Snow Tire pressure question

That's because 4wd doesn't help you stop on ice. Snow and ice tires do.

 

Very true! Im pretty happy with the "bite" I feel with the X-Ice tires. I havent missed my truck yet since Ive sold it.

 

Hey guys thanks for this thread! I don't know where my original post is either . Anyway I was wondering if snow tires have better grip at a certain psi. For example, I wouldn't want to gain higher mpg if it meant worse performance in fresh snow conditions.

[update] I have Hankook iPike's on my c, and their website specs show max rated sidewall of 44 psi. To be on the safe side I'm going to put mine to 40/38. My drive yesterday in Toronto's winter storm of 25cm centimeters was horrible, I'm hoping an increase in tire pressure will help.

[update 2] on the tire sidewall the rubber says max pressure 340 kPa / 50 psi, so I pumped them up to 42/40. No idea why the website spec shows differently?

 

I'm running Nokian WRG2s and basing pressure on (1) the pressure recommended on the inside of the driver's side door and (2) the recommendation from Nokian to run winter tires at about 3lbs (20 kpa) higher than usual (http://www.nokiantyres.com/1-preparation). This resulted in 38psi front and 35 psi rear, which has been working out really well and I have a lot of confidence driving the car on slick roads.

You may note that I lowered the rear tire pressure by 1 extra psi than recommended and that's because I noted the tendency of the back end to move around a bit. The car's weight distribution is about 60f/40r, so I always make sure the rear tires are at least 2 lbs less than the front.

Sometimes the best thing to do is experiment and see how the car handles the variances. I even experimented with putting weight (kitty litter) in the back end, then drove like a wacko in an empty parking lot - for testing purposes only, of course, I got no enjoyment out of it at all!

The result was kinda inconclusive - 40 lbs seemed to make the back end behave better, but 80 seemed to make the movement worse.

 

The idea of putting weight in the back is to place more weight over the drive wheels for more traction. This doesn't transfer well to front wheel drive cars. In my experience, some small amount of weight in the rear may work to some degree but it only goes so far. After a point it just becomes a pendulum weight that helps your back end step out on you. This is REAL bad in my truck. I have to place weight from right over the axle, then towards the front of the bed to create a better balance.

If you're looking for total traction a balanced approach would be better. For my money, I'd place two 70lb sand bags in the front passenger footwell. I've done that before and it works pretty good. More weight on the front, some weight on the back, more total weight and more total traction from the drive wheels. As wonderful as the Prius is, it isn't really an elf-thing and won't float across the top of the snow. A little more weight will help the drive wheels gain traction if there is any to be had.

Or for a different type of dead weight, just give your fat lump of a (close relative) to whereever you are going. Assuming you have one, of course, but who doesn't nowdays.

As for the air pressure, I'm going 40/37 or 40/36. It's working well for me. I wouldn't get too wrapped up in the 2 psi differnce. Keep an eye on the dust/bare rubber marks on the tire to see how things are going.

 

. Ya know, I had thought on the idea of taking on weighty passengers to aid traction, but in order to get the weight distribution just right you would have to put them on a scale (for accuracy) and I don't think it would go over well.

I started taking the weight distribution of the car into consideration after a couple of experiences. One where I got caught in an ice storm driving an 85 RX7 and had no trouble at all (weight distribution was 51f/49r) and the other ice experience in a FWD sedan with a very light back end that was swinging around even at the slowest speed.

Mostly, though, I listen to the council of my Dad who grew up in upstate NY, who has never bothered buying a 4WD truck when he can drive a 2WD truck in anything, never bought snow tires (hanging my head in shame because I had to put snows on the C), and who always seems to have complete control over the vehicle no matter how bad the conditions or how fast he is going.

Until proven wrong, whatever Dad says about winter driving goes.

Enjoy all the CO winter driving Mr. Incredible. Wish there was more snow to play in here.

 

I'm running Michelin X-Ice2 195/65R15 (sidewall saying 51 psi max) at 45~46. The ride is a little firm, for that reason I wouldn't go any higher. 40~42 range would make the ride a bit smoother.

 

I have Michelin winter tires on and I am running 44 in front and 42 in the back ... Mileage has not substantially changed from before when I had the all season tires on ... but feel safer in the snow ... and safety is paramount....