Re: Snow Tires

[Eliot Lim <eliot@u.washington.edu>]

On Sat, 9 Dec 1995, William Murin wrote:
> I think I can remember what I would pick up in handling and safety in the 
> snow, but how do 4 snow tires perform in hard pack snow, on stuff that's 
> been through several freeze-thaw cycles and has beomce ice,

here is seattle, the few times that it snows, it is of the kind that
you describe above.  also there are many times when the fog freezes
and leaves a skating rink.  these are truly the most slippery kind
of surfaces anywhere.  the colder it gets, the less the snow melts
and refreezes to ice... so i guess those of you living in really
cold parts may be able to get away with all seasons.

here, there are absolutely no choices to compromise with.  studs to
deal with the ice.  that's all there is to it.  it is interesting to
see the v8 leave 3 streaks of scratched ice when it takes off from a
stop.... :)

with my v8 and 4 studded snows, any white surface is so nonchalantly
disposed off that it is boring.  i can drive the car as though it was
dry. e.g. on those mt. slopes i can pull out onto the passing lane,
rev the v8 up to 5 or 6 grand and pass maybe 30-40 struggling cars at
a go....  in the rear view mirror, the white rooster tails are a real
sight!  stopping?  there is so much grip that the abs doesn't even
activate.  once you've experienced this you will be asking yourself
why you're settling with being just "past the threshold of adequate".

any clear shiny surface requires more circumspection, but the automatic
locking diffs, 4wd and ABS come in real handy and the entire package
turns a potentially deadly condition into a manageable one.

i have not come close to losing control in 7 years (including the years
with a 4kcsq) of snow/ice driving.

> and finally  on dry pavement?

the rikens (it's a long story how i ended up with these) suck in anything
other than snow and ice.  i have pirelli 210's on my corrado and they
cope really well in dry, wet, snow but not ice.  (not studdable)

> Can I safely assume that once the snow 
> treads go on they do not come off until the Spring?  

call me crazy, but i have extra wheels for the snow tires and the
moment the snow goes away, the snow tires come off.  it takes me about
20 minutes to change a set without any power tools.

>Is any snow tire 
> better than all "all season" treads or do brands really make a difference 
> (ie: will a top brand all season tread equal a cheapo snow tread in 
> performance and handling?) 

i cannot imagine any all-season even approaching the capabilities of my 
dedicated snow tires in the conditions that i drive in.  i will not
even take a chance driving in the snow with my dunlop d80v4 "M+S rated
all-season" tires.
 
> Appreciate your input.  i'm off to sit in fron of the fireplace.  Wind 
> chill has just dropped below -30.

and we are hovering around +30F with freezing rain.  long icycles (sp?)
forming all over.... the street is wet right now, but will freeze later..
fun eh?

eliot