snow tires?

General discussions about the Pontiac Vibe & Toyota Matrix. New members, introduce yourself here!
Post Reply
FatherTime
Posts: 60
Joined: Sun Dec 22, 2019 8:24 pm

snow tires?

Post by FatherTime »

I've driven in upstate NY for decades through the winter without snow tires, but not in a Vibe (1.8 FWD manual). I keep reading we're going to see more snow this year than normal, and that makes me nervous. How much does this vehicle benefit from snow tires? Also, my Traction Control is not working, not sure if that's a big deal or not. Should I invest?
2009 Pontiac Vibe 1.8 FWD Manual Trans
AnonymousStoner
Posts: 28
Joined: Wed Apr 29, 2020 8:19 pm
Location: Michigan

Re: snow tires?

Post by AnonymousStoner »

Hey man I'm from Michigan. Last year was my first winter with this car. I have a 2004 Vibe GT. Never got stuck but was really hard to get going on slushy roads. I had to baby first gear all the time.. even 1/4 throttle and you spin. The tires are pretty narrow which helps in thick snow. Snow really wasn't the problem the plow truck plowed me in a few times and she just drove right out of the snowbank. it was slush and slippery roads that gave me trouble because the car is so lightweight. I'm definitely gonna pick up some new all season tires before the winter but I dont think a dedicated set of winter tires is necessary
Caretaker

Re: snow tires?

Post by Caretaker »

FatherTime wrote: Fri Aug 07, 2020 10:20 pm I keep reading we're going to see more snow this year than normal, and that makes me nervous.
Since it is the beginning of August, have you been reading The Old Farmer's Almanac again??? :lol:
Mark
Posts: 640
Joined: Sun Nov 02, 2008 7:26 am
Location: Cheyenne, WY

Re: snow tires?

Post by Mark »

I run winter tires on both the 04 and 08. On Frosty because it's my daughter's only car and on Stealth cause it's an "extra" car and it's great to have the extra traction when needed. One set of Cooper Winterforce2 and another set of Firestone Winter-somethings. They're noisy most of the time, but make a huge difference when you need them.
'08 Base Stealth, '05 Base Satellite
Vulcan
Posts: 64
Joined: Sat Jun 06, 2020 5:53 pm

Re: snow tires?

Post by Vulcan »

Snow tires are awesome. Last winter was so mild (central NY here), it hardly mattered.

This will be my first winter with the AWD Vibe. I've got new all-seasons, which are kind of a worst-of-both worlds. They're not as good as snows, not as good as summers.

It's a common tire size though, I'd check Craigslist. Several sets local to me, some already on wheels.
2006 AWD, 207k
zbyers
Posts: 1767
Joined: Thu Apr 03, 2014 6:12 pm
Location: Sheffield, Pennsylvania

Re: snow tires?

Post by zbyers »

Being close to your area (Jamestown, NY), you'll probably want snow tires. While they're not NECESSARY, they do vastly improve your winter handling, and safety. I drove one winter without snow tires, and even with brand new all seasons, I had a hard time getting moving.

The following year I picked up the snow tires, and I couldn't believe the difference. All three of my cars now have snow tires. Even dad puts them on his pickup truck. For safety alone, they're worthwhile.
'74 Thing, '79 El Camino, '83 VW DoKa '91 Vanagon, '03 Base, 04 GT
'06 CRV, '06 AWD, '07 Base, '12 Highlander Limited, '17 Frontier CCLB

Byerscrew Garage, GenVibe Facebook, How-To Index
Everything You Need To Know About the Pontiac Vibe
03basevibesalsa
Posts: 17
Joined: Sat Feb 22, 2020 4:59 pm

Re: snow tires?

Post by 03basevibesalsa »

My 03 has had snow tires on it the entire time I've had it, because Calgary (Canada). I'm probably (hopefully) going to get a new set soon-ish since the current ones (Toyos) are 11 years old. They're also 225s instead of 205s, so a bit wider and a bit taller sidewall. I'm planning on getting some Conti VikingContact7s in 205/55, maybe 215/55 if I can't get 205
2003 base 4 speed auto FWD

If it ain't broken, don't attempt to fix it and in turn end up breaking it
FatherTime
Posts: 60
Joined: Sun Dec 22, 2019 8:24 pm

Re: snow tires?

Post by FatherTime »

zbyers wrote: Mon Aug 10, 2020 2:35 am Being close to your area (Jamestown, NY), you'll probably want snow tires. While they're not NECESSARY, they do vastly improve your winter handling, and safety. I drove one winter without snow tires, and even with brand new all seasons, I had a hard time getting moving.

The following year I picked up the snow tires, and I couldn't believe the difference. All three of my cars now have snow tires. Even dad puts them on his pickup truck. For safety alone, they're worthwhile.
My gut is telling me I need them, my wallet is telling me maybe no. Maybe used would work for me as I'm only driving 5k mi per year. (maybe even less) Here's an example of some used on Craigslist, but I'm not really sure what a "good deal" is, never had snow tires before. Check these out. Do these look to be in good shape?

https://syracuse.craigslist.org/wto/d/f ... 03573.html
2009 Pontiac Vibe 1.8 FWD Manual Trans
zbyers
Posts: 1767
Joined: Thu Apr 03, 2014 6:12 pm
Location: Sheffield, Pennsylvania

Re: snow tires?

Post by zbyers »

FatherTime wrote: Tue Aug 11, 2020 1:00 pm
zbyers wrote: Mon Aug 10, 2020 2:35 am Being close to your area (Jamestown, NY), you'll probably want snow tires. While they're not NECESSARY, they do vastly improve your winter handling, and safety. I drove one winter without snow tires, and even with brand new all seasons, I had a hard time getting moving.

The following year I picked up the snow tires, and I couldn't believe the difference. All three of my cars now have snow tires. Even dad puts them on his pickup truck. For safety alone, they're worthwhile.
My gut is telling me I need them, my wallet is telling me maybe no. Maybe used would work for me as I'm only driving 5k mi per year. (maybe even less) Here's an example of some used on Craigslist, but I'm not really sure what a "good deal" is, never had snow tires before. Check these out. Do these look to be in good shape?

https://syracuse.craigslist.org/wto/d/f ... 03573.html
That's a solid deal if you're up for a small drive. The WS80 I believe run around $100/tire, unless you can find a discount, and a rebate, etc.
'74 Thing, '79 El Camino, '83 VW DoKa '91 Vanagon, '03 Base, 04 GT
'06 CRV, '06 AWD, '07 Base, '12 Highlander Limited, '17 Frontier CCLB

Byerscrew Garage, GenVibe Facebook, How-To Index
Everything You Need To Know About the Pontiac Vibe
kc27
Posts: 31
Joined: Sun Aug 19, 2018 4:00 pm

Re: snow tires?

Post by kc27 »

I put a set of Michelin X-Ice Xi3 tires on a 2005 FWD Vibe that was driven in northern Wisconsin. They worked out pretty well, and since they are only used part of the year, they are holding up well, as are the summer tires that are in storage in the winter. I guess that's one way of blunting the pain of the added cost of a second set of tires.

A tire dealer told me his rule of thumb for winter tires is if you travel before the plows get out, or live in an area where the roads can be slow to be plowed, get winter tires. If you live in a metro area like I do in Milwaukee, then a good set of quality all-season tires are sufficient, because whenever snow is forecast, before the first snowflake hits, the roads are brined and the plow trucks are on patrol. Really it is overkill a lot of times. As one guy described it on another forum, the forecast should read, "¼ inch of snow followed by ½ inch of salt"
Post Reply