Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums Branches New England Moving from California

They are brand new Blizzaks on new steel rims from Tire rack. I would probably be looking for $500 but that is negotiable.

Does the salt on the roads mess up alloy wheels? I found some good snow tires for $89 a piece and I was hoping to just use the wheels I have on there now and drive on the tires year round, would this work or should I just buy a set of cheap steel wheels and switch off. Be aware that this would mean I would have to either bring 4 mounted tires on my journey or ship them using UPS or the mail, which would cost a pretty penny.

thanks

I am not sure about the road salt but I do beleive it isn't good to continuously remount tires. IF the snows are on other wheels it will save the cost of remounting tires and then you can just bolt them on

The SVT wheels are painted alloy. If the paint is marred, the alloy can be exposed. If the road salts they use touch the exposed alloy they will corrode, ususally looks pitted. The best example is to look at your transmission casing when you change your oil. The tranny and engine cases are alloy as well.

the salt will damage and pit the wheels.

unless your gonna take it to a wash regularly. i use my stock wheels w/ snow tires for winter and 17s w/ summer tires for nonwinter use.

when driving in snow dont go thru the gears too much. try to keep it in the lower gears (the big benefit of mtx). i've gone around a corner at maybe 25-30 w/ allseasons on the 95gl and was in 3rd and spun the car 180degrees. luckily there was no traffic in opposing lane. i was in 3rd and should've stayed in 2nd while slowing holding the brake. it was a slight turn slightly downhill. u get the urge to go to 3rd and 4th.

i usually keep it in 4th on the hwy and i generally dont break 45mph (when it snows obviously). i may be the slow loser in the right lane but i'm getting home in one piece. the gl has snows on the front tires only (some will argue this but its got allseasons in the back). the svt obviously had to get 4 snow tires (dont run summer tires in the winter).

also u want a thinner taller tire to cut thru the snow. wider isnt always better.

you should not use snow tires year round. They are made of a soft compound rubber that wears much faster than all-weather tires. Winter tires also don't handle nearly as well in dry conditions due to the special rubber compound that is designed to allow for traction in snow and icy conditions. If you have studded tires you certainly can not use them year round, and in some states you can not use them at all. In CT they have a law that states that snow tires can only be used during designated months where there is a possibility of ice on the roads. I believe its November - April.

Yes, with winter tires wider isn't better. The tires rely on their ability to pack the snow, then grip it to get traction. If too wide of a tire is used for the weight of the viehicle then the snow won't pack enough to allow for sufficent tration. Thats the reason most snow tires have a much lower speed rating than all-sason tires. A standard snow tire might have a speed rating of between 70 and 80 MPH, a performance winter tire will have a higher speed rating but not as high as a non-winter tire.

hey welcome to NE!
CobraR is a Northeastern graduate - graduated May 2001.
Good luck this winter.
all this snow talk and safe driving makes it sound like we have snow on the ground throughout the winter.
It actually doesn't turn out being that bad, especially once the roads are plowed. And I don't think that we have THAT many storms to make it all that horrible either.

You'll have fun. Contours are awesome snow cars!
Just watch out for the OTHER idiots on the roads.

I once had a Honda Civic hatch. When I bought it, I didn't realize it had snow tires on it. Then one day during the summer, I decided to take it in to the dealer to figure out why I was getting such vibration above 65-75 mph. Boy did I feel dumb when they told me I had snow tires on.

Anyway, I agree with frenchblueC2 _ unless you really, really have to go somewhere while it's actually snowing, just wait until morning when the plows do their thing, and you're on your way. Or have a wife that drives a Jeep Cherokee :-)

Unless you store your car from November to April, you're going to inevitably be exposed to salt, so just stop fretting now. Just zip through the car wash a few times a month, and you should be all right.

If you must drive in the snow, just go really, really slow. I've never had snow tires (in the winter, at least!), and I've nearly killed myself only a handful of times. But then again, I learned how to drive in the middle of the harsh winter of 1994, living on top of a steep hill, in my mother's '87 Buick LeSabre Estate Wagon (yeah, the huge beasts with rwd that you could fit 9 people in, with that sweet woodgrain paneling).