Snow tires

[tgwillard]

I am wondering how many XC70 owners have opted to use snow tires during the winter months. I know that my wife's S80 front wheel drive and standard tires is not that bad on snow as were my two Saab 99's. I got the XC70 to replace my four wheel drive Ford Ranger Pickup, which came with tires with aggressive tread.

I realize mounting snow tires in the winter depends on your location and am wondering how good will my XC70 be with just the tires that came with it? I live in NE Pennsylvania.

I'm thinking that if the snow got too deep before the roads got plowed, the limiting factor in getting around in the XC70 would be the ground clearance and not the tires.

[carl]

I'm thinking that if the snow got too deep before the roads got plowed, the limiting factor in getting around in the XC70 would be the ground clearance and not the tires.
I'm not sure what you mean by limiting factor.
A tree or another car are the real limiting factors and why I have been buying Blizaks for the past ten years. Actually I bought Michelin X-Ice's from TireRack.com for the XC70. Yes, we are skiers too, and drive further North.
Carl

[tgwillard]

Carl:

What I meant by limiting factor is that at some point regardless of what tires you have, the depth of the snow will limit the ability of the CX70 (or any four wheel drive vehicle) to proceed.

I have a friend in northern Maine that drives an Outback and uses Blizak tires during the winter. Here in NE Pennsylvania we don't approach that kind of winter, but when conditions get bad, it is nice to have the four wheel drive. I have owned four pickups with four wheel drive and got the AWD XC70 to provide as much insurance of getting through in bad weather.

[volvoshad]

While snow tires are not an absolute necessity with an XC70, they do add a significant degree of control over all-season tires. I've come to view "all-season" as a term best applied to south Florida, and not where I live. Case in point: My former XC90 with the original equipment all-season tires had abysmal handling in the snow, although it would manage to get through some deep white stuff. I had an 850 at the time with snows tires that had much more predictable handling. The next season the XC90 got snow tires, and it was worth every cent for the improved sense of security while driving.[thumbup]

This was a recent topic of discussion on another forum, and I found it interesting that 2 residents of SE PA did not believe that snow tires were important on XC70s, while this resident of western PA, a resident of Vermont, and a resident of the Swiss Alps all used winter tires.

[tgwillard]

Thanks Volvoshad for your input. I am sure that snow tires do add that extra level of performance in snow, with the first level being all wheel drive. Just don't know how often I would need that extra level.

A few years ago we had one of those late March snows that no one predicted. My wife and I took her Volvo 240 to work that day and the trip home was exciting to say the least. Luckily we had mounted snow tires on the 240 and that made the difference between getting home and getting stuck.

I am hoping that anything we encounter this winter, the XC70 will handle. She loved that 240 and now has the S80. Front wheel drive alone makes for more secure winter driving.

Interesting to note how your XC90 performed with the all season tires. You would have thought such a heavy vehicle would have done better.

[carl]

tg,
I'll try to explain again. The words that you seem to use are "limiting factor" and "performance." That's not why I bought snow tires. The words that volvoshad used are control and security. That's why I bought snow tires.

IMO, that difference is key. Being in control means more than not getting stuck. It means being able to avoid road hazards and other cars when you have no other option other than to drive in hazardous winter conditions. The vast majority of drivers in the snow "border" states do not use snow tires and don't have awd and are presumably safe 99.9+% of the time. There are no guarantees in life, but for about $400 I'd buy the snow tires in NE PA (Poconos?).

Don't worry - none of us will get into an accident due to winter road conditions. None of us will be in the hospital and rehab for six months. None of us will end up in a wheelchair for the rest of his or her life. But someone will. Yes, you have to draw the line somewhere, but I'll take the Volvo, the awd, the snow tires and go skiing if I want to, too.
You asked.

My opinions,
Carl

[Jack]

I vote snows too. They don't cost that much more per mile and one can't quibble about price when people you love are in your car.

[mbsl98]

I think the easiest way to think of it is that either FWD or AWD will get you going in most winter conditions. After that, the drive system has almost no effect - for all stopping and turning and general stiking to the surface it is just a matter of the tread between you and the ground. All seasons are much hardfer, and particularly so as temperature drops to under 40F or so. At 20 degrees on icy conditions, there is now comparison to the grip of that nice soft squishy snow tread versus "all season". Cost wise, you are essentially prepayng the next tire bill, plus the cost of changeovers or new steel wheels. That comes to say $100 per year for a whole new level of control on slippery surfaces, unrelated to the ability to just push through deep stuff. I change 16 tires each season, and just bought Michelin X-Ice's for the new '07 XC. Our '98 XC was a different car in the winter with snows, and our weather in Boston is not that harsh.

[volvoshad]

Just to clarify, our XC90 would actually go through deeper snow up a steep driveway than my 850 would. It was the the stopping and turning that was awful with the Michelin Synchrone all seasons. The switch to Dunlop snows transformed the handling of the XC90 on snow and ice.[thumbup] I grew up in NE PA. If I still lived there, I would have snow tires on every vehicle that I owned and expected to drive in the winter.