jjeff said:
What would you do in my case? Living in CO I'd have to think your climate might be similar to mine, more snow in yours and colder weather in mine. I also wonder just how much better traction my daughter might get with real snow tires compared to the M+S variety I'm used to.
Your details differ from mine but here are the considerations we used ...
We have two EVs, a LEAF and a Model 3 and most of the time only one car is being used. It would be distinctly unusual for us to be forced to use both cars at the same time. Also (to mention the obvious,) the Model 3 can be used for any task while the LEAF is our city car. With that in mind I decided to outfit the LEAF with tyres that could handle most but not all of our winter days.
I have two sets of tyres+wheels for the Model 3: the OEM that came with the car which are NOT a good choice for winter driving, and X-ICE for the winter season. I'm not bothered by the seasonal swap since it needs to be done anyway for tyre rotation and we have the room and tools needed at home. My decision to buy another wheel set for the Tesla was based on a presumption that we would keep the Model 3 for a long time. Break-even costs are after ~ 3 years based on $180 per year ($90*2) to mount and balance.
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1KoSGo5lRQgRLzpizpX1OCem6rN75fIKLHYA0euzgmeU/edit?usp=sharing
Our LEAF works out to one tyre rotation a year for tread wear reasons. Regarding efficiency, I decided to make that a lower priority for the LEAF tyres since the car is only driven about 4,000 miles a year. So far the miles/kwh has stayed steady at 4.9 so they seem OK.
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One other thing to mention: Cold (less than say 25F) should be viewed the same as ice and snow on the road. 3-peak rated tyres stay supple and continue to provide grip while that cannot be relied upon in tyres not rated 3-peak.
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In your shoes ..... hmmm.
My first thought would be that the LEAF will not be around long enough to invest in two sets of tyres (let alone wheels) and the car is not going to pile on a lot of miles so treadwear rating can be ignored. So this comes down to buying ONE tyre set that get rotated every 5,000 miles or so to reduce uneven wear. I would look for a very good (not quite as good as a dedicated snow) 3-peak tyre with decent (it will not be the best) rolling resistance. You might be tempted to just use a dedicated winter tyre and with good reason, but you are constrained by the LEAF's range. American retailers do not typically report rolling resistance so I rely on the European tyre label. The names are different but you can find the American twins by matching the tread pattern.
This review
https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/testDisplay.jsp?ttid=231
is not bad
Here is the Michelin crossclimate
https://mb.cision.com/Public/55/9770600/b55333ae60143382.pdf
it gets a C rating for rolling resistance on the European scale.
I'm not quite sure why but I trust this crossclimate more than the weatherReady for MN. Take with a grain of salt.