Which one is more snow worthy?

Nope... They've discovered "chemicals" here in TX and the only saving
grace, (in the Austin area), such weather is a rarity.

Probably the worst place to be is in places like Buffalo, NY where "lake
effects" snows occur almost continuously all winter.

I don't miss any snow whatsoever but love to look at it on TV...

JT

 

I've been in western NY in the winter. They know how to take care of
the roads up there. It's not such a big deal.

Although, sometimes mother nature does overwhelm thing--at which point,
you just stay home.

 

He doesn't have proper tires on it.

He'd be amazed at what happens when he puts winter tires on it.

 

What kind of "trouble" are you talking about? There's no law involved
here. It's MARKETING.

Jesus. You need to get a grip.

 

If you're talking the front beam, Honda took care of ALL of those,
completely free of charge.

Loved it.

Yeah, I'm remembering my 1200 Civic. In the depths of the cold winter,
the choke would randomly stick. I never found rhyme or reason for that.
It didn't keep the car from going, it just went badly for awhile until
it unstuck. No amount of working the cable seemed to fix it.

 

Tires and drivers skill are the reasons for the differences.

If they put "4WD" on the back of a 2-wheel drive vehicle, sure. But that's
not the case. Do you still not understand that AWD is a form of 4WD? If ALL
wheels are being driven on a vehicle with FOUR wheels, isn't that 4WD?

 

I've never had to use chains, but when the weather gets to that point we put
away the wheeled vehicles and use something that drives by track.

 

"Seth" wrote

Questions:

Last winter I posted about my somewhat frightening drives in my 2004 Accord
4-cyl auto. I live in upstate NY and yes, they do take good care of the
roads. The only two times I was out driving "on snow" was when the storm was
just starting and the road was, to me, very slippery such that my, um, rear
end was often sliding around especially when braking. So I drove very slowly
to ensure my safety, especially on turns and curves. The car has three
Goodyear Assurance Comfortreds and one Pirelli P6 Four Seasons. (I went
through a lot of successive flats with the OEM Michelins, one dealer had
only the Pirelli, blah blah....)

So, are the driving problems I had due to the slick road with the fresh thin
layer of snow, my tires, my driving... ? Last year was my first year back
to the Northeast since living in a snow-free climate for 30 years. When
living in the Northwest I drove a 1973 rear-wheel drive Toyota Celica with
regular tires through lots of snow with no issues whatsoever. What ideas
have you got?

Howard

 

First thing I'd do is at least have MATCHING tires. That one lone tire I'll
bet is a slightly different size than the others causing an imbalance. At
worst your tires should at least match form left to right (both fronts the
same and both rears the same). the have 3 and 1 is crazy.

Then on top of that you have you not being used to driving in snow. Somehow
in the past you did fine with a less snow-worthy vehicle so the issue has to
be you. Not meant as an insult, but just an observation based on the data
you've provided. In a front-wheel drive vehicle with more safety systems
how can it be more difficult to drive unless it is the driver who has lost
some of his edge.

Hopefully this winter now that you have "snow legs" back things will be
better.

 

"Brian Smith" wrote

Yes, I'm sure I'm out of practice. I should look for a driving course to see
if I can get some help. I'm a lot older than I was 30+ years ago, and less
of a daredevil! Where I live there are short hills and country driving with
lots of curves, some dangerous even when dry. It was on those roads that I
about freaked... until I slowed to about 20 - 25 mph.

I am keeping in mind the tires. Yes, 3+1 is crazy, but it's what I've got
right now. I thought of getting two snow tires on their own wheels to start
with, but then Elmo's suggestion of the Nokian WR's is tempting and possibly
a better all-around solution. It's too bad there's still a lot of tread on
the tires I have, but maybe for a couple of years I could treat the Nokians
as Oct - April tires. There's supposedly a service center around here that
sells Nokians; I can ask there for advice.

Howard

 

I would say in the case of the 2004 Accord, the mixture of tires was
one issue. The fresh fall of snow would contribute to the issue as well.
Do you consider yourself (at the time) to be out of practice in driving
in this type of road condition?

 

"Brian Smith" wrote

Yes, and life is worthwhile. Well, there ARE those days.... *sigh*

I have read many times that four snows are better than two, but if two are
used (let's use "budget constraint" for now), which wheels should they go
on? I'd think the rear to, as you say, keep the rear end following the front
of the vehicle. I felt like I was getting into trouble when the rear tires
were slipping sideways, particularly when braking on a curve. (Re: the ABS
discussion from last winter.) Then again, I'm recalling when all four went
sliding....

 

It happens when one doesn't do something regularly enough, the skill
level suffers.

LOL! That's true of pretty much everyone, as we age, we realize how
short life is and how precious too.

The important thing is that you did realize your limitations and acted
accordingly. The prof of that is that you're here and telling us about
it, lol.

Two snow tires aren't as good as four snow tires. The ones on the rear
will keep it following the front of the vehicle (crucial in most cases
to a healthy life).

 

Never, EVER get just two snow (winter) tires. Match them all, whatever
they are.

Two snows and two all-seasons is way more dangerous than four
all-seasons.

 

I had a Gen II, CVCC, definitely had a manual choke. I lived in Atlanta,
but drove it in snow country frequently. Never had a problem.

 

Yes, the rear.

Your car is built with inherent understeer. To preserve what the
engineers built in, put the sticker tires in the rear and let the fronts
slide similar to what everyone expects.

If you put the stickier ones in front, the fronts will track but the
rears will slide. In other words, the rear of the car will arrive at
the scene of the accident first--called oversteer. You don't want that.
You're not used to it, and the car isn't designed for it.

Budget restraints? Put 'em on the rear. But really dump the fast food
and Starbucks for a few months and put the money toward another pair of
matching winter tires (or Nokian WR).

 

Nope, everything was rusting especially the structural area where the
rear control arms were mounted. I could push the whole area with my
hand and that's when I decided to take it off the road.

You bet... I bought it from a friend who bought it new in 1976. Had
88K and all I ever did was replace front brake pads twice, and rebuilt
the starter and alternator. Oh year, one timing belt along with a water
pump. Easy to work on too.

After the 1,500 was retired, I picked up a '76 1200 sedan, (had a
trunk), for $100 but it had a rod knock. I ended up by going on a
foreign work contract and never got around to fixing it. It was
relatively rust free too...

JT

 

They seem to happen more often than we ever thought they would. :^)

In my experience (and there are a lot of people here that will disagree
with this), I would prefer to have the snows on the drive/steer tires.
With tires with good tread on the rear (budget restraints taken into
account).

 

Yep, two feet a day for a few days in a row can really do it.

Glad I'm not part of *that* picture!

JT

 

Thank God and the Baby Jesus, that they discovered "chemicals".

30 years ago or so, I drove through Fort Worth after an 'Old Fashion Texas
Ice Storm' had hit, with a front wheel drive car that had never gotten
stuck in a Canadian winter. I got stuck with it in Fort Worth. I could not
believe it... stuck in Texas, in the winter.

To get unstuck I had to find a 'grassy knoll' to dig down through to get the
copious quantities of dirt needed for spreading under the tires. I had to
chisel through 3" of frozen slush, with a large screwdriver and a machine
hammer, and then dig out about 2 shovelfuls of dirt for traction.

Changing lanes on the Interstate was like driving over two greasy 4"
sidewalk curbs.

Ha!... I'll see your Buffalo NY with a Watertown NY, and raise you
an Oswego NY (Oswego NY... possibly the only place in the east that
can look like the Donner Pass after a blizzard).

It is so ever pretty, isn't it.