I'm currently doing some research on this and wanted to get some input, especially if people have experience with it. From what I know, its always better to put the grippier tires on the rear, regardless of the conditions. Obviously, the ideal situation would be get all snows on all four and not just a pair. But given that I live in an area that gets about 3-4 feet of snow ALL winter (although around here, they suck at clearing the snow), I'm just trying to decide if it necessary to get a matching pair for the fronts or just stick with one pair of snows in the rear and all seasons in the front.

I'm on stock 17s and the combination would be Falken 512s in the front and Blizzak LM22s in the rear. And having lived in Michigan, I have plenty of experience driving in the snow.

Any feedback is appreciated, except those discussing the Falken 512s, because God only knows how much that we have around here already.

 

I have never run this set up... But I do remember when I fist got the maxima and I had not put snows on it... In ANY snow the rear end always wanted to come out.

I always run all four snows, no problem with rear end and still have acceleration FTW.

 

Yeah, I agree. It seems to me that putting a pair of snows in the rear is still better than having 4 AS tires. Thanks.

 

Depends on the AS... I ran Conti Extreme Contacts this last winter and they were great.

But they are designed for NE seasons, not like the craptenza "all season".

I guess they are having good sales on them, check it out.

 

Yeah, I'm now leaning towards doing it right and either (i) forgoing the LM22s and getting some good all seasons or (ii) just ponying up and getting another pair of LM22s or comparable snows.

 

I have Falken 512s with about 50% tread left that have gone through 2 winters and have been good for the conditions I see, but I don't feel comfortable with them coming up on this winter for some reason.

 

not commenting due to my obvious interest

I feel that two is better than none, but not nearly as good as all four

 

I hear and read that it's always best to put the "grippier" as you say, in the rear.

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tirete....jsp?techid=52

 

id think the snowtires up front would help more with traction from a stop, while moving, and while turning, correct me if im wrong

 

Sorry to burst the bubble, but you're wrong. Very common mistake. You should always install grippier tire in the rears, for FWD applications. Then again, I would recommend replacing a set of 4 snow tires instead of just a pair.

 

From a stop grippier tires up front might help, but that's about it. That causes oversteer which is not desirable when turning in situations with low/poor traction. It would also make the rear more prone to fishtailing.

 

ALL SEASON tires are NOT made to be good in snow or cold temps. From what I read/watched, they are not made to function properly in temps under 40*F.......

 

IMHO. On street tires and traveling at decent speeds, grippier tires should go on the rear. One emergency freeway stop and you are doing 360s.

But on dedicated winter tires, you won't be worrying about that if you can't get going in the first place. So if it's that bad out there and you only have two snow tires:
a) Put the grippier tires on the rear and risk just sitting there.
b) Put the snows up front, get going and be damned careful.

 

If you must; the rears. You don't want to be oversteering when you least want to, but even then less grip up front is going to bias toward possible heavy understeer and longer stoping distances.

 

Thanks everyone for the comments/pros and cons. I'll most likely end up getting 4 snows even if it is overkill around here. Better safe than sorry.

 

I should have just said that YOU weren't allowed to comment on 512s.

 

ARE you sure you're not talking about about SUMMER TIRES? Cuase that is TRUE with summer tires..not ALL SEASON tires. I think you're foncused

 

I didn't realize that Virginia got 3 feet of snow per year.

Despite all the evidence posted in this thread, I'll take my chances with snow tires on the rear. I'd rather get where I'm going (and get the hell off the road)than just sit there and spin. But I do agree that snows on all corners are best. Just chew on that one after a fender bender or sliding into a ditch. The repair bill and headache would have paid for the extra 2 tires. You can even go one step further with studs all the way around. They are a little noisy but damn do they hold the road!

 

So is a set of winter ties and a set of summer tires better then a year round set of all-seasons?

 

Got my pair of Blizzak LM-22s from Irish this past weekend. Will be getting another pair from Tirerack or a pair of ContiWinterContact TS790 V since they're offering a good price on em. Not too many reviews on the Contis though, but I did see one in the snow tire sticky saying that they were decent.

Thanks for all the feedback.

 

Well what really sux about that setup is its only going to keep you grounded in turns (which who gives a ****, you are in traffic in the snow) Put them on the front, so you can move from a standstill, My biggest problem in winter is getting moving at a light from a stop...and sometimes stopping...you get zero help getting the car moving with the snow gripping tires in the rear.

 

any A/S tire with M+S on the sidewall IS designed to function in temps way below 40.