Snow tires ever on Rental Cars?
Dec 6, 2006, 8:38 am
#17
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Dec 7, 2006, 1:14 am
#19
Join Date: Jun 2002
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I had Nokian RSI's on my van last winter. Incredible isn't adequate to describe them. I put a set on my wife's Honda civic last week and it doesn't have ABS (1996).
She drove around our street for 10 minutes just accelerating and braking and zig zagging the night we brought it home in the -30 weather we had last week. She just couldn't believe that they stuck to the snow that great ^
She did mention that he car sounds like something all pimped out on the drive pavement
but that she will glady put up with it given how they are on snow which she used to hate driving on but now isn't afraid of anymore.
She drove around our street for 10 minutes just accelerating and braking and zig zagging the night we brought it home in the -30 weather we had last week. She just couldn't believe that they stuck to the snow that great ^
She did mention that he car sounds like something all pimped out on the drive pavement
but that she will glady put up with it given how they are on snow which she used to hate driving on but now isn't afraid of anymore.
Dec 7, 2006, 11:54 am
#21
Join Date: Mar 2005
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Pffft, there are only 5.2 million people in Finland.
Weeeeiiiird. I drive an x-terra and my all-seasons handle pretty damn well. Maybe I should try thems winter tires out? 
So no chopper? 
The guys on some car sites (analogous to FT) have a saying: "in snow, the worst winter tires are better than the best all-season tires".
Of course they're not recommending the worst tires anyway. And they're not snow tires, they're winter tires. Among other things the rubber compound is different and stays more supple and stickier in cold weather, improving braking and traction even on bare pavement.
It should be the law that rental companies and fleet owners put winter tires on their vehicles, in some regions if not everywhere. Listening to CFRB's traffic report last night at about 9pm (while driving through Hawkesbury!) I'd think it would be good in Toronto. I'd actually support a law that _all_ vehicles must have winter tires (I don't want someone else banging into me!) but those regularly driven by not-the-owner would be a start.
=aw
Of course they're not recommending the worst tires anyway. And they're not snow tires, they're winter tires. Among other things the rubber compound is different and stays more supple and stickier in cold weather, improving braking and traction even on bare pavement.
It should be the law that rental companies and fleet owners put winter tires on their vehicles, in some regions if not everywhere. Listening to CFRB's traffic report last night at about 9pm (while driving through Hawkesbury!) I'd think it would be good in Toronto. I'd actually support a law that _all_ vehicles must have winter tires (I don't want someone else banging into me!) but those regularly driven by not-the-owner would be a start.
=aw
Oct 11, 2011, 11:26 pm
#22
Join Date: Oct 2011
Posts: 1
If you look at the most recent Consumer Reports tests on all-season and winter tires, you will notice that some of the all-season tires are excellent in snow and some are not. While all winter tires are fine in snow, they are not so fine on dry or wet pavement without snow, making noise and not handling well on curves or braking. The CR article shows one major brand all season as being excellent on snow traction and seven very good, one excellent on ice-braking and two very good (they were also very good on snow traction). Some of the ones that were fine in snow traction were also good on wet and dry as well. The caution that is stated is "all-season tires aren’t the best in the wake of a severe winter storm, especially if you must be on road before the highway crews" while winter tires probably do not grip as well on cleared roads and must be removed in the summer.
Thanks
Oct 12, 2011, 7:07 am
#23
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Almost any rental company will provide winter tires on a request basis. Despite the claims that all season radials are "just as good", at least on the vehicles I have driven, snow tires make an enormous difference. I request them and pay a premimum if required as this is one simple little thing that can make the difference between an accident or not.
Oct 12, 2011, 7:58 am
#25
Join Date: Aug 2009
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Winter Tires Charge
Last year some of the car rental agencies were charging extra for winter tires in BC & AB, not sure how much it was though.
Oct 12, 2011, 8:24 am
#26
Join Date: May 2008
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With Hertz in Toronto I've requested winter tires and they were able to give me a car based out of Montreal (with QC plates) where as it has been mentioned it's mandatory. Could you after landing go to Gatineau (Hull) to rent there, or tell them that you may be dropping it off in QC. The legislation applies to all cars regardless of registration rented from within QC too.
source
P.S. Welcome to Flyertalk Benthamman (post #22)
Are vehicles from outside of Québec affected by this measure?
No, with the exception of certain rental vehicles. The legislative provision applies to vehicles (taxis and passenger vehicles) registered in Québec, as well as to passenger vehicles that are rented in Québec (regardless of where they are registered).
No, with the exception of certain rental vehicles. The legislative provision applies to vehicles (taxis and passenger vehicles) registered in Québec, as well as to passenger vehicles that are rented in Québec (regardless of where they are registered).
P.S. Welcome to Flyertalk Benthamman (post #22)
Oct 12, 2011, 10:47 am
#28
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Kind of. If you book with winter tires there is an extra charge. If you don't book with winter tires there is no extra charge. The car by law must have winter tires anyway (this also applies to Austria).
Oct 12, 2011, 1:15 pm
#29
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Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 3_0 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/528.18 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0 Mobile/7A341 Safari/528.16)
To tie this back to an AC/AP topic:
I wanted to rent a car w snow tires for a winter trip from Vancouver to the Okanagan, with lots of snow on the ground and a promise of snowy mountain passes.
To save myself some frustration, I called the CIBC Aerogold Infinite concierge and asked him to find me a rental agency with an appropriately-equipped tires. He said that he will call me back.
Two years later, still nothing.
To tie this back to an AC/AP topic:
I wanted to rent a car w snow tires for a winter trip from Vancouver to the Okanagan, with lots of snow on the ground and a promise of snowy mountain passes.
To save myself some frustration, I called the CIBC Aerogold Infinite concierge and asked him to find me a rental agency with an appropriately-equipped tires. He said that he will call me back.
Two years later, still nothing.
Oct 12, 2011, 1:22 pm
#30
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: PHL, NYC, DC
Posts: 9,710
i believe rental cars in Quebec are equipped with snow tires, because the law mandates them.........
Other provinces, I guess it depends....but there might be an insurance rebate incentive for the rental car companies to do so?
Other provinces, I guess it depends....but there might be an insurance rebate incentive for the rental car companies to do so?