replace tires?

[scttlee]

2015 Nissan versa Note SR 38,000 miles, tire size 195 55r16.

I have practically new Big O Legacy Tour plus tires and they do a lot of slipping on snow and ice as well as spin out on light gravel. I am considering getting better all season tires that hopefully perform better on snow. The question is, since it is such a light car, 2700 lbs with passenger, would better tires really make any difference?

Tires I am considering are
Goodyear assurance weather ready
Pirelli Centurato P7 all season plus
Yokohama avid envigor 2ps
Firestone weathergrip

[fredjacksonsan]

In Casper I'd consider a winter tire during snowy months, budget allowing.

That said, there are MUCH better choices for all seasons....check out the reviews for your choices above vs offerings from Michelin and Continental on sites like Tirerack, Discount Tire, Big O and NTB.

[scttlee]

Thanks for the quick reply.

I got the models listed above from tirerack and another comparison site. The goodyear and the Firestone were the top 2 listed with pirelli third.

If I did get winter tires, should I get used wheels or just have the tires switched off and on the current wheels. The 2 winter tires tirerack recommends arebridgestone blizake ws90 and continental viking contact

Thanks again.

[fredjacksonsan]

In my opinion, switching tires every season is not only expensive over time, but also stresses the tires.

Check out hubcap haven, can orobably get a set of steel winter wheels for less than the cost of a year of switching.

To answer your original question, in my experience, yes, better tires will make for a better winter performance using an all season. Example: we have an 05 CRV for the kids to drive… With the tires that came with it it was all over the road even when it was just wet. Put a set of Michelins on it and it is now a completely different vehicle in the wet and snow.

[Stealthee]

I run two sets of wheels. I have winter treads (for the front) and all-seasons (for the rear) on my stock wheels, then I have UHP-All Seasons on some aftermarket wheels I run the other parts of the year. The worst part is stashing the set not in use.

The only thing with running two sets of wheels to consider is TPMS sensors. I don't particularly care for TPMS, but I also don't want a damn light on my dash for 3 or 4 months out of the year. What I did was clone my OEM sensors so when I swap wheels my car doesn't know the difference. It still sees the same numbers.

As for winter tires Blizzaks are great, but expensive. I ran Kuhmo WinterCrafts the last two winters and have had zero issues out of them. I actually just took them off yesterday and I've got an easy 2 or 3 more seasons out of them before they'd need replaced.