Don't forget that Reno tends to get a tad warm in summer anyway, so that won't do much about the longevity of the tires.
Severe snow rated all seasons seem to be pretty OK in snow, that more or less all the rentals had that I rented out there this winter. Not great, but Reno itself doesn't get that much snow. Tahoe on the other hand...
I live in SF and drive Tahoe in snow a few times a year. I am way too lazy to swap tires and have Altimax RT year round on my Subaru. Sure they are a bit squishy but just fine day to day. Even on twisty US1 today (low speed) there were just fine. Lately it is more about the rain than the snow and I want the extra grip.
What about the Nokian WrG4?
Theres also the Wildpeak AT Trail for the CUV. Supposed to be decent in snow.
Id probably find the all season with the best snow reviews on Tire Rack.
buzzboy said:
In reply to amg_rx7 (Forum Supporter) :
Spending the winter in Truckee, CA, you go from a week of 50+° temps and dry roads to a week of 20° temps with snow. I've never felt like it was any less safe or handled any worse in the warm/dry weather. Admittedly I'm in a Cherokee, not an E36, but if somebody isn't a performance driver, I doubt they'd notice.
Truckee California. The Donner Pass. Get stranded there and your neighbors might eat you :-)
Better bring some true winter tires and not berk around with all seasons
Another vote for Altimax Arctics. I've driven a set through a summer, including some long road trips, and they were just fine the next winter. By far the most durable snow tires I've ever owned.
CAinCA said:
What I'm hearing is that it *probably* would be OK, but that isn't assured. If it were my car I'd give it a shot. Since it's the kids' cars I'll probably go with the AW tires.
Thanks for all of your input.
I think what I'm saying is, you there isn't any magic. You can't predict what emergency will happen. If your kid will be faced with a panic stop, tire A would be the best. If they will have to yank the wheel to avoid a collision with a deer, tire B will be better. If they're headed to the mountains to ski, tire C will do better.
A dedicated snow tire seems to be the best at one out of 200 possible scenarios.