Quote:
Originally Posted by bimmerboy
Really??
Myth: Wide tires provide better traction under all weather conditions. In fact, putting oversize snow tires on a car delivers better snow traction.
Fact: The opposite is actually true. Wide tires tend to "float" on deep snow, and the tread lugs never have a chance to "dig" through to the road surface to gain traction. Narrow tires are a better option in deep snow. The tire acts similarly to a knife cutting through butter; the blade works best when using the narrow edge to push through the butter rather than the wide flat side of the blade.
Read more:
http://www.motortrend.com/womt/112_9...#ixzz1cW526sMy |
Quote:
Originally Posted by BrokenVert
Did you catch my qualification? Think about it this way.
Whats the ground clearance on your car? 2-3 inches on average? So what exactly are you punching through? Snow to hit your chassis rails?
Like I said, it depends on what kind of snow you get and how much. In Syracuse I went for the wider rears (245) this winter, because through experience I learned that 225s dont punch through, so why am I putting myself at a disadvantage?
Digging through is generally a good approach for most people who experience light snow...but there comes a point where you simply wont be heavy enough to go through it all, thats when you go for wider tires.
Hence my general correlation on snow depths that I will repeat.
less than 2-3 inches go for a square setup, more than that and you should be looking at wider tires.
|
I've always been told that the thinner the better on snow tires, but I agree with Matt (brokenvert). This is true up to a certain extent. The thinner tire will 'cut through' the snow, that's the wording everyone uses who follows this adage. But when the snow is too thick or deep to "cut through" then there is no point to have a thin tire, get as thick as you can and grab on to whatever traction you can get! But either way, our cars have pretty thick rims/tires. Not thick like on a 'vette or something (man those rear tires look GOOD), but thick because we need to clear the brakes. Same reason we can't run steelies. So I'll generally try to stay thin for winter tires, but not go crazy over it.
Quote:
Originally Posted by RPM90
Man that sucks.
Weather around Chicago has been a pretty mild fall season.
Your experience is a major reason why I run all seasons.
Not the best tire for each season, but the best tire for all seasons.
|
Thanks man.
I can't bring myself to run all seasons. They're nice but not ideal. I would do it for the ease of it, but my car has so much trouble keeping traction already that I wouldn't want to chance anything. Need the best grip possible for the summer AND the winter or I'll find myself disappointed in summer performance, and in a ditch come december. Not to mention my traction control, stability control, and on-and-off the ABS haven't been really working for a month now. Oops..
Plus, running 2 setups I can have my matte black rims with red pinstripe for the summer, and my gloss black with chrome lip for the winter. Different looks for different seasons
