---- Scott Daniel - Turbovans <scottdaniel@TURBOVANS.COM> wrote:

> some people are runnig studless winter tires year round, in vanagon load
> ratings.  That works really well I believe.

Scott, I'm aware of this, too.  However, aren't winter tires compounded specifically for snow and ice, and have less grip and (in some makes) less temperature resistance (which translates to lower speed rating) on pavement than regular year round tires?  I've always been told not to run winter tires except in winter for those reasons.  Of course, where I live now, I don't use winter tires at all, given that we get about 12-15" of snow all winter most years, and seldom have snowy roads.  Of course, with last year's blizzards, that wasn't true.  We had more than enough to satisfy most folks.

Last year, when I was visiting in Spokane, I learned that the state of Washington is phasing out the use of studded tires in favor of studless winter tires.  The studded ones will be illegal eventually.  One make at least (I don't remember which) of studless snow tires has crushed walnut shells in the rubber, which is supposed to give both longer wear (snow tires do not run as many miles as other tires do), and better grip on ice and snow without sacrificing grip on pavement.

DMc