I'm still running on summer tires this year because it barely snowed at all where I am last winter (I'm in the Milan province). I was wondering if it even makes sense to spend 400-500 euros on 4 winter tires if I might not even use them. How do you guys handle this?
Do you remember at what temperature summer tires start to lose grip? Because that's the real criterion, not the snow. I stay on summer tires in Milan until I regularly drop below 7 degrees, and honestly that happens around mid-December at worst. The thing is, 400-500 euros for 4 new tires is serious money, but if you barely ever head to colder areas or mountains during winter, whoever says it's not worth it has a point: maybe get a decent used set to keep as backup instead, that costs 100-150 euros and solves the problem without bleeding you dry. In my case I take the occasional trip up to the hills, so I have a winter set, but I totally understand that if you always stay in the Milan flatlands it's hard to justify the expense every year.
How many days a year do you actually drive up in the mountains or in areas where there's a risk of ice, even without snow? If you're always in the plains around Milan and basically never go anywhere in winter, then yeah, summer tires might be enough - just keep in mind that below 8°C they lose grip even on dry asphalt, so it really depends on how cold it gets in your area. But if you spend some weekends on riskier roads or travel north, switching tires is almost always worth it for safety, no matter how much it snows: the cost is nothing compared to the risk of an accident. A lot of people in Lombardy like you find themselves in that gray zone where snow is rare, but black ice in the morning at 6am when you head out to work - that's a whole different story.
The matter of winter tires really depends on where you're going, not where you live. If you're always in the Milan area and hardly ever head toward the Alps or hills when it gets cold, then yeah, it doesn't make much sense to spend 400-500 euros on something you won't use. The problem is that a lot of people think "well, it never snows in Milan" and then find themselves driving on summer tires on an icy road the moment they leave the province - and that's when summer tires are actually dangerous.
What few people consider is that the legal deadline is the end of May, but technically you should already have them on by October if you want peace of mind. Some people get around it by saying "well, I'll just put them on when the weather gets bad," but that's not a risk worth taking. If you know for certain you won't be driving in winter, then summer tires are fine; but if you ever head to the mountains, visit friends in colder areas, or simply don't know what the winter will be like, the cost is worth it for the safety rather than the convenience.
Besides, if you're not using the tires, they last longer - if you change them every year that's money down the drain, but if you put them away for the season they easily last a few years. It makes sense to buy them once and have them put on and taken off seasonally rather than trying to dodge risks every winter.
Actually, summer tires in Milan during winter are way more of a hassle than you think: even without snow, at temperatures below 7 degrees they lose grip and fuel consumption goes up noticeably. Instead of shelling out 400-500 euros right away, look into decent all-season tires (like Bridgestone Turanza or Goodyear Vector) that cost less, you keep them year-round and they work well with both occasional cold spells and rain - it's not ideal if you're often in the mountains, but for the Milan province it solves the problem without the pain of swapping them twice a year.
The real question isn't so much whether it snows where you live, but how often you drop below 7 degrees with summer tires. In Milan during winter it happens a lot, and there summer tires really do lose traction and burn more fuel - something the others mentioned but underplayed. The critical point though is this: if you're always on flat ground and never head toward hill or mountain zones even in winter, then whoever says it's not worth it has a point. You only use winter tires if you actually face conditions where they're needed.
That said, there's a catch. If maybe once or twice a year you drive to Valtellina, the Bergamo area, or the lakes for a weekend and hit ice or thin snow, you're in bad shape with summer tires and you're really taking a risk. It's worth thinking about how often that happens. If it's genuinely rare, you can skip it. If it's two or three times over the winter, those 400-500 euros pay for themselves in safety and fuel savings.
An alternative not many consider: decent all-season tires. They're not top-notch in any scenario, but if you're around Milan and at most the occasional mountain trip, they do the job without the hassle of swapping twice a year. It costs less, less headache, and you don't sacrifice anything major. See if it makes sense for your actual driving.
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