What to look for on a snow tire
The mud-and-snow branded tire, which can appear as M&S, M+S, M/S or MS, doesn’t mean the tire is made for driving in more than a trace of snow, even though most all-season tires have the symbol.
A mountain/snowflake symbol branded on the tire’s sidewall identifies it as meeting the standards for performance in harsh winter conditions. It was created in 1999 by the U.S. Rubber Manufacturers Association and the Rubber Association of Canada. Tires with this symbol are considered winter tires or four-season tires.
RIGHT: Chad Oehlenschlager, manager at Grismer Auto Service Center in Springfield, shows the unique all-weather tread on the Nokian WR62, at left, compared to a regular all-season tire, at right. Staff photo by Bill Lackey
SPRINGFIELD — After spending the past month sliding on roads covered with snow and ice, you might think snow tires are in demand. But a survey of Springfield tire dealers found that while they do still order them on request, snow tires are fading out like phone books and the VCR.
“With the economy the way it is, a lot of people aren’t paying to have a second set of tires,” said Chad Oehlenschlager, general manager at the Grismer Auto Service Center on West Columbia Street. “We sell in the neighborhood of 700 to 800 tires a month this time of year, and in the past month, I’ve put on probably two sets of winter tires.”
Firestone Complete Auto Care on Upper Valley Pike does stock one winter tire, the Firestone Winterforce, but several other area tire dealers no longer stock them. Since sales are a few sets a month, the stores wait to order them on request. This means most vehicles are driving on all-season tires.
But that can be confusing. Most all-season tires have the M&S symbol for “mud and snow.” However, the standard to meet that definition is left up to the discretion of the tire manufacturer, according to the website TireRack.com.
“You could take a street-legal drag radial, and it will be (Department of Transportation) approved all-season, but you obviously know that car is not worth a darn in snow,” said Pat Fiorita, assistant manager at Grismer.
The symbol to look for if you want winter traction is the mountain/snowflake logo. It was created in 1999 by the U.S. Rubber Manufacturers Association and the Rubber Association of Canada to set standards for severe weather driving, providing traction even on packed snow.
Most dealers stock a few brands with the mountain/snowflake logo that can be driven all year long. These tires are classified as four-season, which provides better traction than the all-season.
Grismer sells the Nokian WRG2 four-season tire where you can see the asymmetric groove design. National Tire & Battery on Bechtle Avenue and Monro on West North Street offer Michelin brands with the four-season ratings.
The four-season tires are a little more expensive than your average all-season tire, and they don’t travel as many miles.
“That’s what we tell people with the Nokians,” Fiorita said. “The only negative is you’ve got a 50,000-mile tire versus an 80,000-mile tire.”
While Fiorita says his top tire complaint is drivers not getting enough traction in heavy snow, most customers still base their selection mostly on the price.
“We didn’t buy the real expensive ones,” said Springfield resident Lee Miller, who bought his four all-season tires for $321 at NTB in 2009. “They’re cheaper, but they’re great tires. I’ve had snow tires on a pickup truck I drove before. It didn’t do nothing. I put these all-season tires on, and the tread is excellent on them.”
Contact this reporter at (937) 328-0353
or tcox@coxohio.com.
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