Keep in mind that last weekend snow was a wet, large flake snow. Air temperature was above 50 degree's days prior to the storm. Snow accumulations on the road were slush/snow. All season tires and slush=reduced traction. Also keep in mind that concrete surfaces usually freeze over before asphalt surfaces. Anyways: how many days a year do you expect to see snow in the VA - DC area. We received the same storm earlier in the day on Saturday here in Central VA. I was out for 6 hours Sat. night plowing and as the temp drop during the night it got slick out there in places.
East Coast Blizzard makes me wonder (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter tojomatic
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Blue77FJ40
SILVER Star
Tojomatic: What you experienced was the flippin ABS. All abs allows you to do is control the direction of a skid vs non-abs where you have no/little contol unless you learn to pump your brakes. ABS will not stop you any sooner than non abs brakes. As a matter of fact, on snow, they increase stopping distance significantly.
In snow ABS SUCKS. I have decades of experience driving in the snow, mostly '40s and toyota trucks, and in last winter's snow, my 2004 Taco (my first abs) did the exact same thing. Scared the sh*t outa me the first time they came on. I thought something was stuck in the wheelwell, not to mention that godawful loud noise coming from my engine bay and the brake pedal pulsating. I was in a slow turn into a sideroad, not much more than 10 mph, and slid into the opposite curb. That would never have happened in my other trucks.
I'm looking for a way to disable the abs with a switch for snow driving. However, I can see their benefit for all other types of driving.
In snow ABS SUCKS. I have decades of experience driving in the snow, mostly '40s and toyota trucks, and in last winter's snow, my 2004 Taco (my first abs) did the exact same thing. Scared the sh*t outa me the first time they came on. I thought something was stuck in the wheelwell, not to mention that godawful loud noise coming from my engine bay and the brake pedal pulsating. I was in a slow turn into a sideroad, not much more than 10 mph, and slid into the opposite curb. That would never have happened in my other trucks.
I'm looking for a way to disable the abs with a switch for snow driving. However, I can see their benefit for all other types of driving.
Last edited:
hoser
SILVER Star
You need two sets of tires--one set for spring, summer, fall driving, and a seperate winter set. You can usually purhase cheap wheels as take offs or plain steel wheels from www.tirerack.com
Here are the top rated winter tires from Consumer reports. This will be a night and day difference for snow and Ice driving. I used to be an avid skiier when I lived in snow country.
Michelin X-Ice
Viking SnowTech (Conti)
Goodyear Ultra Grip Ice
Bridgestone Blizzak WS-50
Mastercraft Glacier Grip II
The good news from our tests of 12 winter tires is that tires continue to improve, so finding a tire that meets your needs is less difficult. Moreover, our test of studded vs. unstudded winter tires shows that for most drivers, studs may hurt more than help.
All-season tires aren’t the best in the wake of a severe winter storm, especially if you must be on road before the highway crews. (See our November 2005 report on all-season tires.) Winter tires have treads with more biting edges for better grip on snow and ice, while their softer compound remains flexible even in extremely low temperatures. On cleared roads, however, they might not grip as well as all-season tires, and they often wear more quickly. They do not have tread-wear warranties or grades and should be removed in the spring.
Many new winter-tire models have been introduced since our last report in 2002. We selected appropriate winter replacements for the all-season models we tested. They’re priced from $43 to $94.
Tested models included some familiar names, too, such as the Goodyear Ultra Grip Ice and the Bridgestone Blizzak WS-50. They are still impressive.
For our winter-tire models, we ran the same braking and handling tests on dry, wet, snowy, and icy surfaces as we did for all-season tires. However, since winter tires are designed for cold-weather conditions, we weighted their performance on snow and ice more heavily in our overall scoring. And since winter tires aren’t designed for long tread life or low rolling resistance, we didn’t test them for those attributes.
To see whether studded tires really perform better on ice and snow than unstudded tires, we tested two winter-tire models, the Cooper Weather-Master S/T 2 and Nokian Hakkapeliitta 2, with and without studs.
Most studs are metal posts a tire shop imbeds into the tread that protrude slightly for added bite. Besides the models we had studded, in our group, only the Mastercraft Glacier Grip II, Kelly Wintermark Magna Grip HT, Hankook W404, and Dayton Winterforce accept studs.
The studs hardly made a difference in traction on moderately packed snow, but they stopped better on ice. In our tests, the Coopers without studs needed the longest distance among the winter tires to stop, 36 feet from 10 mph. The Coopers with studs stopped in the shortest distance, 20 feet from 10 mph. Studs proved less effective with the Nokian 2s. Stops ranged from 29 feet without studs to 25 feet with them.
The gains that studs provide come at the expense of noise. We judged the noise levels of both studded models poor, compared with good or fair for the nonstudded versions.
Also, studs can damage roads, which is why some states limit studded tires to winter months, and others ban them entirely. Studded tires have their place in some icy regions, but winter tires are best for most.
Here are the top rated winter tires from Consumer reports. This will be a night and day difference for snow and Ice driving. I used to be an avid skiier when I lived in snow country.
Michelin X-Ice
Viking SnowTech (Conti)
Goodyear Ultra Grip Ice
Bridgestone Blizzak WS-50
Mastercraft Glacier Grip II
The good news from our tests of 12 winter tires is that tires continue to improve, so finding a tire that meets your needs is less difficult. Moreover, our test of studded vs. unstudded winter tires shows that for most drivers, studs may hurt more than help.
All-season tires aren’t the best in the wake of a severe winter storm, especially if you must be on road before the highway crews. (See our November 2005 report on all-season tires.) Winter tires have treads with more biting edges for better grip on snow and ice, while their softer compound remains flexible even in extremely low temperatures. On cleared roads, however, they might not grip as well as all-season tires, and they often wear more quickly. They do not have tread-wear warranties or grades and should be removed in the spring.
Many new winter-tire models have been introduced since our last report in 2002. We selected appropriate winter replacements for the all-season models we tested. They’re priced from $43 to $94.
Tested models included some familiar names, too, such as the Goodyear Ultra Grip Ice and the Bridgestone Blizzak WS-50. They are still impressive.
For our winter-tire models, we ran the same braking and handling tests on dry, wet, snowy, and icy surfaces as we did for all-season tires. However, since winter tires are designed for cold-weather conditions, we weighted their performance on snow and ice more heavily in our overall scoring. And since winter tires aren’t designed for long tread life or low rolling resistance, we didn’t test them for those attributes.
To see whether studded tires really perform better on ice and snow than unstudded tires, we tested two winter-tire models, the Cooper Weather-Master S/T 2 and Nokian Hakkapeliitta 2, with and without studs.
Most studs are metal posts a tire shop imbeds into the tread that protrude slightly for added bite. Besides the models we had studded, in our group, only the Mastercraft Glacier Grip II, Kelly Wintermark Magna Grip HT, Hankook W404, and Dayton Winterforce accept studs.
The studs hardly made a difference in traction on moderately packed snow, but they stopped better on ice. In our tests, the Coopers without studs needed the longest distance among the winter tires to stop, 36 feet from 10 mph. The Coopers with studs stopped in the shortest distance, 20 feet from 10 mph. Studs proved less effective with the Nokian 2s. Stops ranged from 29 feet without studs to 25 feet with them.
The gains that studs provide come at the expense of noise. We judged the noise levels of both studded models poor, compared with good or fair for the nonstudded versions.
Also, studs can damage roads, which is why some states limit studded tires to winter months, and others ban them entirely. Studded tires have their place in some icy regions, but winter tires are best for most.
macneill
Rollin’ on 33s
SR.GRINGO said:
Cheap and or steel wheels from tirerack.com???
