02Pilot
UltraDork
10/9/20 11:18 a.m.
As the weather gets cooler thoughts turn to snow tires. My C900 came with a set of studded Hakkas, which are unstoppable but also very much overkill for a car that sees rare forays into the snow for entertainment purposes only. The downside of the studs is that they are incredibly loud, meaning that 99.x% of the time they're on the car, they're just making noise and irritating me. Can the studs be easily and safely removed from the tires? Quite a few have already fallen out with no apparent ill effects, but I figured best to ask before I grab the vice grips and have at it.
Let the air out, sit down with a stool, small vise grips and a 6 pack.
wheelsmithy (Joe-with-an-L) (Forum Supporter) said:
Yep, I used these.
I remember removing studs from the snow tires on my dad's car nearly 50 years ago (that's when they were banned in Minnesota.) I did the same thing, pulled them out with a pair of diagonal cutters. It was hard work.
I've done it with normal pliers. It was hard and tedious work but worth it to be rid of the noise and the handling characteristics. And what's more, I saw no noticeable difference in snow driving. I think ice driving may be different though, not sure.
I recommend bringing the tire inside a day before or warming it up somehow before beginning. It makes the rubber MUCH more pliable.
02Pilot
UltraDork
11/20/20 10:22 a.m.
Update. I started removing the studs this morning. After watching a few videos I decided to try using a narrow flat screwdriver to get under them and pry them out. This turns out to be fairly easy, as the rubber is quite soft. I did the first two in about 25 minutes. It probably helps that the tires are pretty old and the studs definitely worn. Incidentally, I discovered that the tread has some weird wear and the rubber's starting to crack, so it will be the last year for these in any case, but at least it will be quieter.
noddaz
UltraDork
11/20/20 2:04 p.m.
Burnouts. That wil remove some of the studs anyway.
02Pilot
UltraDork
11/20/20 2:55 p.m.
In reply to noddaz :
They go on a 30-year old naturally-aspirated Saab 900. Burnouts can only happen in very particular conditions....
I removed the rest of the studs this afternoon. Actually quite simple with the screwdriver technique. Many of them were worn down to nothing, so they were basically just noisemakers in any case.