Snow Tires...
Getting A Grip On Snow With The Right Tires
Wondering whether you should
buy snow tires this winter?
This is what Jennifer Stockburger, an engineer with Consumer Reports, has to
say: "If you have a job where you can call in and say 'I'm not coming in. It's
snowing today,' then all-season tires are great. If you don't, you might want to
consider winter tires for sure, and possibly even [an] all-wheel-drive
[vehicle]."
If you are trying to get a grip on the slippery issue of front-wheel drive vs.
all-wheel drive and all-season vs. snow tires, consider a 2002 study in which
Stockburger participated. It sought to determine whether a front-wheel-drive
vehicle with winter tires would work as well as a vehicle with all-wheel drive
and all-season radial tires.
Consumer Reports found that if you travel on snow-covered roads, you should buy
a vehicle with all-wheel drive. For added peace of mind and maximum traction,
equip it with winter tires. In less snowy areas, front-wheel drive equipped with
a set of winter tires should be fine.
Testers found that for traction in snow, all-wheel drive with all-season tires
will do better than front-wheel drive with winter tires. All-wheel drive cars
with all-season tires reached 20 mph 21 feet sooner on average than the
front-drive cars equipped with winter tires.
Front-wheel-drive cars with winter tires will do the job better than with
all-season radials. Winter tires helped the front-drive cars reach 20 mph nearly
28 feet sooner than all-season tires.
"Ultimately, traction comes from the tire, but an all-wheel drive system does
help you accelerate in slippery conditions," Stockburger said. "But winter tires
are the great traction gain for the money, because the other nine months of the
year all-wheel drive adds weight and lowers fuel economy."
All-wheel drive and other technologies, such as traction control and antilock
brakes, while helpful in various ways in winter driving, have their limitations,
experts say.
"They are better than not having them, but many times, they give consumers a
false sense of security," said Matt Edmonds, director of marketing for the Tire
Rack, a tire retailer in South Bend, Ind. "They are only as good as the traction
- the tires - you give them to work with."
Snow tires have additional siping, or cuts, in the tread to give more biting
edges that can try to grab ice and snow, Edmonds said. Also, winter tires have
compounds that keep rubber more pliable for better grip as it gets colder.
Although all-wheel-drive systems help vehicles to accelerate better in slippery
conditions, it won't help to stop the vehicle better. The Consumer Reports test
showed that braking distances on ice were about the same for the all-wheel and
front-wheel-drive vehicles.
Here are some other tips to keep in mind:
• If you are buying winter tires, buy four. If you only put on two, you'll cause
serious handling problems, because you will have a different amount of grip at
each end of the car.
• If you are using all-season radials year-round, remember that the more miles
you have on them, the less grip they will have in the snow.
• If you have a sporty car, chances are it is equipped with extra-wide tires,
called either summer or performance tires. Because of their design, they have
extremely poor traction in the snow. If you have these tires on your car, "you
need to have all-season tires for the winter or a winter tire," Edmonds said.
- Cheryl Jensen, Motor Matters, Newsday, Sunday, December 5,
2004
This page was last updated on
12/17/11.
