New York Studded Tires?!?

Studded snows don't give the amount of extra traction that makes them worth having. If you find you will have a short drive in really bad weather, a set of chains would be a better deal and supply better low speed traction.

Back in the "day", studded snows gave much better traction than the bias ply tires in use. Radial tires (with good tread!!) have better traction than the old non-studded bias ply tires and about the same as the old studdeds. You are better off with a set of new radial tires (snow tread if you can swing replacing them with regular tread come next spring)

Run them at about 28-30 lbs of air pressure vs the recommended 34 lbs of air. That gives them more spread and better traction while still not slipping on the rims or having objectionable tire sidewall sway when cornering.

A rule of thumb for winter driving is 1. Take it slow. 2. Make no quick movements 3. Don't drive if the weather is too dangerous. Wait until the snowing stops and the plows have had the time to plow and salt. I always tried to ride behind (not too close!!) a snow plow, especially if it had the sand/salt spreader going.

A well balanced car is much more stable. Find a truck scale in the area (as found in truck stops, at moving companies, etc.) Weigh each axle. Balanced weight means 50% of the total on each axle. Most cars are between 55-60% of their weight on the front axle (even higher in a front wheel drive) Adding ballast (sand bags, etc.) to the trunk can balance the car. This makes it actually handle better as well as putting more weight on the drive axle of a rear wheel drive car for better traction.

You drive around on bald tires and then act like everything else is the problem. I probably get more snow then you and I don't have traction control and do just fine. If you need that crutch it says more about YOUR driving then anything(like you probably shouldn't drive in teh snow). ABS wouldn't do you much good on ice or slush either, they will make your car SLIDE whether you lock up or not. Now as to the issue of studded tires you shouldn't need them. Go buy new tires and all season should be fine.

Many states outlawed studded tires because they cause too much pavement wear on expressways resulting in water filled ruts when it rains (think hydroplane). And studded tires really only help on ice, they can actually be more slippery than without them on wet pavement.

There are winter specific tires available that have softer tread compound with high silica content (silicon dioxide is sand) that are supposed to work better than other tires on hard packed snow or ice. But I drive a 4WD SUV in winter with regular all-terrain tires that are like snow tires.