do you need winter tyres for the outlander?

I recommend also winter tires for outlander. I just compared new ones from https://www.nokiantires.com/tires/passenger-car/winter-tires/
and don't know which ones to buy. If you know other brands that are good, let me know. I have always used Nokian tires and thats why I look first their website.

Very happy with Hankook EVO.

mbasjm said:

@mellobob - are you in the BC Interior? I've only had my Outlander for a couple of months, I haven't gone through a winter with them yet. I'm wondering in particular about using the stock tires (M+S) on the Coquihalla, and also going to Cypress or Seymour. I'm trying to figure if I need to get proper winter tires. Can you share your experience/advice?

Click to expand...

I've heard of the terrible roads on the Coquihalla. Doesn't matter the vehicle, you need snow tires on that road. Also in BC especially on the highways, M+S don't cut it. You need the Mountain Snowflake. (By Law)

Very happy with these - Bridgestone Blizzak LM80 EVO 225/55 R18 98 V FR

KootenayLife said:

mbasjm said:

@mellobob - are you in the BC Interior? I've only had my Outlander for a couple of months, I haven't gone through a winter with them yet. I'm wondering in particular about using the stock tires (M+S) on the Coquihalla, and also going to Cypress or Seymour. I'm trying to figure if I need to get proper winter tires. Can you share your experience/advice?

Click to expand...

I've heard of the terrible roads on the Coquihalla. Doesn't matter the vehicle, you need snow tires on that road. Also in BC especially on the highways, M+S don't cut it. You need the Mountain Snowflake. (By Law)

Click to expand...

Nope. The law is pretty clear. M+S is perfectly legal (and that is what the PHEV is supplied with). See:

https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/transportation/driving-and-cycling/traveller-information/seasonal/winter-driving/about-winter-tires

if you doubt me.

I stand corrected.

mellobob said:

KootenayLife said:

mbasjm said:

@mellobob - are you in the BC Interior? I've only had my Outlander for a couple of months, I haven't gone through a winter with them yet. I'm wondering in particular about using the stock tires (M+S) on the Coquihalla, and also going to Cypress or Seymour. I'm trying to figure if I need to get proper winter tires. Can you share your experience/advice?

Click to expand...

I've heard of the terrible roads on the Coquihalla. Doesn't matter the vehicle, you need snow tires on that road. Also in BC especially on the highways, M+S don't cut it. You need the Mountain Snowflake. (By Law)

Click to expand...

Nope. The law is pretty clear. M+S is perfectly legal (and that is what the PHEV is supplied with). See:

https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/transportation/driving-and-cycling/traveller-information/seasonal/winter-driving/about-winter-tires

if you doubt me.

Click to expand...

Ha, that may be the legal requirement, but no way in hell would I be driving the PHEV over the Coq in the winter with the stock tires. And it freaks me out to know that many people probably are... that's crazy. Should be a legal requirement to have the snowflake in my opinion.

Also there really isn't any reason to not get dedicated winters... your tire will just last twice as long. Few bucks to switch back forth, but not killing people or yourself is probably worth it.

I don't disagree with "get winter tires!" at all. Just pointing out that the legal requirements are for M+S.

mellobob said:

I don't disagree with "get winter tires!" at all. Just pointing out that the legal requirements are for M+S.

Click to expand...

If conditions are really that bad, forget about winter tires. They'll require everyone to put on chains anyway. In California, there are 3 levels of chain control:
R-1: Chains required on the drive axle of all vehicles without M+S tires
R-2: Chains required on all vehicles except 4WD/AWD vehicles with M+S tires on all 4 wheels
R-3: Chains required on all vehicles, no exceptions

Winter tires don't gain you anything. If conditions get so bad that M+S tires can't handle it, they'll either impose R-3 or close the road.

STS134 said:

mellobob said:

I don't disagree with "get winter tires!" at all. Just pointing out that the legal requirements are for M+S.

Click to expand...

If conditions are really that bad, forget about winter tires. They'll require everyone to put on chains anyway. In California, there are 3 levels of chain control:
R-1: Chains required on the drive axle of all vehicles without M+S tires
R-2: Chains required on all vehicles except 4WD/AWD vehicles with M+S tires on all 4 wheels
R-3: Chains required on all vehicles, no exceptions

Winter tires don't gain you anything. If conditions get so bad that M+S tires can't handle it, they'll either impose R-3 or close the road.

Click to expand...

This mirrors European Alpine rules but as you point out above winter tyres are not considered, so your final comment is irrelevant for practical purposes. The only time that I have needed, used & proved the superiority of winter tyres over others, was when we were caught on a busy lowland French autoroute by an unexpected blizzard.

Whilst I realise the situation is different in mountain areas where snow is a given, in the UK roads (where we have no tyre rules) quickly grind to a halt once there is snow, so having winter tyres already fitted will mean you won't get caught out.

Langers said:

I have a set of steel wheels shod with Falken Eurowinter tyres that I just used to swap over.

Ignoring the fact the stud pattern is probably wrong so I may not be able to reuse them on the PHEV, is there going to be any issue with the TPMS (other then it not working) if I put some regular steel wheels on the PHEV? I’m not bothered if it doesn’t work, only if I’m going to get constant errors/warning messages!

Click to expand...

Unless the other wheels have TPMS valves fitted and coded into the car (£200) - yes, you will get "constant errors/warning messages". I'm afraid.

greendwarf said:

This mirrors European Alpine rules but as you point out above winter tyres are not considered, so your final comment is irrelevant for practical purposes. The only time that I have needed, used & proved the superiority of winter tyres over others, was when we were caught on a busy lowland French autoroute by an unexpected blizzard.

Whilst I realise the situation is different in mountain areas where snow is a given, in the UK roads (where we have no tyre rules) quickly grind to a halt once there is snow, so having winter tyres already fitted will mean you won't get caught out.

Click to expand...

You won't get caught out by getting stuck yourself, but you'll probably still be unable to make your journey due to everybody else not having winter tyres and blocking the roads. The trend of ever wider low profile tyres is not snow compatible, especially with Rear Wheel Drive and ESP and TSC systems that people don't know how to turn off.

greendwarf said:

This mirrors European Alpine rules but as you point out above winter tyres are not considered, so your final comment is irrelevant for practical purposes. The only time that I have needed, used & proved the superiority of winter tyres over others, was when we were caught on a busy lowland French autoroute by an unexpected blizzard.

Whilst I realise the situation is different in mountain areas where snow is a given, in the UK roads (where we have no tyre rules) quickly grind to a halt once there is snow, so having winter tyres already fitted will mean you won't get caught out.

Click to expand...

I'll run my tire chains on all 4 wheels against your winter tires any day of the week. https://lacledechain.com/product/alpine-premier/

I don't see winter tires as a very good tradeoff. To really do winter tires well, you'd want to get new wheels and generally narrower tires than the OEM ones, so they can help you dig through snow and ice. But this compromises performance when it's not snowing and especially when the roads are wet, which is often what happens just before or after it snows. Also, winter tires still won't ever outperform tire chains if going up an icy hill, so personally I think it's just a set of bad tradeoffs to be making.

Max speed 50 kph, chains on, chains off - as they are useless on non-snowy roads, even dangerous-, noise, vibrations, cold, dirty hands, . Try to get a chain on a wheel in a clogged-up, icy wheel arch at -10º with snow belting down... Dante's Inferno.No thank you. Just good winter tyres do me fine.
You can even drive up ski-slope on winter tyres: : :lol:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eOTP9yrATX8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cg_GAVA8VHQ

I really think that people should just stay home and enjoy the comforts of a warm blanket, hot toddy and companionship

jaapv said:

Max speed 50 kph, chains on, chains off - as they are useless on non-snowy roads, even dangerous-, noise, vibrations, cold, dirty hands, . Try to get a chain on a wheel in a clogged-up, icy wheel arch at -10º with snow belting down... Dante's Inferno.No thank you. Just good winter tyres do me fine.
You can even drive up ski-slope on winter tyres: : :lol:

Click to expand...

That's pretty impressive. But it takes a lot longer to switch tires (even if they're already mounted on separate wheels) than it does to put on and take off chains. I can get chains on all 4 wheels of my vehicle in under 5 minutes fairly easily, and removal is even quicker. And I can count the number of times I've actually *needed* chains to get up an icy slope on one hand.

STS134 said:

mellobob said:

I don't disagree with "get winter tires!" at all. Just pointing out that the legal requirements are for M+S.

Click to expand...

If conditions are really that bad, forget about winter tires. They'll require everyone to put on chains anyway. In California, there are 3 levels of chain control:
R-1: Chains required on the drive axle of all vehicles without M+S tires
R-2: Chains required on all vehicles except 4WD/AWD vehicles with M+S tires on all 4 wheels
R-3: Chains required on all vehicles, no exceptions

Winter tires don't gain you anything. If conditions get so bad that M+S tires can't handle it, they'll either impose R-3 or close the road.

Click to expand...

Nope... there is a large difference is the available grip between winter and M+S tires when the roads are fine but cold all the way up requiring chains. A dedicated winter tire (snowflake) will outperform an M+S tire in every way once the temp gets down to about 5C. Once you add some snow and/or ice the differences are even larger. They're not even as good as an "all-weather" tire. They're more of an "all-season" tire, which really means 3-seasons.

I've been driving through nasty winters over those mountain passes for 35 years. I've done it in almost all configurations of types of drive (AWD, FWD, RWD) and types of tires... all season, all weather, M+S and winters... I was even a pizza delivery driver in Whistler through a pretty nasty winter. M+S tires don't hold a candle to winter tires. M+S tires still harden in the cold and don't have the sipes needed for ice and compact snow grip.

This also explains it quite well - https://info.kaltire.com/difference-winter-vs-mud-snow/

I have no idea why the BC government allows them over the mountains in the winter... that needs to change. Maybe it's why I see so many large trucks and SUV's in the ditch every year... because they think their M+S tires can handle it... when they can't.

If M+S tires were good enough for winter driving, then you'd think Quebec's winter tire law would allow them as well... but it specifically does not. Only tires that have the mountain and snowflake icon are allowed.

littlescrote said:

greendwarf said:

This mirrors European Alpine rules but as you point out above winter tyres are not considered, so your final comment is irrelevant for practical purposes. The only time that I have needed, used & proved the superiority of winter tyres over others, was when we were caught on a busy lowland French autoroute by an unexpected blizzard.

Whilst I realise the situation is different in mountain areas where snow is a given, in the UK roads (where we have no tyre rules) quickly grind to a halt once there is snow, so having winter tyres already fitted will mean you won't get caught out.

Click to expand...

You won't get caught out by getting stuck yourself, but you'll probably still be unable to make your journey due to everybody else not having winter tyres and blocking the roads. The trend of ever wider low profile tyres is not snow compatible, especially with Rear Wheel Drive and ESP and TSC systems that people don't know how to turn off.

Click to expand...

Quite right, we were stuck for 2 hours behind bloody French motorists who didn't have their chains with them but unlike them we were able to drive out of it eventually.

STS134 said:

greendwarf said:

This mirrors European Alpine rules but as you point out above winter tyres are not considered, so your final comment is irrelevant for practical purposes. The only time that I have needed, used & proved the superiority of winter tyres over others, was when we were caught on a busy lowland French autoroute by an unexpected blizzard.

Whilst I realise the situation is different in mountain areas where snow is a given, in the UK roads (where we have no tyre rules) quickly grind to a halt once there is snow, so having winter tyres already fitted will mean you won't get caught out.

Click to expand...

I'll run my tire chains on all 4 wheels against your winter tires any day of the week. https://lacledechain.com/product/alpine-premier/

I don't see winter tires as a very good tradeoff. To really do winter tires well, you'd want to get new wheels and generally narrower tires than the OEM ones, so they can help you dig through snow and ice. But this compromises performance when it's not snowing and especially when the roads are wet, which is often what happens just before or after it snows. Also, winter tires still won't ever outperform tire chains if going up an icy hill, so personally I think it's just a set of bad tradeoffs to be making.

Click to expand...

Again quite right, I had my chains with me, just in case, but didn't need to fit or use them. So I was eventually able to drive out without all the fiddling about - best of both worlds

STS134 said:

jaapv said:

Max speed 50 kph, chains on, chains off - as they are useless on non-snowy roads, even dangerous-, noise, vibrations, cold, dirty hands, . Try to get a chain on a wheel in a clogged-up, icy wheel arch at -10º with snow belting down... Dante's Inferno.No thank you. Just good winter tyres do me fine.
You can even drive up ski-slope on winter tyres: : :lol:

Click to expand...

That's pretty impressive. But it takes a lot longer to switch tires (even if they're already mounted on separate wheels) than it does to put on and take off chains. I can get chains on all 4 wheels of my vehicle in under 5 minutes fairly easily, and removal is even quicker. And I can count the number of times I've actually *needed* chains to get up an icy slope on one hand.

Click to expand...

I have My Man change the wheels twice a year whilst I sip a glass of the Moët.