Can I just put 2 winter tires on 2005 95 Aero?

[bman]

Will it affect ABS?

[Shazam]

It won't effect the way your ABS system functions, but it will effect your cars ability to stop in the snow... the ABS will still keep your car from skidding (to the best of it's ability), but you will be more likely to skid with non-snow tires in the snow, so your overall stopping ability will be decreased.

[bman]

Thanks for your quick response. So 2 is OK, 4 is recommended for best results – that goes without saying.
Just curious because we don't get much snow around here – if its anything like last year there won't be any.

b

[SaabScott]

Actually, 2 is not OK. You will not find any authority that will say 2 winter tires are OK.

It will actually put you into a very dangerous situation as you will have different levels of traction front to rear ... and one of those ends will essentially have no traction.

4 winter tires are the only recommended way to install them, period. You would be better off with 4 all-seasons than to mix them ... at least that way, you will have the same level of traction all around and you will be driving to those conditions.

[bman]

That's what I thought. Most tires won't install just 2. Thought it might have been an up-sell.
Looks like I'm staying with all seasons hoping for a mild one or 4 snowy's to be safe.

Thanks again.

[nordwulf]

If your car has more traction at the front wheels than the back wheels, the rear of the car will want to slide around the front under heavy braking, resulting a nice 180 degree turn of the car very quickly. I don't ESP will aven be able to prevent that.

You can test this on snow or ice with 4 of the same tires. Start out at a good speed, apply the brakes so ABS will kick in and at the same time, lock up the rear wheels with the hand brake. You'll experience the rear of the car doing things you don't want it to do in any condition when it looses traction in the rear.

[bman]

I have a set of 4 225/55/17 snow tires I've been told there are too high. Will this size work?

[bman]

Visually convinced!!

[ScotHibb]

I agree...I would never put different age tires, different brand tires, or different anything tires on my Saab(s) whether they are FWD/AWD/Pos-trac rear-wheel drive!
I also always purchase a 5th matching rim and have it included in the regular tire rotation schedule so if I completely blow a tire I don't have to replace all 4 until I blow a second (which has never happened to me).
Having tires with different wear and especially different brand tires affects handling even if you take ABS/ESP/etc or AWD/FWD/RWD/XWD/4WD out of the equation. Even if your PSI isn't pumped for your weight distribution you can get a slight pull to one side on FWD models (most can't notice, but it's there if you feel for it).

I may be a snow-bird (received my learners permit at the age of 14 in Alaska), but I now live in NJ and have owned a Saab (5 total) since the 1980's when I got a 900T for Graduation...every make/model I have ever owned works WONDERS in the snow...so much so that putting 2 "snow tires" on would cause more harm than good and give you less snow maneuverability.

If you have pretty much any Saab it's going to not need snow tires (IMHO), lol. What I do is buy 5 high-performance as-close-to-all-weather-tires as possible and like I mentioned, rotate, rotate, rotate 9and maintain balance on all, PSI accordingly, and of course alignment.

What state do you live in?

Best regards,
ScotHibb

[bman]

I'm in Canada, before you start laughing, I'm on the west coast so winters are most of the time a non issue.
I do have a set of new winter tires from my previous car but have been told they are too high in profile.

225/55/17 will these not fit on a 2005 95 Aero.

bman