Originally Posted By: geeman789
Originally Posted By: fdcg27
Originally Posted By: geeman789
Originally Posted By: fdcg27
You will get and have gotten all kinds of opinions on the need for dedicated winters.
We've driven many miles in RWD, FWD and AWD vehicles through some awesome winter events without incident on nothing more than all season tires.
We've also had some dedicated winters tires, and they really are better half a dozen or so days out of each year. All the little slides and steering corrections just go away and traction is amazing.
That said, there is no reason that you can't get through winter without dedicated winter tires. Drive sensibly and with an awareness of the grip you have available and you'll have no problems.
Disaster does not await you if you decide to put winters on the drive end only.
Just use some sense and some basic car control skills. Don't allow the little slides to become big ones. That's what the wheels in your hands is for.
Right... because EVERYONE has the car control skills of a WRC rally driver... !
Or the masses could just buy decent tires and be that much safer...
I don't pretend to have the car control skills of a WRC driver and have never had a problem with any set of tires we've used over the more winters than I care to ponder that we've driven through. It's also much harder to correct a slide in warm, dry conditions, since that event will only happen at much higher speeds.
An awareness of the limitations of the machine you're driving with the tires that are on it is key.
No magical force is going to cause the car to do anything bad. The car merely reacts to the inputs of steering, throttle and brake that you give it. All of those inputs need to be slower and more deliberate in winter weather conditions.
I like winter tires. The question is whether I like them enough for the relatively few days a year when they'd be helpful to buy a set.
It's also silly to assume that dedicated winter will keep a ham-fisted driver out of trouble. They may simply give such drivers enough confidence to get into trouble at higher and more potentially lethal speeds.
The problem is that the average drives has never slid a car, and has no idea what to do when it happens... most slam on the brakes, nothing more. For these (most...) drivers, having more grip would be helpful.
And your point about ham-fisted drivers is valid. Winter tires, ABS and Stability assist are certainly useful tools in extreme conditions, but can lead to over confidence, excessive speed for the conditions, and crashes... and then probably lawsuits because the Stability assist and tires DIDN'T WORK...!
Remember, always blame someone else ... !
You're missing something - they slam on the brakes, yes, but they also crank the steering wheel against the lock.
Pushing the brake pedal to the floor and cranking the steering wheel against the lock is the perfect way to gain traction.
If I followed that method, I wouldn't have my Cherokee today. Started sliding down an icy hill backwards. The temptation was there ... I just put it in neutral. Luckily, without the brakes applied, I had enough traction from the front tires to steer.
