winter tire discussion

[hrsp]

so i was talking with some guys about driving in the snow and shit and i brought up that i love driving my 4x4 in snow and what not...then a guy who has a 01 grandprix with "top of the line" snow tires says his fwd car will drive better than my 94 4x4 surbaban with mid grade allseason tires...

I have never driven any car with "top of the line" snow tires but i have a hard time believing that it will accelerate as good and go thru the deep shit as good as the 4x4...

im i crazy or does he have a case?

and i mentioned a snow drag and he looked confused...hahahaha

[DynoTom]

I have a 99 Crown Vicky with Blizzaks and a 00 Excursion 4 x 4 with some sort of all terrain tires ......the Crown Vicky does do as well or better than my truck in snow AS LONG as the snow is not over 4 or 5 inches.....Once the snow gets deep enough the drag the bottom of the Vic it is not as good as the truck is...My truck does go through 12 plus inches of snow pretty easy...

[BeesTwinEG]

I dont think no FWD that are out there do not have a chance against 4x4 truck.......
It does not matter if he have "TOP OF THE LINE". 4x4 can actually control alot in snow.

[Car Guy]

All depends on how much tread your tires have along with his, but I routinely leave 4WD vehicles in the dust with our brand new snow tire equipped `89 Ford Taurus :headbang . Now stopping is a entirely different aspect, and I will say with confidence that he will own you on that.....:eek:

What brand/model snow tires does he have...???










.

[DynoTom]

I do know that snow tires make a HUGE difference ! I had some Goodyear RSA's on my Vicky for a little while a couple winters ago and the car TOTALLY SUCKED AZZ in the snow.....It was a TOTAL 100 % traction gain in the snow with the Blizzaks....Now if I get caught in a snow storm in the Vicky I really don't worry much , with the all season tires it used to have I was scared sheetless to be out in the snow in the car....

[DynoTom]

All depends on how much tread your tires have along with his, but I routinely leave 4WD vehicles in the dust with our brand new snow tire equipped `89 Ford Taurus......:headbang :banana1:


I think my Vic could pull away from my Excursion too for the most part?


Like I said in really deep snow and plowing through drifts the Excursion would woop on my car no problem...

[Prince Valiant]

As far as braking, handling, etc on two similar vehicles, one 4x4 with regular all-season tires, the other being equipped with winter tires and 2WD (front or rear), the winter tire equipped vehicle will be better...except for acceleration.

4x4 really helps you most only when accelerating; That's the only part where 4WD really stands apart.

Why 4x4's really have such a high reputation for doing so well in the winter isn't just because they accelerate better by-itself though; it is that historically they tended to come equipped in heavier vehicles with longer wheelbases...both of which are helpful in winter driving conditions. Higher weight equals better traction (so both better acceleration and braking), better stability, especially in the deeper stuff. The longer wheelbase makes it more difficult for a vehicle to "turn" or rotate on you...IE, put the back end out.

In this case, all else is NOT equal.

you should fairly easily win an acceleration contest with your friend...

braking, he should be superior.

As far as handling/turning, it'd probably be a wash really.

Stability as in going down the road/etc, again...would be close with you getting the edge imo due to the vastly heavier vehicle being harder to upset.

[Z28Envy]

I dont think no FWD that are out there do not have a chance against 4x4 truck.......
It does not matter if he have "TOP OF THE LINE". 4x4 can actually control alot in snow.

huh?????

[LIZMO]

Blizzack snow tires are big improvment over all season's.

My Gray 240sx had some bridgestone all season on it last winter and i got through.
but my gray 240sx has some Blizzacks that really help get through the snow.

But like Tom said, only up to a few inches cause ground clearence catch's up to me pretty quick.

[wrath]

Cooper Weathermasters, Treadwright with the green walnut shells in them, Bridgestone Blizzaks, and Firestone Winterforce tires are all really good. I like them in that order.

All but the Treadwrights burn off really fast when it gets warm out because the tires are so soft.

I'd take a 2wd truck with no weight in the back, an open differential, and a set of Cooper Weathermasters than any 4x4/AWD with Goodyears on it for around town driving. Anything less than 4" of snow isn't going to hamper the 2wd.

I came from the Upper Peninsula of Michigan after seven years living there. 300" of snow a season. Pretty much like it's been this month only from October until May. Four years back it snowed for 38 days straight.

[PureSound15]

I dont think no FWD that are out there do not have a chance against 4x4 truck.......
It does not matter if he have "TOP OF THE LINE". 4x4 can actually control alot in snow.

It hurts to try to comprehend what you just wrote. Do I cite the double negative or .... ?

[johnny--2k]

actually I think it's a triple negative....I DONT think NO fwd... DO NOT

My head hurts trying to translate that.


AS for snow tires, I had them on my TL and it was a WORLD of difference. I could keep up with if not beat most SUV's off the line, stop quicker, turn harder/faster and maintain speed better.

Now a 4x4 WITH snow tires, that will be awesome! I cant wait to put them on the SRT8!! :stare

[UnderPSI]

Firestone Winterforce with studs. Mmmmmm.

[Goat Roper]

Dayton Timberline A/T (BF Goodrich) on my 1996 Suburban, good road tire and great in the snow. tell your buddy in the Grand Prix to show up along side the ol' 'Burban at a snow stop light some time :)

[Prince Valiant]

Tires do make a big difference though...in the bad storm on Friday, a neighbor let me borrow her 4WD trailblazer to pick up the wife...it has nearly bald Firestone A/T tires. Out on the road, it was mostly okay...like to really slide though. No problems getting going, and as long as you didn't push it, no probs coming to a stop.

BUT, once I was back in the deep stuff in the neighborhood, it was almost as if I didn't have a 4WD...every time I came to a stop, I got stuck...without fail. Stop to drop off the wife? Get stuck. Stop for a truck coming the other way? Get stuck.


Now a 4x4 WITH snow tires, that will be awesome! I cant wait to put them on the SRT8!! :stare

The first (and by far, greatest) winter drags champion was a Quadratrac equipped Jeep GC with Winterforce tires all around.

Can you even get wheels small enough to get winter tires on the SRT?

[Cryptic]

I just towed an AWD drive Mazda 6 with Blizzaks out of a drift that I was able to drive right though. So I really don't care what your friend says, 4x4 truck is better. Specially if the snow gets deep.

[03CVLX]

I have Nokian Hakkapellitta RSI's on my Vic. I got caught in the huge storm thursday night/early friday morning. I had nothing in the trunk and no extra weight over the rear wheels. Between the tires and the factory Traction control I was able to go through that stuff without an issue. Hell I can't even make the car fishtale no matter what I do unless I turn the traction control off.

[Nick]

Well, I have AWD and Blizzaks so my subaru is better than his grand prix.

4WD With All Seasons > 2WD with Snows

He has no case.

[Larrygto]

My 4x4 truck with it's 20" summer tires is a worthless piece of crap in the snow, But when I switch to the 17" AT's it can go through anything.

[Car Guy]

I agree with most everything said in this thread but there are too many variables with each situation to say for sure one way or another.....

[ND4SPD]

I just got Blizzaks for my CTS... they're worth every penny, but my wife's SRX with the crappy Eagle RS-As is still better in the snow. Weight has a lot to do with winter traction too. If you have a light Subaru... even with AWD and snow tires you can still get yourself hung up and stuck (which I did last year with my wife's WRX trying to get it out of our alley. If you have a heavier vehicle that is less likely to happen.

Also even with snow tires my CTS yaws quite a bit when the snow gets deep or uneven. AWD/4x4 doesn't do that. It might go diagonal... but it doesn't come around the way RWD does. Still, the Stabilitrak/Traction control/Blizzak combo does a pretty good job in making my car manageable in anything shallow enough to where I won't get hung up.

[Prince Valiant]

For the most part, I can't stand traction/stability controls in deep snow...especially in a car traction limited as this trailblazer I drove was. All it does is work to slow you down when you've got to keep moving.

[ND4SPD]

Well fortunately the traction control can be turned off... but the Stabilitrak (at least on my CTS... I know you can turn it off on the TB SS's) can't be completely disabled. Kind of a pain because it tries to keep you from drifting around corners and so forth. I say tries because if you sling it into a corner in the snow with any real speed there's nothing it can do. But I've noticed if you're going slower it will stop the ass end from coming around and you'll go more diagonal.

I was delivering a PC in Pardeeville yesterday and the guy who bought it had a mile+ long gravel driveway that had been plowed... but not very well. There were still areas that had 2 to 4" of snow. Anyway I thought for sure I was going to get stuck... but the traction control allowed me to maintain enough momentum to not stop, but kept me from completely blowing the tires loose. My CTS has drive by wire so it does some of the traction control through throttle modulation and not just brake modulation the way my GTP was.

[johnny--2k]

Tires do make a big difference though...in the bad storm on Friday, a neighbor let me borrow her 4WD trailblazer to pick up the wife...it has nearly bald Firestone A/T tires. Out on the road, it was mostly okay...like to really slide though. No problems getting going, and as long as you didn't push it, no probs coming to a stop.

BUT, once I was back in the deep stuff in the neighborhood, it was almost as if I didn't have a 4WD...every time I came to a stop, I got stuck...without fail. Stop to drop off the wife? Get stuck. Stop for a truck coming the other way? Get stuck.



The first (and by far, greatest) winter drags champion was a Quadratrac equipped Jeep GC with Winterforce tires all around.

Can you even get wheels small enough to get winter tires on the SRT?

TireRack sells a package with 18's and the Pirelli Scorpion Snow/Ice for $1500 + shipping.