Snow - hard or soft?

Post by **Peetee** » Thu Dec 17, 2009 9:43 pm

After looking at the forcast it seems I might wake to find the road a bit paler than normal IYKWIM. I thought I might pose a question. Should you over inflate, under inflate or keep your tyres a standard pressure when driving on snow or ice? I can see sense in all options. softer would potentially increase traction by being more compliant and hard would do the same by reducing the contact patch giving better pressure on the surface.
Discuss.......

Post by **PSL184** » Thu Dec 17, 2009 9:44 pm

Studded tyres

Post by **bmcecosse** » Thu Dec 17, 2009 9:56 pm

Decrease the pressure - better still - stay at home !

Post by **nobby59** » Thu Dec 17, 2009 10:06 pm

No need to discuss you've worked it out and bmcecosse is absolutely right.

Post by **DAVIDMCCULLOUGH** » Thu Dec 17, 2009 10:42 pm

Ive got verdestien snow tryes on the traveller. I bought a job lot of them for £8 a tyre a few years ago and had to remove the studs from the tyres.......

A club member used to have a set of snow chains for his minor!

Post by **Matt** » Thu Dec 17, 2009 11:01 pm

I've got snow chains for my transit!

Post by **rayofleamington** » Thu Dec 17, 2009 11:09 pm

Ive got verdestien snow tryes on the traveller.

I have a set of Vreidestein winter tyres on Minor rims. In a lot of Europe they are predisposed to needing winter tyres for the snowy season - partly because they have REAL snow and also partly because some insurance claims can be void if an accident happens in snow without having winter tyres.

In soft snow, deflating may help a little, but I'm not really sure as the car will sink in the snow anyway. If you have an accident and your tyres are underinflated, I wouldn't want an insurance assessor to get near the car!
Over-inflating is not a good idea except for getting a little more MPG on dry straight roads. On frost / ice, you wouldn't want to reduce the contact area.

Therefore I'd stick with using the correct pressure. If there was a significant benefit from changing it for snow on tarmac, there'd be masses of folklore* about it.

[* if you want to drive a car on very soft dry sand, you need nearly-flat tyres. There's plent of folklore about it, and it works really well]

Post by **billlobban** » Sat Dec 19, 2009 2:08 pm

David are they on standard rims and if so what size are they

Post by **aupickup** » Sat Dec 19, 2009 2:12 pm

i have soft snow where i am

Post by **Blaketon** » Sun Dec 20, 2009 12:35 pm

As has been said, lower pressures are better (Think of Sporting Trials cars; they run with such low pressures, the tyres are bolted to the rims). Before racing cars used different tyres for wet or dry tracks, the tyres were run at lower pressures in the wet.

A limited slip diff is a nice toy in the snow. When I first had the Midget, it wasn't the best in the snow (Not after the Mini I had before it or compared with the one I bought as a second car). Years later, the car now fitted with a Quaife, I was oblidged to drive the Midget in the snow and it was transformed. When I bought the Minor, it was one of the first things I fitted to it.

As has been said, there is a lot to be said for staying at home!!! I think the worst time is when the roads are not obviously bad but could be bad. Everyone drives as if its a nice Summer day, not seeming to think that if they enter a dip in the road, where the Sun has not yet reached, it could be icy. When you see how inept these clowns are when the roads are clearly bad, it makes you realise how they would fare if they suddenly hit a slippery patch at "Normal" speeds. I don't mind driving in the snow (I have had some great fun in a Mini driving on snow...at speeds of up to 70mph

..the road was closed ) but I don't like sharing the roads when its snowing.

Post by **billlobban** » Sun Dec 20, 2009 3:00 pm

Once apon a time I had several tins (all gone now) of 'Liquid Tyre Chains' I think produced by AC Delco. It was a sort of goo that you sprayed on the tyre and it gave you excellent grip for a few yards more than enough to get you going after being stuck. I beleive that SAAB used to offer a system where the same goo was sprayed oo via nozzles under the wheel arch.

Post by **eastona** » Sun Dec 20, 2009 4:04 pm

Defo let some air out for better grip, but as others have said, don't go charging about like that or it's an accident waiting to happen.

I have "snow spiders" for the Morris. They wrap around the tyres in an X Pattern and wind up to grip the tyres. My dad used to use them in the winter (he was a milkman and always got through

) They're quite old, so are nearly a period accessory! I've looked for M+S tyres, as parents always used to have those (on the cortina!) but can't seem to find them small enough.

I have some Rud snow chains for the SAAB, which without them is by far the worst car I've had for the snow, big fat tyres and a turbo! The handbrake has a terrible habit of freezing on if you forget to leave it off (as I did yesterday

). I used them in France and they were good.

Last year I drove to Yeovil on the M5 at around this time of year and it got progressively whiter as I got further south. The Minor was excellent, especially with the addition of a few bags of coal in the boot. I didn't have to resort to the spiders once.

I really dislike driving in traffic in the snow, I'd rather go out before everyone else get's stuck/drives into traffic signs/panics and ploughs into my rear bumper (delete as applicable!).

Last winter in Finland I used a volvo with studded tyres, very nice, grip really well, but very noisy at speed.

Andrew

Post by **rayofleamington** » Sun Dec 20, 2009 10:12 pm

Last winter in Finland I used a volvo with studded tyres, very nice, grip really well, but very noisy at speed.

In Finland, studded tyres are a real bonus (especially on the frozen lakes), but in most of Europe they're a pain as you soon get to clear tarmac, and need rid of them again.

When I lived out in the wilds, I had half a concrete fence post in the boot of the Minor. I was a young / inexperienced driver at the time but it certainly seemed to help.

Post by **Blaketon** » Mon Dec 21, 2009 11:00 am

rayofleamington wrote:
Last winter in Finland I used a volvo with studded tyres, very nice, grip really well, but very noisy at speed.
In Finland, studded tyres are a real bonus (especially on the frozen lakes), but in most of Europe they're a pain as you soon get to clear tarmac, and need rid of them again.

When I lived out in the wilds, I had half a concrete fence post in the boot of the Minor. I was a young / inexperienced driver at the time but it certainly seemed to help.

I don't think they grit roads in Scandinavia; I think they drive on hard packed snow (No wonder they breed such good rally drivers). As a matter of interest, does anyone know whether salt raises the temparature of the snow or does it lower the freezing point of water, in order to melt the snow??

Post by **alex_holden** » Mon Dec 21, 2009 12:43 pm

It lowers the freezing point.

Post by **bmcecosse** » Mon Dec 21, 2009 6:04 pm

Main problem I have found in the snow - are all the clowns 'driving' around at 15 mph!

Post by **PSL184** » Mon Dec 21, 2009 6:19 pm

Too true - they cause more trouble by being incompetant - Those drivers should stay at home

Post by **billlobban** » Mon Dec 21, 2009 8:29 pm

Blaketon wrote: I don't think they grit roads in Scandinavia; I think they drive on hard packed snow (No wonder they breed such good rally drivers).

Generally they dont salt the roads as studded tyres are the norm even in south western Norway where the winters are not generally not so harsh. Partially studded tyres are quite acceptable for use in non snow conditions they are however very noisey. In fact several of my local taxi firms in Aviemore use studs - brings back memories when I hear them on the road.
http://www.sportsimportsltd.com/lisptichgr.html is the link to a US site selling liquid tyre chains (I would highly recommend them) but I cant find a UK distributor