Winter tires, yay or nay?

[verobel]

Many people do not appreciate the extra 700lb load you are carrying for the LIPO batteries in the LEAF. When accelerating
it works against you (costs energy) when coasting in regen mode it works for you. When driving on slippery winter roads it
works for you by providing extra traction. 700 lb is like carrying 3 passengers around all day and maybey a bag of salt in the
trunk. When driving on a bumpy road it helps smooth out the ride. The suspension must be heavier to handle the extra weight.

Having said all this, my experience in snow and slush is that I have better traction than most cars and rarely spin in takeoff
when using ECO mode. But beware, in deeper snow conditions (say 6 inches on the road or more) and going through a curve
at speed (70 kph or higher); if there is ice or slushy snow and salt slurry under the snow, you may go into a 4 wheel drift.

This has happened to me 3 times. Fortunately I let up on the accelerator and slowed as I hit the shoulder and got enough traction
to get her back on the road. You may not be so lucky.

Moral of the story is, slow down if you cannot see far ahead or if the road is slippery and there are any curves. The extra
weight of the car works against you if the wheels start to slip.
John

[greengate]

I'd be reluctant to put on winter/snow tires because yesterday I encountered a 6 inch "barricade" of snow and the Leaf was dead in the water in trying to go through it without a run at it.

The car would not move forward even with the accelerator to the floor. Just stood there.

Putting it into reverse, I was able to back away for a run at it, which finally worked.

[dgpcolorado]

I'd be reluctant to put on winter/snow tires because yesterday I encountered a 6 inch "barricade" of snow and the Leaf was dead in the water in trying to go through it without a run at it.

The car would not move forward even with the accelerator to the floor. Just stood there.

Putting it into reverse, I was able to back away for a run at it, which finally worked.

Even with traction control off? In slick conditions I find that it is necessary to turn the traction control off to have a chance to get up my steep curved driveway. If that doesn't work I have to break out the traction mats (short distance left to go, or to get the car back onto the driveway) or chains (for longer distances in slick conditions. On the flat the LEAF does pretty well pushing through snow, although it is sometimes like steering a boat: a little to the left awhile then a little to the right and I more or less end up heading where I want to go.

...The Leaf I will leave with the stock tires as the times when I have to drive in snow like today will only happen a couple times a year and it was fine for me.

Keep in mind that as the stock tires wear their snow traction will decline. In my third winter on mine the snow traction isn't nearly as good as when they were new. Nevertheless, like you I mostly drive roads that aren't snowpacked and I need the extra range of the LRR tires. If I have to go somewhere in difficult conditions I can take my Jeep.

[kubel]

Absolutely, yes. Buy winter tires. You can find LRR winter tires. See Michelin X-Ice Xi3.

[GREENEV]

Living in Denver, CO is a hit or miss decision whether or not to install snow tires on a LEAF. I purchased a complete set of Continental Extreme Winter Contact Snow Tires for my 2012 LEAF at the end of 2013. The entire set cost me $600 plus mounting and balancing. Not cheap. It was an expense I didn't want to endure, but eventually convinced myself that it was important.

Believe it or not, Denver Metro doesn't receive a lot of snow annually. We do get a lot of little dinky storms here and there, but I haven't seen many 12-20 inchers in quite sometime. In addition, Denver does get a lot of 50-60 degree days during the winter months which makes for a complete waste of winter rubber. But, on the other hand Denver does receive a lot of very cold days and nights where winter rubber is important. Winter rubber is not only beneficial for snow. Winter rubber has certain flexing characteristics not seen in summer or all-season tires.

Do I regret getting snow tires? Well, yes and no. When it snows, I love it. When I need to travel "far" distances I hate it. My range has suffered tremendously. Between the elevation variances here in Denver and the snow tires, my range suffers big time. We're talking anywhere from 30-45 miles tops out of a full charge.

When I purchased the winter tires, I looked very specifically at the weight of each tire. The Conti's weighed less than all the other winter rubber I considered. What the tire manufacturer doesn't tell you is what type of rolling resistance the tire has. I only looked at the weight thinking that was all I needed to know. Wrong!

[mwalsh]

What is this thing you call "winter"?

[NeilBlanchard]

Another excellent LRR winter tire is the Nokian Hakka R2.

[kubel]

http://www.google.org/publicalerts/aler ... source=web" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I just drove 22 miles through that to my parents house. There's 8 inches of snow out there, soon to be around 14 inches or more. I wouldn't have made it here without snow tires. I'm just hoping I can make it back.

[LeftieBiker]

I've driven in much more snow than that with my hard compound snow tires. Don't worry about it - just be careful.

[kubel]