Ontario should make winter tires mandatory. | Page 63 | GTAMotorcycle.com

Ontario should make winter tires mandatory.

Got the Nokian WRG3's installed this morning. Too early to give a real opinion but I can say they are quiet and the roll nicely. Just need some actual weather now to find out if all weather tires are the perfect choice for winter city driving for me or not.
 
My winter tires.

Presto-Machine.jpg


Wonder if my insurer will accept that for my 5% discount?
 
Does anyone have a link to the wording of the insurance discount law? My Google skills are lacking, apparently.

A coworker said he bought the Nokian WRG3 "all weather" tires, which have the severe weather logo, for his mother and then talked to her insurance company about the discount and they told him they will not give the discount unless the tires are physically changed over in the winter and therefore all weather tires that are on the car all year do not qualify.
 
Does anyone have a link to the wording of the insurance discount law? My Google skills are lacking, apparently.

A coworker said he bought the Nokian WRG3 "all weather" tires, which have the severe weather logo, for his mother and then talked to her insurance company about the discount and they told him they will not give the discount unless the tires are physically changed over in the winter and therefore all weather tires that are on the car all year do not qualify.

I had Nokians on my minivan, and they really sucked in the winter at Mont Tremblent.

Here's Kal tires summary: https://www.kaltire.com/all-weather-vs-all-season-vs-winter-tires/
 
I had Nokians on my minivan, and they really sucked in the winter at Mont Tremblent.

Here's Kal tires summary: https://www.kaltire.com/all-weather-vs-all-season-vs-winter-tires/

That's misleading. Winter tyres are just as good, if not better, than "3-season" tyres in rain and single-digit temps. The feeling of "instability" is due to sizing down the wheels, and getting a taller side-wall that flexes more. They'll also flex more when its warm (obv), but being flexible doesn't mean they're dangerous and/or unstable. Those rating are for selling tyres, that's all.
 
That's misleading. Winter tyres are just as good, if not better, than "3-season" tyres in rain and single-digit temps. The feeling of "instability" is due to sizing down the wheels, and getting a taller side-wall that flexes more. They'll also flex more when its warm (obv), but being flexible doesn't mean they're dangerous and/or unstable. Those rating are for selling tyres, that's all.
I think we're talking the difference between "All weather" and "Snow" tires. Here's a Star article, that sounded like an advert for All weather tires: http://www.thestar.com/autos/2015/10/31/all-weather-tires-vs-winter-tires-whats-the-difference.html


and an another article from the Globe: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/glob...ther-tires-a-good-compromise/article16190526/

For insurance purposes, they may want the tires to be dedicated snow tires, since they will tend to get worn down less than the All Weather, and do better in ice and snow conditions.

If they hadn't worn so fast on me, I could see All Weather tires as being good for typical Toronto winters. Here they just all around sucked, but I didn't want to put any extra money into a 11 year old car, and both my all season and snow tires were shot.

p.s. Which tires are you calling winter tires? The "snow" tires or the "all weather"?
 
@Kri$han what insurance company?
Edit
I put the wrong @ name in. Sorry. It seems answers have been posted since then.

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I just want to know if they technically qualify for the discount. Before the discount was mandated I'm sure they can be as picky as they want but I thought the only requirement now was the snowflake/mountain symbol?
 
I just want to know if they technically qualify for the discount. Before the discount was mandated I'm sure they can be as picky as they want but I thought the only requirement now was the snowflake/mountain symbol?

Apparently, the insurance company itself is allowed to define what they consider a winter tire to be.

"
Some insurers accept both the snow tire and the all-weather tire, some accept just one. A good explanation of the differences in the tires can be found on the website of Kal Tire, Canada’s largest independent tire dealer.

The link was passed on to me by Nancy Dmytriw, who is disappointed that The Personal Insurance Co. won’t accept her all-weather tires. It’s an “ongoing disagreement,” as she puts it.

“All-weather tires are a wonderful solution for people who do not want to change tires with the seasons and do not have storage,” she says.

RBC Insurance and TD Insurance Meloche Monnex also reject them. “All season or all weather tires cannot match winter tires in low temperatures,” says TD Insurance spokesperson Crystal Jongeward.

On the other hand, Intact Insurance and Desjardins Insurance say both snow tires and all-weather tires are good enough for them."



http://www.thestar.com/business/per...d-by-snow-tire-insurance-discount-mayers.html
 
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Apparently, the insurance company itself is allowed to define what they consider a winter tire to be.

"
Some insurers accept both the snow tire and the all-weather tire, some accept just one. A good explanation of the differences in the tires can be found on the website of Kal Tire, Canada’s largest independent tire dealer.

The link was passed on to me by Nancy Dmytriw, who is disappointed that The Personal Insurance Co. won’t accept her all-weather tires. It’s an “ongoing disagreement,” as she puts it.

“All-weather tires are a wonderful solution for people who do not want to change tires with the seasons and do not have storage,” she says.

RBC Insurance and TD Insurance Meloche Monnex also reject them. “All season or all weather tires cannot match winter tires in low temperatures,” says TD Insurance spokesperson Crystal Jongeward.

On the other hand, Intact Insurance and Desjardins Insurance say both snow tires and all-weather tires are good enough for them."



http://www.thestar.com/business/per...d-by-snow-tire-insurance-discount-mayers.html
So, since the snowflake symbol is supposed to mean it's an official snow tire, how is the consumer supposed to know if the tires they want to buy are acceptable? Is there a list that the insurance company has? Sometimes it's not clear these days if it's a snow tire or all weather.
 
So, since the snowflake symbol is supposed to mean it's an official snow tire, how is the consumer supposed to know if the tires they want to buy are acceptable? Is there a list that the insurance company has? Sometimes it's not clear these days if it's a snow tire or all weather.
You'd have to ask at the insurance company. When I bought my new minivan, the rep. asked if I had snow tires and when I was going to put them on, then told me the months that they needed them on. We didn't go into All Weather vs Snow, so I might have been able to swap All weather on and off, if I'd bought them, but it sounds like my insurance wants you to have two sets of tires. Like the article above said, some other companies might not, and the legislation is vague enough to give them wide discretion. So, you'd be best to check with any insurance companies that you're interested in doing business with.
 
I think we're talking the difference between "All weather" and "Snow" tires. Here's a Star article, that sounded like an advert for All weather tires: http://www.thestar.com/autos/2015/10/31/all-weather-tires-vs-winter-tires-whats-the-difference.html


and an another article from the Globe: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/glob...ther-tires-a-good-compromise/article16190526/

For insurance purposes, they may want the tires to be dedicated snow tires, since they will tend to get worn down less than the All Weather, and do better in ice and snow conditions.

If they hadn't worn so fast on me, I could see All Weather tires as being good for typical Toronto winters. Here they just all around sucked, but I didn't want to put any extra money into a 11 year old car, and both my all season and snow tires were shot.

p.s. Which tires are you calling winter tires? The "snow" tires or the "all weather"?


Yeah I'm aware of the difference between "all weather" and "all season / 3-season" tyres, but I just think that chart on the kaltire website you linked was misleading...

to me, Snow tyres = winter tyres, which I use, because in summer I like to use dedicated summer tyres (not ultra-high performance, but "sports tyres") on our vehicles. We tend to buy "middle ground" variants of both to save $$ cuz we're not money-wasters, either.

FWIW, "all weather" might be better than "all-season", but once those "all weather" tyres are half worn, they're probably garbage, whereas I can run the summers and winters till they're at the wear bars.

Also, europeans spell tires with a y... y? thats funny to me lol
 
Even most winter tires become all seasons when they're down to about 40% tread.
 
Quebec has the right idea. Snow tires are law.

Every year, its the same old (sad) story.

Quebec isn't the golden horseshoe. I'm still running the very same all season tires from when this thread started 4 winters ago. Still deciding.
 
You'd have to ask at the insurance company. When I bought my new minivan, the rep. asked if I had snow tires and when I was going to put them on, then told me the months that they needed them on. We didn't go into All Weather vs Snow, so I might have been able to swap All weather on and off, if I'd bought them, but it sounds like my insurance wants you to have two sets of tires. Like the article above said, some other companies might not, and the legislation is vague enough to give them wide discretion. So, you'd be best to check with any insurance companies that you're interested in doing business with.

Stupid blanket laws. I put my winters on very late this season. When it was well above 10c even 20c in december, without a hint of snow, winter tires at those temps would have had way worse braking then my summers.
 
Stupid blanket laws. I put my winters on very late this season. When it was well above 10c even 20c in december, without a hint of snow, winter tires at those temps would have had way worse braking then my summers.
Got mine off in April because of other work I was having done, and it snowed two days later.
 

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