Yesterday, my wife and I went XC skiing. On the way back, the left rear tire on our car suddenly went down. We mounted the limited service spare and discovered the left rear was toast -- a gash over 4" long all the way through the sidewall explained why it went down so fast.

We have AWD, so we had to change all 4 But there was no other option so I forked over the $511.

She wasn't bothered by the cost at all. This is the first time in many years that we will spend more on car tires than bike tires (previous cars have been econoboxes which use tires that are cheaper than bike tires)

EDIT: Mods, move this to foo

Commuting, the new Foo

Unless badly worn, this really isn't necessary. And if the others were badly worn, then you were going to be replacing them shortly anyway, so you just spent the same money slightly earlier.

In this situation, don't forget Ebay, Craigslist, and make-specific forums. Twice I've been able to easily find used tires exactly the same size/brand as the one that was damaged for about 1/3 the cost of a new tire. Enthusiasts are always changing out the original tires on a car when they buy higher-performance rubber and/or new wheels.

- Mark

$511 for four tires is a good deal......
congrats

Depending on what AWD system you have, it can be critical to ensure all tires are the same and worn evenly. Some systems don't mind some difference, but others can lead to major component failure and thousands of dollars of damage. I know some folks to whom this happened. This is one reason I certainly could use AWD in the Buffalo NY area, but always have stayed away from it. Certainly on bad days, the AWD gives you more control (though not stopping power), and seeing that I ONLY drive my car to work when the weather is so bad that I don't think my Studded Snow tires on my bike a good enough... the extra control would be helpful.

I am glad to head your car behaved nicely, some of the SUV's tend to not do so great when they loose a tire because of their added hight, but a lot of the car/station wagon based AWD cars are much more stable, even with catastrofic tire failure.

Happy riding,
André

I thought long and hard before getting AWD because my general motto is to keep things simple and reliable. However, you can really feel the difference on slick surfaces (i.e. when you need it most) and having had 6 months to think about my purchase, I still think the loss in mileage and special care costs are worth it. Plus, this thing is a blast in snow that would get other vehicles stuck.

I was impressed by the handling when I lost the tire. The last time I had a blowout was about 20 years ago. That time, holding on was much more of a struggle. Part of the difference was this vehicle (Impreza Outback) was smaller, but I also suspect that compensation by the AWD mechanism helped significantly.

I don't like AWD or 4WD. It gives people the illusion that they're in better control than they are. Around here you can just look in the ditches and see what cars are in the ditches; there are a significantly higher percentage of 4WD and AWD cars in the ditch than 2WD. That's because the 2WD people realize that they have to slow the heck down. The AWD/4WD people need to too, but they don't.

A couple of days ago here there was a 10 car pileup caused by one car swerving to avoid a kid walking to a school bus stop on the side of the road. Clearly, most people are going way too fast; it's the ONLY excuse for a multi-car pileup where all the cars are going in the same direction. This was on a 50 MPH road; I'd say the max SAFE speed on that day was about 20, maybe less, but most people were going 40.

People are WAY too confident in their vehicles. I think in some ways things were safer when we had crappier cars that barely ran in these conditions.

You stay in 2wd until you get in trouble, then switch to 4 to get out. If you are in 4 all the time then you have no safety net when you do get in trouble I figure.

Relying on safety mechanisms rather than common sense is what gets people in trouble. AWD can reduce chances of getting in a pinch in first place -- presuming you don't drive like an idiot.

Every time roads are slick, it blow my mind how crazy people drive. But then again, they way overdrive their lights at night, make no braking allowances when it's raining, and plunge blindly into fog or bright sunlight.

That's what you SHOULD do. Check around. I know people with on-demand 4WD who lock it in on dry pavement if it's snowing. A good way to lose control and flip the vehicle. It says RIGHT ON THE VISOR not to do this, but I don't think 99% of the drivers read anything on/about their new cars more than "volume" and "tune".

I have a Subaru as well, and every time it snows I want to give it a big hug. It won't save you if you're driving like an idiot and it won't help you stop faster. However, for getting me from A to B in crap weather, it really gets the job done. That said, while I'm happy to hug the car, the winter tires get a big wet kiss [with tongue]. I run on Nokian Hakkapeliitta Q M+S from first snowfall until the last snowboarding trip of the year. Those things grip like nobody's business, and have done an excellent job of keeping me out of trouble.

I'm of the opinion that when operating in winter conditions, your vehicle [bike or not] should have snow tires. There are days when regular knobbies or slicks or the mis-named "all-season" tires just won't cut it. The number of accidents that could be prevented by having the right boots on your ride... the mind reels...

+1 for that logic. When the roads get bad enough that I worry about staying up right on a bike that has two studded snow tires, I switch over to my car that wears 4 good quality snow tires. The small added cost when I got the car ($500 for a set of nice extra wheels) is so worth it. I figure my all-season summer tires now last longer as they are getting no use during the winter, so over all tire consumption is nearly the same. We get plenty of lake affect snow. I can also attest to having to drive through every major snow emercency during the last decade, and never getting stuck even though I only have FWD. Every fall and spring I switch the tires on the car and bike. It is a perfect time to give both a good look-over mechanically.

I want to be save on my bike AND in my car.

Happy riding,
André

The real down-side to AWD or 4WD is that you're likely to drive off further into no-man's land where you'll be even further from help when you need it.

+1 I run the same tires on my subaru for winter. All-seasons in the snow are barely adequate. Enough to get you rolling but they don't do anything to help you stop. Makes no sense to me why people don't swap tires in areas they get alot of snow.

Whats the difference between awd and 4wd
and how could one newer tyre cause damage like some have claimed
sounds like marketing bull5hit to me

This is straying off-topic, but 4WD (like I have) is an older system that drives all 4 wheels when engaged. There is some sort of locking mechanism that causes the front wheels to be locked to the rear ones when 4WD is engaged. As such, it should only be engaged on slick (snowy/icy) surfaces.

AWD is similar, except that there is a slip mechanism that allows it to be always engaged without damaging it.

Something people often don't realize is that ALL cars are 4 wheel brake. 4WD/AWD helps you move, making it that much harder to get stuck in the snow. They DO NOT help you stop on snow or ice. The larger tires and ABS (if available) might, but not the drive train.

I've had a subaru outback for 9 years, and loved it. But my dad was getting rid of his Honda Odyssey, which has a great rep, so I took it from him. Loved the Odyssey with its 2 wheel drive in rainstorms, but the first time I drove it while it was snowing, it scared me to death. It took me half a block to stop! And, yes, I know about anti-lock braking. Anyway, drove home and got the Subaru out and it was like driving on dry pavement.