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snow tires/chains?
okay let's talk about snow tires and/or chains....do we really need them? DH has a 4 WD jeep. we're used to driving in MI snow/ice...but in MI the plows were out pretty much 6 out of 7 days/week...and salt trucks were out basically 24 hours/day. so...even when we had 2+ feet of snow on the ground, our roads were drivable. and, we didn't have the hills that we have here.
everyone i talk to here, though, tells me of the icy roads and how people slip and slide like crazy unless they have snow tires or chains. i know it sounds funny coming from someone who lived in MI their whole live, but i literally never even heard of snow tires/chains until moving out here. when we drove out here in june...i kept seeing 'chain area' signs or something like that...and my dad had to explain to me what it was. lol...
so....should DH and I buy chains for our cars? DH will be driving to school 5 days a week (About 5 miles)....as of right now I still don't have a job, but I'm hoping to get one.
is it really that bad in the winter? i've looked up videos on youtube and i can't believe how everyone is like sliding down hills, etc. or, is it only for a day or two that it happens?
thanks, ladies 
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Re: snow tires/chains?
Last year during the "Great winter blast" blah blah, we just had a Honda Element that had AWD (not all the time, just "real time" blah blah) and we were FINE on the main roads. We DID need chains to get out of our neighborhood, but once we got to Baseline, we had no problems. We even drove into downtown by going down Cornell and over the HUGE hill into NW Portland mostly to avoid the morons on HWY 26.
This year, we have a Subaru Tribeca which has AWD all the time (it never turns off) and we'll just be buying chains for it (needs a different size than the Element) just in case. We're mostly only buying the chains because we'll be driving to Spokane on the 23rd. Next year we're probably going to buy "Winter" tires for the Subaru, just because they're better than All Seasons in the snow/ice, but I don't want snow tires. If we were going up to the mountain a lot (we don't ski.. heh) then I could see snow tires.. But I think "Winter" tires will be good enough. We'd do them this year, but with baby coming, can't really afford them.. ya know?
That being said, with your 4WD I'd recommend just going to Napa and getting a pair of chains to have on hand just in case. I really really doubt the conditions will get as bad this year as they did last year, but if they do then ODOT will require you to chain up! They're not expensive and just good to have on hand
Keep in mind, I've lived in Portland for 22 years and spent 2 winters living/driving in Spokane, so I'm used to driving in pretty crappy weather and I've never had an accident because of it (knock on wood!!)
We don't have snow tires but we do have chains. We get them at Les Schwab. They have a really good reputation. And if you don't use them at all this winter you can return them in the spring and get a refund. But it's always good to have a pair handy when it gets icy around here.
BTW, I can't stand people driving on studs around here. We don't get that many icy days and when it's not icy it just damages the roads so badly. And I get the feeling that most people who drive with studded tires are little old ladies that never go to the mountains where it would actually be useful to have them. We do fine just with chains and if it's really bad out we stay home.
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We don't have either. FWIW, Jeff was able to make it to work in our smart just fine last winter. In fact, he was the only engineer to make it to work last year when that snow hit, and the roads definitely weren't plowed when he went in.
I dunno how I feel about this snow stuff . . . he was taking me into Portland as it started snowing last year when I was taking AmTrak home for Christmas, and four wheel drive trucks were pulling over to put chains on, and the road was still visible. Like the only accumulation was on the side of the road.
I'm probably not any help in this discussion.
*the Californian chimes in***
I was in on a conversation with a few of my coworkers recently, talking about the same thing. One co-worker just bought a car, and it HAD to have AWD on it, just in case it snowed again. The other co-worker gave her a hard time, saying "I've lived in Portland my whole life, and went to school in Spokane for 4 years. You've seen my crappy Jetta, and that's the only car I've had...trust me, you don't NEED a 4WD car here."
This coming from the girl who's husband wanted a 4WD, for the like 3 times we go to the snow each year. (and we have chains)
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I have to agree.. You don't NEED AWD at all. When I lived in Spokane I drove a 1989 Buick Park Avenue.. thing was a BEAST.. and I drove around fine all winter.. In Spokane it snows constantly from about Nov 1 to March.. There was one time we got snow on May 5th!
We bought the Subaru for it's size and convenience, not for the AWD.. The AWD was just a perk
My little VW Golf was driving just fine last year without chains or snow tires.
The roads do get icy, but only for a couple days. You can purchase chains at Les Schwab and return them at the end of the winter if you don't use them .
I'm agreeing with everyone else, pick up a pair of chains in case. Like someone said, we just don't have the snow resources so the side roads will be icy. And ice is the primary reason you'll need them around here. Sure we get the occasional freak storm like last year but we mostly hover around freezing so we get stuff melting, refreezing etc.
And I totally agree about studs and AWD. It cracks me up when people feel like they "need" either when they just live in the city and don't go anywhere except work and the store. I've had so many stupid AWD people almost crash into me in the winter because they feel invincible.