best snow driving techniques?

[fordsho90]

hey 88 the only way that theory works is when large amount of snow has fallen quick and the road isnt freezing temp yet to where ice forms at surface sooooo....but overall wider flatter patter works best as you stated

[94extreme]

hey 88 the only way that theory works is when large amount of snow has fallen quick and the road isnt freezing temp yet to where ice forms at surface sooooo....but overall wider flatter patter works best as you stated

i don't necessarily agree at all. it depends.. cutting through mud, snow.. whatever has it's positives. a friend of mine has skinny TSLs that work surprisingly well in mud/snow. maybe better then my fat BFGs..

[fordsho90]

kool mz learn something new eveyday :cool2:

[lovebunny]

The skinny tire/wide tire argument has been beaten to death. What you want on snow is flotation and traction. Same with mud and sand. Lowering the pressure allows a larger tire tread contact patch and more tire surface area to come into contact with the snow, thereby giving more traction.

 

The "cutting through to the bottom" argument doesn't hold water. The bottom layer under road snow is usually ice or hard-packed snow very close to ice, isn't it? What would cutting through to that accomplish?

this is an area ive found my downhill experience comes into good use. with us when riding through mud we have tires with big fat knobs to keep you on top. same with snow. once you sink in you lose traction/momentum and both of those are bad on a bike.

[lovebunny]

the best thing to do is practice, and remember not to hit the brake hard or you are screwed judge your stopping distance twice as far as you normally would. And if you do start skidding LET OFF THE BRAKE people think if they pump them they will work __wrong___ i live in colorado and drive in alot of snow (whenever i get the chance) and i have learned the best thing to if your are skidding is let off the brake, this way your wheels start turning again and you should be able to atleast steer away from cars into a ditch or something, trust me i have done it. in my camaro. now i know in some situations you can not steer away if your in that situation then you did not brake soon enough so you gonna get what's coming to ya. that is the fact of ice and snow. As far as tires go we had a bad storm in denver last night and of course i had to drive right through it. traffic came to a stop on the interstate and it was because people could not get traction on the up-hill so the cops shut down three out of six lanes so these rwd morons could spin there tires all night. My truck has 31x10.50 BFG's and i can tell you i stopped on the ice i mean we are talking an ice rink!! thought i was gonna have to drop it in 4wd but i did not have to just lightly hit the gas and went along my way. so people who do not beleive in all-terrains, should come ride with me sorry i rambled i am at work and bored.

another thing that translates to bikes. allways allways brake in a straight line. when your going through the corner you want 100% traction devoted to keeping the tires in incontrol and on the road/ trail. for instance, one of our downhill race courses had a pretty long offcamber section on it. alot of the beginners would get spooked and hit the brakes halfway through and they would just slide all the way to the bottom of the ravine and lose the race. whereas people with more skill were entering it alot slower so they didnt have to use the brakes and devote 100% of there tires traction to staying on line.

[94extreme]

this is an area ive found my downhill experience comes into good use. with us when riding through mud we have tires with big fat knobs to keep you on top. same with snow. once you sink in you lose traction/momentum and both of those are bad on a bike.

bike is little different then vehicle.. traction can be gained by sinking through the loose stuff. the engine has the power to deal with that but one's legs may not be strong enough.

[lovebunny]

im just saying that alot of the skills ive used in biking i use in less than ideal weather driving

[94extreme]

[Tinker]

We've got snow up to 8 months of the year around here (northern Alberta) - everthing from just enough to wet the road to 1 foot plus deep to polished hardpack and black ice (stuff's just about invisible!). What I've found (and most of the folks I know around here agree) is that a wide tire is great if you're off-highway and need some flotation, but for highway miles or grocery getting you'd better have a narrower (70 series - preferably 75) tire with an agressive, well siped (particularly at the extreme shoulder and onto the sidewall) tread pattern. Anything wider and you get into the 'sit and spin' trying to get going, or 'road-curling' trying to get stopped. The effect is similar to hydroplaning, but instead of water floating you up off the road its the packed snow stuck to your tire shearing away from the snow (or ice) underneath.

Previous posts are correct regarding ice - all bets are off traction-wise (although the purpose designed winter tires which use crushed walnut shell (or equivalent) in the wear surface of the tread do substantially reduce braking distances). Engine braking is preferred to foot or e-braking, and look for the looser snow or sanded sections (away from the polished ruts or wheel tracks) on either side of the lane your in. Don't be afraid to head for the rhubarb instead of sliding into that impending rear-ender - the curb and snow bank will do substantially less damage to your rig (provided your not over-doing it speed wise).

Keep your tank at least half full - more weight over the rear axle will help with traction when not in 4X, and make sure your alignment is up to snuff or you can forget any kind of direction control. Do not use cruise control under questionable conditions - you'll arsey-versey before you know it! Definitely practice in the parking lots and play it real cool , winter driving is a riot provided you keep your head and watch out for the pinheads who figure its still July!