How to stud your own tires for winter
- Thread starter HunterAK
- Start date
Hankook RT03 and Firestone Destination MT are pinned for studs, but I believe it takes a special tool to stick them in, at 80 to 100 studs per tire ramming them in with pliers would likely get old real fast.
Don't stud them yourself --- there is a reason the shops only will do it when they are BRAND new. If there is even a tiny little stone in there it will work it's way through and cause a leak once the stud is jammed in.
Also it is a BITCH to try and get them in even with the smaller hand held guns. Don't bother.
Also it is a BITCH to try and get them in even with the smaller hand held guns. Don't bother.
B
Bimmerwerkes
Guest
Ha... thats funny.
I've studded MANY tires, both new and used.
I've always used a tire stud gun, it's a pneumatic tool that inserts studs into a pre-drilled whole.
If it's a used snow tire theres a good chance theres a pebble or something in the stud hole that will wear into the tire and create a leak or flat. I believe thats why most won't stud used tires, and I think it is sound reasoning.
With a used tire you can drill new stud holes. Anything with enough tread can be studded, obviously an all season or M&S will perform beter.
PM if you want some more info
I've studded MANY tires, both new and used.
I've always used a tire stud gun, it's a pneumatic tool that inserts studs into a pre-drilled whole.
If it's a used snow tire theres a good chance theres a pebble or something in the stud hole that will wear into the tire and create a leak or flat. I believe thats why most won't stud used tires, and I think it is sound reasoning.
With a used tire you can drill new stud holes. Anything with enough tread can be studded, obviously an all season or M&S will perform beter.
PM if you want some more info
having a tire siped will improve traction over a wider range of conditions then studding will.
it also will allow a tire to be used for as much as 40% longer then a un-siped tire.
it also will allow a tire to be used for as much as 40% longer then a un-siped tire.
MUSKYMAN said:
In most places. We drive on a sheer slate of ice for 6-7 months up here. Studs are UNSTOPPABLE vs. siped tires.
Check out Green Diamond tires..... much better on glare ice than studs ever will be.
http://www.greendiamondtire.com/
http://www.greendiamondtire.com/
there is a great study out there on what works in different conditions.
It was done by TRC (transportation research center)
as the study unfolded they came back with some somewhat surprizing results.
studs are only the best on glare ice, glazed frozen compacted snow they were less effective then a number of winter performance tires.
particulate embeded tires such as the blizzaks and green diamonds had very little improvement over winter performance tires on ice and lost dramatic amounts of performance on wet roads.
the clear winner across all winter road conditions were simple dedicated snow performance tires. the highest scores went to the hakka's, michelin alpines, firerstone winterforce and bridgstone blizzaks with the micro pores.
studs performed so poorly on the wet road(most common winter condition)that they had a whole section on cautions about studded tires.
this study used to be linked from the tire-rack winter tire section...I cant seem to find it now but it was great reading.
It was done by TRC (transportation research center)
as the study unfolded they came back with some somewhat surprizing results.
studs are only the best on glare ice, glazed frozen compacted snow they were less effective then a number of winter performance tires.
particulate embeded tires such as the blizzaks and green diamonds had very little improvement over winter performance tires on ice and lost dramatic amounts of performance on wet roads.
the clear winner across all winter road conditions were simple dedicated snow performance tires. the highest scores went to the hakka's, michelin alpines, firerstone winterforce and bridgstone blizzaks with the micro pores.
studs performed so poorly on the wet road(most common winter condition)that they had a whole section on cautions about studded tires.
this study used to be linked from the tire-rack winter tire section...I cant seem to find it now but it was great reading.
Some good reading:
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/testDisplay.jsp?ttid=111
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/testDisplay.jsp?ttid=94
I too have seen/read the other tests too - studs are not the way to go anymore at all. False security for sure.
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/testDisplay.jsp?ttid=111
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/testDisplay.jsp?ttid=94
I too have seen/read the other tests too - studs are not the way to go anymore at all. False security for sure.
All articles aside, I have had blizzaks and I've had studs in a pretty harsh winter environment up here. Studs outperformed the blizzaks. the Studless are OK, but when you NEED to stop, studs bite into the ice, studless do not. Not everyone may have had my experience, but I feel pretty damn secure with studs on... not so much with studless.
I wont argue about driving in AK...but of the thousands of people on this board only a few live in AK.
I used to keep a truck in northern wisconsin and the studded tires worked well up there in winter but they have since been banned up there...as well as most states.
having been running high end winter performance tires for about 20 years now I have to say the improvement over other tires is so dramatic that everybody should do it if they drive in winter condition often.
I used to keep a truck in northern wisconsin and the studded tires worked well up there in winter but they have since been banned up there...as well as most states.
having been running high end winter performance tires for about 20 years now I have to say the improvement over other tires is so dramatic that everybody should do it if they drive in winter condition often.
Roving Beetle said:
the second test mirrors the results that TRC had a number of years ago.
I am a bit let down that they did not test the winterforce without the studs as the TRC test had and the tires without the studs performed better then the ones with the studs.
some people will always insist on studs but yet there is pretty clear evidence that todays technology has surpassed that old time stud technology of the past.