Don’t forget that there is a relatively new category between snow/ice tires and all seasons. Winter performance tires. Really good when cold/wet (much better than snow/ice tires). Better in snow and ice than all seasons (all seasons are basically worthless on ice). A better compromise for those who drive in very cold winters with occasional snow/ice.
As the saying goes, "The jury is still out on this one." I think that I am going to end up a one-tire-set guy. I'm trying to. But by this summer, I might be pushing my car hard enough to want the summer tires back on: in which case I will not avoid the off again and on again routine. But will I go winter tires? Not until the Nitto Motivos are used up: unless I manage to scare myself badly enough to ditch them for the best winter tires I can find. I tend to wait once I've made up my mind. So having already made my decision last fall, and not regretting it in the least thus far, Motivos it is. Come summer, we'll see if I leave them on.
That's right. Now, if you are going up and down the canyons (you skier bums, you), winter tires are the only option, period.
I've noticed the engine warms up very quickly as well, which is nice. This winter I've left the climate controls set to 'AUTO' and 20 degrees C, and it's usually only about a kilometer away from the house that the coolant temperature reaches a point where the climate control blower starts up and begins warming the cabin. I do start driving almost immediately after starting the engine, provided the windows are clear.
Qualified by letting the fluids circulate for the better part of a minute before you start to move. Nobody should just start the engine and roll. Idling does not harm an engine.
I am not surprised. Most of my "information" is old, since this is my first high tech car. Are you going to assert that turning it off before it gets to full operating temperature is "old information" too? My adjusting to what you said will just mean I roll out of my driveway after c. forty seconds, and either take a longer route, or let the engine finish warming up at the far end of the short drives.
Maybe your jury's out on it. But mine and many others' juries aren't. I've been using two sets of wheels and tires for every car I've owned for 20 years. There's no comparison. We have high humidity, hot summers with frequent 90+ degree Fahrenheit days and cold, dry winters with snow and usually a week or so where the temp gets up to a balmy single-digit Fahrenheit. I've driven every car I've owned fairly hard, but safely based on conditions. The difference is striking. Driving's always been a joy to me. I refuse to compromise. And I relish driving in every season.As the saying goes, "The jury is still out on this one." I think that I am going to end up a one-tire-set guy. I'm trying to. But by this summer, I might be pushing my car hard enough to want the summer tires back on: in which case I will not avoid the off again and on again routine. But will I go winter tires? Not until the Nitto Motivos are used up: unless I manage to scare myself badly enough to ditch them for the best winter tires I can find. I tend to wait once I've made up my mind. So having already made my decision last fall, and not regretting it in the least thus far, Motivos it is. Come summer, we'll see if I leave them on.
Right now I am at my dealer getting my Eibach rear sway bar on (soft). I drove through typical Utah, lowland winter conditions: lots of slush between lanes, people driving carefully (except for the inevitable handful who don't: have seen three off the road so far, one on the freeway backwards against the median wall, front bumper ripped clean off). The acceleration of this car is amazing with AWD and A/S Motivos.
I understand what you are saying about wanting to enjoy driving all the time. So far, just being IN the Stinger is enjoyable. So I don't mind driving very conservatively, not pushing for any limits, with these A/S tires when the roads are total crap. As @Jimmer pointed out, in the metro areas of SLC (really the entire Wasatch Front, not in the canyons), those kinds of bad weather days are not that common; with periods lasting days or even weeks up near 50F, sometimes even above that. So the few times we have to back off are justified by the bulk of days where winter tires would drive a driver like you nuts. Surely, you're not advocating swapping tires weekly?
I second that. When you have real winters, a proper set for the season is a must. Well... not a "must". Obviously you can muddle along in all seasons, but I want to drive my Stinger as much and as safely as I can in winter. Bonus: along with all the other great characteristics of the car, it's one of the best passenger-cars I've ever owned for winter driving. (Double-bonus: find a deserted snow-covered parking lot on a weekend morning, put it in Sport, and turn off traction-control Yee-Haw!
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I'm not going to argue this: I would have winter tires too. But yesterday for most of twenty-four hours we had crap on our roads. The saline solution was poured on and the plows heaved the guck off. Today, less than 24 hours later, the roads were 99% plus dried out; not just cleared of snow, but bone DRY. And it isn't because the temps got warmer all of a sudden: it never got above freezing, if it did at all. Last night after the storming right up to c. noon, it dropped into the teens. And the highs near or around 30F lasted for maybe a couple of hours. Winter tires in these kinds of conditions are unnecessary. We almost never see black ice. And you can visibly tell if there is a danger of black ice: the pavement was wet as night fell and the temps dropped suddenly. It might even get a dusting of light fresh snow. Danger, Will Robinson! That is when a smart winter driver will drop his speed a lot. If he thinks that his snow tires being better than A/S on ice are going to save him, his mindset is cruising for a tree or ditch.
Agreed that driving on ice-covered roads is it's own category. Short of studded tires, the winter tire rubber compounds and tread patterns aren't going to impart enough extra friction to make a big difference. Still, for pretty-much any snow-covered condition - wet snow, dry snow, slush, whatever - my experience is that good winter tires make a world of difference.
I wouldn't put up with driving like Ginger on A/S day after miserable day, pretty much the whole winter, either; especially where winters are Looong. I'd be on the highest performance winter tread I could find.
I'm"pickin' up what you're layin' down". I'm really pleased with my winter's (Michelin Ice-X), but there certainly are compromises. I've pretty-much written off the normal spirited driving until spring. That said, I get an occasional "fix" on the aforementioned deserted snow-covered parking lots. It's as much fun as a guy can have with his pants on!
Er, this doesn't feel right to me. Old school dies hard.
Kia only says that if you run a lot of low RPM, like in stop and go-slow rush hour traffic, that you should change your engine oil more often. There isn't any mention of this "non-gaseous extra gasoline" danger.
