Hi - currently planning a winter road trip. Depends on whether I can find a boarding place for my pooch, my trip could go rather short or quite long.

On the long option, I might venture out all the way to Alamogordo (NM), Albuquerque (NM), Farmington (NM) and Monument Valley (AZ), before driving back to Central TX via Midland and Abilene.

I have summer tires (BFG KDW) now on the car. I am debating whether or not I need to mount all seasons. Anybody has any opinions/experience/advise about this?

If I took the short trip option (Abilene, Midland, Palo Duro, San Angelo, San Antonio), don't think I would need to replace the summer tires since winter here is quite mild. The timing for this trip would be from 12/25 to maybe 12/28 or 12/31, depending on the lenght.

 

For the price of a set of all weather tires for an XKR, you could rent a car that has them on it! Summer-only tires are pretty seriously for well above freezing dry roads. I had a near spinout last year on a dry interstate on-ramp, it was just cold out! I never took it out with the temps near freezing again. The tires are Yoko Advan Sport (still on it).

 

I lived in New Mexico for over 25 years....I can count on the fingers of one hand the number of times I needed snow tires on the highway.

The great thing about the Southwest is that you can drive to go skiing until you are a couple of miles away from the ski area on summer tires, or even all the way if you are good in the snow.....

If you are not planning to ski all the places you mention are very unlikely to have any snow on the roads.

On the other hand we used to say " If god had meant Texans to ski he would have put mountains in Texas."


Just happened to have this link open though if you are really worried:

Using Cookies

I wouldn't sweat it if I were you but then I can drive in the snow.....

Take Pooch, they love road trips.

cheers,

jj

 

I wouldn't buy all-season tires for these cars. I've driven mine many times below freezing without any issues as long as you are careful. On snow they royally suck, but if I were to drive on snow regularly I would use snow tires. All season tires are a compromise and do nothing very well.

 

First, DO THE LONG TRIP! GO TO MONUMENT VALLEY!!! In fact, monument valley is only a couple of hours from Arches National Park. GO TO ARCHES! It's awesome! That's where they filmed all of the Roadrunner cartoons. It's kinda like monument valley compressed into a much smaller space.

Now, about the tires, I grew up in New Mexico. If you're going to do the long trip, you definitely need the all season tires. Northern New Mexico gets a lot of snow. And it gets really cold there at night. Temps in the single digits are not uncommon in most of New Mexico during the winter. The rubber on summer tires gets very hard in cold weather, and the hard rubber causes poor traction, even if the road is dry. I got a set of Continental ExtremeContact DWS tires about a year ago. They are great. They have great reviews on Tirerack.com. On dry pavement with traction control turned off I have trouble breaking traction from a standing start. They are that sticky. But they are also all season tires, and they are supposed to be good in the snow, too. The tread design has the letters D, W, and S recessed into it. They show the tire wear and illustrate when the tires are no longer good for different conditions. In other words, when the S disappears, you should no longer drive in snow. When the W disappears they are no longer good for wet conditions, and when the D disappears you need new tires.

Also... if you want a really awesome, desolate, high-desert drive with lots of wildlife, after leaving Alamogordo drive up to Socorro and take US 60 from Socorro to Show Low, Arizona. Make sure you fill up in Socorro, because there's only 1 gas station for about 200 miles, and it might not be open.

I did that drive last summer and I was just in awe the whole way. We saw a couple of herds of elk, lots of deer, a couple of coyotes, roadrunners... There's mountains all around but you're driving on a high plateau about 7000 feet in elevation. We only saw a handful of cars the whole way from Socorro to Show Low. In December I'd guess there's a good likelihood of snow being on the surrounding mountains, and maybe even on the desert down at road-level.

 

Also, if you're going to Alamogordo, you're not far from Cloudcroft. It's only about a 30-45 minute drive, but you go from the hot, dry desert to the cold wet mountains in that short time. Cloudcroft is at 8700 feet and there's a ski area there. There's an old-timey downtown that looks like it came right out of a western movie. And there is an observatory up there that gives tours.

Heck... I could talk about New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, and Colorado for hours. There is so much stuff to see out there. If I took my XK8 out there in the winter I'd definitely bundle up and put the top down. The scenery is absolutely spectacular.

 

Rev. I agree with everything you said about the beauty of the area and the places to visit....except needing the tires....just me, I grew up in the snow belt, lived in the Sierra Nevadas, the Rockies and the Alps...come to think on it since ROM has lived in similar places to where you have lived it certainly wouldn't hurt him to have all season tires....just not sure he is going to need them....but I am not a weather man.

Rev. what is the wear rating on those Continental's you have, please?

I just saw that I might be able to get them over here despite the cultural reluctance of Europeans to run all season tires.....which manifests itself in everyone having two sets of tires if not wheels...I am going through the change over on three of my cars....not the XKR since I won't be taking it out in the snow...but not only are the mileage ratings much lower from the reviews that I see over here,less than half or a third of what tires are rated at in the US...but they don't put wear markings on them at all.


ROM: You definitely want to get to Arches since you are going through that area it is great any time of the year and you cross the Colorado River from Moab, Utah to get to it....take the road north from the river on the East side of it and drive for 25 miles or so along the river to get a taste of driving through the Grand Canyon.

And be sure to fill up in Moab the stations are few and far between in that area...

Oh yeah watch out for the Sneaky Pete Sheriff of Moab who likes to sit about five miles outside of town and pick off people who judging by the scenery still think they are in the middle of no where only to be told by the Sheriff that Moab township extends about ten miles in either direction from town and that means a 45mph speed limit....nice little tourist tax/revenue generator for the town.

Definitely the best radar detector money can buy country out there in the Southwest.

I always favored Valentines for their directional arrows to let you know where the Smokies were....not that the Laser detector is going to do you any good other than to smile for your photo since if they hit you with Laser you have no chance of slowing down before they have a reading.

Enjoy might see you out there as I need to get to Santa Fe in Feb.

cheers,

jj

 

I used to make the trip between las Vegas and Alamagordo several times a year for quite a few years. The only place I ever encountered enough snow to make me concerned was going through Flagstaff, AZ at over 7000 feet in the winter. The rest of it was cake. Unless you have tires that have become hard due to age or the changing of the compound after xxx miles you should be ok. Some folks complain that tires with the tread pattern of Goodyear GSd3's or Yoko AVS sports are not so hot in bad weather, but who knows what other factors were also involved.

 

Yes...speaking of highway patrol and such: AZ is awful for getting tickets on the highways. Keep your speed withing 5+ or closer to the limit. Also, if you wander up to the north side of the GC around Fredonia or hwy 89 keep yourself at the limit around the towns for sure. One big speed trap.

 

Thks guys. I have not thought about the routes - especially around NM and AZ. I was planning to improvise on the fly, and make adjustments based on the forecast of the day, if I did make it that far.

Did not realize that Arches is relatively close to Monument Valley. I might hit that. I'd be happy if I can get to Farmington and Ship Rock. I was thinking of taking a star trails picture of the car with Ship Rock in the background, now I have to expand that to include at least an Arch.

I'd love to carry my 3 1/2 yr old Sheltie w/ me, but some of the stops along the way are museums which are not pet-friendly, so I have to find a boarding place first for her. Kennel for her is like a summer camp anyway for her ... she gets to play all day with other pups.

If all else fails, I might still take a trip along the Texas Gulf Coast, but that's a consolation prize in my mind .....

 

Your Sheltie would LOVE the trip! And Shelties are covered with fur! She'd be fine in the car for an hour or two while you go into a museum.

And I'll let you in on a little secret. The Americans with Disabilities act forbids an establishment from prohibiting service animals in their establishments. They can prohibit "pets", but not "service animals". So a hotel cannot prohibit you from bringing your dog into your room as long as your dog is a service animal. The hotel cannot charge you extra for bringing your service animal into your room, and they cannot charge you a cleaning fee or anything like that. The hotel can't ask you to prove that your dog is a service animal, and they can't ask you what your medical condition is that requires you to have a service animal. There are lots of types of service animals. We all know about seeing-eye dogs, but dogs are trained to assist people in all sorts of ways. There are dogs for the deaf that alert people to alarms, there are dogs that can sense a pending epileptic seizure... There is no licensing requirement for service animals, either, so pretty much anyone can claim that their dog is a service animal.

I found out about this because I know a lady who manages a Hampton Inn. She told me that if someone comes into their hotel with an animal they are allowed to ask if it is a service animal. If the person says no, then they can tell them that pets aren't allowed. If the person says yes, then they aren't allowed to ask any other questions about the animal and they aren't allowed to prevent the person from getting a room.

If you look online you'll see lots of places that sell the little vests that say "service animal" on them. If your dog happens to be a service animal, then the vest would identify it as such and you'd be much less likely to be questioned. You could even take her into the museums with you.

Of course, I'm not advocating that you claim that your dog is a service animal if she really isn't that would be wrong. I'm just sayin...

Oh yeah... this applies to restaurants, grocery stores, AIRPLANES... Just about every establishment open to the public has to comply with the ADA. Although I'm sure an airline is going to want you to book an extra seat for the service animal, and they'd probably have some paperwork for you to fill out.

 

Looking at 2006 XK8 convertibles now. Wife wants one for Christmas. If I can steal one, I'll probably do it. Like many dealers tend to do these days, it has new (but cheap) Korean summer tires on it. I will use that fact as I attempt to bludgeon the price down to steal-it territory....

I've done as much tire research as I have research on the XK8. I want a decent set of all-season tires on the car. Our winters aren't frigid, but we do get down into the single digits from time to time. Routinely down into the teens all winter long. Not a good environment for summer tires....

I like a relatively new ultra-high performance all-season tire made by Yokohama only for Discount Tire. It is called the Yokohama YK580. It is rated 580/A/A for treadwear/traction/temperature. It comes with a 45,000-mile or better treadwear warranty. It is very reasonably priced. Again, it is available only at Discount Tire. If I indeed purchase an XK8 for my wife, I bet that I'll eventually try a set of these tires on it....

As Sam said, the Continental DWS tire is also a good choice. But I believe the Yokohamas will last quite a bit longer, and that's why I'll probably try them if we buy the car....

 

It always snows in Flagstaff....doesn't matter what time of year it is....but it doesn't stick to the road very often.


Rev;

I knew service dogs could go anywhere but was always thinking it would only work if you were 'blind'....wish I had known about this before our beloved Jason, a Golden Retriever, unexpectedly passed away this summer.

I was always trying to think up ways to take him to new places cause he loved doing new things and meeting people.

He would have loved Hawaii.

cheers,

jj

 

Check out this link, jamjax:

Commonly Asked Questions About Service Animals in Places of Business

 

thanks Rev;

Now I know.

Check out the snap of 'Handsome Jason'....I attached above....I could have passed for blind there....

It is not obvious but we are actually sitting in our old pristine '96 325 BMW Convertible....we always had to flip for it to see who would drive....

PS Please tell me the wear rating on your "Conti's"

Here is a real service dog:

http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=P9Fyey4D5hg

cheers,

jj

 

They are 540 AA whatever that means. Here's a link to their complete description in tirerack.com:

Continental ExtremeContact DWS

And here's the page that shows their ranking among tirerack.com purchasers

Consumer Survey Results By Category

 

Rev. the AA refers to the temperature and handling, both are the best, and the 540 is their wear rating based on an average tire with a scale of 100 for wear....which is to say it will wear more than five times as much as an average tire....unless you are heavy footed in acceleration, braking and hard cornering you should get over 100,000 miles on them even though the XK's are notorious for eating tires.

Somewhere on the Tirerack site they explain all of this better than I do.

I am going to see about trying to get some over here now that I have a sympathetic garage.

But they may be unobtainable here as the tire companies have a good thing going with what would be about wear ratings of 30 vs. 100 and have brain washed every one into believing they need winter and summer tires.

Which if you are going for ultimate performance it true...but the reality is no one really drives 10/10ths in a GT car for more than a couple of minutes, if ever they get above even 6/10ths.

As my instructor at Skip Barber racing school memorably said with a beatific smile on his face " A squealing tire is a happy tire!" Which for some reason always makes me think of baby pigs.

But I never hear the piggies squealing these days when I drive.

Thanks again for the info,

cheers,

jj

 

Sorry, but you are not going to get 100,000 miles on ANY set of ultra-high performance all-season tires unless you're driving exclusively on pillow-top mattresses....

You'll be fortunate to get 40,000 to 45,000 miles depending upon how well you take care of the tires....

 

Before the New Year I will have put 64K miles on my Kuhmo all season tires. I still have a ways to go before the tread depth guage shows. Great traction year round. Tires were just over $110 a piece at Tire Rack 5 years ago. Jack

 

Which Kumho "model"? They have a bunch of them....and seem pretty good from reviews.