Winter performance tires vs Conventional winters

[335i t5]

I have Toyo snowproxes s952 winter tires on my 335i. On tirerack, it says that these are ultra high performance winter tires (even tho they dont score as well as the others). What's the difference between my performance winters and a normal winter tire? What's better?

[ssigur]

I have a E92 with Michelin Alpin performance snow tires with V speed rating. They have the snowflake/mountain in a triangle on them. They are supposed to handle most anything, I am more worried about the ground clearance in heavy snow. I could have got the full blown studded tires but for that condition I will let it sit and wait for my better half to bring the Tacoma 4x4 home.

[mryakan]

Probably wouldn't perform any better than all seasons. Good enough to get you through occasional snow and low temps, but I personally wouldn't be confident having them all year round in Montreal. I had the Michelin Pilot Sport A/S which I believe is in the same category and they are good until the 1st real snow storm then I would change them. In essence they allowed me to be a bit lazy and delay putting the snows on without having to be stuck home on that 1st snow day. But they didn't provide nearly the same traction as the dedicated snows and I know how bad Montreal can get. I almost got stranded there when I had my brand new e36 in late March 97. I had to drive back to Boston where I used to live on the summer tires and couldn't even get out of my parking spot. Now granted you might not get as stuck the tires you have, handling and stopping distance are compromised for sure.

[mryakan]

I have a E92 with Michelin Alpin performance snow tires with V speed rating. They have the snowflake/mountain in a triangle on them. They are supposed to handle most anything, I am more worried about the ground clearance in heavy snow. I could have got the full blown studded tires but for that condition I will let it sit and wait for my better half to bring the Tacoma 4x4 home.
If they have the snow flake symbol, then they are dedicated snows, although V rated ones may sacrifice a bit of longevity for the added speed rating. I find H rated tires are more than adequate in the winter, after all you will not take them to the track I hope :stickoutt. And yeah, I agree ground clearance can be a big problem esp. with the sports package.

[ssigur]

If they have the snow flake symbol, then they are dedicated snows, although V rated ones may sacrifice a bit of longevity for the added speed rating. I find H rated tires are more than adequate in the winter, after all you will not take them to the track I hope :stickoutt. And yeah, I agree ground clearance can be a big problem esp. with the sports package.

Still has not snowed in the Denver Metro area that mounted to anything, but I am sure the True Test will be here soon. I am from Iceland originally so driving in snow even on all season has never been a issue. It is the ones you don't see coming on their summer sports.

[mryakan]

Still has not snowed in the Denver Metro area that mounted to anything, but I am sure the True Test will be here soon. I am from Iceland originally so driving in snow even on all season has never been a issue. It is the ones you don't see coming on their summer sports.
EXACTLY. And my point is that snows may give you that extra few feet to stop or extra grip in steering away from those idiots without hurting yourself. A couple of winters ago, I had my Michelin Sport A/S on during the 1st snow storm and had to drive my kid to school when this idiot driver in an AWD car came too fast into a corner and started skidding into me (most probably using AS tires not that it matters), luckily I saw that early and started evasive maneuver, and avoided him hitting me by like an inch but ended up hopping the curb and avoiding a tree by less than a foot. I am confident that if I had my snow tires on by that time I would have been able to avoid him with less drama. This year I put my snow tires earlier than usual since I knew the Potenzas would be worthless in the snow.

[ssigur]

EXACTLY. And my point is that snows may give you that extra few feet to stop or extra grip in steering away from those idiots without hurting yourself. A couple of winters ago, I had my Michelin Sport A/S on during the 1st snow storm and had to drive my kid to school when this idiot driver in an AWD car came too fast into a corner and started skidding into me (most probably using AS tires not that it matters), luckily I saw that early and started evasive maneuver, and avoided him hitting me by like an inch but ended up hopping the curb and avoiding a tree by less than a foot. I am confident that if I had my snow tires on by that time I would have been able to avoid him with less drama. This year I put my snow tires earlier than usual since I knew the Potenzas would be worthless in the snow.

You are right on the money, your story tells it all.