Are studded winter tires illegal?

[jasonwermy]

Hey guys!
I was thinking of getting studs inserted into my winters for this up and coming winter. I was wondering if studded tires were illegal in Alberta. I know in other provinces they are. Can someone clarify this for me? Does anyone happen to know how much they may cost as well?

Thanks!

[Remedys]

Re: Are studded winter tires illegal?

They are legal but they hurt braking on wet roads which is Calgary most of the winter. They are good for ice, they are loud as well, most snow tires are made to take studs and it's about $40 a tire to have them added. Also you can only add them to tires from new, if you have used snow tires you will be out of luck.

[lulu]

Re: Are studded winter tires illegal?

^^^^yeap they are very loud, and get anoying if there is no snow

[tirebob]

Re: Are studded winter tires illegal?

Studs by far provide the best ice traction, but they definitely increase road noise dramatically. Tires absolutely must be brand new to stud... You cannot stud a tire that is roaded. It is not safe as there could be little rocks/grit etc buried deep in the pin holes and slamming a stud on top of them could potentially result in a tire failure down the road while driving...

[jasonwermy]

Re: Are studded winter tires illegal?

Are they worth getting?

[popp]

Re: Are studded winter tires illegal?

I believe Nokian studded tires actually suck in when its warm and pop out when cold......

[jasonwermy]

Re: Are studded winter tires illegal?

My issue is when it's dry out it's going to chew up the pavement and it's going to be really loud. I don't think they would be totally useful here since that we don't get a lot of ice, just a lot of snow. I think that studs should apply more to the northren parts of the country. Thanks for the info guys.

[Red90]

Re: Are studded winter tires illegal?

They do not chew up the road. Modern studs are designed to not hurt the pavement. There is not enough of a difference in our conditions versus a very good studless tires wrt traction, though. I have one car with and one car without, so I'm able to do side by side comparisons.

[tirebob]

Re: Are studded winter tires illegal?

Personally I am going to run studded tires this year on my old 2wd truck as it has the shittiest traction imaginable when it is slippery. Last year on brand new winters it was still useless when we had that week long ice storm, so when traffic was creeping and you ended up having to stop on any kind of a grade at all, it was next to impossible to get started again. This year we moved to Airdrie and I don't want to deal with all the idiots on Deerfoot with a truck and crappy ice traction...

If you want the best ice traction possible, studs do that for sure, but it definitely is not for those who expect a quiet ride!

[jasonwermy]

Re: Are studded winter tires illegal?

Personally I am going to run studded tires this year on my old 2wd truck as it has the shittiest traction imaginable when it is slippery. Last year on brand new winters it was still useless when we had that week long ice storm, so when traffic was creeping and you ended up having to stop on any kind of a grade at all, it was next to impossible to get started again. This year we moved to Airdrie and I don't want to deal with all the idiots on Deerfoot with a truck and crappy ice traction...

If you want the best ice traction possible, studs do that for sure, but it definitely is not for those who expect a quiet ride!

Well because of that ice storm that we had last year was part of the reason why I had asked the question about studs. I got caught last year down by Memorial and Edmonton Trail in that residential area that is super hilly. I wasn't able to go up the hill because of the ice. I wasn't able to go down the hill because people had crashed at the bottom of it. I just don't want that to happen again.

[tirebob]

Re: Are studded winter tires illegal?

Well because of that ice storm that we had last year was part of the reason why I had asked the question about studs. I got caught last year down by Memorial and Edmonton Trail in that residential area that is super hilly. I wasn't able to go up the hill because of the ice. I wasn't able to go down the hill because people had crashed at the bottom of it. I just don't want that to happen again.

This is exactly the case where studs will be your new best friend!

[Red90]

Re: Are studded winter tires illegal?

Well because of that ice storm that we had last year was part of the reason why I had asked the question about studs. I got caught last year down by Memorial and Edmonton Trail in that residential area that is super hilly. I wasn't able to go up the hill because of the ice. I wasn't able to go down the hill because people had crashed at the bottom of it. I just don't want that to happen again.

I live there. I could not get up the hill with studded tires. Some conditions are just not possible.

[tirebob]

Re: Are studded winter tires illegal?

I live there. I could not get up the hill with studded tires. Some conditions are just not possible.

Final resort is a wicked set of chains! If those don't help, I think we would need to consider moving south!

[J-hop]

Re: Are studded winter tires illegal?

Final resort is a wicked set of chains! If those don't help, I think we would need to consider moving south!

wasn't there some guy on here asking if he could run chains all the time hahhaha.

Honestly studded tires are a waste of money. I've driven 8 winters in calgary, I have always had a good set of winter tires on my car and the only times i've ever been stuck are when i'm trying to get out of my parking stall after the snow plow has come by and blocked me in.


i've never run into an issue were I needed more traction that wasn't due to my own stupidity (ie driving to fast for the conditions, not picking my lines down side roads properly). All in all it is driver error in the winter that causes accidents not road conditions or equipment (assuming you run good winter tires)

[tirebob]

Re: Are studded winter tires illegal?

wasn't there some guy on here asking if he could run chains all the time hahhaha.

Honestly studded tires are a waste of money. I've driven 8 winters in calgary, I have always had a good set of winter tires on my car and the only times i've ever been stuck are when i'm trying to get out of my parking stall after the snow plow has come by and blocked me in.


i've never run into an issue were I needed more traction that wasn't due to my own stupidity (ie driving to fast for the conditions, not picking my lines down side roads properly). All in all it is driver error in the winter that causes accidents not road conditions or equipment (assuming you run good winter tires)

While it is true that good winters make a massive difference and are more than enough for almost all conditions we see, studs do enhance ice traction a lot, and while you may not "need" them to get by, it can go a long way to making driving on ice a lot less stressful and a much more relaxed experience. We don't always do things because it is 100 percent needed, but more just because it makes it better, and if maximizing ice traction is what you are after, studs do make it better than no studs, period...