First time Driving in Snow

[kaswardy]

I recently moved to Toronto, bought a Mazda 3 GX 2008 and now I am facing my litmus test. Driving for the very first time in snow.

I have 195/65R 15 and was looking for a good valued set of winter tires. I am quite lost as there are so many brands and sub brands. Basically I am looking for something which gives a good price/performance ratio.

My daily drive is around 14km on the 401. Plus my car is parked inside a condo parking so I don't have to drive it through a driveway full of snow in the morning.

Any suggestions will be very helpful.

Thank you in advance

[Thrizzl3]

welcome congrats on your purchase! if you wanna find out which tire is best look in our sponsors section where you will find allen@simplytire or tires23. PM them and ask them which tire would best fit your needs. you might not get an answer right away but eventually they will reply.

EDIT: i didn't buy my tires from the sponsors as i was short on time. i went to another tire shop and got another brand of tires but any winter tire is good enough :)

[dentinger]

fyi, 195/65R15 is a really common size.

i went to a 185/65R15 tire, and i've had no problems at all. my Hankook Ipikes are awesome in the snow! and not bad for $350.

[Thrizzl3]

i went to a 185/65R15 tire, and i've had no problems at all. my Hankook Ipikes are awesome in the snow! and not bad for $350.

grrrr i have 195/60R/15 paid $450 brand new but there knock-offs tho w.e still get me thru the snow:chuckle

[x_o_k_x]

I paid 400 for winterforces, anyways any winter tires is better then no winter tires IMO. Also get out onto empty parking lot and practice driving in snow.

[Wild Weasel]

I expect that the more expensive name brand tires will give better performance than the cheaper store-brand ones, but ANY winter tires (with appropriate amount of tread) will be way better than the stock all-seasons.

So with that in mind, shop around and decide how much you want to spend.

And definitely get out there when it snows and get some safe practice in a parking lot or something. Get to know how the car feels under light and hard braking, and how slow you need to go around corners to keep your grip and that sort of thing.

[Swerny]

And definitely get out there when it snows and get some safe practice in a parking lot or something. Get to know how the car feels under light and hard braking, and how slow you need to go around corners to keep your grip and that sort of thing.


Excellent advice for everyone to follow this time of year, particularly a new driver.

[Soyabean]

And since the 3s have abs, no need to practice pumping your brakes like i do lol. But beware even winter tires slip. Just yesterday night i was doing 40 while every was going past me on the left. Its better safe than sorry

[Malcolm991]

I would get those snows on ASAP, these cars are pretty horrible in snow without snows.

[sauga_kid]

Also shoot midnightfxgt a PM, he's a sponsor on here from Exclusive Wheel and Tire...just another option

[rajin929]

And definitely get out there when it snows and get some safe practice in a parking lot or something. Get to know how the car feels under light and hard braking, and how slow you need to go around corners to keep your grip and that sort of thing.

definately some great advice - I told my g/f this when she first got her Mazda 3 and spent some time with her on the weekend in a school parking lot with fresh snow.

[Brammer]

When moving, leave extra space between you and the car in front. Your winter stopping distance is much greater than on dry pavement.

When you are stopping for a red light or stop sign, watch your RV mirror and leave some room in front when you are stopped. If you see someone behind you having a hard time stopping, you can edge up that extra couple of meters and it might save you getting rear-ended.

As others have noted, there are some great package deals here from the sponsors. You'll really appreciate the difference with the snows on.

[trini_mazda_fan]

When moving, leave extra space between you and the car in front. Your winter stopping distance is much greater than on dry pavement.

When you are stopping for a red light or stop sign, watch your RV mirror and leave some room in front when you are stopped. If you see someone behind you having a hard time stopping, you can edge up that extra couple of meters and it might save you getting rear-ended.

best advice for winter driving, in fact this is best for any condition driving..