small suv good in snow

JDMRoma · Nov 4, 2016

cdskier said:
I think it was $20 last year he charged me to changeover to the winter wheels/tires. My time is more valuable than that, so to me it is absolutely worth it to just let him do it while he has it for regular service. In the spring I needed new all-season tires, so just paid for the tires and mounting on the summer wheels. In a sense you could say that time it was free to change the tires since there was no additional cost specifically for that.

I quoted tires alone locally and it would have been $700 plus $75 to swap over twice a year. So to buy new rims and tires was $900 from tire rack. They had way better prices on the tires and having the convenience of doing when I wanted.

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xwhaler · Nov 4, 2016

I just bought snow tires for my wife's Kia Sorento. I looked into a 2nd set of wheels but couldn't locate any for this size that made the math work.
I found some but the price of the wheels would have taken a long time to pay off relative to swapping out onto the factory alloys 2x/yr.
So I will just have my friend who owns a garage take care of it for me in November and April every yr.

JDMRoma · Nov 4, 2016

xwhaler said:
I just bought snow tires for my wife's Kia Sorento. I looked into a 2nd set of wheels but couldn't locate any for this size that made the math work.
I found some but the price of the wheels would have taken a long time to pay off relative to swapping out onto the factory alloys 2x/yr.
So I will just have my friend who owns a garage take care of it for me in November and April every yr.

Good friend to have

I'm into the rims for 400, at $150 a year change over I should be fine.
Would rather have not spent the extra but......

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cdskier · Nov 4, 2016

JDMRoma said:
I quoted tires alone locally and it would have been $700 plus $75 to swap over twice a year. So to buy new rims and tires was $900 from tire rack. They had way better prices on the tires and having the convenience of doing when I wanted.

My most recent All-Season tire purchase last spring would have been $133/tire plus $27/tire shipping from Tire Rack (and then $25-30/tire for mounting/balancing from anywhere I looked). My normal mechanic charged me $169/tire total including mounting and balancing. I already have two sets of wheels. I did buy my winter wheels previously from Tire Rack as no one locally seems to even have a good selection of wheels to choose from. If you're buying wheels and tires together, then Tire Rack is also great and seems hard to beat. Tires alone though they just come out higher than what I can get locally for the exact same tires.

prsboogie · Nov 4, 2016

Hawkshot99 said:
I bought the truck used at 40k. The tires were bald so I told the dealer "if you want me to buy it you need to put new tires on it". The originals were most likely the Dunlop. The dealer replaced them with West Lake tires. Some shifty Chinese tires. They are rock hard and have no traction. I've put 20k on it, and approaching the wear bars....
The tires I bought are Hancook Dynapro ATM in a 265/70/17 so a inch taller. I looked at the Faulkens but they are a bit heavier.

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We have the Dynapro ATM on the 4Runner and love them. Granted haven't taken them in deep snow yet since we just put them on a year ago August,but in what they have been in has been good.

I miss my Taco, had a 10 and traded it for a Rav 4 which I like but liked the truck better.

JDMRoma · Nov 4, 2016

cdskier said:
So how often do you check your tires? Once a day? Once a week? Once a month? The likelihood of someone catching a problem on their own is pretty slim short of an actual complete flat.

My truck shows me the actual PSI of each tire...so even without the warning light coming on I can see if one tire suddenly starts to drop a few PSI to signify a potential issue. Even for cars that don't show the exact PSI, a warning light coming on when it is 10 PSI below the recommended level is still better than not having it at all.

CD

What kind of truck do you have ?
I'd say that I'd like having PSI info at a glance.

I'm definitely not the norm, I do check frequently. I guess that's what pisses me off when I see a tire off and it's not showing up on the warning lights.

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Jully · Nov 4, 2016

JDMRoma said:
CD

What kind of truck do you have ?
I'd say that I'd like having PSI info at a glance.

I'm definitely not the norm, I do check frequently. I guess that's what pisses me off when I see a tire off and it's not showing up on the warning lights.

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HAHA I've had the same issue. My sensors only seem to go off when its 10 PSI under... by that point I can practically feel the difference... its useless (as someone who cares a lot about tire pressure).

xwhaler · Nov 4, 2016

Been buying tires online for many yrs now for a lot of different vehicles for personal usage and for some members of family.
TireRack is the place to go for general research. Discount Tire Direct.com, TireBuyer.com, and TreadDepot.com are where you should end up buying to save $$$

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cdskier · Nov 4, 2016

JDMRoma said:
CD

What kind of truck do you have ?
I'd say that I'd like having PSI info at a glance.

07 Chevy Avalanche

The light itself goes on when pressure on any single tire goes under 25 or over 45. But in the info center on the dash one of the display options it the actual tire pressures of each tire.

JDMRoma · Nov 5, 2016

cdskier said:
07 Chevy Avalanche

The light itself goes on when pressure on any single tire goes under 25 or over 45. But in the info center on the dash one of the display options it the actual tire pressures of each tire.

Thanks, wonder why more vehicles don't have it like that.
Probably expensive....

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fbrissette · Nov 5, 2016

cdskier said:
I think it was $20 last year he charged me to changeover to the winter wheels/tires. My time is more valuable than that, so to me it is absolutely worth it to just let him do it while he has it for regular service. In the spring I needed new all-season tires, so just paid for the tires and mounting on the summer wheels. In a sense you could say that time it was free to change the tires since there was no additional cost specifically for that.

Time is also key for me. I have a real jack and impact drill. I do my car in 20 minutes top. Quebec is mandatory winter tires so n is mayhem in garages come winter time. Time to take an appointment, put tires in car, drive the 7-8 minutes to the garage, hey in, wait, pay, drive back and I've wasted an hour.

Smellytele · Nov 5, 2016

JDMRoma said:
Thanks, wonder why more vehicles don't have it like that.
Probably expensive....

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I have that on my Traverse

cdskier · Nov 5, 2016

JDMRoma said:
Thanks, wonder why more vehicles don't have it like that.
Probably expensive....

It really shouldn't be...the computer has to know the real values in order to know when the light should go on anyway. So it is just a matter of actually displaying the value on the dash. The sensors themselves for my truck are only $33/tire from Tire Rack.

billski · Nov 5, 2016

cdskier said:
Nice to see someone being sensible. I really don't get the arguments against the TPM Sensors. Sure people made do for many years without them, but that can be said for thousands of innovations over the years. Doesn't mean we should keep going back to the way things were years ago. Unless someone is manually checking their tire pressures every day, then TPM sensors give you a HUGE heads up on any potential problems earlier than you would notice on your own without them.

For me it's a) an economic and b) an already done task I do quite competently. I had TPMS on my last car for 10 years. It would go off twice a year, once in the spring, once in the fall as the tires adjusted to new ambient temperatures. Before that, I drove cars without TPMS for 32 years without them. I never killed anyone. Why? Because I, unlike the ordinary American, walk around my car every day. Yes, you read that right. I'm always looking for something awry, and it doesn't have to be a tire. I've stared at my tires long enough that I can tell pretty much by looking at them if they are down or not. If anything looks odd, the pressure gauge, carried in my car is called upon. If not, I'm checking tires with the gauge at least once per month. I install, change out and inspect he tires at least twice a year. I check tread depth at least once a month. I keep a record in a spreadsheet of the tread depth and replace them well before they hit the minimum. Where's the innovation for treadwear, which can be far more serious than air pressure?

There is no need to check tire pressure every day. That is plain paranoia.

I'll be damned if I am going to pay twice a year to have the tires "reinitialized". At least with the Audi, you can do it yourself right from the dash. Happy to let the idiot light glow.

KD7000 · Nov 6, 2016

wa-loaf said:
I'll be over after the soccer game Saturday ...

Totally missed this earlier, and then we had to leave right after soccer. But I haven't done my changeover yet; in fact I'm still working on getting a winter setup for my wife's car.

I usually wait until around the weekend before Thanksgiving, unless it has gotten unreasonably cold. The summer tires on my car are definitely not good on these 28* mornings. So maybe next weekend, depending on the forecast. But you are welcome to come over any time if you want to play with tools.

Harvey · Nov 6, 2016

gmcunni said:
looking to replace aging 4 door sedan with a used small/mid-sized SUV with good snow performance.

Yes, i know, it is all about the tires! That said, anyone have recommendations on a good small SUV? have had a Honda CRV and would happily pick another. considering a Forester too. No experience with Mazda (cx5) or Toyota (Rav4), any comments? Other choices?

prefer the hatchback style of SUV rather over an AWD sedan.

What year CRV did you have? I am on my third and the new AWD system in the 2012 was a big step up.

bheemsoth · Nov 6, 2016

xwhaler said:
Been buying tires online for many yrs now for a lot of different vehicles for personal usage and for some members of family.
TireRack is the place to go for general research. Discount Tire Direct.com, TireBuyer.com, and TreadDepot.com are where you should end up buying to save $$$

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Agreed. If you live anywhere near Windsor, CT, you can pick up TireRack deliveries for free at their warehouse near Bradley. I've been purchasing all my tires through them for a couple of years now. TireRack also has a network of independent installers, including a guy down the street from me that charges great rates for mounting/balancing.

bdfreetuna · Nov 6, 2016

Tire pressure monitors are a joke. I bump my tires up to optimal firmness and top them off often. Every car I've had with TPMs this has failed to get the damn tire dashboard light to turn off. Whenever I go to top off my tires I am never off more than a few PSI.

Also, Subaru Forester or even a newer Outback wagon as they have lots of cargo space.

thetrailboss · Nov 6, 2016

Harvey said:
What year CRV did you have? I am on my third and the new AWD system in the 2012 was a big step up.

Great to hear. Thinking I want a new CRV to replace my Civic.

gmcunni · Nov 6, 2016

Harvey said:
What year CRV did you have? I am on my third and the new AWD system in the 2012 was a big step up.

Ours was an 08 I think. We went from a pilot to crv and I felt like the crv was better in the snow.

small suv good in snow

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