RWD? FWD? AWD? What's best in snow, by how much?

Yes I would. I am giving you extreme example.
I would bcs. melting snow during that period turns into ice overnight.
We have more sunny days, far mire than VA, and snow actually melts faster.
Calculation is that you die once. It is not like you have 9 lives, so you don’t want to bother.
So basically driving around in conditions that are not ideal for those winter tires the majority of the time for the one time they are the right for the conditions? Winter tires will not stop on dry pavement, even when it's cold, as short/well as all-seasons - that is a well tested truth. I could almost run summers here right now as it's over 40 degrees most days
 
I'm not following how being a 4x4 or not impacts weight transfer on a slippery road when you get on the brakes.
In a conventional 4x4 the front and rear wheel rotation is mechanically connected with gears and shafts. When braking on snow with non 4x4 cars, the front tires tend to lockup with the rear tires still rolling. A 4x4 gets a little extra help by having either all of the tires sliding (longer brake distances), or all of the tires rolling at the traction limit, i.e. threshold braking (shorter braking distances).

This helps but is only worth maybe 10% of extra braking.
 
If you want to really learn "how" to drive in snow drive a RWD. If you want to feel "good" about driving in snow select an AWD or 4x4. If your like most people FWD with winter tires is really all you need.
 
So basically driving around in conditions that are not ideal for those winter tires the majority of the time for the one time they are the right for the conditions? Winter tires will not stop on dry pavement, even when it's cold, as short/well as all-seasons - that is a well tested truth. I could almost run summers here right now as it's over 40 degrees most days
I wouldn’t say they won’t stop as well. Depends which winter tire.
But for the sake of argument let’s say that will happen. What is stopping distance at 50mph between AS and winter in 40 degrees?
What is stopping distance between AS and winter tire in ice at 30mph?
I would say difference in dry between two really good AS and winter tires is same as between really good AS and mediocre AS tire.
In ice, we are talking serious distance differences.
 
I wouldn’t say they won’t stop as well. Depends which winter tire.
But for the sake of argument let’s say that will happen. What is stopping distance at 50mph between AS and winter in 40 degrees?
What is stopping distance between AS and winter tire in ice at 30mph?
I would say difference in dry between two really good AS and winter tires is same as between really good AS and mediocre AS tire.
In ice, we are talking serious distance differences.
Sure on ice and snow they always win. But I'm talking about being here, where it's dry and not really cold. Some pretty interesting reads/watches. These basically describe our conditions here most of the winter. We won't likely see anything on the roads freezing/snow this year. I'm actually doing a track weekend in 2 weeks a bit further south at VIR and will just drive there on my 200s. Believe me, I'd love to try some winter tires if we got a snow day to add that to my driving experience and see how much better they are but just no way to justify another set the tires/wheels for a day or two a year.


Stopping on Dry and Wet Roads​

Most all-season and performance all-season tires stop well on dry and wet pavement. In our dry stopping test from 60 mph, the Goodyear Eagle Sport All-Season needed only 120 feet to come to halt on our 2015 Toyota Camry. In the wet, the Michelin Premier A/S (H-speed rated) impressed us with its relatively short stop of 129 feet. Winter tires generally don’t stop well on either dry or wet surfaces, often needing several more car lengths more than all-season tires. So it’s no surprise the longest stopping tire on dry and wet roads was a winter tire, the Toyo Observe Gsi-5. Stops from 60 mph were 168 and 189 feet on dry and wet roads, respectively. That’s reason enough to remove winter/snow tires once the snow stops falling.

I found this one interesting, I actually had no idea that a summer would do anything when it's that cold! Mine feel pretty hard in that 35-40 range.

 
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Sure on ice and snow they always win. But I'm talking about being here, where it's dry and not really cold. Some pretty interesting reads/watches. These basically describe our conditions here most of the winter. We won't likely see anything on the roads freezing/snow this year. I'm actually doing a track weekend in 2 weeks a bit further south at VIR and will just drive there on my 200s. Believe me, I'd love to try some winter tires if we got a snow day to add that to my driving experience and see how much better they are but just no way to justify another set the tires/wheels for a day or two a year.


Stopping on Dry and Wet Roads​

Most all-season and performance all-season tires stop well on dry and wet pavement. In our dry stopping test from 60 mph, the Goodyear Eagle Sport All-Season needed only 120 feet to come to halt on our 2015 Toyota Camry. In the wet, the Michelin Premier A/S (H-speed rated) impressed us with its relatively short stop of 129 feet. Winter tires generally don’t stop well on either dry or wet surfaces, often needing several more car lengths more than all-season tires. So it’s no surprise the longest stopping tire on dry and wet roads was a winter tire, the Toyo Observe Gsi-5. Stops from 60 mph were 168 and 189 feet on dry and wet roads, respectively. That’s reason enough to remove winter/snow tires once the snow stops falling.

I found this one interesting, I actually had no idea that a summer would do anything when it's that cold! Mine feel pretty hard in that 35-40 range.


I am aware of those results. I would not say Toyo is best comparison to Good Year Eagle. Winter tire in that category would be something like Michelin Alpin, Continental TS830P. Eagle is performance tire and IMO, GY is better manufacturer.
But, maybe for you all weather tires would be best.
 
On a side note, one thing that I see that equally amuses and frustrates me. Living 8 miles from an army base (and 35 miles to the Canadian border) I frequently see tires on vehicles that have no business being on the road during the winter. The main categories are rwd cars with high performance summer tires, and trucks and jeeps with the bro wagon wheels and rubber band "mud" tires (both usually with southern state plates) bonus round is any soccer Mom mobile sliding around on langlongs with a tread pattern reminiscent of a steer tire on a dump truck.
 
I found this one interesting, I actually had no idea that a summer would do anything when it's that cold! Mine feel pretty hard in that 35-40 range.

People are mistaken that summer tires, when at that temperature, is useless because the rubber gets too hard and is less pliable. While that's true, the grip that summer tires are still overall better than a good all season or winter tire near/below freezing when snow is not around. People just expect the same amount of grip out of the same set of summer tires in 40F weather as they do in 80F weather. Maybe it's just my experience but I've still had better performance with summer tires in dry cold compared to all seasons or winters.
 
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I've had all three. Not the same chassis, but all with winter tires. With winter tires, all are "fine". My number one issue in the winters I experience here is ground clearance more than outright traction in all cases. It doesn't matter how many wheels are driven when the thick, heavy crud under the car lifts the weight off the ground, or when the plow piles capping off your street come up to your side mirrors with heavy, wet packing snow (while it continues to rain) - it might as well be a wall of boulders.

That being said, AWD is inquestionably superior. It does absolutely nothing for turning and stopping, clearly, but there is no question. AWD + Hakkapeliittas has permitted me to outright launch on untreated snowy roads while others around me are struggling to tip toe. Invincible? Not even close, I do lots of tippy toeing myself. Superior? You bet. If it was AWD + all seasons the magic would be gone. It can be kind of fun to kick the traction control down a notch, give it some throttle and be pushed back into your seat with snowy rooster tails from front and rear.

Now, if a fairy landed in my living room offering to spec out my next daily driver in whatever form I liked it would almost certainly be RWD again, with top notch winter rubber for the season.
 
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I've had all three. Not the same chassis, but all with winter tires. With winter tires, all are "fine". My number one issue in the winters I experience here is ground clearance more than outright traction in all cases. It doesn't matter how many wheels are driven when the thick, heavy crud under the car lifts the weight off the ground, or when the plow piles capping off your street come up to your side mirrors with heavy, wet packing snow (while it continues to rain) - it might as well be a wall of boulders.

That being said, AWD is inquestionably superior. It does absolutely nothing for turning and stopping, clearly, but there is no question. AWD + Hakkapeliittas has permitted me to outright launch on untreated snowy roads while others around me are struggling to tip toe. Invincible? Not even close, I do lots of tippy toeing myself. Superior? You bet. If it was AWD + all seasons the magic would be gone. It can be kind of fun to kick the traction control down a notch, give it some throttle and be pushed back into your seat with snowy rooster tails from all four corners.

Now, if a fairy landed in my living room offering to spec out my next daily driver in whatever form I liked it would almost certainly be RWD again, with top notch winter rubber for the season.
That is really it - ground clearance. When I lived in southern NJ briefly in the last '90s, I had a '92 Toyota 4x4 pickup (5 spd) on a bit of a bigger all terrrain tire - some sort of Pep Boys house brand 31x10.5. We got a huge snowstorm that year and I lived in an apartment complex. That is the only time I remember that the 4x4 and ground clearance allowed me to get to work without issue b/c I could just back out of my space and drive. A car would have been stuck regardless of tire choice b/c of the ground clearance/plowing issue to get out of the parking spot.
1992 Toyota.jpg
 
This was by far my favorite vehicle for snow. 1989 Subaru GL 4x4 wagon, touring edition (had a roof "bubble"), 5 speed. 4x4...not awd. Transfer case and hi/lo range...a manual lever to engage like a truck, not the push-button single-range 4x4 on some of these. Absolute beast. Most underpowered car I've owned however. Pic from Snowshoe, WV circa mid-'90s I believe. I remember it was a slow snow covered road climb to the lodge. BF Goodrich Radial T/As, white letters out of course! 🤣 This car was nearly unstopppable....basically the Outback before the Outback. I used to four-wheel this on the soft/deep sand in the Outerbanks of NC to go surfing back then, lower tire pressure to 15 psi and send it on those BFGs. Every Jeep/truck on the beach just staring in disbelief. Driver mod.

1989 Subi.jpg
 
Hybrids and EV's.... regenerative brakes are awesome in the snow.

A manual's control of taking off in the snow is basically eating away that the clutch, with a lot of slipping in the clutch to get started, especially if you try to start in 2nd gear. Most people over-rev their engine in the dry, starting off from a stop, which makes it even worse.
 
Hybrids and EV's.... regenerative brakes are awesome in the snow.
Way back I had a loaner Prius V while car was in the dealer for warranty work. It snowed and it had those nice factory low rolling resistance (lack of grip) tires. Almost wrapped it around a pole trying to pull into a parking lot. Regen braking kicked in as I was slowing down (and not going very fast anyway). Put me into a total spin. I was already that cautious in right lane to start as it was sliding on the main road driving. I didn't know how or if you could turn of the Regenerative braking.

Couldn't wait to get my car back.
 
Regarding the winter-vs-all-season-debate if you live where you do not get too much of snow:
Yes, a winter tyre will stop worse on dry roads than an all-season and, unless it is not terribly below freezing and you are a "normal"-ish summer tyre and not an UHP or eco tyre.
In the wet, results will be a little more mixed, but it is entirely possible that the summer or all-season will beat the winter tyre (or the other way round). Depends on the tyre, really. My Michelin Energy Saver really didn't like wet roads below 10°C and I was better of with the Michelin Alpin A4. On the other hand, Toyo summer tyres also refuse to work in the wet in general and in cold wet in particular, but then the Dunlops and also Michelin Pilot Sport 4s on a good friends BMW were much better in cold wet than they had any right to.
However, the point that the all-season-faction seems to miss is that an all-season or a summer tyre on snow, slush or ice is infinitely worse than a winter tyre, while a winter tyre in the dry is only a bit worse than a summer tyre. Even at 20°C, a good winter tyre vs a good summer tyre will have at most 10 metres longer breaking distance from 100km/h. That is, don't get me wrong, a serious difference that can absolutely make the difference between intact and bent metal. However, with adequate driving style you can at least somwhat compensate for this.
A summer tyre on ice will not add one or two car lengths to your braking distance, but rather it will multiply the braking distance several times. That is something nobody can compensate for except by slowing down to walking speeds. Also, a summer or summer-oriented all-season will have a much harder time with lateral grip, which means your chance of keeping the vehocle moving in its intended direction are greatly reduced.

Yes, in a climate with mild winters that only rarely see snow or ice the summer or all-season tyre will perform better than the winter tyre on most days. But in those few instances when it doesn't the downsides are so out of proportion that it still isn't worth it.
That said, IF you have the chance to let the vehicle sit in the garage and you can afford not to drive when there is snow on the road, then of course there is no need for winter tyres. Then the all-season or the summer (unless UHP or eco) would indeed be the better option.
Likewise, if I had a toy on summer tyres and I have the time to go for a drive on a nice winter day with dry roads, I certainly would not bother to put winter tyres on. But any vehicle that has a remote chance to actually encounter snow, slush or ice, has to have tyres that can cope with the worst-case scenario.
 
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Hybrids and EV's.... regenerative brakes are awesome in the snow.

A manual's control of taking off in the snow is basically eating away that the clutch, with a lot of slipping in the clutch to get started, especially if you try to start in 2nd gear. Most people over-rev their engine in the dry, starting off from a stop, which makes it even worse.
What impact does the rednerative braking play? I just have no idea how it all works/curious.
 
What impact does the rednerative braking play? I just have no idea how it all works/curious.
wheels spin electric motors in reverse, generates electricity. Pushing on brake pedal regenerates harder. So, no worries about a brake caliper locking up the rotor in a low friction condition....then at low speeds, actual hydraulic brakes are used and you lock up a wheel or more and ABS kicks in.

Think of it as somehow like engine braking, that your using the engine inertia to slow down, but instead using electric motors
 
However, the point that the all-season-faction seems to miss is that an all-season or a summer tyre on snow, slush or ice is infinitely worse than a winter tyre, while a winter tyre in the dry is only a bit worse than a summer tyre.
Nobody is missing that, we all get and I've stated it several times (?). Winter tires will always be the best tire in those conditions. Where has someone said they aren't? They haven't.

To have worse braking 99% of the time for a 1-2 snow events that you can just not drive makes no sense in areas like where I am in Richmond, VA. In a perfect world everyone would have winter tires, toss em' on for those 2 days a year in areas like where I live, TX, all the other "occasional snow" areas of the U.S. (mid-line south basically where average winter temps are mild 40s-50s) and the roads would have far fewer accidents but this isn't a free game so you either 1) accept that all seasons are "good enough" those few days and work on the driver mod or 2) choose to stay home and drink that day. It's 50 here today and will be that for the next week. I can't believe the folks that are advocating winter tires for so many folks also accept stopping distance differences shown above and and at the same time think folks that don't get winter tires for 1-2 days of snow a year are nuts b/c of the same type of concern.

Finally, I in no way am advocating anyone use summer tires here in the winter. Certainly NEVER on snow/ice.

I found this video interesting (I really like all of his tests!). Like a UHP all season vs. summer, here the difference while certainly there (duh) isn't as huge as it's made out to be. Note that I run PS4 all seasons from fall through spring and they are the best all around tires I've ever run and my experience closely matches the reviewer's in the video...heck I tracked when I just starting to learn how to do track driving!

 
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