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Winter tires increase traction for performance cars

Q. Happy New Year. I have a question about the tires I bought for my car two years ago.

I bought four Goodyear Eagle GTs for my 2006 Pontiac G6 GT coupe. The question I have involves the winter when there is about 2 to 3 inches of snow on the ground. When the street has not been plowed, my car does not move.

This happens when I come to a complete stop at a stop sign and want to make either a left or right turn. When I start to make the turn, the only thing that happens is the front tires spin when I hit the gas pedal, but the car does not accelerate.

The only way the cars moves is when I floor the gas pedal and the tires are spinning real fast, and the car finally moves after about 15 seconds. Do you think this is because the tires I bought are too aggressive for the car?

If they are, what tire would you recommend for me to buy in the Goodyear lineup or any other tire manufacturer?

A. The Eagle GT is more of a performance tire and your G6 GT requires a wider, lower profile tire size. All this adds up to a tire that is not going to give you the best traction in the snow.

Traction was probably acceptable when the tires were new but now that you have a few miles on them, they are becoming pretty much useless in the snow. The best option for you, or anyone for that matter who drives a performance car with performance tires, would be to put a winter tire on all four wheels for winter driving.

You can do this by purchasing a tire and wheel package that makes installing them on your car very easy just before the first snowfall. You can then remove them when you think winter is over, and return to performance tires. The traction you get from these winter tires will astound you and you won’t give up the performance characteristics that you enjoy in the summertime.

I am sure you could put an all-season tire on your Pontiac that is better in the snow. However, it won’t be as good as a winter tire and you will then sacrifice some of the performance aspects you enjoy in the dry and warm weather with your current tire.

Hope this helps and Happy New Year to you, too.

Ÿ Douglas Automotive is at 312 S. Hager Ave., Barrington, (847) 381-0454, and 123 Virginia Road, Crystal Lake, (815) 356-0440. For information, visit douglasautomotive.com. Send questions to underthehood@dailyherald.com.

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