Snow/winter tires & driving (long, sorry)

[roclist at yahoo.ca (Scirocco Pilot)]

 Nokia Hakka-1's with studs, 185/60r14

THE best tires for winter Bar-none...

I put them on my BMW that my wife and child drive in,
and incase that's not enough reasons for you. I've
been driving in Canadian winters for over 15 years,
and I presently live in the "north" above 60°
latitude. If that's not enough, I am an experienced
Ice racer, meaning I race my scirocco on frozen lakes
during the winter. I actually had the BMW out there
too, amazing traction from the Hakka's. If that's not
enough reason to get these tire, well then, you're
crazy. :)

Honestly, if you can go with studs, do so. & BTW don't
try studding only the front ones.... soon as you hit
the brakes on ice you'll see where you came from, real
fast.

Jason Adams

daroccot@yahoo.ca if you want more info, I could type
forever on the subject of snow tires.


--- "T. Reed" <treed2@u.washington.edu> wrote: > Hey
list,
> 
> Back in August I moved out of Seattle and in to an
> area in Eastern
> Washington that reportedly gets snow ~5 months a
> year. It's getting colder
> by the day (down to ~30 degrees at night) and it's
> becoming apparent that
> it's going to start snowing pretty soon (in the
> coming weeks).
> 
> Previous to moving I'd lived in Seattle my whole
> life, so I've never had
> to do much snow driving. When there was snow, I was
> hesitant to drive
> my Scirocco in it because I didn't want to end up in
> a ditch or a
> guardrail. That might sound stupid, but in Seattle,
> ice was always a
> bigger factor than snow. When it snowed it was
> usually just enough to dust
> the rooftops and not "stick". When it did stick, it
> would typically melt
> by the afternoon and the roads would stay wet then
> freeze that night..
> resulting in lots of accidents at night and the next
> morning. The ice
> would remain frozen (and invisible) in the shade
> under bridges and
> overpasses even with 40 degree air temperatures. It
> was very rare to have
> any appreciable accumulation of non-slush snow.
> 
> The only snow driving I've done was up at the pass
> with my brother's
> Rabbit (now sold) w/studded tires, and that was a
> blast! But we didn't
> care about that car.. so it didn't matter if I
> slammed sideways in to a
> snow bank. (too bad we didn't have the antlers
> bolted to the front of
> the hood back then!)
> 
> Anyway, the situation is quite a bit different here.
> So far I have seen
> it get very cold and very windy, and I have a
> feeling the snow will be
> more powdery than what we had in Seattle, since the
> humidity here is so
> low. On days that there is no cloud cover, the air
> really heats up by
> noon or so.. but it can stay cold all day when it's
> overcast. I can
> picture there being significant amounts of snow on
> the ground if it
> remained overcast for several days.
> 
> So, I'm thinking about buying a set of snow tires
> and I would appreciate
> some advice from those with experience (both using
> snow tires and driving
> in the snow)
> 
> When I say "snow tires", what I really mean is
> someone else's used snow
> tires on a set of stock rims. I'm a broke-ass
> college student so I can't
> quite afford to run out and buy 4 new Blizzaks.
> 
> What's the deal with studs? They're still legal in
> WA for at least 1 more
> year; my understanding is they help more with ice
> than with snow. But I'd
> like to be safe on both, so I guess I'd want studded
> tires? Do they have
> any disadvantages other than tearing up the
> pavement?
> 
> Thinner tires do better in snow, right? But of
> course have worse traction
> when dry..
> 
> I've been drifting around some crushed-gravel roads
> (don't worry, I'm
> being extra careful not to harm my 'baby') at high
> speeds trying to get a
> feel for controlling the car with less than perfect
> traction. I'm still
> fighting my impulsive overcorrection around tight
> corners. I'm having lots
> of fun, though!
> 
> I'm sure one of you will chime in with an exact
> explanation of how FWD
> cars react to loosing traction in various places and
> while performing
> different maneuvers, but so far I've noticed that
> the back end likes to
> swing out around hard corners, at least until I step
> on the gas a bit.
> I've also noticed that I can steer in gravel much
> better if I keep moving
> the steering wheel left-and-right constantly, rather
> than holding it
> perfectly still.
> 
> Also, it seems a lot easier to get going if I start
> out in 2nd gear then
> shift early to 3rd or 4th at 5-10 mph. The torque at
> the wheels drops to a
> value low enough to keep them from just spinning and
> throwing gravel.
> 
> What I'd like to learn about most is how to stop in
> snow or ice; I can
> picture scenarios in my head where somebody pulls
> out in front of me
> without looking and I just go gliding in to their
> bumper. The obvious
> preventative solution is to 'not go fast', but let's
> be realistic here! I
> live on the highest hill in town..
> 
> I'm kinda afraid that since my braking (ferodo pads
> up front, brembo
> rotors, properly bled and flushed w/castrol gtlma)
> and acceleration
> capabilities (well-tuned cis-e 2.0l 16v with eurocam
> and 4k tranny) are
> quite a bit above average, when my traction drops
> off-- the brakes will
> just lock up (that can be dealt with to an extent by
> modulating them, I
> know), and the wheels will just spin when I step on
> the gas or just try
> to get going.
> 
> My daily commute is.. well, on foot. But every 2-3
> days I need to go
> somewhere (ie. buy groceries); typically no further
> than 16 miles round
> trip. The only exception to that would be when I'd
> occasionally want to
> make the 300 mile trip back to Seattle to see
> friends and relatives. To
> do this I have to drive on a lot of long, flat,
> country roads then cross
> a steep mountain pass. So the first 275 miles of
> that trip (the part
> through eastern washington and the mountains) would
> probably have snow. It
> takes 5 hours when you're averaging 70 mph, I can't
> imagine how long it
> will take with that much snow. Ugh.
> 
> Okay, this is getting really long. I'll just stop
> here.
> 
> -Toby
> 
> _______________________________________________
> Scirocco-l mailing list
> Scirocco-l@scirocco.org
> http://neubayern.net/mailman/listinfo/scirocco-l 

______________________________________________________________________ 
Post your free ad now! http://personals.yahoo.ca