Snow Tires??

[Doug S]

Hi,

Do snow tires do any good on Camrys?

Might be a stupid question but since I drive a truck and don't need them I have to ask.

My daughter has a 94 Camry and is going to school in North central Pa where they get some snow. Her tires are good and since the car sits so low normally, I'm wondering if snow tires would be that benificial. Also, In the old days we would just put snows on the rear, can I just throw some on the front of her's?

Thanks
Doug

[justchillinjefe]

Hey Doug,

I am from RI, and have spent the last 4 winters up in Burlington, Vermont.

I have a 95 1mz coupe, and have had hakkapeliittas on my car for 3 out of 4 winters.

Having said that, I would not go another winter without them.

I had Hakk 1's, Hakk 2's, and now Hakk Rsi's.

I can get ANYWHERE with these unstudded tires. Sometimes it is difficult to lose control (something I enjoy doing).

I have also tried just putting them on the front and it still performs fine, the back end does drift around corners (but I like doing that anyways)

For your daughter, who might not like the fishtailing feel, I would recommend some Hakk's on all 4.

Stu

[800over]

Originally Posted by Doug S

Hi,

Do snow tires do any good on Camrys?

Might be a stupid question but since I drive a truck and don't need them I have to ask.

My daughter has a 94 Camry and is going to school in North central Pa where they get some snow. Her tires are good and since the car sits so low normally, I'm wondering if snow tires would be that benificial. Also, In the old days we would just put snows on the rear, can I just throw some on the front of her's?

Thanks
Doug

Whatever you do, don't put snows only on the front. Recipe for getting the rear end in front of the driver. Put 4 snows on and be happy that your daughter is now safer.

[ghettosled]

i bought my camry and it came with an extra set of snow tires - first set ive ever owned. after owning the car for a couple of years i decided to mount the snow tires on an extra set of rims rather than letting them go to waste. the car handled pretty well in the snow before the snow tires, but with snow tires the car is unstoppable. would i buy another set for myself - probably not. but if my wife was driving the car on a daily basis during the winter, i probably would.

[Dick Tuck]

I'd jump on TireRack.com and get 4 and scrounge some steel wheels so you don't have to dismount them. Personally, I know tire sellers say buy 4 now (what else) but with FWD the fronts do a lot more work than the rears and
I have found that with a set of close to new all season rears a sane driver will do just fine with snow tires on the front only. Don't go wider, though, the taller and more narrow size is better. (195-75, for example rather than 195-70.

[Dick Tuck]

Perhaps the paticular "LAW OF PHYSICS" involved can be cited for the edification of the rest of us. What I understand about handling is based on the behavior of tires under load and the resultant effect on the "slip angle" of the tire. To put it simply, the more load on a tire, (braking, traction, weight, and cornering load) the more inclined a tire is to "slip". The net result for a tire on the FRONT OF a FWD car under braking OR power when entering a turn is the tire "slips" (a little or a lot) and the front of the car does not follow the exact angle the wheels are set to by the steering wheel. They call it "understeer" for short. The OPPOSITE result happens when a powerful rear wheel drive car with a bunch of bodies in the trunk (kidding) accelerates hard in a corner -the REAR tires develop a higher slip angle and the rear of the car
no longer follows the front, taking a wider line and producing the dreaded "OVERSTEER". (As the rear moves out it forces the front into a sharper angle in the corner thus producing MORE oversteer) A well balanced car with proper sized and well made tires can be made to be "neutral" meaning in a corner neither power or braking will cause the car to change the cornering angle very much. NASCAR calls understeer "tight" and oversteer "loose". ( If NASCAR would allow proper size tires on their cars they would be MUCH LARGER than they are and they might last the whole race) Why do Porsche Turbos come with such big rear tires.. because if the tire is well made and big enough the "oversteer effect" is reduced or eliminated. (And the Porsche has the ENGINE back there. ) Snow tires, because they are generally taller and more narrow and have a deeper tread tend to run at a higher slip angle, on dry pavement they tend to INCREASE understeer when put of the front only, but their snow performance tends to turn that around in snow , especially if the non-snow rears have worn tread. (Thus the argument about using 4) . Buy the BEST snowtires you can, a set of Bridgestones, Fat Guys, Pirelli, Yokahama, ect can run at a
such low slip angles on dry pavement they will match that of all season rears and handling will not degrade at all. Most of us live in places where snow covered roads olny last a few hours, so dry handling is important.

[ghettosled]

hey doug - if you want a set of free steel rims, i have some im willing to give away. feel free to spin by the cleveland area. but they do have a set of tires that need to be unmounted and pitched.

[Doug S]

Thanks for the replies..and Ghetosled, I'll bring the beer but it might be a little warm since I'm comming from Jersey...LOL

I'm working on getting some used wheels to mount them on.

Doug

[ghettosled]

dammit - and here i was just in central and northern jersey 2 days ago!

[ASG14]

Doug, check CriagsList.

I was actually able to pick up a set of Blizzak snow tires, 90% tread, mounted on steelies with Camry hubcaps for $300.

After having used snow tires for the last 3 winters, I will always use them now. In fact, sinc eI put Alloy wheels on my mom's '05 Camry, I'm goign to be getting her snow tires for the steelies.

And get 4, do NOT do just 2.

[projektvertx]

Heck, back at home in Montreal, it's the law to have winter tires from mid november til mid-april if I remember correctly!

+1 on doing all 4 tires. Snow tires are great, I have a '95 1MZ-FE sedan, I have Michelin X-Ice's, and they are a great addition considering I have no ABS and no traction control. Traction and handling is definitly improved. If she were my daughter, I would get her snow tires in a heartbeat. All you need is one time, if it saves you/her it's worth it. Only one thing: be prepared for increased road noise.

As ASG14 correctly pointed out, craigslist is great for rims/tires if you have time to spare. I bought my ES rims off there. If you want a great set of winter tires, get Bridgestone Blizzaks. My dad has blizzaks on his car, while the traction is not all that different from my X-ICE's, the road noise is definitly much lower. I would spend some time on Tirerack.com checking out customer reviews and seing what you like and what fits the budget. Dunno, just my 2 cents on the brand.

If you can't find a set of rims that fit the car, steelies are always a good choice! Overall, the benifits outweight the cons(very little) of snow tires.

[LynchburgCSI]

Originally Posted by ASG14

And get 4, do NOT do just 2.

PLEASE DO. Seriously....

Loss of traction=