always put snow tires on their cars but that was also in the 60s, technology for vehicles and tires has certainly changed. Are her neighbors correct and all season tires will be sufficient? Or are they the crazies that think 4-wheel drive will compensate for snow tires and leading her astray?
If it matters, the vehicle is a 2011 AWD RAV4.
Appreciate your input!
(Lifelong Minnesotan here.)
Not anymore. All-season tires are decent enough to not bother. If you have specialty tires you could potentially need to, but for 99% of people it isn't necessary if you have typical all-season tires.
Last time I swapped out tires seasonally was, like, back in the late 80's.
We've had fairly mild winters here too, lately, but even when we didn't back in the 90s and whatnot you still didn't need snow tires.
That said, no tire makes it like driving in summer. Make sure your mom 'gets that'. If it snows a crapton, you just have to not drive places, or accept that it will be slow going and you might get stuck and you'd better have a good coat/gloves/mittens/etc.
Other thing to make sure she understands: 4-wheel-drive definitely helps, but
it doesn't make you stop faster. It's so annoying to see people who think their 4-wheel-drive will stop faster. They think that right up until they rear-end somebody.
A buddy of mine used to commute 45 miles one way in his RAV4 for years up here in MN. They are a little lightweight, but work just fine in snow as long as you don't ask more than they can provide.
Last thought: You do need to change your tires appropriately. You can sorta get by with limited tread in warmer weather, but you'll feel it in a hurry if your tread is gone and you're driving in a few inches of snow.
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