Snow/Ice winter tires

708 messages, Last post on Nov 10, 2009 at 12:57 PM

You are in the Maintenance & Repair Forum. Your Host is mr_shiftright

What is this discussion about? Tires, Wheels

For the general tire discussion topic, have a look at the Tires, tires, tires topic.

Outline

Messages Page 68 of 72: 1; ...; 65; 66; 67; 68; 69; 70; 71; 72; Prev; Next; Last

#666 of 708 steep driveway by airtas Dec 21, 2008 (6:50 pm)
On my RSX I have Nokian WR G2's which are better than all seasons but not dedicated snow tires. My driveway is uphill and when it snows/ice I can not get it up. (haha) (stop the jokes) My neighbors driveway is very similar and I can it up fine....makes no sense. Will dedicated snow tires help me? Will anything help me? Oh to make matters worse my fiancee has a Civic Coupe with all seasons and she cant get it up at all where I can sometimes. Replies to this message: kurtamaxxxguy (Dec 21, 2008 8:48 pm) paisan (Dec 22, 2008 3:03 am)
#667 of 708 Re: steep driveway [airtas] by kurtamaxxxguy Dec 21, 2008 (8:48 pm)
Replying to: airtas (Dec 21, 2008 6:50 pm) 1. are the driveways the same slope (neighbor's shallower?)? 2. is his gravel, and yours paved? Or Vice Versa? 3. Which wheels start spinning first on your driveway (rear? Front? random?). So far the WRG2's (V series) on my Forester have handled 4-6" of icy snow with no trouble whatever, and that includes 20 degree icy hills other cars were sliding backwards on. However, I have found that if there is a lot of icy slush on top of ice, the WRG2's can slip a fair bit. Cresting small icy hills can set the Forester to sliding until it's over the bump and weight is back on the tires. If it's your front tires that are breaking loose, then Auto Socks might help. They have good traction on ice. Replies to this message: paisan (Dec 22, 2008 3:03 am)
#668 of 708 Re: steep driveway [kurtamaxxxguy] by paisan Dec 22, 2008 (3:03 am)
Replying to: kurtamaxxxguy (Dec 21, 2008 8:48 pm) I'm going to go out on a limb here and guess the front wheels are slipping on either the RSX or the Civic, seeing as they are both FWD vehicles -mike -mike Subaru Guru and Track Instructor Couldn't pass that one up!
#669 of 708 snow tires + chains? by gianna70 Dec 22, 2008 (8:35 am)
I have chains for my '05 Malibu. I'm hoping to drive from Salem, OR to Salinas, CA on 12/27. Should I consider getting snow tires before I go to use in addition to the chains, or should chains be sufficient? I actually don't even know if snow tires and chains can be used together at all, or if that would make any sense. Thanks! Replies to this message: kurtamaxxxguy (Dec 22, 2008 9:28 am)
#670 of 708 Re: snow tires + chains? [gianna70] by kurtamaxxxguy Dec 22, 2008 (9:28 am)
Replying to: gianna70 (Dec 22, 2008 8:35 am) As the '05 Malibu is very similar to my former '04 Malibu Maxx which had no end of trouble in Portland: You should have chains handy. Grants Pass and the Siskiyou mountains now require them (as of 12/22), and may again on the days you travel. If you have large wheels and tires, you will need "S" chains as regular chains will be too big for the wheel wells.
#671 of 708 Portland's danger by kurtamaxxxguy Dec 22, 2008 (7:14 pm)
Today most of Portland's roads are a mess; 4 - 5" of packed snow and ice worn down to narrow ruts. Nearly every car in these ruts without chains (and many with chains) had real trouble changing lanes. The Nokian WRG2's, which up to now have worked very well, proved surprisingly inept at letting my AWD'er turn out of the ruts; the car would either just lurch back into the ruts, or try to swap ends the moment the tires cleared the ruts. The WRG2's weakness show up on ice when the vehicle is turning. It could be the outer edges have less ice grip than the inner tread. Whatever it is, looks like it's chains-ville very soon if I am to keep driving around here.
#672 of 708 Re: recent snows in Portland Or [Mr_Shiftright] by ex_tdier Dec 22, 2008 (8:43 pm)
Replying to: Mr_Shiftright (Dec 17, 2008 5:48 pm) It's interesting to watch that video and notice how some cars have no trouble at all. I'm wondering if we are seeing different levels of driver skills, since it didn't look like all the "successful" cars were AWD types I'm not convinced it's due to driver skills. However, many people assume that driving in winter and in winter conditions gives them the ability to drive as they normally do in 70+ temps, which typically is aggressive. One needs to go easy on the accelerator when driving in snow and icy conditions. Staying in first or second gear is a must if trying to go through those rough spots. I think it's more to do with the vehicles: tires new and/or aggressive tread, traction or slippage control on the vehicle, weight of vehicle, power, and even vehicle momentum. I've seen one woman today drive her Jetta with all seasons and get going withOUT too much difficulty while I had considerable spin with my winter tires in the same spot. That ticked me off. I also had the wife get dropped off by her boss who drives a BMW 4 (AWD) wheel drive sedan with all seasons. He had no problem whatsoever today in the over foot deep snow where people had to abandon their vehicles and even transit buses couldn't get by, So, there are a lot of variables. BTW. I am looking for some chains too....I have no idea how to install them or if I should go with chains or cables and if you can install them on existing winter tires or if they could damage your tires in any way. I know nothing about them. However, Ebay has some for less than $50.
#673 of 708 Seattle is a mess! by isellhondas Dec 24, 2008 (9:16 am)
The airport is mired down to nothing and many of the streets are impossible. Buses are sliding down hills evne with chains. Replies to this message: ex_tdier (Dec 24, 2008 12:15 pm)
#674 of 708 Re: Seattle is a mess! [isellhondas] by ex_tdier Dec 24, 2008 (12:15 pm)
Replying to: isellhondas (Dec 24, 2008 9:16 am) Yeah, but have you noticed that most SUVs with all season tires are getting up the hills without too much problem? I cant help wonder if global warming is somehow responsible for these extreme conditions.
#675 of 708 life of Blizzaks WS 50 by eisendo Jan 13, 2009 (11:26 am)
I bought my Blizzaks in January 2004, mounted & balanced on steel wheels. This (December 2008) is the first time I have noticed any slipping with them in snow. Hopefully, I'll be able to get through this winter OK. If I had to get through another winter, I would probably need a new set, although there seems to be a good amount of tread left.