MS3 and snow/ice questions

[sfalexi]

My wife and I have two vehicles between us. Her 4x4 Hyundai Tucson (not much for towing or anything, but should be ok in snow) and my MS3. So I've heard that the MS3 is horrible in snow. REALLY bad on the summer tires that came on them in the dealership.

Here's my two questions -
1) So is the MS3 only bad while driving literally IN snow? Meaning, can I drive it throughout the winter and ONLY expect problems during days where there is snow to be plowed on the roads?

2) Are there 'all-season' or other tires that would fit the stock rims (don't feel like buying new wheels anytime soon) that would perform better in snow? At least "decently" in snow and not give me problems that I just read on hills? Thanks.

Alexi

 

[VermZ06]

The MS3 is bad in the snow only because of the sport summer tires that come with it from the factory. As with many 'performance' cars they typically are horrible in the snow because the compounds used for helping the car handle well on pavement are sticker and flatter to the road so that they can use up as much pavement traction as possible.

With winter tires the compounds are harder and the treads are deeper and more separated on these tires to bite into the snow and quickly and efficiently push the white stuff out of the way of the tire track in order to gain traction.

The MS3 handles awesome in the snow as long as you have the proper tire for the situation. All seasons should work just fine for light to moderate situations, but if you live in an area that gets consistently pelted with snow...like buffalo, ny...a snow tire is what you need. The MS3 has great traction control, stability control, plus FWD...so that coupled with a decent set of all seasons or snows will work just fine.

On my MS3 i have a set of FAlken Ziex512 all season M+S rated tires mounted on 18 inch MB wheels as a winter package. I drove around a snow packed parking lot with ease today....yes the car was still sliding around a little, but there was plenty of traction to stop and go even on an incline.

Don't use the stock tires in the snow, they're very dangerous. Anyone who had an MSP with stock tires during the winter time knows what I mean...the tires on the MS3 aren't much better either.

 

[Rumblestiltzkin]

The MS3 is bad in the snow only because of the sport summer tires that come with it from the factory. As with many 'performance' cars they typically are horrible in the snow because the compounds used for helping the car handle well on pavement are sticker and flatter to the road so that they can use up as much pavement traction as possible.

With winter tires the compounds are harder and the treads are deeper and more separated on these tires to bite into the snow and quickly and efficiently push the white stuff out of the way of the tire track in order to gain traction.

The MS3 handles awesome in the snow as long as you have the proper tire for the situation. All seasons should work just fine for light to moderate situations, but if you live in an area that gets consistently pelted with snow...like buffalo, ny...a snow tire is what you need. The MS3 has great traction control, stability control, plus FWD...so that coupled with a decent set of all seasons or snows will work just fine.

On my MS3 i have a set of FAlken Ziex512 all season M+S rated tires mounted on 18 inch MB wheels as a winter package. I drove around a snow packed parking lot with ease today....yes the car was still sliding around a little, but there was plenty of traction to stop and go even on an incline.

Don't use the stock tires in the snow, they're very dangerous. Anyone who had an MSP with stock tires during the winter time knows what I mean...the tires on the MS3 aren't much better either.

I agree. You should be fine with all season tires. They make a huge difference. Also you could look at getting your tires siped. I donk know much about it but it is supposed to get better traction and increase overall longevity of the tire. I am in need of something like that myself. Its snowing like crazy right now and I just have the stock tires.

 

[happy and angry]

I agree. You should be fine with all season tires. They make a huge difference. Also you could look at getting your tires siped. I donk know much about it but it is supposed to get better traction and increase overall longevity of the tire. I am in need of something like that myself. Its snowing like crazy right now and I just have the stock tires.

Okay, this may just be because I live in Canada and we get some serious snow sometimes, but I really think an "all season tire" is a bad choice for anything winter driving related.

Tread-block design isn't aggressive enough for any sort of ice or snow driving, the rubber compound is far too hard to stay soft in the cold, and you generally do not get any sort of performance benefit out of the tire. After about 40 degrees F, a winter tire compound will grip dry pavement better than any all-season. They perform better in snow, ice, the wet, AND the dry in cold temperatures. You can even buy performance winter tires if you still want something with sharp turn in and aggressive performance capabilities.

If you are going to get two sets of tires and you know you're going to have to deal with snow and ice, even if only for 4 months out of the year, for safety reasons alone I'd strongly suggest a proper winter tire.

VermZ06: Winter tire tread design is siped to give as many contact points with a snowy or icey surface as possible, to improve traction. And winter tire compounds are softer, not harder, than summers, so that they stay flexible in colder conditions. This is why driving a winter tire in the summer wears them out really, really fast.

 

[Rumblestiltzkin]

Yeah it all depends on where you live. In Utah the snow plows are pretty good at plowing all the roads. They are a little behind right now since it has snowed for 12 hours straight but it never stays on the road for too long (That reminds me....I better go shovel the walk ways. My back is going to hate me).

 

[Kevin Barrett]

Just got to pass this on to everyone.My MS3 gt was kind of undrivable on the stock 17 inch wheels and tires,unsafe with any kind of snow or ice.

I installed 16 inch steel wheels and Aurora W602 winter radials
in 205 -55-16. Man what a difference,this car feels unstoppable
now,a ton more traction.

to everyone who thought "ooh my car has to have 17 "...no it dosen't
what matters is the overall diameter.TPMS has not noticed yet either.It's only
a shame that we had to have a collision BEFORE getting the snow tires.

These wheels and tires cost a little over 900 bucks...Our torn plastic nose
fascia and broken foglight and assorted paint work etc.from actually
crashing in a parking lot while driving responsibly still is 3200.00 dollars
damage.

As well as about 1500 bucks to my victims truck behind his rear tire.

Just go buy the tires designed for winter and do it now.You will thank me.

 

[jbiird317]

last year i drove my ms3 in the snow and ice and survived, but it was scary at times...one time involving an extremely close call with a dump truck. That was enough for me to realize that the summer tires are no good in the snow. The biggest problem i found was that the car is really low, so if the road is unplowed or poorly plowed, the front air damn was essentially a snow plow and i def was not interested in doing that all winter. Those two things were enough for me to pass on snow tires and go for a winter beater instead

 

[Sacrilicious]

wait...did you have your car lowered AND on summer tires, jbiird? (eek2)

 

[Sacrilicious]

as far as what to do when dealing with snow: i would highly recommend that you get yourself a 2nd set of wheels + tires for the winter. as someone already said, it really depends where you live and what kind of snow conditions you expect when it comes time to decide what kind of tires you're going to put on your winter set. i, personally, chose 17" alloy wheels ($96 each) with blizzak studless snow tires. depending on where you live and how much snow you expect, all seasons may be good enough, but if you have to worry about snow + heavy hills, then it's time to think about REAL snow tires...^^;

regardless of what you do, i recommend you go with a whole new set wheels to go with your tires, since simply getting tires means every year, you have to spend $80-$100 in spring AND in the winter to swap out your winter tires for your summer tires. that's something like $160-$200 per year just to swap out tires! also, 17" wheels give you more sidewall on your tires, which is important for snow, since it helps you to dig in better due to more sidewall flex.

 

[flipstylex]

Loook, here's my opinion, you will survive with summer tires on, as long as u drive safely. Personaly, i think winter tires are a waste of money, unless u live on really bad terrain area(hills, mountains). But if u can afford it, then let it be. Anyways, i live in NJ and it snows once in awhile, i also live in a city where they plow the streets and put salt on it etc. To me, my commute is basically highways, even if it snows hard, the plowers already clears the road for u to drive on.

Considering a winter tire, isnt it a b**** to use it 4 months a year ? Imagin when it don't snow at all for a whole month in the winter, ur basically stuck with the winter tire, unless u take them on and off . Personally, i like my performance to be there at all times, so i keep my summer tire on. It snowed here 3 days ago, and i drove like a gradma, but i still survive it;s up 2 u wheter u think its worth it or not, personaly, i just don;t think i need it....yet.... if theres a blizzard, then i'll call out of my job hehe!

 

[happy and angry]

Loook, here's my opinion, you will survive with summer tires on, as long as u drive safely. Personaly, i think winter tires are a waste of money, unless u live on really bad terrain area(hills, mountains). But if u can afford it, then let it be. Anyways, i live in NJ and it snows once in awhile, i also live in a city where they plow the streets and put salt on it etc. To me, my commute is basically highways, even if it snows hard, the plowers already clears the road for u to drive on.

Considering a winter tire, isnt it a b**** to use it 4 months a year ? Imagin when it don't snow at all for a whole month in the winter, ur basically stuck with the winter tire, unless u take them on and off . Personally, i like my performance to be there at all times, so i keep my summer tire on. It snowed here 3 days ago, and i drove like a gradma, but i still survive it;s up 2 u wheter u think its worth it or not, personaly, i just don;t think i need it....yet.... if theres a blizzard, then i'll call out of my job hehe!

No. Just, no.

Sorry, no. You won't survive with summer tires in the snow. Don't even friggen try. You can't stop, you can't turn, you can't accelerate. The rubber hardens up, the tread blocks don't cut through snow, and they literally suck in temperatures below 40 degrees F. GET. WINTER. TIRES. I can't say this enough. You want to save your ride in the winter, get winter tires. You want to deal with snow and not b**** about how you couldn't climb a hill, get winter tires. You want to drive in the cold and not worry about poor braking, get winter tires. GET WINTER TIRES.

Jesus, this is something we learn in Canada by the age of 12, and complaining about only using them 4 months out of the year is ridiculous because that means your summers last that much longer. All seasons perform OKAY in both seasons, if you're going to get two sets of tires, or if you get any sort of winter, just get a set of winter damn tires. If you're not in 50 degree weather or better all year, get a set of winters. It's maybe an $800 investment over the 3 or 4 years you'll have the tires, and you'll brake better, accelerate better, turn better, handle better in emergencies, and not worry about plowing into dump trucks. You'll also stop telling yourself how awesome you drive in the winter when you realize the sheer level of grip you were missing out on in the winter.

I don't want to see you guys plowing your car into a curb or a ditch. You should all know better. Tires for every season, every purpose.

 

[Sacrilicious]

+1 to happy and angry.

i would DEFINITELY not recommend driving in the winter on summer tires since we don't know where you're from. The important thing to realize is that summer tires are not just bad in snow, but they're bad in COLD. As the temperature goes down, you will get less and less traction from the summer tires. When the temperatures are well below freezing, you will perform better using winter tires than summer tires even in dry conditions. The compound in summer tires turns hard as rocks and you're basically riding on Lego blocks, which is BAD for traction.

So, unless you live in a place where the winters are really not even winters are all, you are going to want to seriously consider getting non-summer tires for the cold months. You don't have to go crazy and get dedicated studless snow tires, but at LEAST get yourself some all-season tires which will not turn into hard plastic as soon as it's nice and cold out! =/

EDIT: for the record, happy and angry is giving you the point of view of someone who has to deal with some pretty extreme winter conditions. he's adamantly for the winter tires because he would die in frigid canadia (yes, i said canadIA!!! (canada)) if he didn't have proper traction, but depending on where you live (depends on snow conditions and whether there are steep inclines you have to climb), you may only have to get all-season tires to deal with the winter months.

 

[assman]

I read some of the posts but not all so I hope I dont repeat to many people.

Im from Canada as well and if you buy all seasons for real winter conditions your an idiot, sorry. I bought 17'' rims and winter tires. Came to just over the price it would be to get 18'' tires mounted on my stockers plus the obvious switch back the next season. If you plan on having the car for more then 3-4 years the cost of switching gets real expensive especially if wherever you go they charge more for having big rims and low sidewall.

In short, buy 17's and get winters.

 

[flipstylex]

No. Just, no.

Sorry, no. You won't survive with summer tires in the snow. Don't even friggen try. You can't stop, you can't turn, you can't accelerate. The rubber hardens up, the tread blocks don't cut through snow, and they literally suck in temperatures below 40 degrees F. GET. WINTER. TIRES. I can't say this enough. You want to save your ride in the winter, get winter tires. You want to deal with snow and not b**** about how you couldn't climb a hill, get winter tires. You want to drive in the cold and not worry about poor braking, get winter tires. GET WINTER TIRES.

Jesus, this is something we learn in Canada by the age of 12, and complaining about only using them 4 months out of the year is ridiculous because that means your summers last that much longer. All seasons perform OKAY in both seasons, if you're going to get two sets of tires, or if you get any sort of winter, just get a set of winter damn tires. If you're not in 50 degree weather or better all year, get a set of winters. It's maybe an $800 investment over the 3 or 4 years you'll have the tires, and you'll brake better, accelerate better, turn better, handle better in emergencies, and not worry about plowing into dump trucks. You'll also stop telling yourself how awesome you drive in the winter when you realize the sheer level of grip you were missing out on in the winter.

I don't want to see you guys plowing your car into a curb or a ditch. You should all know better. Tires for every season, every purpose.

I read some of the posts but not all so I hope I dont repeat to many people.

Im from Canada as well and if you buy all seasons for real winter conditions your an idiot, sorry. I bought 17'' rims and winter tires. Came to just over the price it would be to get 18'' tires mounted on my stockers plus the obvious switch back the next season. If you plan on having the car for more then 3-4 years the cost of switching gets real expensive especially if wherever you go they charge more for having big rims and low sidewall.

In short, buy 17's and get winters.

holy s***, jeez calm damn canada man, it';s only my opinion. plus, ur in CANADA, im from STATES. so i get ur point, thats the reason why i said "depending where u live". But cmon, why spend extra money if it doesnt really snow that bad throughout the year. Put it this way, even if it's below 50 degrees.....my car still PERFORMS at least ! I can still drive it on dry conditions even on 20 degree wethear. it's not the end of the world not having winter tires !!!

I had 5 cars thorught 5 years, 1 of them had all season tires, the rest summer tires...ZERO ACCIDENT AND I LIVED !(bang)

this is just for preference, otherwise, u can do whatever u want But yea, what do i know, i'm not from canada...(humpleg)

 

[Colleptic]

My wife and I have two vehicles between us. Her 4x4 Hyundai Tucson (not much for towing or anything, but should be ok in snow) and my MS3. So I've heard that the MS3 is horrible in snow. REALLY bad on the summer tires that came on them in the dealership.

Here's my two questions -
1) So is the MS3 only bad while driving literally IN snow? Meaning, can I drive it throughout the winter and ONLY expect problems during days where there is snow to be plowed on the roads?

2) Are there 'all-season' or other tires that would fit the stock rims (don't feel like buying new wheels anytime soon) that would perform better in snow? At least "decently" in snow and not give me problems that I just read on hills? Thanks.

Alexi

More information where you live would be great. Also, what are the winters like where you live…almost none, mild, or severe? What are the lengths, I know it is a tough question nowadays, winter here is not what it used to be.

Now, right as the first snow fell where I live, before I changed my tires, I went into a local parking lot to have some fun. I was thinking that with the summer tires I could slide all over the place. Well they have absolutely no grip! I could not even do any ebrake moves, the car would just slide in the direction its momentum was going. On my way back home I had to perform some hard stops…which almost had me rear-ending about two people. The next day I bought winters!

If you are buying winters, for winter alone, buy severe rated tires and you will be ready for all conditions. Winters for the MS3 rims are expensive, but the dealerships up there have a rim and tire package that was not to terribly priced. I went another route and spent some good cash on Y rated, Maxxis severe rated tires, 225 40’s. They look so sweet; they have the most aggressive tread I have seen in a long time. They look like I am either ready for a snowy rally race or ready to climb a glacier!

How does it handle, I own the roads! With the DSC on, I have never been more confident in the winter, other than when I owned a 4x4…but even then the cornering grip was not as good.

You must keep in mind that you bought a MS3, so getting all season, if you want to drive on them outside of the winter, defeats the purpose of such a nice handling car. It makes no sense to do something like that; you are way better off having 2 sets of tires, if your climate calls for it. If you live in a mild area, and your winters are very short or almost nil, you might get away with summer tires. From my experience I would never go that route if you snow falls last for more than 1 month.

 

[Oneurt]

It all depends on your climate. Like all the guys in Canada including myself will say get a second set of tires as we do deal with real winters. And I can say that the factory tires that come with the MS3 are useless once you hit 0 celcius. The tires will just harden up and become rotating beings of plastic.

As for some of the other replies in regards to driving their summer tires all year around. How is the weather like in NJ? I spend most of my time out west, so I don't really know how the climate is in that region. If you can manage to drive with them on your quite lucky.
As in my case I couldn't even get off the driveway with my tires on, so I had to wait a week and a half for my winter tires.

So to the OP include your location and describe the type of weather you deal with so you can get an accurate response.

 

[Colleptic]

In my neck of Canada, I happen to live in a valley where the snow only lasts for a few weeks, when it does decide to snow. (It just sneezed down a little powder todayit will melt tomorrow lol). If I take a 15-30 min drive out of the Valley; I am in BC mountain severe snow conditions. Then if I drive to the BC coast, I deal with super slushy snow or pure rain. Since I drive in all types of winter conditions, I can speak from experience when I suggest good winters can perform in many circumstances. I am having lots of fun on the winters I mentioned in my last post! Y Rating!

 

[happy and angry]

holy s***, jeez calm damn canada man, it';s only my opinion. plus, ur in CANADA, im from STATES.

You live in New Jersey, where you most definately get snow and freezing rain. It's cold enough there right now that winter tires or all seasons are going to handle better than the stock Potenzas that come with the car. You can even get winter tires or performance all seasons if you think your winters are mild enough for it (but if you have snow on the ground for 2 or 3 months out of the year, I'd advise winter tires).

so i get ur point, thats the reason why i said "depending where u live". But cmon, why spend extra money if it doesnt really snow that bad throughout the year.

Because snow is not the only reason to have a winter tire, or even an aggressive all-season tire.

Put it this way, even if it's below 50 degrees.....my car still PERFORMS at least ! I can still drive it on dry conditions even on 20 degree wethear. it's not the end of the world not having winter tires !!!

Your car performs, but:

- not as well as a winter tire would at those temperatures because of the differences in rubber compound,
- if it snows, your car is almost literally undrivable with the stock Potenzas,
- if you get freezing rain, your car is definately undrivable with the stock Potenzas.

I had 5 cars thorught 5 years, 1 of them had all season tires, the rest summer tires...ZERO ACCIDENT AND I LIVED !

Why risk it? I've driven around on all-seasons that were nearly bald for a winter, and I slid all over the place, and my safety was compromised. But I didn't have any accidents, and I lived. I guess I should drive around on nearly bald all-seasons every winter?

You get in one, just one, situation where you are in bad weather, driving around, being careful, and you have to turn or stop suddenly, and your car may very well go into a curb or a person or another car. Your braking distances can be close to 40% longer in snow with all-season tires when compared to winters, let alone the summer tires that come standard on our car. The tire will effectively hydroplane on snow, giving you little or no traction. In the cold, your tires will be too hard to stop well, and behave a lot like a semi-truck tire (which are really hard and not grippy at all). In the slush the combination of no tread flex and the water and ice will make it difficult for the summer tire to remove water from underneath the tread.

I sound maybe a bit insistant on this, but there's a reason for it. Your ride is only as good as the rubber you put on the road. The stock tires have NO place on the road during the winter months unless you don't get snow and it's warm year round. If you have a moderate winter, you could probably get away with a good all-season tire for the season. If you have snow on the ground for several months and deal with flurries, snow and ice regularly, you really should have a winter tire. It's a safety thing and a car preservation thing.

If you really need a performance feel for your car, you can get that with a winter tire or an all-season tire. It's not even that much:

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/Sizes.jsp?make=Continental&model=ContiExtremeContact

215-50R17 V-Rated, good performance all season tire, and you can get a set of winter alloys in the 17 inch range for maybe 100 bucks a rim from Tire Rack. It's worth it if only for the safety benefits it offers over the summer rubber we have.

 

[chaos4]

+1 for winter tires. And for those who think winter tires are a compromise to the handling of the car: Get Performance winter tires=in my case Blizzack m22 studless WINTER tires. Rated for 120+ mph, quiet, corner well (almost forget you have winters on!), will last 3 or 4 seasons at 4 months per season. I hate the stock MS3 rims, so was very pleased to find an RX8 driver selling his year old 18" Blizzacks for $250 (ya $250 on Craig's list). I expect 3 seasons from my $250 investment. Last year I ran on some 17" Blizzacks I found for sale, used, for under $300.00, el cheapo 17" alloys for about $400. Gave the tires to my son for his new MS3, and he will get at least a season out of them.
All Summer rated performance tires clearly state they are crap under 40 deg.

 

[jbiird317]

wait...did you have your car lowered AND on summer tires, jbiird? (eek2)

actually it wasnt lowered at that point, delaware/PA is really just terrible at plowing and the roads usually just have 2 tire tracks on either side of a big mound of snow. My car is lowered now, so my point is extra relevant to me i guess, maybe not to everyone