studded snow tires

[RichZ]

I've been offered a nice set of 4 studded snow tires for my 2006 Dodge Caravan. I've heard that studded snow tires are only good when there's snow on the ground, and they're hard to stop on non-snow covered roads. Does anyone have any experiece with them?

My wife uses this minivan for deliveries of our goat milk and as her regular car around town.

 

[SandburRanch]

I've run them on the rear intermittently on a few pickups for 30 years. If I lived in a snow area I wouldn't be without them. Stopping problem. Only idiots have that problem.

 

[mrmikey]

I've got 4 studded tires on my 2WD 04 Ranger, other than being slightly squirrely ( because of the winter tread, not studs) and noisy, you'd never know they were there. Stick to the snow/ice like s$$t to a blanket. Can't beat the price, get 'em.....Mike

 

[Wayne County Hose]

In this day and age of the nanny state, if they added significantly to your stopping distance, they wouldn't be allowed. I live south of you and I am a firm believer in the studded snow for winter. I put them on my GMC 3500 stretch van and routinely pass 4wd vehicles going uphill, no kidding. It does weigh in at 8100 lbs. Guarantee you won't be disappointed. Just check your state laws as they can't be put on until some time in the fall and have to come off before a certain date in the spring.

 

[QRTRHRS]

Just so you understand, four studded tires do not make for a totally skid proof vehicle. They can make a tremendous difference but you can still slide on thick ice. If you scare other drivers as you approach a stop sign at breakneck speed, watch out. If you drive "normally", stopping on a dry road is not an issue.

 

[Jstpssng]

The above replies all seem to refer to icy conditions; you asked about studs on dry roads.
The one time I ever drove with studs was 35 years ago on the back of my father's '73 country sedan station wagon. Great on ice, but one had to be careful on dry pavement where the only thing touching the ground was the steel.

Worse case scenario is you get the tires & don't like the studs; then you spend some time with a screwdriver pulling the out.

 

[dex3361]

I put them on both of my commuting college students. they drive 98 miles round trip in all weather and they are the best for snow and ice. the only thing better is chains.

 

[MossRoad]

I've been offered a nice set of 4 studded snow tires for my 2006 Dodge Caravan. I've heard that studded snow tires are only good when there's snow on the ground, and they're hard to stop on non-snow covered roads. Does anyone have any experiece with them?

My wife uses this minivan for deliveries of our goat milk and as her regular car around town.

Yes, but it was 30 years ago and we stopped using them because of advances in all season radial tires and significantly less snowfall than years gone by. Plain and simple, we just don't need them here anymore. And with the advances in traction control systems, there is even less reason to change from all season radials here. I haven't bought snow tires in 30 years, let alone studs. Your situation is probably different.

There have been some studies regarding studded tires. The ones I have read indicate they do not brake as well as regular tires on dry or wet pavement and are downright dangerous on concrete VS asphalt. Apparently they can grip the asphalt but just slide on the concrete. So, in emergency braking conditions on dry or wet pavement, they perform poorly. They also have significantly less traction on curves and in emergency avoidance maneuvers. And, they damage roads when there is no snow or ice covering. That is why there are seasonal restrictions in many places.

 

[forgeblast]

If I am not mistaken, going too fast will cause the studs to eject!! not sure what speed, but if your traveling highways i would look into what speed they pop out at.

 

[Bird]

Like MossRoad, I'm surprised to hear of so many people still using studded tires. Of course down south here we've never used them. But in the '80s, my brother in Anchorage had a contract with the state to install studs in snow tires that came without them. When I went up there and worked the counter in his tire dealership in 1991, the two machines he had for installing studs were sitting idle in a store room. Almost no one used studded tires anymore. That Spring (April and first half of May) we were taking snow tires off and putting summer tires on about 125 cars day, and we seldom saw a tire with studs.

If I am not mistaken, going too fast will cause the studs to eject!!

Yep, that's what I always heard.

 

[SandburRanch]

If I am not mistaken, going too fast will cause the studs to eject!! not sure what speed, but if your traveling highways i would look into what speed they pop out at.

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I do know they stay put at 70 mph in a 16" wheel.

 

[mrmikey]

If I am not mistaken, going too fast will cause the studs to eject!!

I've never had that problem and I've never know anyone that's had it. not saying it isn't possible.
I wouldn't be without studs....Mike

 

[Bird]

I've never had that problem and I've never know anyone that's had it. not saying it isn't possible.
I wouldn't be without studs....Mike

Go to google.com and enter "speed ejecting tire studs" and you can read about such happening. Even though I'm so far south I've no personal experience, I used to read law enforcement fleet management articles and remember hearing of tires up north throwing studs, and my two brothers lived 20 and 25 years in Alaska so they told me of it happening, and if anyone doesn't know it, there are different kinds of studs that can make some difference.

 

[sal64]

I've been offered a nice set of 4 studded snow tires for my 2006 Dodge Caravan. I've heard that studded snow tires are only good when there's snow on the ground, and they're hard to stop on non-snow covered roads. Does anyone have any experiece with them?

My wife uses this minivan for deliveries of our goat milk and as her regular car around town.

if you have a blacktop driveway they will scratch it up.

 

[boxygen]

Most people think it is the amount of powered wheels that helps traction. That is mostly an ignorant perspective. With todays smart all wheel drive cars, I'd start to buy that argument.
I have a full size 4x4 truck and a front wheel drive saab with studded snows. Unless the snow is 2 feet deep, I'll take the studded car everytime.

 

[mmurphy]

I have studded tires for my Escort also. Makes a big difference on snow or slick conditions. Never had a problem stopping on dry pavement either.

 

[Will_C]

I use studded snows on a Toyota Camry. I am a conservative driver, and I have not noticed any problems on dry pavement-but I understand the theory that there could be problems with aggressive driving.

Having said that, I would rather drive the Camry on ice or less than 3-4" of snow than my 4wd Tundra.

Will

 

[k0ua]

I have never driven a vehicle with studded tires, so I cannot speak from experience, but I will say this: My company ( a phone and data provider) puts studded tires on its entire fleet of service trucks and vans in the winter and takes them off in the spring. This is probably thousands of vehicles. If they did not work, they would not do this.
James K0UA

 

[QRTRHRS]

Back in 72'-73', I had a new 72' IH truck. I put studs on all four wheels. One night I was visiting my brother who live on a hill. You could exit either way but you were going to go down hill. It was sleeting all evening so about the time it came to get going, my brother offered to put me up. Nah', I can handle it.

The road was absolutely glare ice. I put the truck in low range, low gear figuring I could idle my way down the hill. About that time, compression took over and I got to spinning around in circles. The snowbank kept me in check and in a few seconds, I found myself sitting in the middle of the T intersection at the bottom of the hill.

Don't know how many times I did a full 360 but then a few glasses of vino might have comtributed. LOL!

PS, back in my teens, I worked at my buddies gas station. I don't recall spitting studs out as being an issue and Lord knows, we all tried.

 

[tsteahr]

I have used Firestone Winterforce snows on my rangers, both studded and unstudded. Having used the same model tire on the same vehicle, both with and without studs installed, I can say the studs make very little difference in stopping on dry roads. In terms of winter performance, only on ice or very hardpacked snow did I find the studs helpful. In softer snow conditions I did not experience any perceptible difference with the studs vs without. A few years ago I was in a ice storm with a solid, smooth glazing of ice in the roads. That was the only time I really felt the studs made a significant improvement. My observation has been a Blizzack open cell studless snow provides better traction on ice than a studded snow. I had a set of first generation Blizzacks on a Acura. They were the grippiest snows I have ever driven. They wore very quickly if driven on dry roads however.