I have a 2014 Forester and am heading from Portland to snow country next weekend and to Yellowstone in February. Can I rely on the all-weather tires the car came with or do I need either snow tires or chains for an emergency?

 

nachurch57,

 

It comes down to spending say $1000 on steel wheels and dedicated winter tires, or spending several times that on collision damage, towing, car rental, hotel stays and possibly horrendous hospital bills. Its a decision you will have to weigh and balance.

 

My first OBW LTD went through one month of winter with its original tires. The difference in grip when I installed snow tires was immense. I soon learned to be more afraid of the other drivers without AWD and winter tires than I did the snow and ice. There simply isn't any more white knuckled driving, except for visibility ... or the other drivers.

 

Personally I wouldn't put a key in the ignition without proper winter tires, if I was travelling anywhere where there is winter snows and ice. And yes, my 2012 OBW LTD is presently equipped with the best ice tires that Michelin sells. My wife's Lexus does as well, but if there's a hint of it being nasty, only the OBW leaves the garage.

Edited January 18, 201511 yr by gbhrps

It all depends one what type of all weather tires that are one it. 

 

I live in Colorado in snow country and all I have ever ran have been a all weather type of tire and they have never failed me in the snow from a couple of inches to a foot of snow, and I was doing a 30 mile comute every day.  Now if you are planning on going off road of any sorts then all bets are off, but for highway driving on pavemant I wouldn't sweat it.

Edited January 18, 201511 yr by jp98

I have a friend with a 2014 also with factory tires. i have pulled him out of the snow more then once already. GET SNOW TIRES! (hancook makes a very good and affordable option, the ipike) worth every penny.

I didn't think Subarus were self-driving, at least not yet.

All weather tires will work in snow, but they're far from ideal. The difference between an all season and a true snow tire is HUGE when you actually compare the two in snow.

Even with snow tires, a set of chains is a good idea to have on hand in case you get into something really slick.

That is true about all season vrs snow tires, but if someone is just driving to a area for a vacation or passing through it there is no reason to purchase a set of tires that he will only put a few thousand miles on.  As I said in my other post, the all season tires that I have been running on my Outback for the last 50,000 miles have worked great for freeway or highway driving in Colorado snow belt from my home at 6500' to where I used to work in Vail at 8200' along with over the top of VAil pass 11,000' in snowstorms without missing a beat.  It has never been stuck or needed to be pulled out of a snow driff, but then that may be the way that I know how to drive and avoid those kind of places.

 

Now if you live in a heavy snow country and feel the need to put some snow tread type tires on then there is no problems doing so.  But to the OP's post I would just purchase some good cable chains that you can return if they are not used and head to snow country. 

Tire rack lists this tire as the factory tire.  Under the pictures are the results for their surveys.  At the bottom of the survey results, there is a link to all the all season tires for this vehicle so you can compare, you may actually have a different brand tire because I think all the vehicles at the dealer where I bought by Legacy had Bridgestone tires on them.

 

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Yokohama&tireModel=Geolandar+G91F&partnum=26HR7GEOHT&vehicleSearch=true&fromCompare1=yes&autoMake=Subaru&autoYear=2014&autoModel=Forester&autoModClar=2.5i&tab=Survey

 

You can also look at all the sizes available and compare to other tires.  Some all season tires are a lot better in winter than others.  If you have that one shown as OEM, that was one of the worst in snow and ice.