It's Snow tire time!!!

With winter rapidly approaching and along with that snow and ice and other cold white shit the order was handed down to install the snow tires onto the Jetta, even though this vehicle is not farm equipment in any way, shape or form.  Ok so I decided to write up an overview of how to do this and do it the right way.

You will need the following tools to do this task:
-Suitable jack.
-Impact wrench  and appropriate socket or suitable tire tool, like the one that came with the vehicle.
-Torque wrench to make sure the lug nuts are tight enough.
-Source of compressed air, or a tire pump capable of making the required pressure for the tire.
-Tire pressure gauge.

First let's look at the tires, in this case a set of yokohama tires and a set of blizzak snow tires...

All seasons on the left, snow on the right.

 

 

Both of them are directional tires, meaning they are intended to roll in one direction. To mount them the wrong way would be to have driveability concerns, such as possible poor handling and traction.

 

Snow tires in the past generally had studs mounted into them that protruded from the tire itself.  These were only a good option, in my opinion, when you could not run the risk of installing tire chains on your vehicle, such as any front wheel drive car for fear of them coming loose and tearing out the half shafts.  A number of years ago Japan decided to ban studded tires from their roads for whatever reason, so the race to make snow tires without studding them was on.

 





The new generation of snow tire no longer uses studs for increased traction.  If you look closely at the above tire, you can see that there are grooves cut into the tread blocks.  Those grooves are called sipes, and their purpose is to trap snow in them.

Wait, what? Trap snow? I thought these tires were for increased traction on snow covered roads?  The idea here is that nothing sticks to ice and snow, quite like ice and snow.  This is where the increased traction comes into play.  The sipes gather snow and use that to help you stick to the road, though frankly, nothing is going to help you stick to the road if you insist on driving like an idiot. Think about it for a minute: Snow and ice is slippery yet you can build a snowman out of snow. You can do this because snow has a tendency to stick to itself.

Ok, so now that you have read how studless snow tires work, now let's go over how to get them (or any other tires) on the car.


First, using your tire tool loosen the lugs on one wheel (but do not remove them at this time), then jack the car up using a suitable jacking point (check your owners manual) and then, using the tire tool or impact wrench, remove the wheel and then install the snow tire, making sure to check the marked rotation of said tire. Do this four times. 

  

Second, once all the tires are properly mounted, you use the torque wrench to make sure the lug nuts are tight enough so that the tire is not going to come off the vehicle.  Admire your work if you must, but you are not done yet.  These settings can generally be found in the owner's manual.



And this is a click type torque wrench.

 

 

Considering that the snow tires were in storage for at least nine months, the pressure may have dropped from what it should be.  Your next task is to check the pressure in the tires and adjust it accordingly.  The pressure settings are mandated by the Federal DOT to be on a tire placard located in the doorjamb of the driver's door. NEVER inflate to what the maximum pressure is on the sidewall unless the tire placard tells you to do so.  Frankly, the number of people that do this is more than you might think and overinflating your tires will do is adversely affect your handling, tire life, and possibly brake operation.