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Honda Odyssey Snow Traction & Handling

53 messages,  Last post on Oct 15, 2012 at 2:55 PM

You are in the Honda Odyssey Forum.

What is this discussion about? Honda Odyssey, Tires, Van

Messages Page 6 of 6

#44 of 53 Re: Odessey Snow Traction [tonymogle] by fibber2

Jan 29, 2010 (6:33 pm)

Replying to: tonymogle (Jan 29, 2010 7:51 am)
This past weekend I installed the second set of snows in the life of our '02 Ody EX. First set a few years back were Dunlop Wintersport M2's on cheap steel wheels. They were worn thin, and the rims were impossible to balance, so I bought Continental Extreme Winter on inexpensive house brand alloys, again from TireRack.
 
I put them on this past weekend, and we got to drive them on snow and ice only a few days later. My wife, who usually doesn't think much about these things, thanked me last night! Given the snow over ice conditions, she fully expected to fail getting up our steep driveway. Instead, she did it with ease.
 
An additional expense ($780 delivered)? Yes, and one that hurts right now. But it is potentially cheap compared to the possibilities of winter driving.

#45 of 53 Re: Odyssey Snowtires [twoparameters] by bigdadi118

Jan 31, 2010 (7:12 pm)

Replying to: twoparameters (Dec 15, 2009 11:39 am)
Drove an unplowed 19 inches of snow? What is the ground clearance of the Odyssey? It is too good to be true..... use common sense!

#46 of 53 Re: Odyssey Snowtires [bigdadi118] by twoparameters

Feb 03, 2010 (8:58 pm)

Replying to: bigdadi118 (Jan 31, 2010 7:12 pm)
I said I'm from Colorado. The snow we get in the San Juans is powder. Ground clearance isn't the issue. Traction is.
 
I have since driven this van on several ski trips and haven't yet had a single problem.

#47 of 53 Re: Odyssey Snowtires by dave_justdave

Feb 04, 2010 (12:21 pm)

Replying to: twoparameters (Feb 03, 2010 8:58 pm)
The OEM tires were terrible in the snow and rain so I replaced them with dealer recommended Toyo Tourevos in November. Much better in the rain, great ride and even quieter on the highway than the Michelins, but still not much use in snow. Traction hasn't been a big issue for me but the traction control does kick in from time to time, the van is light at the front so the tires spin easily.

#48 of 53 Re: Odyssey Snowtires [dave_justdave] by twoparameters

Feb 04, 2010 (12:36 pm)

Replying to: dave_justdave (Feb 04, 2010 12:21 pm)
I too scrapped the OEM tires within days of purchasing the van. Since it was nearly snow season where I live I went directly to snow tires.
 
After reading through pages of expert and customer reviews from Canada and Scandinavia I chose the Pirellis.
 
They are not the quietest tires I've ever driven on but have been worth every penny in the snow. The Pirellis were engineered for high performance SUVs like the Porsche Cayenne and have a high load rating and I'm told great performance at high speeds. The roads in Colorado are notoriously bad so I haven't exactly put the high speed claims to the test yet.
 
I haven't had any serious problems with the tires spinning beyond what one would expect; starting from a stop on an incline perhaps but then again, four wheel drive vehicles have the same limitations.
 
As I mentioned, I have a Toyota 4-Runner that I could drive if I needed to but as of yet I haven't needed to.
 
 I'm sold on dedicated snow tires and will never drive all-season tires in winter as long as I live in Colorado. All-season tires are mediocre during all seasons.

#49 of 53 Re: Odyssey Snowtires [twoparameters] by denver5357

Feb 05, 2010 (6:57 am)

Replying to: twoparameters (Feb 03, 2010 8:58 pm)
Ground clearance is a problem but it depends on the snow and where you are.
 
I live in Colorado. When we have powder (light snow that doesn't bind) or you drive in the mountains (which are usually blowed more quickly and more throughly than regular side streets around town), you can get by. But when the snow becomes wetter and compacts (usually late winter/early spring snows), clearance becomes an issue ... especially in side streets that don't get plowed for days of at all. In those cases, higher ground clearance is a huge help, especially if you have to stop from time to time.

#50 of 53 Re: Odessey Snow Traction [fibber2] by fibber2

Feb 28, 2010 (9:14 am)

Replying to: fibber2 (Jan 29, 2010 6:33 pm)
Loving those new snow tires! A great investment given the nasty winter here in the NorthEast. Continental Extreme Winter on inexpensive house brand alloys from TireRack. And they look pretty nice too! Gotta get a picture uploaded to CarSpace for posting.

#51 of 53 Very poor snow handling by bob468

Jan 14, 2012 (6:48 am)

Sitting at my Honda dealer and had a curious conversation about the poor snow traction on my 2011 Odyssey. Told me they and Honda are aware the car has difficulty in snow. Suggested I buy snow tires. Curious because Honda appears to understand there is a performance issue but pushes the problem to its customer. The 2011 car gets stuck in my relatively flat driveway with only an inch or two of snow. Given Honda has knowledge of the issue regarding very poor snow handling, is their approach negligent (I.e. known defect of a potentially dangerous condition). Anyone know a good class action lawyer?

#52 of 53 Re: Very poor snow handling [bob468] by sreiss

Jan 15, 2012 (5:31 am)

Replying to: bob468 (Jan 14, 2012 6:48 am)
Everything isn't always someone else's fault. If handling in those conditions is a critical purchasing decision for you, you should buy a different vehicle, or get snow tires.
 
The reality is that Honda has made a set of tradeoffs regarding the design of their vehicle to appeal to their target market. That includes a set of tires that strike a balance between comfort and performance. They probably don't perform as well as some people would like in rain, or at high speeds, or at cornering, or at braking, or on very bumpy roads with 6 inch high boulders. Everyone needs to make a series of tradeoffs as to what is most important to them personally, for the price point, and determine if that is the correct decision for themselves. Failing to meet your criteria on a certain point does not translate to negligence on the part of the manufacturer.
 
This logic taken far enough results in companies pulling products from the market, because it's far too much bother for them to deal with it. It's also why they have to spend all their time protecting themselves from litigation. For instance, I recently had to sign a liability waiver at my local furniture store, because I had purchased a set of pillows from them. But because I was taking them home myself instead of having them delivered (of course-- they're pillows after all) I had to clear them of delivery liability. OK - that's just stupid, but clearly they feel the need to protect themselves from being sued. It reduces us all to infantilism.
 
If it's helpful to you, I can tell you that a set of snows is very effective on the Ody. I have had vehicles in my life that absolutely need snows, and others where I can get by without them. A lot of that has to do with the tires on the vehicle, and the engineering of the car itself. I use Blizzaks on my Ody and it performs quite well, and I have mentioned the same to friends and neighbors, who all experience the same result as I do.

#53 of 53 Re: Very poor snow handling [sreiss] by hfarstad

Oct 15, 2012 (2:55 pm)

Replying to: sreiss (Jan 15, 2012 5:31 am)
Thank you for your common sense. It is a rare commodity these days.

Messages Page 6 of 6

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