Neons in the snow, how good?

[stickshiftsrule]

2005 Neon sxt, automatic (wifes)
Little over 20k miles still with the stock goodyears.

I did a search and found a post saying the goodyears sucked in the snow.
Is this true? Is it BS?

I was not planning to put tires on it till next fall.
The goodyears still have lots of meat on them.

Whether I put them on now, or next fall, the tires will nokian hakkapellittas.

[alaskaneon]

Snow driving has more to do with the driver than the tires, although good tires do help. I see people fly off the road almost every week in 4x4 SUV's with great tires. I'm running BF Goodwrench tires with snow studs and they do very well. I run BF Goodwrench AT's on my Jeep Cherokee 4x4 and run it in 4 wheel drive through the winter months continually which perform better than studded tires. A lot of people seem to like my tire choice here in Alaska...and we our fair share of snow.

Back to your question. The goodyears should do fine if they have a fairly aggressive tread to them. If they are summer radials - I would prepare for impact.

[Ram3500Dually]

Neons go fine in the snow, like any other front wheel drive car. You are only limited to how deep the snow is before you belly it.

[dodgeneonACR98]

Neons go fine in the snow, like any other front wheel drive car. You are only limited to how deep the snow is before you belly it.
I agree!

[alaskaneon]

uh, guys...he's asking about tire performance in his post.

[Mopar Ernie]

:gr_patrio
The wife drives her '04 Neon 30 to 45 minutes to and from work. We are still running the stock tires. No problems as the snow plows keep the heavy snow away.

I run snow tires on my other rear drive cars, but not the Neon.

:drivingz:

[stickshiftsrule]

Okay, I believe the tires are the goodyear SA, which I think is an all season radial.
When I get the chance I'll snap a pic of the tread up close.

I have lots of winter driving experience. I consider myself good at it. ;)
The catch is I always owned RWD up till my 1st 4x4 in 2003.
FWD, RWD, AWD, and 4WD all react differently.

I've gotten used to the basic differences between FWD and RWD.
But I still don't care for not having as much control over the rear in the slick stuff.

I'm just trying to avoid any upleasant surprises. There are lots of hill and curves between us and any place we want to go.

My wife will be having surgery in Febuary. It would be easier for her to get in and out of the Neon than my Ram.

BTW- she won't drive in the snow at all if she doesn't have to, she says that's my job. :D

[dodgeneonACR98]

If you want to buy some cheap (but good) snow tires get Master Craft Glacier Grips.

The name Glacier Grip says it all. They shouldnt run more than 250 bucks for 4. In my oppinion they are the best for less.Good luck!

[Ram3500Dually]

uh, guys...he's asking about tire performance in his post.

I could have sworn the title was Neons in the snow, how good? :D

[Ram3500Dually]

I've gotten used to the basic differences between FWD and RWD.
But I still don't care for not having as much control over the rear in the slick stuff.



You don't need control over the rear because the rear does nothing. I prefer front wheel drive in the snow over rear wheel anyday. As long as you don't belly it a front wheel will go further than any rear wheel. If you drove into it you can back out of it with a front wheel drive car.

[stickshiftsrule]

I understand where you are coming from on that Ram3500Dually.
But if I was headed out in a snowstorm and my only choices were the wifes car or one of my past RWD trucks I would take the truck. Because I'd always have them set up with sand in the back and aggressive tires out back too. And there were all manual trannies.

And yeah I always backed them in, so I could get back out....lol ;)

I know glacier grips are good, since they are close too cooper wheathermasters, which I have had before.

But this is what I have in mind for the Neon. I was just seeing if I needed to do it now instead of next fall like I had originally planned. If not for the wifes upcoming surgery, the neon would not be going out in severe wheather, but now that there is a chance of that I want to be prepared.
http://www.nokiantyres.com/files/nkr/ha_talvi/wr_tuote_iso.jpg

[alaskaneon]

I give that tire a "so-so" vote. It looks like a tire made for water with the v in the tread. I don't know if studded tires are legal in New Hampshire but that's the way to go in my opinion. If they are illegal then my second choice would be the same tire without the studs. We get feet of snow and I run 65-70 mph on 2-6 inches of solid packed ice on the highways during the winter. Here's what I run on my car:

http://www.bfgoodrichtires.com/overview/winter-slalom/37.html

[04SX2.0]

I drove from Ontario to Alberta with the neon when it was new (3500KM) through some pretty heavy snow and all conditions in between in February, it faired really well even without ABS. I put winter tires on this year (50 000KM on the goodyears not much tread depth left) but haven't had much snow as I'm in Ontario on a military course. I got a great deal on cooper winter rubber they run really well in what I've seen.

[stickshiftsrule]

Thanks for all the replies.

04SX2.0-
I feel better about the stock goodyears now.
I just had them rotated and rebalanced this past fall.
The front ones are like new, the rears have some wear, but still more than half tread.


alaskaneon-
Those BFG's do have some aggressive siping thats for sure.
I like the nokians because their siping is "interlocked" and wears a lot better than most snow tires. And yes they are great in the rain too.
Studded tires are legal here. And the fact that you give that tire a so so rating is a compliment, since technically it can be run all 4 seasons. And that's why I want it. The plan was to run the goodyears till next fall and switch to the WR nokians.

If I was going for a winter only tire I would go for these.
Finland (where they are made) see's a lot of snow too.
I had these on my last 2WD truck, they were incredible!
http://www.nokiantires.com/en/tire_hakka2.aspx
http://www.nokiantires.com/images/highres/hakka_2.jpg

It's studdable, but you really don't need to. (I didn't)
Although, if I lived as far north as you guys I would get them studded.

[alaskaneon]

stickshiftsrule, good luck on your tires! That nokian tire looks like a nice tire as well.