tires snow

In article .com>,
"dave" > wrote:

> what about the 4x4 trick of reducing air pressure in tires to improve
> traction?

That's good for floatation over mud or sand with oversized tires, but
you want to bite into snow, not float on top of it. You need enough
inflation pressure to keep the tread grooves open, too, to preserve
their biting edges.

You also must keep enough air in the tires to maintain their load rating
above the gross weight of the car. Truck tire manufacturers publish
charts of pressure versus load rating, but I haven't seen one for
passenger car tires for many years. I wouldn't go below a Miata's door
sticker minimum under any circumstances.

--
Lanny Chambers
'94C, St. Louis
http://www.hummingbirds.net/alignment.html

For what it's worth, I did go with the Blizzaks and had less trouble
getting down the road in the Miata than in our 4WD Montero. The tires
are incredible. The only difficult part is not driving them like
normal tires, goosing the rear around corners, etc., as not to wear
them out prematurely. Gots to "take it easy" on the dry payment, and
watch the speed rating too. However, in the snow and rain, they are an
incredible tire. I'm convinced that the Miata's clearance is the only
thing that will slow it down with those little Blizzak paws on it.

Tom - Columbus, Oh

dave wrote:
> > Got through the panic of buying snow tires
> > (just any snow tire would not do...."it is the ride stupid" ... and
> > using my wife's car to carry the four originals back home for
> storage.
>
>
> living in Wisconsin....
> bought all season goodyear eagle hp ultra plus tires and 70lbs of
> weight in trunk seems to work ok for snow.
> huh?
>
> dave