Going to order 4 full winter studable (sp?) snow tires (General Altimax Arctic 12 ) for a rear wheel drive family car and Tire Rack will stud all four for an additional $15. I've never run studs and heard bad things about noise on dry roads and the studs flying out and damaging the car but that was long ago. Are current studs and current studded snow tires better? Should I try them especially for only $15 for all four. Read studs are legal in Ohio from November 1st to April 15th and I most likely will only have them on from December to March on dedicated wheels during that time. What's the cons of running studded snow tires" Thanks in advance.

Mike

There are laws regarding when you can and cannot run studded tires, if you haven't looked at those you might want to and see if it will cause you any issues.

5589.081 Studded tires - prohibited acts.

(A) For purposes of this section, "studded tire" means any tire designed for use on a vehicle and equipped with metal studs or studs of wear-resisting material that project beyond the tread of the traction surface of the tire; and "motor vehicle," "street or highway," "public safety vehicle," and "school bus" have the same meanings as given those terms in section 4511.01 of the Revised Code.

(B)

(1) Except as provided in division (B)(2) of this section, no person shall operate any motor vehicle, other than a public safety vehicle or school bus, that is equipped with studded tires on any street or highway in this state, except during the period extending from the first day of November of each year through the fifteenth day of April of the succeeding year.

(2) A person may operate a motor vehicle that is equipped with retractable studded tires with the studs retracted at any time of the year, but shall operate the motor vehicle with the studs extended only as provided in division (B)(1) of this section.


(C) This section does not apply to the use of tire chains when there is snow or ice on the streets or highways where such chains are being used, or the immediate vicinity thereof.

You get better traction on ice and hard-packed snow, and worse traction on everything else--wet roads, dry roads, and soft snow.

And you already mentioned the noise and the possibility of throwing them.

They are great at certain times in certain conditions.

if you normally get a lot of snow and ice during the winter, the studs are worth it.
about the only time the studs fly out, is if they are not fully seated in the tire when installed, the tire is wore out, or you spin excessively trying to get unstuck or jackrabbit starts.
as to the noise on dry pavement, that's the nature of them. also, they may have a tendency to slide quicker in a panic stop.
just my experience running studded tires on and off for over 50 years.
i have studded tires on just the front of my minivan, and it goes places some with 4wd would be afraid to try.

I concur as I also run studs on my minivan.

Studs make a night and day difference in traction on snow and ice. They run quieter and wear a lot longer than you would think.

Mike, we live near each other, and I've run both studded and non-studded snows. With the amount of snow we get, I didn't think that studs were beneficial. If lived up north (MN, WI, Dakotas, MT, etc...), I am sure the benefits would be much greater. A good quality set of snow tires by themselves should be plenty sufficient for what we typically deal with. The snows on my wife's Subaru (Michelin Ice-X), and my daughter's Civic (Bridgestone Blizzak), have been fantastic. My $.02.

We get significant snow & ice here in N. Idaho, been here 15 years, with my DD snow rigs being a Breeze and a Pathfinder.
Winter tires on both, studded on Pathfinder.
Studs are a bit better on ice, not much different in snow, but driving them on clear/dry roads kills them.
A bit of noise, but doesn't bother me. Traction's the priority.
Winter tires being softer, aggressive tread, & siped, have been fine on the Breeze.
Winter tires seem to last forever, but they do loose effectiveness even when there appears to be a fair amount of tread.
Between the 2 rigs, I've taken to driving the Breeze in winter, and put a backblade on the Pathfinder.

I ran them on my 65 years ago.Never had any problems even back in 60s tossing studs on normal drives.I did have fun when it was dry lighting them up at night.They would make some decent sparks.Rocky

Altimax Arctic 12's are very good tires. I live in snow country (Wisconsin). I've never considered studding them. Have two sets on two cars.

test summary.
https://blog.tirerack.com/blog/chad...rctic-studded-vs-non-studded-winter-tire

Like down the cliff at Mike's Supermarket

Studs are great on snow and ice. They suck on bare dry or wet pavement (ie panic stops) so one really should drive conservatively on them.

There isn’t a minivan in the world that can keep up with my Rubicon when the traction gets rough.

EXCEPT its a Jeep...so there are those annoying trips to the dealer for warranty issues...other than that

The wife's 06 Charger Daytona is her daily driver and it gets studded snow tires put on it every winter (they get taken off in the spring.

We live in the only part of Canada that you're not allowed to run studded tires and boy i'd love to have them for a change.
I couldn't even get up my street tonight. However I blame traction control for that as I was moving perfectly fine until that kicked on.

I've lived in WI my whole life(58 yrs) Never once thought about studded tires....not even sure they're legal. A good 4x4 is handy to have but otherwise they clear the roads very well.

A12, look at it this way, you've lived in NEO for how long and never needed them before.