[venue1947]

because I'm retired and do not have to drive in all kinds of weather to a job, I can pick the time when I will drive some where in the winter months...I don't have my Venue yet to see how good the tries are on it from the factory...I now they say they are mud and snow which could be good enough for winter...I've always used Michelin all season tires on my daily driver, and as well my daily driver is a standard where I have much better control than an automatic in the snow and ice, and a standard gives you better braking if you do it right...the Venue I'm getting is the Ultimate model in Canada and is the Limited in the US, and they are automatics...when I have to make a tire change I'm seriously thinking of getting the tires that can be used year round and they also have the winter rating...as of now I know of 2 tire manufactures that make these kind of tires, which are Michelin Crossclimate2 tires, and Firestone Weathergrip tires...here in Canada tires that are for winter will have the snow flake marking on them, and both of these 2 tires I mention have the snow flake marking, so they are recognized as winter tires as well as the other 3 seasons...if you have ever seen these or want to look them up you'll see a different tread on them and as well the material that they are made of will be different then the standard non winter tire.

so my question is, have any of you that will have some winter driving to do have ever gotten these type of tires or know anyone who has, and if they do the job...here in Canada some provinces make it mandatory that in winter you have to have snow tires that have the snow flake...because of the cost of owning 2 sets of tires is not what I want to do, so one set is good enough for me and especially because I don't have to drive in snowy conditions...I know these type of tires are fairly new so there probably is not many people that have them, and as well by the time I wear out my tires that will come with the car, the manufactures will have more of these and more then likely have made them better as well.

 

[Essential_22_MT6]

My 2 cents:
My Venue Essential came with Hankook Kinergy GT's which are ok for most year; except in Icy or Heavy Snow conditions.
Next Winter Season I will get Firestone Winterforce 2 tires which are my favorite tire for even all weather. I had them in my 2009 Subaru Impreza for 3 years, put about 30000KM on them and when I traded the car they still had 80% thread; and I even had them on for 2 summers and they performed well; everyone was telling me "You are gonna wear them off quickly if you run them in Warm/Hot weather."; I think they were as good as any 'All Season' tire with the benefit of the 'Snowflake 'for Winter Driving. Granted, the AWD capabilities of a Subaru made it great in Winter driving, on more than one occasion I saw stranded cars in Snowy weather while my Subaru was just going and going.

Another thing to consider is that the Venue is a FWD only; and some models come with 'Snow Mode' Driving; mine does not since is the basic model. I understand, is a nuisance to have 2 sets of tires.

 

[venue1947]

My 2 cents:
My Venue Essential came with Hankook Kinergy GT's which are ok for most year; except in Icy or Heavy Snow conditions.
Next Winter Season I will get Firestone Winterforce 2 tires which are my favorite tire for even all weather. I had them in my 2009 Subaru Impreza for 3 years, put about 30000KM on them and when I traded the car they still had 80% thread; and I even had them on for 2 summers and they performed well; everyone was telling me "You are gonna wear them off quickly if you run them in Warm/Hot weather."; I think they were as good as any 'All Season' tire with the benefit of the 'Snowflake 'for Winter Driving. Granted, the AWD capabilities of a Subaru made it great in Winter driving, on more than one occasion I saw stranded cars in Snowy weather while my Subaru was just going and going.

Another thing to consider is that the Venue is a FWD only; and some models come with 'Snow Mode' Driving; mine does not since is the basic model. I understand, is a nuisance to have 2 sets of tires.

View attachment 1236

mine will have the snow mode and I'm sure at some point I'll more then likely get the new type of year round tire like the Firestone Weathergrip tires especially because of my driving needs.

 

[imaddicted2u]

I've never put winter tires on a car in my life, until the Venue. My insurance company has a discount for running winter tires. I bought the cheapest winter, non studded, tires I could find. Bought them at Canadian Tire. They provide a road hazard warranty. Most tire manufacturers only cover manufacturing defects nowadays. They rotate for free every 8000km and fix flats for free. I paid $200 for all four 15" tires. The combination of winter tires on and snow mode made me almost too confident this winter...found myself driving way too fast for conditions.

 

[mayo]

I’ve heard good things about the cross climates and if I was driving in your conditions, would probably go with them. I drove this winter in West Virginia on the stock all seasons, and with snowmode had no issue with traction in the snow here. That driving mode is the tits in any low traction environment.👍🏼

 

[venue1947]

I’ve heard good things about the cross climates and if I was driving in your conditions, would probably go with them. I drove this winter in West Virginia on the stock all seasons, and with snowmode had no issue with traction in the snow here. That driving mode is the tits in any low traction environment.👍🏼

over the years I have never had snow tires either and mostly had all season Michelin tires and they did the job and probably mostly because the car was 5 speed standard and front wheel drive where I could use 2nd gear to pull away in heavy and slippery snow, and I drove accordingly to the conditions and also used the transmission to help braking...I live with about 5 months of winter snow and have read testing with the snow mode and how it really works, so glad to see you are happy with it...I'm getting the Ultimate model, do you shut off traction control when you use snow mode or does the computer take over what traction control normally does, or does the mode add to the traction control workings...the reason I ask is that the snow mode I believe starts in second gear mode and with traction control on there may be a conflict between the two control modes?

 

[imaddicted2u]

If it wasn't for the insurance discount and the cheapness of the winter tires, I would have run the stock tire in winter.
Here in Nova Scotia winter tires are not mandated, at least not yet but there is a push to change the law. Snowflake tires are required in British Columbia and Quebec so keep that in mind if you plan on traveling there in winter.

 

[imaddicted2u]

When in snow mode everything else works normally, as it should. You have to remember to select snow mode each time you start the Venue.

 

[imaddicted2u]

 

[venue1947]

If it wasn't for the insurance discount and the cheapness of the winter tires, I would have run the stock tire in winter.
Here in Nova Scotia winter tires are not mandated, at least not yet but there is a push to change the law. Snowflake tires are required in British Columbia and Quebec so keep that in mind if you plan on traveling there in winter.

I'm just thinking of the extra expense of having 2 sets of tires and the pain in the butt having to either change them out twice a year and re-balancing them or buying a set of cheap wheels to put the snows on and doing the swap of wheels and tires myself or having a garage to do it...but being retired and having the option of only driving when I want to and when road conditions are good I just want to have one set of tires and with the newer types that are now out there that qualify for winter as well as the rest of the year that's a better option for myself, and as well the Venue Ultimate fits the bill for me and it's my daily driver...I have a 1999 Camaro SS convertible with the LS1 engine in the garage that has never see a winter that I bought it new and is 1 of 63 that was built for Canada to take care of my needs that the Venue won't give me and in reality the Venue takes care of my needs that the Camaro won't do for me 😁...here in Ontario they haven't mandated the snow tires yet, but like governments changing things so often, that might change here as well.🙄

 

[imaddicted2u]

I bought a set of rims from an old Accent for the winters to live on so no remounting and I change them over myself. My insurance savings for running snowflakes will pay for my "cheap" winter tires over a couple of years.

 

[imaddicted2u]

So when I went back to the car with my first Android phone, it wouldn't connect again.
Deleted both phones and re-added the first phone. So far so good. I'll re-add the other phone after this one works for a bit.