There is a "Snow Tire FAQ" located at www.frontiernet.net/~werner/snowtire.htm that you might find useful.

I have a set of studded Vredestein Snow+ mounted on steel rims. My thoughts were that the climate of Holland, where they are made, is fairly close to that of New Jersey, where they are used. (I was most concerned with the Scandanavian-built tire's abilities to dissipate heat.) The "clickety-clack" noise of the studs on a dry road is a little annoying, and the adhesion on dry roads is not nearly as good as that of the summer tires. The Snow's handling is actually about on par with my old Saab, maybe a little worse, which used the same size tire. I've "heard" good things about the Michelin Alpins, which came out after I purchased the Vredesteins, but I have not seen them tested in any of the motoring magazines. I don't believe that they are studdable.