Tire question
 

We are going to need new tires in the coming months, and because we live in an apartment with no storage available, its not feasible to have a winter tires and summer tires unless we want 4 tires in the living room...

I've noticed kal-tire has been advertising all weather tires, which are supposed to be different then all season tires.

But I don't know much about tires, and not sure if they are as good as they claim they are.

Has anyone used all weather tires?

I am in BC, so snow isn't much an issue nor do we go out onto road trips or out of town driving in the winter.

All-Weather Tires | Kal Tire

Re: Tire question
 

Unless you know you are going to be somewhere you'll need winter tyres (sea to sky hwy in ski season for example) you'll be fine on all seasons. In your position that's what I'd do for sure.

Re: Tire question
 

Many places will (for a fee) store the tires/wheels not on your vehicle.

Re: Tire question
 

We're on our second set of Nokian all weather tyres and are very happy with them. We ski in the winter and since these tyres have the snowflake symbol we're fine if we hit the occasional inspection on the Sea to Sky or the road up to Cypress and drive cautiously if the road has not been cleared.

I checked online reviews exhaustively before we got our first set. Basically, the reports said that they don't do anything as well as a more specialized tyre. Importantly though, snow and ice tyres may perform less well in rainy conditions, so with infrequent snow and only slightly more frequent ice it was important for me to have a tyre that performed well in the very wet winter highway miles I do. A concern in the reviews was that in hot temperatures they wear more quickly than all seasons. Again, not a problem in most of the Lower Mainland where the temperatures rarely get stinking hot. They were fine on our road trip down to Nevada a couple of years ago but that trip on toasty desert roads may have contributed to us now being on our second set.

In my opinion, the Nokians are the perfect tyre year round for Lower Mainland vehicles, unless you are doing most of your mileage up to Whistler, into the Interior or in the mountains. The main disadvantage of the Nokians last time we purchased is that Kaltire is the only authorized supplier in BC so you are stuck with their pricing.

Re: Tire question
 

Make sure you get snow rated all seasons, they have snowflakes on them so you can check.

Re: Tire question
 

I haven't used them, but, from what I've read, the Nokian WRGs are supposed to be pretty good all-weather tires. As mentioned above, though, they're going to be competent all round rather than the best in all conditions.

We have the Hakkapelitta R winter tires on our cars and they're great on snow, not so good on ice, and noisy and a bit wobbly on dry asphalt. I've never really driven on them in the rain.

Re: Tire question
 

When I lived in Northern Ontario, where snow was definitely a problem ,I lived in an apt. for 13yrs. I only used winter tires on the rear wheels.( My car was rear wheel drive and manual transmission). I did have separate rims for winter and summer tires.. My present car is front wheel drive and automatic transmission( which I don't like so much) I stored the spare wheels in the trunk of my car which gave me weight over the rear wheels should it be needed . In summer , the rear wheels were changed to all -weather and the winter wheels were then stored in the trunk.
For the last four years I was in Ontario I only used all weather tires. Since I have been in BC I have only used all weather tires and have never had a problem .
I have always used Michelin tires .

Re: Tire question
 

This really isnt recommended as the difference in traction front to back could make a spin more likely if you have to make an extreme manouver.

If I was in BC in an apartment, I wouldnt worry too much about winter tires unless I was hell bent on spending every weekend in the mountains, in which case the All weathers would be worth checking out.

The other alternative if space in the apartment is becoming an issue anyway would be to rent a storage unit for all that seasonal stuff that home owners stuff in the garage or basement.

Re: Tire question
 

Many places (Goodyear for example) will store your tires for you if you purchase from them. Have winter tires put on and they will store your summer tires. Have the summer ones put on and they will store your winter ones.

Re: Tire question
 

BC isn't just mild Vancouver/Lower Mainland. Outside city limits in the interior, snow tires (not all seasons) are mandatory.

Recent news:

VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – One big element of the provincial government’s highways review could drain your wallet if you head into the Interior during the winter.

The province wants winter tires on all passenger vehicles from October 1st through the end of March on rural highways. The review says carrying chains is no longer good enough.

Bob Gilowski with VSA Highway Maintenance — the company that keeps the Coquihalla safe and clear — says even if it means hundreds of dollars spent on tires that end up rarely used, it’s worth the money.

“The positive aspect as opposed to allowing chains is that a winter tire is on all the time,” he points out. “People will typically put chains on their vehicles when encountering a very worse winter driving condition, then take them off. As driving conditions can change rapidly in high mountain passes, it’s always good to have traction.”

Gilowski adds despite a higher speed on the Coquihalla, you should always drive based on current conditions.

Chains are still acceptable for commercial vehicles.

BC will become the third jurisdiction in North America to require winter tires with the Mountain/Snowflake symbol, which is currently only law in Quebec and Oregon.

The provincial government says public consultation found more than two-thirds of rural winter drivers already put on winter tires.

Re: Tire question
 

Fair point, although I was under the impression that the OP was in Vancouver. Could be wrong.

Re: Tire question
 

He's in the lower mainland somewhere I think.