I live in CT and I want to get 4 new tires for my 95 toyota camry, do you suggest snow tires or all season tires, can I use the snow tires during the summer, what is the actual difference
i would recommend that at least put 2 snow tires on the front and a good set of all season on the back, but make sure you take off the snow tires in the spring/summer. the rubber compound of the snow tire will cause them to start wearing faster on warmer roads. plus check with local laws, some areas require them to be off your vehicle by a certain date
Snow tires are great for the winter, but they do not perform well during the summer. The traction is less than optimal and they wear quickly. But, you could get a set of rims from a junk yard to put winter tires on and swap them off in the spring with the summer tires. Trust me, once you go winter tires, you never want to go back. I should think of a rhyme for that. Anyway, my local junk yard only charges $15 for a cheap steel rim. It pays for itself really quickly when you consider mount and balance costs.
It completely depends on your location and how often you drive on snow covered roadways. Snow tires provide you better stopping distance and grip on 2+ deep snowy/icy roads below 25 degrees, BUT AT THE EXPENSE of stopping distance, handling, wear, and noise on plowed roads above 25 degrees. Therefore, it better be worth it to you to have good snow grip to give up all the other qualities when it's not snowing outside in the wintertime. This becomes an especially difficult choice at the beginning and end of a season because of the temperature swings. Snow tires are downright dangerous above 40 degrees because they become so soft. I felt like I was more likely to get in an accident during times when the roads were clear and dry.so you definitely should NOT be using snow tires in the summer. In my honest opinion, manufacturers have marketed snow tires WAY farther south than they should be. If you really only want one set of tires for the entire year you should be looking at all seasons. BF Goodrich Traction T/A's have worked well on one of my cars.
