WINTER TIRES
my friend and i had a discussion about tire width for snow. i say narrow is better and he says wide is better. what do you think?
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bald is beautiful!!!! 0 -
On snow wide is better, more surface area to distribute weight, but this is only if you drive around on a glacier, or snowfield. In normal road driving conditions, I have heard, narrow is better for the opposite reason, less surface focusing weight onto the road. One time I saw a M113 on a show that could not move on ice for this very reason. 0 -
On slippery surfaces over a grippy surface, narrow will cut down through the slick layer and grab. This might be 3" of mud, 6" of snow or even good old wet grass. If you look at most private plow rigs, you'll see that they run tall but narrow tires.
On soft & deep surfaces, wider will provide better float. Think sand, deep (over 12" and undisturbed) snow, deep mud etc.0 -
Narrow for snow. Wide for mud. 0 -
Yeah narrow is better in the snow. 0 -
quote:Originally posted by Tailgunner1954
On slippery surfaces over a grippy surface, narrow will cut down through the slick layer and grab. This might be 3" of mud, 6" of snow or even good old wet grass. If you look at most private plow rigs, you'll see that they run tall but narrow tires.
On soft & deep surfaces, wider will provide better float. Think sand, deep (over 12" and undisturbed) snow, deep mud etc.
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I have a high grade set of summertires and good spiked wintertires that are both 195/65 R14 on my VW Golf 4x4 Syncro.
I wouldn't want narrow tires for the winter. Not with the type of snow we usually have here.
And we do get from 6-7 months of snow and ice here.0 -
quote:Originally posted by cartod
Narrow for snow. Wide for mud.
Right.
It is pressure per square measurement that determines this.
In winter and wet seasons, skinny is good.
That's why (in addition to stupidity) you see big 'ol 4WDs slidin' all over the place in Lo-4, in crummy weather.
Doug
Doug0 -
Need snow for snow tires.[:)] 0 -
For what it's worth my 2 cents and experience: During 30 years of driving rear wheel drive cars I always purchased two extra rims and mounted true snow tires with big lugs/aggressive tread-sometimes studded, sometimes not. I always bought the biggest I could fit inside the fenders, regardless of what came on the car, what the owners manual said, the effect on the speedometer reading. Did so not so much for width but for height/diameter and the added leverage/gearing. I got through alot of Iowa and South Dakota weather
and busted alot of drifts with snow washing over the windshield and packing the engine compartment. 'course some of that was due to momentum-always drove barges for a work car(I'd still take a big stationwagon over any of todays vans)-was usually only out in such weather going to or from work, otherwise stayed home.0 -
Several years back (before i started keeping a 4wd on hand) during a heavy snow I ditched my 2wd PU. Had a guy with a high ridin Chevy 4wd with big/wide tires try to pull me out, no luck. He couldn't even take the slack out of the chain.
Had another guy w/a Jeep Hocho PU, skinny tires give it a shot..he could drag me anywhere he wanted.0 -
Wide is better on snow ... radial is also better ... fairly new radial All Weather or Mud & Snow is the way to go! This from a man who drove in Canadian winters for 27 years! My best advice is to get Michlin tires at Sears. 0 -
Below are the just a few excerpts (C&P):
A wide, low profile or large tire has to "plow" a wide path through snow, which causes more resistance. The narrower the tire, the easier you can get through snow (http://www.tirerack.com/winter/tech/techpage.jsp?techid=126).
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 (http://www.motortrend.com/features/car_care/112_9903_tire_myths_and_reality/).
Narrower tires, better for snow, sink deeper because of their different proportions of length and width of the contact patch's shape. The edges of the patch along the sidewall lead to an almost vertical wall that lets the tire sink into snow; the front and rear edges of the patch at the tread lead to a very gradual slope, following the curvature of the tire, that buoys the tire. A narrow tire's contact patch is long and narrow, maximizing steep and minimizing sloping edges. This minimizes flotation and the tire sinks into the hard packed snow underneath where the tread's lugs can get a bite. In contrast, a low profile tire's contact patch is short and wide, minimizing the steep and maximizing the gently sloping edges. This increases flotation and the tire's tread stays in the loose upper layers of snow (http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C0CE7DE1639F933A05751C1A966958260).
My wife's 2005 Honda Odyssey's manufacturer's manual recommend no tire size substitution. We put BLIZZAKS last year, - excellent investment IMHO.
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Bridgestone&tireModel=Blizzak+WS-500 -
narrow farm tires, just use wide ones for mudding 0
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