Vacation trip to Colorado (winter tires?)

Gkdolla

Member
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2017 cx5 gt
Me and the family are thinking of going up to Breckenridge/Denver, Colorado from Texas in December. I've never driven in thick snow, so I'm kinda getting a lil concerned about driving my fwd cx5 up there. I have the factory 19" all season tires. Do y'all think all season tires are sufficient for a couple days being there? I'm in no way thinking of buying winter tires....but if it becomes a safety concern, I'd consider a different vacation destination.
 
Me and the family are thinking of going up to Breckenridge/Denver, Colorado from Texas in December. I've never driven in thick snow, so I'm kinda getting a lil concerned about driving my fwd cx5 up there. I have the factory 19" all season tires. Do y'all think all season tires are sufficient for a couple days being there? I'm in no way thinking of buying winter tires....but if it becomes a safety concern, I'd consider a different vacation destination.

There are many forum members living that area that can speak more authoritative on winter driving, but I can give you a visitor's perspective. I worked in the Denver area in the 1990's, and drove around in the winter quite a bit. The vehicles were rentals, and I would sneak up into areas like Estes Park in the snow. The rental car all-seasons worked well, I found the dryer, powdery snow more predictable that the typical snow/ice/slush we get around here.
 
Me and the family are thinking of going up to Breckenridge/Denver, Colorado from Texas in December. I've never driven in thick snow, so I'm kinda getting a lil concerned about driving my fwd cx5 up there. I have the factory 19" all season tires. Do y'all think all season tires are sufficient for a couple days being there? I'm in no way thinking of buying winter tires....but if it becomes a safety concern, I'd consider a different vacation destination.
Like RG_Flyer said, these all-season tires should be fine for snow but can be trouble on ice. Weve been in Denver and Breckenridge many times before either by driving or by flying then with rental during winter time for skiing, and wed never had any issues driving on the road with a FWD vehicle and all-season tires. The key thing is to use your common sense while driving. Never try to drive on the road if the forecast says the snow is coming. Wait until snow accumulation on the road gets cleared then drive and you shouldnt have any issues. If youre not sure on any suspicious road surface, always slow down first in advance. And drive only in the daytime so you can spot black ice on the road surface easier. But Im in no way to suggest you can go Denver and Breckenridge area in winter without any risk with FWD and all-season tires. Thats why we specifically special ordered an AWD CX-5, as nobody is selling AWD CX-5 in Texas, just in case I need it in the situation like yours.
 
I mean I guess it depends on when you go, but I've never gotten winter tires living here, and I have made plenty of snow trips.

I agree, that I'd worry about ice more than the snow.

Just play it safe with how you drive and you'll be fine.

And hell, it's not like Colorado is a frozen solid waste from Nov - Apr. It really doesn't work like that here. Just watch the weather around the time when you go. You'll be fine.

Edit: Also, more Texans coming to Colorado? What else is new? :p

Totally just making a joke though. Seriously hope you have a fun trip up here!
 
Thanks for the replies. I just needed to know how slick snow is with all season tires. We've never gotten enough snow in Houston to where it sticks on the roadways. I'm well aware of black ice because that's about all we get.
 
Edit: Also, more Texans coming to Colorado? What else is new? :p
Well what can I say. Not only Colorado is the closest place we can ski with good facility in winter, but also weve been told all the time Colorado has the best powder snow for skiing! We didnt appreciate the powder snow in Colorado until we went Lake Tahoe California skiing on the wetter snow there.

To OP: if your vacation is to ski in Breckenridge, I highly recommend to drive your CX-5 for entire family fun. Like ColoradoDriver said, watch for weather forecast carefully. From Denver take I-70 and Hwy-9 to Breckenridge the whole road should be safe as the snow gets cleared really fast if it snows. If weather permits and road condition is clear you can take Hwy-9 south then Hwy-50 east to Pueblo enjoying beautiful Colorado scenery in that area on the way back to Texas. In fact its much more dangerous driving on the Hwy-287 in Texas when it snows as Texas doesnt use snow plow truck to push snow accumulations to the side of the highway but only spreading salt on the road. With snow remaining on the road it can melt and re-freeze again becoming black ice and staying on the road for many days. On the contrary in Colorado the snow is pushed to the side by snow plow truck with salt spreading and you have dry and clear road to drive within a day after the snow stops.
 
Well what can I say. Not only Colorado is the closest place we can ski with good facility in winter, but also we’ve been told all the time Colorado has the best “powder snow” for skiing! We didn’t appreciate the powder snow in Colorado until we went Lake Tahoe California skiing on the wetter snow there.

To OP: if your vacation is to ski in Breckenridge, I highly recommend to drive your CX-5 for entire family fun. Like ColoradoDriver said, watch for weather forecast carefully. From Denver take I-70 and Hwy-9 to Breckenridge the whole road should be safe as the snow gets cleared really fast if it snows. If weather permits and road condition is clear you can take Hwy-9 south then Hwy-50 east to Pueblo enjoying beautiful Colorado scenery in that area on the way back to Texas. In fact it’s much more dangerous driving on the Hwy-287 in Texas when it snows as Texas doesn’t use snow plow truck to push snow accumulations to the side of the highway but only spreading salt on the road. With snow remaining on the road it can melt and re-freeze again becoming black ice and staying on the road for many days. On the contrary in Colorado the snow is pushed to the side by snow plow truck with salt spreading and you have dry and clear road to drive within a day after the snow stops.
Yeah we're thinking of doing a little skiing...but that's a whole other noob post. Haha. Thanks
 
Me and the family are thinking of going up to Breckenridge/Denver, Colorado from Texas in December. I've never driven in thick snow, so I'm kinda getting a lil concerned about driving my fwd cx5 up there. I have the factory 19" all season tires. Do y'all think all season tires are sufficient for a couple days being there? I'm in no way thinking of buying winter tires....but if it becomes a safety concern, I'd consider a different vacation destination.

could you tell me what OEM tires are fitting on your Mazda?

if there is going to be a good amount snow at the time you are visiting, the all seasons won't be safe.
 
You should be fine on all-seasons for the couple days you're there, generally winter weather is quite sunny and road conditions improve pretty quickly after snowfall. Lots of winter visitors drive to the mountains in rental cars, which definitely don't have snow tires. However... in case of a severe storm (not uncommon), you should:

- Familiarize yourself with Colorado's traction laws - https://www.codot.gov/travel/winter-driving/assets/FactSheetTractionandPassengerVehicleChainLaw.pdf
In the worst conditions, your FWD CX-5 will not be legal without chains or an alternative traction device. I also would not recommend driving a FWD car without true snow tires even in "traction law" conditions, which is a step down from chain law. Also, in really bad storms sections of I-70 and other mountain passes are closed down making it tough to get to Breck.

- If it is snowing, even lightly, give yourself PLENTY of following distance, and then give yourself 2x more following distance than you think you need. A common winter driving mistake is when people feel like their car accelerates just fine, they think it will stop just as well. All-season tires generally have very poor stopping performance in snow, especially if they are worn.
 
You should be fine on all-seasons for the couple days you're there, generally winter weather is quite sunny and road conditions improve pretty quickly after snowfall. Lots of winter visitors drive to the mountains in rental cars, which definitely don't have snow tires. However... in case of a severe storm (not uncommon), you should:

- Familiarize yourself with Colorado's traction laws - https://www.codot.gov/travel/winter-driving/assets/FactSheetTractionandPassengerVehicleChainLaw.pdf
In the worst conditions, your FWD CX-5 will not be legal without chains or an alternative traction device. I also would not recommend driving a FWD car without true snow tires even in "traction law" conditions, which is a step down from chain law. Also, in really bad storms sections of I-70 and other mountain passes are closed down making it tough to get to Breck.

- If it is snowing, even lightly, give yourself PLENTY of following distance, and then give yourself 2x more following distance than you think you need. A common winter driving mistake is when people feel like their car accelerates just fine, they think it will stop just as well. All-season tires generally have very poor stopping performance in snow, especially if they are worn.

Great advice.

Again, just depends on the weather when you go. It is correct that generally it clears very fast after a snowstorm. If you have to drive in the snowstorm, that's a different question.
 
In the worst conditions, your FWD CX-5 will not be legal without chains or an alternative traction device. I also would not recommend driving a FWD car without true snow tires even in "traction law" conditions.

If it is snowing, even lightly, give yourself PLENTY of following distance, and then give yourself 2x more following distance than you think you need. A common winter driving mistake is when people feel like their car accelerates just fine, they think it will stop just as well. All-season tires generally have very poor stopping performance in snow, especially if they are worn.

AWD with all seasons will accelerate fine like you said, but stopping and turning is a whole other story unless you have winter tires.

Strongly agree with the following distance rule, which holds true also for driving in rain. Hell even in the dry you should always keep a distance from the car in front, particularly when they are braking.
 
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