Q: Winter tires - studded

Stick to Nokian.

I'd be aware that studded tires are illegal in some locales' so you may run into problems if you take a trip.

Brian

I don't know of any exception [which doesn't mean there aren't any] to the rule that if the tires are legal in your home state of registration, they are legal anywhere else. The Florida cop may give you strange looks, but pretty sure they can't do anything much like Kalifornia can't do an emissions check on out of state cars owned by out of state owners...at least not yet.

Approximately 10/14/03 08:43, Brian uttered for posterity:

From California's DMV site:

Protuberances on Tires: Exceptions

(Followed by several exceptions to the rule.)

To me it's clear that rules like this apply to all vehicles, whether licensed in or out-of-state. It's like seatbelt rules, window tinting, or radar detector rules.

Approximately 10/14/03 13:24, Ignasi Palou-Rivera uttered for posterity:

It isn't that clear. If you drive into Kalifornia as a citizen of another state, and you have studded tires that are legal in that other state, you can drive in Kalifornia on them. Has something to do with Kalifornia still being just another state in the union and not the ruler of the universe yet. They can't make you change your tires or legal equipment just to drive through the state.

Seemed pretty clear to me. Can you find your exception in the law somewhere?

While we're on the topic of studded tires, here's some added info...

Most states with any snow allow you to run them certain months out of the year. Metal studs do tear up the road, so that's why they're not legal everywhere all the time.

Studded tires are superior on ice, but worse on dry or wet roads because the rubber is making less contact with the road when the stud is sticking out... And when the stud wears down to the rubber it's not really going to be doing anything on ice...

Places you need them are rare in this country, but there certainly are some. Snow tires generally get you really good snow/wet/ice traction, but I can certainly understand that for some areas that's just not enough...