Debating if I should put snow tires on Stinger or get an SUV (MDX)

[Ruturaj]

I go snowboarding in winters. I used to take stinger with all season tires but lease on it is ending. And I am planning to replace it with something bigger like used MDX.

I do have another stinger with summer tires. Now for winter, I am debating if I should get winter wheels and tire set with MDX or for stinger.

Thoughts?

To add details, I live in Seattle area and generally go to Snoqualmie but sometimes to Stevens pass and interested in Crystal and other places as well.

 

[JSolo]

Will you have ground clearance issues with the stinger traveling to the places you go? No winter tire is any good if you're plowing snow...

 

[Maljey]

I go snowboarding in winters. I used to take stinger with all season tires but lease on it is ending. And I am planning to replace it with something bigger like used MDX.

I do have another stinger with summer tires. Now for winter, I am debating if I should get winter wheels and tire set with MDX or for stinger.

Thoughts?

To add details, I live in Seattle area and generally go to Snoqualmie but sometimes to Stevens pass and interested in Crystal and other places as well.

Is your Stinger AWD? If so, you will be fine with winter tires. The only potential issue is ground clearance, like JSolo said.

 

[JSolo]

I happen to get down on my knees the other day to check something. I'd say at best stock gt-line awd is maybe 5-6" of clearance, maybe even less at the lowest part.

 

[General_Vodka]

I'm about like 4 right now with the quicksilver mids. But yeah, if it snows a lot and it snows hard then it's best to get something that's not a snow plow. Otherwise even with rwd snow tires make a big difference.

 

[Ruturaj]

Thank you guys. Forgot to mention that mine is AWD. Roads are plowed where I go for skiing, so usually ground clearance is not a problem. I managed on all season last year, just wanted to be extra cautious as I did loose a little bit of control on highway speed because I saw a cop and tried to brake.

Doesn't snow much in Seattle area, but roads don't get plowed it it does.

 

[GT Elite]

I’ve been to Stevens Pass and the trip from Seattle to Stevens Pass was during a snow storm. We saw a Volvo spin out (a couple of 360’s) in front of of a bus. Based on that experience, my vote would be for snow tires. Another option (given the less severe conditions in Seattle) would be winter tires. These are different from all-season (no-season) tires.

 

[JSolo]

^^How is a winter tire different from a snow tire? Or are you referring to studded tires?

 

[GT Elite]

^^How is a winter tire different from a snow tire? Or are you referring to studded tires?

Winter tires is a relatively new category of tires. They can be used year round (like no-season tires) but they have better performance in the winter than all-season tires. I’m not sure what makes them different, but if I had to guess I’d say it is in the rubber compound.

For me, I still go with separate sets of summer and snow tires. I just got a set of Michelin X-Ice tires for the Ottawa winter.

 

[JSolo]

I tend to agree. Use the right tool for the job. My car would get dedicated winter/snow tires if I had to daily it year round. For the most part the car sits, so a good AS tire seemed like the right choice.

 

[Yeti]

My GTS Awd will have summer tires on this winter again. It however will be parked in the barn once the snow flies until April just like last year. At the first snow my daily driver switches from the GTS to the Ford F-150 4 x 4 that is waiting to move from the barn to the garage.

I have noticed once the temperature starts to fall the high performance tires turn to awful performance tires. I have to be more cautious when it is below about 45. This is about the same temp when the mud snow tires on the f-150 really begin to grip

plus it is much easier to throw my snowboard in the back of the truck than it would be to try and wedge it in the GTS

 

[RM7]

In wet slush, damn near everything but chains kind of sucks, AWD just helps get you to the speeds where you'll lose control.

There's just such a huge difference in conditions and what can be encountered

-Dry snow on cold ground, decent traction
-Wet snow on warm ground, great if you are penetrating to the bottom, if you are hydroplaning on the slush, real bad.
-frosted ground, close to as bad as freezing rain
-freezing rain, real bad, cars start going off the road almost immediately.
-dry snow on glare ice, you thought freezing rain was the worst?
-negative 20F on snow and frosted pavement with winter tires, wow, traction good again.

And so on.

Winter tires make a huge difference, their biggest difference is maintaining traction during cold temps, where other tires would become stiff and unforgiving. They have generally big lugs with wide channels between that help to grip in snow. Sipes help further to keep the tire conforming to the surface and gripping.

There are some good videos of summer, AS and winter tires, where they test them in a hockey rink and show how going in the direction away from a summer tire results in shorter and shorter stopping distances and better traction.

But if you are driving in stuff above 40 degrees, you are going to wear out winter tires very fast. That is the nature of them.

 

[7Andrei7]

I am also using my Stinger to go snowboarding and have done so in 3 different winters so far. Never got stuck or lost control and mine is RWD GT Line. We get serious snow in Romania and Austria where I live. Winter tyres are mandatory from November to March.

I've used the Pirelli Sottozero 3 and will change this year to the Goodyear UG Performance.
BUT, I very strongly advise that you get the recommended winter set which is on 18". Tires 225 45 R18 all around and 8J x 18 ET34 rims.
My experience is the wider tyres are MUCH more vulnerable on fresh snow because they tend to float better. Higher sidewall is also better so go for the 18" even if you need to invest in a new set of rims.

As long as they spray the roads to prevent ice formation any car with good winter tyres is fine, even on fresh snow. If the roads are not sprayed, you can have the best AWD system and the biggest clearance.. you'll still spin into a ditch when there's ice on the road.

 

[RM7]

My stinger IS my winter car.

 

[RM7]

I am also using my Stinger to go snowboarding and have done so in 3 different winters so far. Never got stuck or lost control and mine is RWD GT Line. We get serious snow in Romania and Austria where I live. Winter tyres are mandatory from November to March.

I've used the Pirelli Sottozero 3 and will change this year to the Goodyear UG Performance.
BUT, I very strongly advise that you get the recommended winter set which is on 18". Tires 225 45 R18 all around and 8J x 18 ET34 rims.
My experience is the wider tyres are MUCH more vulnerable on fresh snow because they tend to float better. Higher sidewall is also better so go for the 18" even if you need to invest in a new set of rims.

As long as they spray the roads to prevent ice formation any car with good winter tyres is fine, even on fresh snow. If the roads are not sprayed, you can have the best AWD system and the biggest clearance.. you'll still spin into a ditch when there's ice on the road.

IMO, you aren't going to be able to drive in deep enough snow where skinny penetration is actually a thing, you'll be snow-plowing the splitter/bumper well before that. 225/45R18 is simply a very common size and there are lots of options. That's the benefit.

I got Toyo Observe G3-Ice Studded for mine.

 

[7Andrei7]

It's not about plowing, it's about a few cm of snow. Skinnier tires will do better because there is a thinner contact patch and thus a higher mass per square cm. It is able to dig a little better into fresh snow or wet snow, especially for RWD cars.

 

[GT Elite]

It's not about plowing, it's about a few cm of snow. Skinnier tires will do better because there is a thinner contact patch and thus a higher mass per square cm. It is able to dig a little better into fresh snow or wet snow, especially for RWD cars.

View attachment 63886

It is not correct to think that a skinner tire will have a smaller contact patch and thus a higher loading. The size of the contact patch is solely a function of tire pressure. The size of the contact patch is area=weight on tire/tire pressure.

What does change with tire configuration is the shape of the contact patch. For a wide tire the contact patch is wide and narrow. For a skinny tire the contact patch is narrow and long. This is why a wide tire will “float” on snow. The narrow contact patch has more length to it so the tire can clear and grip more along the contact patch length.

BTW, this also explains why narrower tires are better in rainy conditions.

 

[DoctorStiches]

From a stinger to an mdx would be very difficult for me

 

[Waynerm002]

Get a set of winter tires for the Stinger. I’ve used them on RWD and AWD vehicles over the years and they are the best in the snow. European countries that see a lot of snow mandate them, as mentioned earlier, for use during the winter months. All Season tires is a thing common in the States however most places have Summer and Winter tires.

 

[jthrelf]

Vote for a set of snow tires here ...

But you have two stingers???