Winter specific tires for cars, do don't why which ?

[Cyclops942]

Launch, I think that would be illegal, of course. What I know is illegal, here anyway, are wood timber bumpers.. was considering this for a female friend who often became directionally challenged in her car... but wouldnt you know it, playing bumper cars on the highway is frowned upon in this state...

Those darn Californian legislators won't let us have ANY fun!

 

[baterija]

Do you also use full winters and switch over for the season ?

I don't. I simply have no place to keep an extra set of tires let alonethe absolute pain of trying to move them all the time. I'm on the third place I've called home in about 31 months with a move coming before year end. Most of my adult life has been in Michigan. I grew up just south of the Michigan line in Toledo and recall driving back in the snow from a college visit on my learner's permit...with mom not always fully alert monitoring me. :O I've managed. Equipment and skill would be even better, but you manage within the limits of the practical.

 

[Launch Mini]

This thread has me thinking it is getting close to swapping mine over. Highs this week 8C, lows 3, but had frost this morning.
We could still warm up, just black ice that might get interesting along my morning drive.
I think I'll wait till mid Nov.
This year it will be a pain to swap, as I have a Cab version of my car. The 4 tires barely fit in the old one. I doubt I could get 2 in my car this winter. Will need wife to follow to tire shop to drop off the winters, then come with me to bring home the summer tires.
If the car wasn't new, and I didn't have the 4 winters on rims in the shed, I would probably just have bought 4 new Nokians

 

[jorn]

The snow arrived toay. I hate snow.. Was "sitting on needles" all the way to work.. And arrived late.. But better late than not at all. I really need to change those worn rear tires.

Drove past 3 crashed (foreign) trucks on the way from work today. 2 of them had prob toutched. One was still on the road, and the other one was 7-8 meters offroad, just some few meters from going into the sea. Around the next bend, there was a new one. Looked like he couldent make the steep hill. They usually dont use or (even bring) chains or got winter tires. Always in a hurry to make a fast buck.. and end up ruening the truck

 

[ShineOnYouCrazyDiamond]

jorn - I would love to live where you do. That just looks so awesome. And you just call that the start of the season? In the Northeast US that would be a lot for one snowfall. (BTW - I should note I love driving in the snow )

Some good stuff in this thread over the past week. Glad it took a turn for the better.

I would love to be able to get steel rims for my SUV but they don't make anything in that size. It's mostly only sedans or wagons that can benefit from inexpensive steel wheels. I did find a good used set of VW rims for my truck. I would've liked to go down to a 17" but the price was right on a used set of 18". I can still run a thinner tire on the 18" which is equal to the 17" just not quite as much sidewall. But I think the sidewall is enough at 235/60/18 that I won't have any major concerns.

 

[orbital]

+

jorn, that's an absolutely perfect picture of snow tire conditions,.....packed snow & ice

thanks for posting that~




****I'll also like to give a shout out to manufactures that have good traction control,
the type that's minimally invasive,,,
Best I drove so far was on a newer Acura MDX , it's absolutely perfect.
you can hammer the throttle in tough snow conditions with just a slight slip, but still in complete confidence.:thumbsup:

 

[SemiMan]

In the Northeast US that would be a lot for one snowfall. (BTW - I should note I love driving in the snow )

I guess you are not including Syracuse, Buffalo, Rochester, Utica from the Northeast? .... I don't blame you of course ;-)

Semiman

 

[ShineOnYouCrazyDiamond]

I would like to add to this thread that I grew up driving a 1982 Oldsmobile Delta88 with a 5.0L V8 rear wheel drive with R&S Strauss by 3 get the 4th one free all season tires. I never got stuck once driving in any kind of conditions you can imagine up to 1 foot of snow on the ground.

fast forward 25 years and would say that I still prefer rear wheel drive because I think it give you more control - in the snow too a - you can control your turns directly with the steering and the throttle more than with front wheel drive.

i wouldn't want to go back to that's old setup, but it always worked. I still feel safer at the end of the day with snow tires and awd.

 

[jorn]

Yeah, it's the first day with snow, and by now it's another 10cm... The first weeks driving on snow is always the worst. Got to get used to all the sliding and sudden over/under steer. I dont relax behind the wheels before some weeks is past, and have gotten the winter feeling in my fingers and my back

 

[SemiMan]

I would like to add to this thread that I grew up driving a 1982 Oldsmobile Delta88 with a 5.0L V8 rear wheel drive with R&S Strauss by 3 get the 4th one free all season tires. I never got stuck once driving in any kind of conditions you can imagine up to 1 foot of snow on the ground.

fast forward 25 years and would say that I still prefer rear wheel drive because I think it give you more control - in the snow too a - you can control your turns directly with the steering and the throttle more than with front wheel drive.

i wouldn't want to go back to that's old setup, but it always worked. I still feel safer at the end of the day with snow tires and awd.

Those 1982 5.0L were pretty low on the horsepower, about 150 (or less). There are some sites that claim higher, but that is not the case. That was coupled to a 3sp automatic. They did not put a ton of torque into the rear wheels. I learned to drive on the 5.0L Malibu. I had a Nissan 240 for a while too. I will take rear wheel drive in the summer any day of the week. In the winter though, give me front or 4wd. Most cars with the exception of sports cars have a front weight bias so simple physics gives you more starting traction with front wheel drive at least in snow. That all changes when its dry.

Semiman

 

[kaichu dento]

Definitely a big fan of having all four wheels helping out with the steering!

 

[think2x]

The wife's Outback with the old setup. 225/50/18 Yokohama Avid TRZ's wrapped around some old discontinued 18x7 Enkei RSF-2's. It did very well with this setup.




Uploaded with ImageShack.us

I have thought about getting dedicated winter tires but with FOUR vehicles to keep up with, it's just too much for me. I talked to the wife and we decided to go a slightly "different" route this year. The old rubber was dead now (3/32") so we decided to go back to a factory sized rim. She's now running '99 Chrysler Sebring 16" rims with 215/65/16 General Grabber AT2's. Can't wait to see what this combo can handle.

 

[StarHalo]

225/50/18
215/65/16

One of those sets is sized wrong..

 

[ShineOnYouCrazyDiamond]

Those 1982 5.0L were pretty low on the horsepower, about 150 (or less). There are some sites that claim higher, but that is not the case. That was coupled to a 3sp automatic. They did not put a ton of torque into the rear wheels. I learned to drive on the 5.0L Malibu. I had a Nissan 240 for a while too. I will take rear wheel drive in the summer any day of the week. In the winter though, give me front or 4wd. Most cars with the exception of sports cars have a front weight bias so simple physics gives you more starting traction with front wheel drive at least in snow. That all changes when its dry.

Semiman

Actually you are a bit off. It was a Cadillac V8 engine. You could look at it a bit like having a diesel kind of torque curve. It was low on HP at 140, but it had 250ft-lbs torque a 4-barrel carb and a 4-speed overdrive tranny. And you could toast the rear wheels from a dead stop. It was quite a powerful vehicle for the time.

My point that it was RWD and pretty powerful and if you weren't a good driver it could get you in trouble in the snow.

 

[ShineOnYouCrazyDiamond]

Anyone know if Bridgestone is going to have one of those buy 4 get $50-$75 cards anytime soon. I am trying to hold out a bit on my winter tire purchase to save a few bucks.

 

[127.0.0.1]

One of those sets is sized wrong..

not from what I figure

they are nearly identical

Diameter inches (mm)	26.86 (682.2)	27 (685.9)	0.15 (3.7) 0.5%
Width inches (mm)	8.86 (225)	8.46 (215)	-0.39 (-10) -4.4%
Circum. inches (mm)	84.38 (2143.19)	84.84 (2154.82)	0.46 (11.62) 0.5%
Sidewall Height inches (mm)	4.43 (112.5)	5.5 (139.75)	1.07 (27.25) 24.2%
Revolutions per mile (km)	750.91 (466.59)	746.86 (464.08)	-4.05 (-2.52) -0.5%

20 mph (32.19 km/h)	20.11 mph (32.36 km/h)
25 mph (40.23 km/h)	25.14 mph (40.45 km/h)
30 mph (48.28 km/h)	30.16 mph (48.54 km/h)
35 mph (56.33 km/h)	35.19 mph (56.63 km/h)
40 mph (64.37 km/h)	40.22 mph (64.72 km/h)
45 mph (72.42 km/h)	45.24 mph (72.81 km/h)
50 mph (80.47 km/h)	50.27 mph (80.9 km/h)
55 mph (88.51 km/h)	55.3 mph (88.99 km/h)
60 mph (96.56 km/h)	60.33 mph (97.08 km/h)
65 mph (104.61 km/h)	65.35 mph (105.17 km/h)

 

[StarHalo]

not from what I figure

It's close, but the properly sized tire would have been narrower, which is the whole point..

 

[tjswarbrick]

Great thread. The driver makes the biggest difference. But as with lights, knives, skis, and nearly everything else - having better equipment puts you in a better position to use your skills, and can oftentimes save your skin or help make a bad situation less bad.

When I lived in Colorado, I had dedicated studded snows. It was before Blizzak's - started with a "V", I think. Very highly regarded in the mid-'80's.
They would pull me through anything, but I learned very quickly that you need more than two!

Now, I live where it snows once every 16 years, and I only make it up to ski once or twice a year so dedicated snows just don't make sense for me.

I've taken extreme performance summer tires (Dunlop Sport 8000's) to Tahoe. With chains, they got me there okay. Without chains, a less-than-4% grade stopped me in my tracks.

In my old Jetta on Bridgestone high-perf all-seasons, I had no trouble on the grade or the bends while my buddy in his compact 4WD Toyota with mud tires was sliding around quite a bit.

Now that I'm a family man, I don't seem to need that last 5% of dry traction, so my wife and I have ExtremeContact DWS on my RWD Mercedes and her FWD Volvo. They are sticky, balanced, forgiving, quiet, comfy and amazing in the wet. I hope to find out how they do in the slippery stuff in a couple months. They blow our stock Michelins and Pirellis out of the water on ALL fronts. I've been very impressed with them, but in all honesty I'll probably get some summer tires for the Merc next time. Generally, if we're going to the snow, we'll take the wagon - which means FWD.

 

[jorn]

Got 2 hours late to work today.. After only 3 days with snow.. This is why i HATE snow.

Memo to myself. When the car door makes a little angel in the snow, I should not try to just ram my car out of my driveway.. because i prob will make it worse..

I almost made it..

But the car ended up floating on the snow and i had to get down on my knees and dig out packed wet snow under my car. Wheels had no contact with the ground at all... I think they are 195/65/16.

 

[TEEJ]

Got 2 hours late to work today.. After only 3 days with snow.. This is why i HATE snow.

Memo to myself. When the car door makes a little angel in the snow, I should not try to just ram my car out of my driveway.. because i prob will make it worse..

I almost made it..

But the car ended up floating on the snow and i had to get down on my knees and dig out packed wet snow under my car. Wheels had no contact with the ground at all... I think they are 195/65/16.

Yeah, soft snow like that requires fatter tires to float better/not sink in and high center you.



Most cars don't have the room in the wheel wells to fit them wide enough though....or the ground clearance to keep the body/drivetrain up out of the snow, etc.