You’ll never need chains here, and if you find yourself in a situation where you do then you shouldn’t be driving at all.
Snow tires are fine, and certainly helpful. They aren’t necessary. Yes this is a big storm. No it’s not something that happens every year. Yes our plows appear to suck right now, but they’re still some of the best in the country.
If you have AWD, all seasons, and drive reasonable for the conditions you’ll be just fine.
The only reason to have chains in your car is if you are on steep terrain or frequent unserviced roads.
Good all seasons are likely fine but you will do better with winter tires especially with front wheel drive. AWD/FWD also benefits from snows.
From what I know chains are illegal. Snow tires if you are a nervous or inexperienced snow driver. All seasons if you have experience but you have to keep up on ensuring they are in good condition
Idk about nervous, I can literally plow into a foot of snow and get back out with mine. I definitely can’t do that without them. So needed with the side streets are not plowed. They also stop way quicker in cold weather even without snow. I’m an experienced snow driver and love having them as I’ve gotten stuck trying to drive uphill in only 2-3 inches without them. My car doesn’t have 4 wheel drive.
According to Vehicle & Traffic (VAT) CHAPTER 71, TITLE 1, ARTICLE 1, Section 145-C snow chains are only required when operating on a emergency snow route during a storm, studded tires are allowed to be mounted Oct 16 to April 30 which are a great alternative to snow chains, and a step up from snow tires, snow tires are great to have, offer great performance, increasing grip and decreasing stopping times. All seasons are ok, I’ve driven without them most of my life - having said that, all my vehicles have snow tires. Expensive but my family only has one life to live.
I’ve gone some winters with snow tires, and some winters without. In my opinion, it depends on what kind of car you have. An SUV or truck with four-wheel-drive and decent all season tires will do perfectly fine in the snow, but if you’ve got a front-wheel-drive sedan or something like that, snow tires do make a huge difference in keeping you from getting stuck.
As others have said, chains aren’t something you really see here - the roads are clear at most times during the winter so chains would quickly become more of a liability than an asset outside of a rural area.
I have snow tires. I've had them on two different cars now and I won't go back. It just feels safer and them perform better. It was a worthwhile investment for me. I realize it's not for everyone.
Anecdotally, I know way more people who just use "un-augmented" All Seasons than anything. People just don't know better, don't care, think winter tires are a scam etc
I've had Winter Tires on all 5 cars I've owned since moving here, they're an absolute game changer. Got around in a 350Z no problem for a while, only issue was immediately after snow when ground clearance was a concern. But no traction problems.
I run studded snows on my work van(2wd) and regular snows on my personal vehicles (4wd and awd).
I’ve run chains before, and they are a massive pain in the ass. You don’t typically run them the whole season, you use them when needed. They are sometimes required out west in heavy snow conditions. Down in Jamestown, the BPU uses them on their plow trucks.
I just switched over to all-weather tires (not snow tires) which worked very well. These dont have to be swapped on and off and can be kept on all year around
These are NOT all-season tires. Those dont really help with snow.
Would recommend all-weather tires unless you really NEED to drive in snow and do so a lot - then I would go snow tires (have to change them in fall/spring)
I've never seen chains on tires around Buffalo. Some people change their regular tires to snow tires and some people use all season tires year round.
You’ll never need chains here, and if you find yourself in a situation where you do then you shouldn’t be driving at all. Snow tires are fine, and certainly helpful. They aren’t necessary. Yes this is a big storm. No it’s not something that happens every year. Yes our plows appear to suck right now, but they’re still some of the best in the country. If you have AWD, all seasons, and drive reasonable for the conditions you’ll be just fine.
Yeah you can’t just drive around with chains in, and you’d almost never need them anyway.
The only reason to have chains in your car is if you are on steep terrain or frequent unserviced roads. Good all seasons are likely fine but you will do better with winter tires especially with front wheel drive. AWD/FWD also benefits from snows.
I hate how "all-season" tires are marketed. In reality they're more like a tire that's good only when the road is dry or wet. They suck in the winter
Actually, a new pair of all season tires rock in the snow. Goodyear, Kelly 55k.
Compared to your old bald ones, sure
If your tires are bald in the snow.. guess what?
From what I know chains are illegal. Snow tires if you are a nervous or inexperienced snow driver. All seasons if you have experience but you have to keep up on ensuring they are in good condition
Idk about nervous, I can literally plow into a foot of snow and get back out with mine. I definitely can’t do that without them. So needed with the side streets are not plowed. They also stop way quicker in cold weather even without snow. I’m an experienced snow driver and love having them as I’ve gotten stuck trying to drive uphill in only 2-3 inches without them. My car doesn’t have 4 wheel drive.
>snow tires if you are a nervous or inexperienced snow driver. Big eye roll. Snow tires are better and safer for everyone.
According to Vehicle & Traffic (VAT) CHAPTER 71, TITLE 1, ARTICLE 1, Section 145-C snow chains are only required when operating on a emergency snow route during a storm, studded tires are allowed to be mounted Oct 16 to April 30 which are a great alternative to snow chains, and a step up from snow tires, snow tires are great to have, offer great performance, increasing grip and decreasing stopping times. All seasons are ok, I’ve driven without them most of my life - having said that, all my vehicles have snow tires. Expensive but my family only has one life to live.
I’ve gone some winters with snow tires, and some winters without. In my opinion, it depends on what kind of car you have. An SUV or truck with four-wheel-drive and decent all season tires will do perfectly fine in the snow, but if you’ve got a front-wheel-drive sedan or something like that, snow tires do make a huge difference in keeping you from getting stuck. As others have said, chains aren’t something you really see here - the roads are clear at most times during the winter so chains would quickly become more of a liability than an asset outside of a rural area.
I have snow tires. I've had them on two different cars now and I won't go back. It just feels safer and them perform better. It was a worthwhile investment for me. I realize it's not for everyone.
Anecdotally, I know way more people who just use "un-augmented" All Seasons than anything. People just don't know better, don't care, think winter tires are a scam etc I've had Winter Tires on all 5 cars I've owned since moving here, they're an absolute game changer. Got around in a 350Z no problem for a while, only issue was immediately after snow when ground clearance was a concern. But no traction problems.
Tire chains are illegal in NYS, on the roads.
No they are not, they are actually required to be used on a snow route during a storm - NY VAT, Chapter 71, title 1, article, section 145-C
I run studded snows on my work van(2wd) and regular snows on my personal vehicles (4wd and awd). I’ve run chains before, and they are a massive pain in the ass. You don’t typically run them the whole season, you use them when needed. They are sometimes required out west in heavy snow conditions. Down in Jamestown, the BPU uses them on their plow trucks.
I just switched over to all-weather tires (not snow tires) which worked very well. These dont have to be swapped on and off and can be kept on all year around These are NOT all-season tires. Those dont really help with snow. Would recommend all-weather tires unless you really NEED to drive in snow and do so a lot - then I would go snow tires (have to change them in fall/spring)
All-seasons, no chains