My wife's attempts to plow the road have her 4WD stuck part-way up the driveway. She is attempting to put chains on it now.
UPDATE: Trying to put chains on in deep snow. That was silly. Maybe it's time for studded snow tires. I just ordered some studded ice/snow tires from tirerack.com.
I would come over to help if I was a bit closer - hang in there.
ReplyDeleteIt seems the test results for studded tires shows such a narrow window of advantage, that I wouldn't waste money on studs. Dedicated winter/snow tires seem to be the best all around choice. Studs are best only on smooth ice close to 32*F, and bad on dry and wet concrete.
ReplyDeleteThe only advantage seems to be a general improvement of winter road conditions if lots of vehicles use them. The Japanese collected lots of data on it back in the 90's. Their biggest complaint was the dust created by the studs, which they conclude is a health problem. Doubt either condition would be applicable in your area.
Avoid the all-weather types, as they had the worst traction in bad conditions.
Back in the '60-70's, when I lived in snow country, we ran two sets of wheels, so the tires stayed on the same rims until worn out. Swapping them back and forth is expensive, and can be hard on the tire bead, and aluminum wheels are more delicate than the old steel ones. Biggest problem is space to store them out of the sunlight, and away from electric motors and other ozone creating items. That will age them rapidly.
We have a lot of problems with ice on our driveway, which is why I spent the extra $15 for studs.
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