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Snow has arrived
- Thread author Wilkkkee
- Start date
MrMCar
Active member
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- Apr 26, 2024
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Snow tires are a compromise. Great at dealing with the white stuff and some even offer decent performance on some ice conditions. The Caveat: Dry grip levels drop by a wide margin.
A lot of what you want or need comes about upon where you live, frequency of snowfall, how often you actually go out and drive (play? I do!) in the stuff.
I know that up in much of Ontario Ca, the fancy wheels come off and the "steelies" with the snows generally get put on/about their Thanksgiving (our Columbus) Day. In terms of performance in the white stuff, a well chosen smaller (18" in the case of the Telly) will give great performance. Most of my BMW customers, when choosing snows, opted for the lesser size and were very happy.
Contrary to common wisdom, when it comes to snow tires (when available in multiple widths) the narrower size will bite into the snow/mud better than the wider tire. (Take a look at rallye cars and the skinny tires they use during inclement weather conditions) More of the vehicles weight is pushing down onto the smaller footprint, taking a better bite with the sipes and aggressive tread pattern.
Same applies to emergency maneuvers and braking in the snow. Any modern vehicle will have more bite, when 4 snow tires are mounted in the slippery stuff.
All at a cost of dry weather performance.
18" VS" 20's: Sure the 20's look better, but when there's winter, there's bad roads, unseen potholes etc. A properly fitted 18" has about 15-20% more sidewall. That will give your rims, also your suspension better protection against the unseen.
Now that I'm retired, I have a goal; Stay in short sleeve shirts and shorts year-round. This means I no longer need to think about snow tires/rims for myself any longer. ;>0
HTH?
