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Re: 4 winter tires vs. 2 winter tires Posted by Ari [Email] (#2847) [Profile/Gallery] (more from Ari) on Thu, 13 Jan 2005 06:38:10 In Reply to: 4 winter tires vs. 2 winter tires, Nicholas [Profile/Gallery] , Wed, 12 Jan 2005 14:38:46 Members do not see ads below this line. - Help Keep This Site Online - Signup |
To start, four snow tires are better than two. Period. You'll get more predictable handling, and better grip.
OK, now your question - how much better? Well, that depends. On what? First, what are your non-snow tires? If the non-snows are pretty decent in snow - deep tread in good condition, reasonably blocky, then that's pretty good - maybe you're running a M&S. However, if your non-snows have minimal tread, or are a 'performance' design - narrow channels, minimal blocking, then you're asking for real trouble. If you need to be careful of hydroplaning when you see a puddle, then you don't want those tires on snow.
What else - how much snow are you expecting? If you live in Northern Georgia and are going to get one or two storms of 2 inches, then you're probably OK. You can take it easy, or just stay off the roads until things get cleaned up. If you live in upstate New York and you're going to be spending a considerable amount of time on snow, or not going out isn't a choice, then go with four tires. I'm not talking about just driving in 4-6 inches of unplowed snow - I'm talking about the 1 inch of slushy mess many plows leave.
Lastly, and this is the most touchy, is skill level. Of course, everyone is an above average driver. So look deep into your soul on this one. I know folks that can easily drive a RWD '70 Impala on four bald tires in snow like a Sunday drive in June. No worries. I know folks that with four Gislaved Yetis, AWD, TCS, ABS and Bob Bondurant in the right seat can't help but skid when the relative humidity goes above 70%. So, really, how comfortable are you on snow? If you can toss your car around happliy when the snow flies, then you can probably make do with 2.
Let's put it this way - if you don't know how you'll do in snow, get 4 snow tires. The downside of being wrong is pretty far down. The best you can hope for is getting stuck someplace safe. The worst is finding that you and car control have parted ways, and you still have 50 mph to burn off.
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