motorhead53

Thanks for the response guys. The 17" tires on the car do not seem very aggressive for "all season" so it makes me a little nervous to go over the mountain passes w/out snows or some other traction device. The manual says to go with 225-60-16 for snows and NO chains regardless. I guess I need to go play and get some seat time in the snow to see what it really does! Know any snowy parking lots in PDX?

I am trying to decide on snow tires for my '06 Outback wagon and can't decide whether to go studless or studded for driving in the N.W. I'm in Portland where it can be icy or slushy , but want to travel to Bend etc. with drier snow. These tires would be mounted to separate wheels so as not to wear them (or roads) out when not needed. My only other AWD or 4wd experiences were with a Cherokee and I used studded tires on separate wheels. Are the studless tires really any good on icy/packed snow?