pacemark snows (was BFG winter slalom)

[Dan Simoes]

I stopped at a not-so-close Sam's Club today, not my usual one, where
there is a bit more snow usually.  Sure enough, they carry snow tires.
The brand of choice is "Pacemark", which turns out to be made by
Kelly-Springfield.  The snows have a very aggressive pattern, and are
studdable, and also have a lot of siping.  At $46 for 185/65-14 or $49
for 195/60-14, you can't go wrong.  A google search turned up that our
own Larry Leung used to use these and liked them.

I will likely get a set this week once I decide on which of the two
sizes I want on the 90q20v.  Stock is better for handling, but if you
are going to get snows, you might as well go a bit narrower and taller,
I think.  

Compared to the BFGs I mentioned at BJs wholesale club, at the same
price, these have much stiffer sidewalls and my guess is that they will
handle better.  The speed rating is only S (112mph) but that should be
plenty for my daily commute :)

At that price (around $225 mounted and balanced), it's about half the
price of shipping alone on a used set of Michelins I was going to buy
through the marketplace.  

If anyone is really, really set on getting some of these, let me know
and I will see what I can do.  I don't want to end up with a basement
full of tires like a couple of years back (though I did eventually sell
all of them, and wish I had kept a set or two).

| Dan |