SoCal Winter Tire Setup

[Tuxedo Mask]

No, the title is not a joke or a shitpost lol

last year SoCal got a ton of rain and winter storms (lot of flooding and certain parts of LA and Riverside county even got light snow). I recently met someone who works in climate science data analysis and they said that it's looking like another crazy weather winter for SoCal. With that in mind, and the desire to head up to Big Bear on the weekends for snowboarding, any SoCal drivers planning on having a set of all-seasons or even all-weather tires for when things get really wet and cold? (again, SoCal has started having real winters the last few years...day temps sit around 40-50 and nights can get into the mid 30s). I had the stock PS4S on last winter and was driving very slowly in the rain but would like something more confidence inducing this time around.

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[CaryH]

Tire set up for a car in California that doesn't have winter?. Lololololol. Is this a joke? My fl5 will be all snuggly packed away for the winter..no tire set up here bud waste of money.

 

[Kevv_Her]

Tire set up for a car in California that doesn't have winter?. Lololololol. Is this a joke? My fl5 will be all snuggly packed away for the winter..no tire set up here bud waste of money.

Did you not read what he said? Here, I'll lay it out for you again " last year SoCal got a ton of rain and winter storms (lot of flooding and certain parts of LA and Riverside county even got light snow). I recently met someone who works in climate science data analysis and they said that it's looking like another crazy weather winter for SoCal." I swear based off your previous replies on this forum I've come to the conclusion that my 9 year old has better comprehension skills than you.

 

[TypeRD]

If you have day temps that are regularly in the 40’s - 50’s just get all season tires. Winter tires are called “snow tires” for a reason. They actually aren’t great in rain/wet. They also shouldn’t be driven on when temps warm up as the compound will wear more quickly. But snow? They’re AMAZING. If you actually get REAL snow accumulation (like 6+ inches on the ground that isn’t melting away any time soon and isn’t plowed) snow tires can certainly be helpful. In your situation, all-season tires is what I’d get. I lived in Madison, WI for 6 years and South Dakota for 4 years prior. Only when snow became extreme did I leave my ‘09 Si in the garage and took my wife’s MDX. It only had all season tires but has the awesome SHAWD system. Anyway…you get my point. SoCal winters are not that extreme to require snow tires.

 

[Tuxedo Mask]

If you have day temps that are regularly in the 40’s - 50’s just get all season tires. Winter tires are called “snow tires” for a reason. They actually aren’t great in rain/wet. They also shouldn’t be driven on when temps warm up as the compound will wear more quickly. But snow? They’re AMAZING. If you actually get REAL snow accumulation (like 6+ inches on the ground that isn’t melting away any time soon and isn’t plowed) snow tires can certainly be helpful. In your situation, all-season tires is what I’d get. I lived in Madison, WI for 6 years and South Dakota for 4 years prior. Only when snow became extreme did I leave my ‘09 Si in the garage and took my wife’s MDX. It only had all season tires but has the awesome SHAWD system. Anyway…you get my point. SoCal winters are not that extreme to require snow tires.

Yeah a good set of A/S tires on the most affordable set of rims was probably gonna be my go to. For the mountains, highway patrol and parks services requires you to be in possession chains/cables/traction devices for snow at all times anyways so I can get something for those specific situations for those sweet powder days

 

[TypeRD]

@Tuxedo Mask Sounds like a reasonable plan to me. Note that A/S tires vary quite a bit too. Some are made to be better at handling snow while others are closer to summer / performance tires. Yokohama makes some very good, inexpensive, general purpose A/S tires if you don’t really want to spring for Michelins. I wouldn’t spend on Michelins for such occasional use. We’re only talking 2-3 months out of the year right? Take a look at the Yokohama Avid Ascend GT.

 

[TypeRD]

@pigfacedalarm Ah…winter performance tires. That sounds like the ticket perhaps. More versatile than snow tires, like Blizzaks, but OK to drive on even in warm-ish temps. Good call!

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