Winter Tires.

Thanks! Its a 1993 skidoo Elan 50th edition. We try to keep it as clean as possible

 

Oh, so 4 wd helps you stop on ice ? Explain that to me.

 

Tire Rack has made the comment on some publications, that modern winter tires like Blizzaks actually corner and stop better in some dry cold weather conditons then all terrain tires because of the softer rubber and tread design. It is implied then, even when the roads are not slippery but the weather is cold, some of the better snow tires will perform better. Stopping distances on many all season tires increase and cornering is worse as the weather gets real cold.

 

...Gotta question about snow for you guys in the Northern-tier states...and those above the 49th concerning chains.....

...Reason I ask is I currently live in SoCal....and it's a law here that if you drive up into the mountain areas....you must always carry chains in your car, even if you have a 4x4.....

...Based on that....with a 2wd you would put the chains on the rear....ie: the drive wheels......but with a 4x4...is it better to put a set of chains on the front tires or rear?........

...Seems to me that it would be better on the front....but can anyone clarify this for me, please?...........Cheers!...........

 

Chains are for driving very slowly and if you do drive with them, you put them on the drive wheels just as the manual says for a truck. For a 4 wd, you generally put them on the rear wheels. Otherwise, with the weight bias shifted to the rear while climbing, you would have no traction. When going down hill, the rear wheels allow you to brake in straight line. That's why you should always "try" to travel with chains for all four wheels. The rear needs the most traction for steering control. It's a tough situation no matter how you cut it. You just have to drive slowly.....

In our area, you don't need chains if you have 4 wd and tires rated for snow.....I think Yosemite is the same. Cables count as chains which is an easier option. It's also why I don't put over size tires on my truck living in snow country. Too much floatation is bad in snow and clearance for chains and packed snow in the wheel is necessary.

http://www.nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/chains.htm

Here is the regulation....the out, is to have m and. S rated AT tires ( rated for mud and snow on side wall) with at lease 6/32 inch tread on your truck with 4 wd...then you are good to go with out chains. Snowflake emblem is best.

 

a good set of AT or MS tires a 4wd drive button and sensible driving goes along way when driving in winter conditions. Only studded snow tires will stop and corner the best,if you don't buy them your not investing your money into the best winter tires, good set of AT tires and sound winter driving techniques will get you where you have to go safely without investing a lot of money.

 

I used to run Bridgestone Blizzak and I currently run Toyo GSI - 5. I have nothing bad to say about either. Both performed well on ice and snow, head and shoulders above any all terrain tire I have tried through winter. mine will be going on in the next two weeks.

 

...Good advice from all of you...Thanks!....I grew up in Chicago....so am very used to driving in snowy conditions...but it has been decades since I left that place of grey snow!....LOL!...

...When I was stationed in Germany....I ended up having to drive a 3/4-ton truck full of 5 guys up over the mountains during a severe blizzard....with winds blowing the white stuff sideways....

...the roads had about a foot-and-a-half of snow already on it...with no tracks yet.....Oh, yeah...and at night...and just as I got close to the pass at the highest point..one of the chains failed and flailed

around in the wheel-well ripping open the brake line!.......a chunk of line had been literally torn off....so we had to bend the end over a few times and crimp it...which was the best we could do with

limited tools and light...and then drive the remaining 27 miles to the nearest army post to spend the night while it was repaired....It was, to say the least...Exciting!......


...Ahh...the good old days!......( Not too surprising...WE were the ONLY idiots out driving that night...never saw another vehicle the whole trip...but the army has ya do some mighty stupid stuff at times! )...

 

Glad you qualified that....TIRES are the single most transformative factor in the performance of any car or track in any conditons. 4 wd does nothing for you without sufficient traction. 4 wd is safer but only equipped with adaquate tires.
Studded tires work great and I have them on my truck...but not on my wife's car. That is used for more winter highway driving which is hard on studs. Studs compromise emergency handling and stopping on dry pavement so, you must be sure you need the better traction with the compromise. I spent years doing snow removal including commercial plowing and snow removal on roads.....people don't pay enough attention to their tires. .btw, in driving over roads in light to moderate snow conditons, AWD is vastly superior to truck based 4 wd.

 

if you have the cash and storage space for a set of dedicated snow tires then if they make you feel more confident about driving in winter go for it, its all a mental game a 4wd truck with adequate MS or AT tires with get you thru hell and back that the main reason I bought a 4wd truck is for the all season traction I use MICHELIN AT2 tires which can handle everything that winter throws at me and from what I hear the MS2 tires are even better in winter conditions, but feel free to invest more money into a dedicated snow tire if it floats your boat and the aggravation of storing them and removing them and then replacing them every season not mention purchasing another set of 2-4 rims to have to mount them, not for me. Ill buy the best tires that I can use year round and drive sensible. If the weather is so bad out that my wife would need studded snow tires I wouldn't let her drive out there not worth her life in those extremes she can stay home.

 

Many AT tires are rated to handle snow just as well as winter tires. Had the Wranglers and they were excellent...better in wet snow the the snow tires. But, they will not handle ice conditons with the hard rubber. Everyone on our road has dedicated snow tires because it is a gravel mountain road that turns to ice from the frost for the entire winter...under snow. Once you get by the purchase of steel winter rims, it is cheaper to run two sets of tires over the life of the truck. Your summer tires must be changed more often to accomadate winter driving and snow tires have better winter grip as they age then all season. Two sets of tires is cheaper, especially with cars. If I did not travel unpaved roads woods roads over steep terrain every day, I would have just ATs. There are days when you will not make it out with 4 wd and no snow tires....it ain't gonna happen no matter how experienced you are. The ice conditons on steep roads just won't allow it. It's not a matter of "how you feel", it's a matter of practicality and they don't make an AT tire with the all around winter traction of a good snow tire, even unstudded.

 

,nothing handles ice conditions but studded tires,or chains or stay home too dangerous. unless your an emergency worker then get a Snow-Cat

 

x2 that's what I just said or better stay off the roads when they are iced up looked what happened in the South last winter after an Ice storm idiots out driving and causing massive crash ups

 

A modern AWD car is so good adjusting to conditons better then truck base 4 wd, a good winter stud less tire still does well on ice....we have tricks though....we drive with two wheels in the ditch. Some chains on hard ice, even ice chains will slide on ice. Nothing is better then studs which punch holes. Unfortunately, they loose their maximum efficiency n less then a year.

 

If we did that, we would never get home. Those of you who live in Cold areas on dirt roads know how the frost sets in and it's ice the entire winter. Northeners who get frequent ice, are better prepared and more experienced. Heck, even the most experienced driver is white knuckled the first storm of the winter.

 

Absolutely. Studded tires may be best on ice, but not by a lot and they are worse or the same in most ever other conditon. Add speed and emergency handling on wet or dry cold pavement, and they are much worse. We have studded tires on the commercial one ton I plowed with, but drove to get the truck with an AWD Subaru with winter studless tires on roads...just like the ad says.

 

Great picture, must be flatlanders !