Snowmaggeddon Looms upon Us, Yet Again.

[Clodfobble]

Okay, so like, you people who live in the north, explain this snow tire thing to me.

You have a second set of tires that you keep in your garage for the winter? And twice a year you load them in your trunk, and take your car to the mechanic to switch them out? And what about snow chains? Do you put those on snow tires, or regular tires? And why not just leave the snow tires on all year, if they're so much better?

Also, do you have "storm windows?" What are those, exactly?

[glatt]

If you own a second set of wheels, you can keep the snow tires on the spare wheels and just do the switching yourself. Otherwise you drive them to a mechanic and pay like $75 for each season's switch and balancing. Fall and Spring. And you have to store them somewhere, like in your garage. Snow tires have deep tread and are designed for the snow. They don't perform as well as summer or year round tires on the dry pavement, and the tread wears down quickly, so you would be wasting money to keep them on year round.

I've always viewed chains as emergency equipment, to pull out if you are getting stuck during a snowstorm. They are frowned upon in many locations because they chew up the road.

All this is based on childhood memories, so others may have better input.