Did you ever notice that after the first few snow falls the majority of vehicles that end up in ditches or off the road are 4X4s and SUVs? People who buy these rigs assume that because they can go practically anywhere they are able to drive at high speeds on slippery or snow covered roads. They don't realize that they have the same amount of rubber contacting the road as the guy ahead of him going slowly in a 2 wheel drive car.I have owned at least 6 4X4s of different configurations over the years and when it's icy or there's snow on the road I go slow as need be and haven't ended up in a ditch yet . If any of you folks have your first 4X4 and are unaccustomed to winter driving please go slow and keep in mind that as great as 4 wheel drive is it can get you into bigger trouble a lot quicker if not driven properly.Also if you live in an area where you have a lot of snow days in winter don't rely on all season tires as they are really not truly for all seasons as the makers would have you believe but are made to be used in places where there may be an occasion al dusting of snow.The best tires for winter(if allowed in your area) are studded winter tires as they also give you better traction on icey roads or black ice.BTW the local Minister of Transport came on TV and said that all season tires were as safe as winter tires and there were actually calls for his resignation as where we get 2 ft snowfalls several times a year if people had followed his foolhardy and incorrect advice people definitely would have been killed.

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'65 Strat,65 Mustang,65 Jaguar,4 more Strats,3 vintage Vox guitars,5 Vox amps,'69 Bassman with a '68 2-15 Bassman cab,36 guitars total-15asst'd amps total,2 vintage '60s Hammond organs & a myriad of effects-with a few rare vintage ones.

Don't have 4x4 (only in my Ford Ranger work truck, which has always been less than ideal in snow and ice regardless of tires, Yokohama's or Goodyear) but do have Audi Quattro, just put Michelin Alpin P3's last month, have not had a chance to see how they compare to last year's Continental TS 810's.

I firmly believe the majority of drivers have never bothered improving their driving skills, regardless of the season. I drove a rear wheel drive Volvo 240 DL for many years and never got stuck.
Driving is not just about turning the key on and stepping on the gas or brake pedal, there again some people seem to confuse the two.

In any vehicle, the best return for the money is to buy the best performing tires that you can afford, even if it means you cannot go out to dinner for a couple of weeks. Those $150 to $200 per tire may sound expensive, but not when you are stuck or off the road and the body damage racks up in the thousands of dollars.


I have never needed studded tires, I can only think of one possible exception when I lived in Stowe Vermont and I had a steep road up a mountain to get home. The downside is that on dry pavement studded tires perform horribly..

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"C'est parti mon Kiki "

Top notch wiper blades are a life saver in snowy weather.......... Mike

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The blues ain't nothin but a good man feelin bad.

here in texas, snow and ice shuts alot of stuff down. heck, we don't drive well in rain. me, i drive like the old man that i am. riding a motorcycle changed my driving habits in a very good way.
i dearly love snow and ice but i don't envy anyone that has to commute in it all the time. i'd probably cause a wreck by being too cautious.

Hey Guitslinger, would you believe that at the garage where I work, we were still installing winter tires last week!!! At least, tomorrow is the legal limit, you must have winter tires on your car until March.

http://www.mtq.gouv.qc.ca/portal/page/p ... neus_hiver

Strangely though, someone could drive his car from Mexico through the U.S.A. and finally land here in the middle of January and still respect the law, because the winter tires regulation does not apply to people from outside Quebec. Also, the big companies that rent cars, were against this law because they would have had to change the tires on all their cars twice a year, resulting in a loss of revenue.
Anyway, you're right, winter tires is the way to go.
Claude.

Its been in the 80s here in Tucson, but if it rains here people drive worse than if it had snowed. We dont get much of either.

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BSG

I hate winter. Thats all I have to say about that.

Claude you just reminded me of an incident a few years ago when Toronto was pretty well shut down and they had to bring in the Armed Forces to help clean it up(much to the derision of the rest the country).A friend of mine flew to Toronto for business and went to a car rental desk to rent a 4X4 but they wouldn't rent it to him because of the state of the roads but when they found that he was from Newfoundland they gave him the keys- knowing full well that he was more than familiar to driving in even worse conditions.

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'65 Strat,65 Mustang,65 Jaguar,4 more Strats,3 vintage Vox guitars,5 Vox amps,'69 Bassman with a '68 2-15 Bassman cab,36 guitars total-15asst'd amps total,2 vintage '60s Hammond organs & a myriad of effects-with a few rare vintage ones.

I grew up in Connecticut and used to drive about 45 miles from Wallingford to N. Hartford to work. I had a 1980 Camaro and drove it all winter long. I'd put a full tool box and a floor jack in the trunk, and when it snowed, I'd let out about 10 psi of air from the rear tires, all weather radials. I used to pass front wheel drive cars no problem, and had great traction. You just have to remember to fill the tires up after the storm. I think the real problem is a lot of folks don't know how to stop properly without going into a skid. Pump the brake and countersteer. But here in Phoenix, That's the least of my worries. I hate snow.

When I coached Alpine Ski-Racing (92), we had a week long clinic down in Pennsylvania. Coincidentally a January storm basically shut the roads down from New England to PA. From New Haven Ct. I drove down in my Civic SI, no traction problems running Yokohama A+4 tires, went by a couple Range rover's off in the ditch and one state trooper who cautioned me that the roads were about to be closed and I would be on my own.

Got to my destination (Elk Mountain?) anyway the next day... sunny but the mountain was closed since most of the mountain's staff drove Mustang's and Camaro's and could not get to the mountain.
We (myself and other coaches) hooked up a waterskiing tow rope to the rear of an Accord and with borrowed rental skis proceeded to get towed up and down the road most of the day. ( All had a great time but I'm afraid the rental skis didn't survive)

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"C'est parti mon Kiki "

The best tool for driving in any conditions is "Common Sense" which it seems 90% of drivers do not have.

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Chet Feathers

Authorized TonePros Dealer
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I didn't Lose my mind, I traded it for this guitar.

A couple of years ago we had an inch of snow and a light frost. We had over 500 car crashes in the Houston area on that day alone.

In other words, I have no idea what any of you are talking about. Winter tires and such.

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Here in Southern Colorado ,we get bad snow sometimes. Drivers here are dumb though. Its mostly the meatheads in 4X4 that get in accidents. Most of the time it the trucks fault. They like to tailgate alot and travel in high speeds. Those people here tend to get pissed off when you are driving the speed limit for some reason.

Like they say, "Common sense isnt' so common after all". Especially in this day in age.

Now days the best thing is to have Traction Control, you couple that with Stability Control you will be surprised. A good thing about My new truck were these two features. Oh yes and forget about Limited Slip differentials that are in most 4X4 's the wheels may both get torque (on axel) but the wheel slipping gets the increase. Pay the extra money and get Locker differential in the rear, once that locks both wheels turn equally applying same torque. Good tires and a few bags of traction sand (waterproof sand tubes) over the rear axel.

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The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government.

Thomas Jefferson