Do you guys think snow tires are needed or worth it for Atlanta?

I have runflats now and want to get new tires soon. I'm wondering if I should just get summer performance tires all year round as it snows only once or twice a year if that. And if it does, it doesn't snow a lot. Or should I just get all seasons tires?

 

For Atlanta, I vote no to snow tires.

We live in the mountains of VA and have four cars, but no winter/snow tires. We don't need to get out until the snow has melted or been plowed, so A/S tires have worked well for us. I have Extreme Performance Summer tires on one car, so that car never gets out in the snow, and those tires don't even work very well when it's cold.

High performance summer versus high performance A/S is a tougher question, I think. The better choice may depend on how important it is to have maximum handling and grip in warm dry weather compared to having tires that can better handle cold, wet, and light snow/slush conditions.

Several years ago my wife had a terrible time getting home in very light snow in our M3 with its maximum performance summer tires. Thus, I switched to high performance A/S tires for that car, and the expected cold/wet gains and warm/dry losses were both quite noticeable.

We've always had high performance A/S non-run-flats on the MINI, but I imagine the gains and losses from tire choice would be similar; maybe even more exaggerated, as the fronts have to do almost all the work.

 

lmao, ummm no

 

No...a snowtire will feel "greasy" when the temps are above about 45....
Get a high performance or UHP all-season tire....i'll you will like it more 99% of the time.

 

Thanks for the feedback! I will look into HP or UHP A/S.

 

I'm looking to pick up a 2nd set of wheels and run all-seasons for the "winter" here in ATL and keep my summer tires for the extra fun months!